Electric Light Orchestra Discovery CD

. . 3 Bonus Tracks. 1979

Electric Light Orchestra: Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer); Kelly Groucett (vocals, bass); Richard Tandy (piano, clavinet, synthesizer); Bev Bevan (drums, percussion).
Producer: Jeff Lynne.
Reissue producer: Jeff Lynne, Al Quaglieri.
Recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany. Includes liner notes by Jeff Lynne.
Digitally remastered by Joseph M. Palmaccio (Sony Music Studios, New York, New York).
Also available in a 3-pack with FACE THE MUSIC and A NEW WORLD RECORD.
Electric Light Orchestra: Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer), Kelly Groucett (vocals, bass), Richard Tandy (piano, clavinet, synthesizer), Bev Bevan (drums, percussion).
Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany.
Master Sound releases are 24-karat gold CDs remastered from first-generation masters. This process utilizes 20-bit technology and Sony's revolutionary "Super Bit Mapping" system.
Electric Light Orchestra: Richard Tandy (guitar, piano, Clavinet, Moog synthesizer); Bev Bevan (background vocals); Kelly Groucutt, Jeff Lynne.
Personnel: Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer, background vocals); Kelly Groucutt (vocals, bass guitar, background vocals); Richard Tandy (clarinet, grand piano, electric piano, synthesizer); Bev Bevan (drums, percussion).
Liner Note Author: Jeff Lynne.
Recording information: Musicland Studios, Munich, W. Germany (1979-2001).
Photographer: Jim Shea.
Electric Light Orchestra continued on their winning Top 40 ways with the release of Discovery. Now pared down to the basic four-piece unit, Jeff Lynne continued to dominate the band and they still got their hits (this time around it was the smash "Don't Bring Me Down"). Elsewhere on the disc there was, of note, "Last Train to London" and "Confusion." Though Discovery charted well, it was becoming obvious that ELO were starting to run themselves out of useful Beatles hooks with which to fuel their hit-making machine. ~ James Chrispell
The last of ELO's classic trio of late-'70s releases, after 1976's A NEW WORLD RECORD and 1977's OUT OF THE BLUE, 1979's DISCOVERY was also the group's last significant commercial success. A bit more self-consciously experimental than the previous pair of ELO albums--"The Diary of Horace Wimp" could have come from the pen of Jeff Lynne's more musically adventurous former musical partner Roy Wood--the album also finds Lynne finally taking notice of the musical trends of the day. The hyper-prominent snare pulse, keening violins, and scratchy guitar of the opening "Shine a Little Love" marks this as ELO's disco song, though the Beatlesque harmonies of the bridge are unmistakably Lynne's. The album's big hit, "Don't Bring Me Down," couldn't be called punk, or even new wave, but the in-your-face arrangement and snarling vocals do at least betray some hint of the more aggressive new music.
The last of ELO's classic trio of late-'70s releases, after 1976's A NEW WORLD RECORD and 1977's OUT OF THE BLUE, 1979's DISCOVERY was also the group's last significant commercial success. A bit more self-consciously experimental than the previous pair of ELO albums--"The Diary of Horace Wimp" could have come from the pen of Jeff Lynne's more musically adventurous former musical partner Roy Wood--the album also finds Lynne finally taking notice of the musical trends of the day. The hyper-prominent snare pulse, keening violins, and scratchy guitar of the opening "Shine a Little Love" marks this as ELO's disco song, though the Beatlesque harmonies of the bridge are unmistakably Lynne's. The album's big hit, "Don't Bring Me Down," couldn't be called punk, or even new wave, but the in-your-face arrangement and snarling vocals do at least betray some hint of the more aggressive new music.
Electric Light Orchestra continued on their winning Top 40 ways with the release of Discovery. Now pared down to the basic four-piece unit, Jeff Lynne continued to dominate the baEntertainment Weekly (6/29-7/6/01, p.145) - "...Dated but still fun, 1979's disco-ey DISCOVERY finds Jeff Lynne cleverly aping the Bee Gees..." - Rating: B
Q (Summer/01, p.120) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Extraordinarily moving..."