Audio CD review:
Electric Light Orchestra - On the Third Day

Electric Light Orchestra - On the Third Day

Band: Electric Light Orchestra Title: On the Third Day Rating: Release Date: 25 October, 1990 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Ocean Breakup/King Of The Universe 2: Bluebird Is Not Dead 3: Oh No Not Susan 4: New World Rising/Ocean Breakup Reprise 5: Showdown 6: Daybreaker 7: Ma-Ma-Ma Belle 8: Dreaming Of 4000 9: In The Hall Of The Mountain King

Customer Reviews The third try is a charm for E.L.O. ) Electric Light Orchestra's third album. On The Third Day (1973. INTRODUCTION: The Electric Light Orchestra was one of the finest classic rock bands in all the land. Jeff Lynne's ability to combine pop rock and classical music stylings were nothing short of excellent, as his band demonstrated many a time. However, the beginning of the career for Lynne's band was a bit turbulent. Following the departure of co-frontman Roy Wood, Lynne was left on his own as the only frontman. He now had to find his own musical voice. His first album without Wood, while an excellent album, showed that Lynne still had a ways to go before finding a sound all his own. In 1973, E. L. O. released their third album, the appropriately-titled On The Third Day. Does Lynne find the group's voice here, or does the identity crisis continue? Keep reading, and find out! OVERVIEW: Electric Light Orchestra released On The Third Day in 1973. The album was produced by Jeff Lynne, and features the tracks Ocean Breakup, King Of The Universe, Bluebird Is Dead, Oh No Not Susan, New World Rising, Ocean Breakup Reprise, Showdown, Daybreaker, Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, Dreaming Of Four Thousand, and In The Hall Of The Mountain King. REVIEW: They say the third time around is the charm. For Jeff Lynne's Electric Light Orchestra, that age-old saying is certainly true. It's on this album that Jeff Lynne really began to create a musical sound all his own for E. L. O. Similar to the Lynne/Wood sound of the old days, but at the same time totally and uniquely Lynne. Nine tracks grace the group's third effort, and not surprisingly, they are all excellent. Let's take a look at each of them. -SIDE A- -Ocean Breakup/King Of The Universe: This two-piece medley starts off the album, and rather excellently as usual. The Ocean Breakup piece which starts the album as a whole has that Baroque-flavored sound the Roy Wood incarnation of E. L. O. was known for. It does a great job getting things started. The latter of the two pieces in this medley, King Of The Universe, is a melodic pop tune featuring orchestral arrangements and the occasional electronic sound. It is very similar to 10358 Overture, the song that kicked off the band's debut, and that's a GOOD thing. -Bluebird Is Dead: This tune is melodic, Beatles-esque pop, but with the electronic touches thanks to keyboards and synthesizers, it's uniquely E. L. O. An entertaining number from start to finish. -Oh No Not Susan - Here we have a slow and melodic ballad of sorts. Well, as close as E. L. O. gets to doing what could be considered a ballad. Not surprisingly, the song flat out rocks. Jeff Lynne's voice is very well catered to slower, softer songs, and it shows here. An excellent tune that shows off the band's widely diverse side. -New World Rising/Ocean Breakup: As the title of the latter piece may have implied, this seems like a retread of the album's opening piece, but at the same time, it does manage to remain fresh all the way through. With new elements as well as all the best from the piece being "reprised", this is another solid tune. -Showdown: This is one of the two big hits the album spawned. With some of the finest violin and bass the band ever used, this song takes on a soul-influenced sound, which is very distinctly seventies. You've gotta love E. L. O. for all their little experiments, of which this is no exception. -SIDE B- -Daybreaker: This tune is an instrumental, and what an instrumental it is! The first twenty-five seconds make for a nice intro, and then the tune combines classic E. L. O. orchestration with what might be the best electronic-style sound arrangement they ever did. You've gotta hear this gem to appreciate it. Too bad it's so underrated. -Ma-Ma-Ma Belle: This is straight-up classic-style rock. Marc Bolan of T. Rex played guitar on this song (although he is uncredited in the album's liner notes. ) The song became one of the band's most popular, and it's not hard to see why. -Dreaming Of Four Thousand: Essentially, this song brings together everything else the album does well - and brings it together in the finest ways imaginable. Straight-up rock, orchestral arrangement, electronic sounds from keyboards and synthesizers - this song has it all, and tons of musical diversity, as well. Everything you could ever want from E. L. O. , this song has it. -In The Hall Of The Mountain King: Just when you thought E. L. O. couldn't do anything else on this album, what do they do? They serve up the DEFINITIVE version of this classical Edward Grieg piece. Words can't do this one justice. A better version of this tune never existed before this, hasn't existed since, and never will exist. The band did such a good job on this piece, it's a shame they didn't cover more classical music standards and work their magic on them. Oh, well. OVERALL: This album RULES. Jeff Lynne is a musical mastermind, and if you need solid proof of that claim, look no further than this album. Though probably not the best place for newbies to the group, tried and true fans WILL NOT be disappointed with this album. Final verdict? If you're at all a fan of the group, this one is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! EDITION NOTES: This album was only released on CD once in America. And personally, I think the album could benefit from remastering and reissuing. The sound quality isn't terrible, but it could use some boosting. Likewise, it seems to be fading off store shelves, so reissuing treatment is really needed. Too bad it isn't likely to happen soon. Orchestral grandeur, pure pop, and gritty rawk collide On this, ELO's third album, the vision that Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne originally had for the fusion of classical strings/arrangements with rock and roll begans to really take shape. ON THE THIRD DAY is a thrill ride, a gutsy swing for the fences that connects on many levels. The groundwork for the band's masterpiece follow-up album, ELDORADO, is well-laid here, as strings and electronics blend smoothly, rather than being in conflict. Richard Tandy, the band's outstanding keyboardist, really comes into his own here. Mik Kaminski's violin work is also stellar. Jeff Lynne's vocals are in fine form, particularly on the Marvin Gaye-influenced hit song, "Showdown. " And how about the incredible guitar solo Jeff plays on that cut! Spiritual themes crop up throughout the album, particularly on "King of the Universe," "New World Rising" (a forerunner of "Mr. Blue Sky"), and the intense and visionary "Dreaming of 4000. " A jaw-rattling rocker, "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle," has become an all-time ELO concert favorite. If you ever wondered if strings could rock, check this one out. (Marc Bolan of T. Rex plays uncredited guitar here alongside of his buddy Jeff Lynne. ) And, two of ELO's best instrumentals are also here: "Daybreaker," a lively, superb synth-rock hit (#87 in BILLBOARD), and the epic "In the Hall of the Mountain King. " The first time I heard "In the Hall of the Mountain King," I flipped. I had never heard anything like it before. . . I don't know that I've ever heard anything like it since. For sheer drama, ON THE THIRD DAY ranks up there with anything ELO has ever produced. It's still a little uneven compared with some of their later work, but ELO was never more spirited than ON THE THIRD DAY. This CD holds up extremely well today, more than 30 years later. . Dressing Gowns And Scary Clowns... . . Have absolutely nothing to do with this album. I'll let you guess from the title what number album this is (and from the review below mine). This would be a jump ahead for the ELO as they adopt the pop sound here, but then drop it for their next album, Eldorado before picking it up again (metaphorically- probably spelt wrong) for Face The Music. This does not men I don't like this album, in fact by rating suggests the oposite, as it is a a very good effort. Some call this a forgotten masterpiece, and that is half right, it is generally forgotten, but not a masterpiece. A masterpiece I can happily sit through all the way over and over, and all though I could with some tracks, others I fear I would end up becoming very irratated with. All the same, for you the buyer, if you're an ELO fan and are curious as to what this ones like, should not be dissapointed if you're into either early or latter ELO. If you want to try ELO this a fairly good example of what they are. Either way it's worth the asking price. I hope I've been of service. . . Toodle Pipskie (Is that how you spell it?). . You can see a complete list of all Electric Light Orchestra discography, or go back to the Electric Light Orchestra tabs