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No Answer

Electric Light Orchestra - No Answer Audio CD

A fair review of the Electric Light Orchestra "No Answer" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Electric Light Orchestra reviews here, or go back to the Electric Light Orchestra tabs.

Band: Electric Light Orchestra
Title: No Answer
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-03-28
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: 10538 Overture 2: Look at Me Now 3: Nellie Takes Her Bow 4: Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644) 5: First Movement (Jumping Biz) 6: Mr. Radio 7: Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) 8: Queen of the Hours 9: Whisper in the Night 10: Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644) [Take 1 Alternate Mix][*] 11: Nellie Takes Her Bow [Alternate Mix][*] 12: Mr. Radio [Take 9][*] 13: 10538 Overture [Take 1 Alternate Mix][*]

Excellent re-masters, best I haver heard on standard cd
Besides the few naysayers at 1 star. really 1 star?. . trolling I suppose.

This is probably the best standard cd re-master I have heard to date.
While it sounds great, I have hard time agreeing with another commenter
that does not seem to care if Jeff Lynne was involved or not.

These re-mastered cd's come off great because they obviously had great source/analog tapes to choose from. The great source material is probably due largely to Jeff Lynne to begin with. He wrote, sang, played most of the songs and is a great in-house engineer himself. He's involved whether you like it or not.

This is a great re-master for a standard cd. 5 stars all around
if your an ELO fan get it. . it was $7. 98 on Amazon. . I ended up buying the
rest of re-masters I did not have at that price.

I can only add one request. . SACD Multichannel. Please. . . if there is any group that can make you, even after these re-masters, be amazed it's ELO.
.

super thing
This album is no exeption, more so-it is worth listening 1000 times or more(if you will live long enough). I have a theory that every great group's first album must be at least worth listening once.

pop perfection
I'm really surprised the band was already showing major signs of life right from the start. Wow, right from the very beginning the seeds were planted for the classic ELO "commercial symphony" sound combined with dreamy and highly memorable rock and roll hooks. Usually the first album gives the listener hints of what's yet to come, but apparently these guys were already perfectly aware of their style. Not nearly as heavy and muddy as those old Move albums either (which neither bothers or excites me- ELO is just something different).

"Look at me Now" sounds like it would fit in perfectly with ANY of the classic ELO albums from the mid to late 70's, and so does "Nellie Takes Her Bow" with its classical atmosphere. I love that song in particular.

"Mr. Radio" wouldn't sound out of place on an album such as Out of the Blue. I love it. This is a really solid album. These guys must have known that mixing pop hooks with classical influences and utilizing pretty violin lines had never been done before. A band that knew exactly which direction they were going to take their career. They were destined to be a major success, and that would prove true just a few years later. You really can't go wrong with this fantastic debut.

The debut of ELO or the next "Move" ment
Peter Mew's done a fine job of remastering this. First let's deal with the issue that seems to be bugging people (at least one person). Yes, "No Noise" (a system that eliminates tape hiss but also clips a bit of the high end of recordings)can make a record sound "sterile", flat or "dry". I personally feel it benefits the album here because of all the overdubs done when this was recorded.

The first ELO album (recored at roughly the same time that Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood recorded the last Move album "Message from the Country"), this is a terrific mix of prog rock that pushes the boundaries. From the marvelous opening track "10538 Overture" (originally intended to be a B-side for a Move single)to the Mason Williams influenced "First Movement" by Wood "No Answer" proved that both Wood and Lynne had found a unique sound for their "new" band. The odd "The Battle of Marstop Moor" by Wood is unique, tuneful and challenging. It's answered by Lynne's tuneful accessible but just as unique "Mr. Radio" .

I should warn fans whose first purchase might have been "On the Third Day", "Face the Music" or "A New World Record" that the first ELO album is a bit different; although all the basic pieces were in place the band's sound changed signficantly after Wood's departure (he appeared on the second album as well before leaving to form Wizzard).

In a perfect world the high end of the sound wouldn't be clipped and the tape hiss eliminated or, at the very least, reduced. We don't live in that world quite yet. This reissue sounds exceptional given the technology of yesterday and today. It certainly improves on the previous CD issue with a lot more detail evident in the recordings and better overall clarity.

.

Move morphs into orchestral vision
This, ELO's very first album, is presented in this release with a much richer and cleaner sound, improved graphics, and eye-opening alternate mixes included as bonus tracks. HERE IS THE NEWS

Thanks to Epic/Legacy, we now have the continuation of the long-awaited, much-needed re-mastering of The Electric Light Orchestra's historic, vital catalog.

Thus spake ELO founders Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, and Bev Bevan in 1971: "We want to pick up where the Beatles left off on 'Strawberry Fields' and 'I Am the Walrus. '" Roy was the leader of the amazingly popular band, The Move, while Jeff was the leader of an up-and-coming group called Idle Race. When personnel problems created an opening in The Move, Roy invited Jeff to join he and drummer Bev Bevan. Jeff consented, provided that he and Roy could work on their side "orchestra rock" project. . . an experimental and daring melding of classic rock with classical orchestral instrumentation and arranging.

In 1971, the Electric Light Orchestra was birthed out of The Move with a lumbering single called "10538 Overture," which quickly ascended the charts in England. Little did they know then that this accompanying album, NO ANSWER, would be the herald of one of rock and roll's most enduring success stories.

THE SONGS

"10538" is essentially a Move single, and as such is wonderfully quirky, melodic, and mysterious. . . it's edgy, and punched along by the sound of sawing strings and rumbling guitars. At points, it sounds like a herd of elephants tromping through the jungle, and it even threatens to fall apart rhythmically, before grudgingly swinging back into a cohesive march. It definitely resembles the aforementioned Beatles tunes, and definitely takes them a step further.

"Look At Me Now" is a very nice-yet-urgent Roy Wood ballad, with an interesting arrangement and instrumental curios. Wood's voice can be high, keening, and plaintive, and conveys a tremendous amount of emotion. The accompanying strings and woodwinds are fairly spare and unadorned--this is like a more rustic version of "Eleanor Rigby. "

Up next, "Nellie Takes Her Bow" sounds like Jeff Lynne gone vaudeville, and is very effective, though perhaps overly long. It's a fairly gentle track, suddenly interrupted by a jarring martial instrumental break, which actually might have fit better in the following cut. . .

. . . "The Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644). " This is primarily an instrumental, preceeded by a stirring battle speech. It's very cinematic, albeit rough and tumble. . . but it ain't what some would call "rock and roll. " Do check out Bev Bevan's snazzy, tricky percussion work here--it's brilliant. Overall, this song earns ELO points for trying, but it is not, at the end of the day, extraordinarily listenable.

Wood's "1st Movement" on the other hand, is a wonderful pastiche of guitar and string quartet, not unlike "Classical Gas. " It swings along very nicely for approximately three minutes with a memorable and cohesive melody, sparked by some very fine picking.

Jeff Lynne takes his turn next with the beautiful "Mr. Radio," a sad, nostalgic, evocative tune that highlights Jeff's great talent for pathos, even at an early age. It's perhaps the closest thing to the later ELO sound on this album, as piano and strings blend sweetly together, wrapping Jeff's soulful vocal in a warm cocoon of comfort.

ELO goes instrumental again with "Manhattan Rumble (49th St. Massacre)," a jaunty-yet-ominous Jeff Lynne piano workout that chugs along like some eerie 1930s mob film. I love the little whimsical break in the middle. . . one can picture Edward G. Robinson, cool hats, tommy guns, and dancing girls all hanging out at some swanky Chicago speakeasy.

Picking up with the Beatles sound again, the band gives us "Queen of the Hours," which would have sat comfortably on "The White Album," perhaps. The gentle melody is offset by a jumping, jarring string counterpoint during the choruses and instrumental breaks, which adds a lot of drama before cooling down again during the verses.

One of the best ELO ballads ever is the sweet and stirring "Whisper in the Night," featuring Roy, a guitar, a few strings, and a prayer. It's a nice benediction for this album. Again, Roy's voice is so simple and unadorned--when he launches into a pure falsetto, it's genuinely moving.

BONUS SONGS

The alternate tracks offered here are interesting from a historical viewpoint, although they are not essential to anyone but the hardcore collector. Still, they provide interesting insight as to how these songs evolved and were constructed.

Perhaps the most intriguing tracks for me are "Mr. Radio" and "Nellie Takes Her Bow," simply to see a slightly different vision from what the band ultimately released. With "10538 Overture," we are reminded once more of The Move and their own stirring legacy.

RECOMMENDATION

I would love to start a campaign for Roy, Jeff, and Bev to do more work together. Until then, I'll give this CD and all of my Move stuff some more spins. If you're expecting the polished power pop of A NEW WORLD RECORD or OUT OF THE BLUE, you'll be surprised and maybe disappointed. But, if you approach this CD with an open mind, and a little patience, you'll find it to be ultimately a richly rewarding experience.

You can see a complete list of all Electric Light Orchestra discography, or go back to the Electric Light Orchestra tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.