Time (Remastered) Electric Light Orchestra

• 1Prologue01:16
• 2Twilight03:42
• 3Yours Truly, 209503:11
• 4Ticket to the Moon04:07
• 5The Way Life's Meant to Be04:38
• 6Another Heart Breaks03:49
• 7Rain Is Falling03:55
• 8From the End of the World03:17
• 9The Lights Go Down03:33
• 10Here Is the News03:50
• 1121st Century Man04:03
• 12Hold on Tight03:06
• 13Epilogue01:31
• Total Runtime43:58

Info for Time (Remastered)

The Electric Light Orchestra was in a precarious position by 1981. Not only was Jeff Lynne's brand of immaculately produced Beatlesque pop out of critical fashion in those new-wave days, there was a new brand of video-friendly bubblegum on the rise that made such classic radio hits as 'Sweet Talkin' Woman' sound passT. The band's heavily hyped participation in the box-office flop Xanadu, including the title duet with star Olivia Newton-John, hadn't helped.

Typically, though, 1981's „Time“ finds Lynne and company ignoring trends and simply doing what they do best: pristine, endlessly-multitracked, ultra-melodic pop. There's a theme of sorts running through the record, a meditation on sci-fi apocalypse that runs through songs like 'Yours Truly, 2095' and 'From the End of the World.' The concept is easy enough to ignore, as the real focus, as always, is on Lynne's immense melodic and production skills. „Time“ is an underrated gem.

„Time takes its cues more from such bands as the Alan Parsons Project and Wings than from Jeff Lynne's fascination with Pepper-era Beatles. Sure, all the electronic whirrs and bleeps are present and accounted for, and Time did spawn hit singles in 'Hold on Tight' and 'Twilight,' but on the average, ELO had begun to get too stuck on the same structure and content of their releases. 'The Way Life's Meant to Be' echoes very early ELO hits like 'Can't Get It Out of My Head,' and the 'Prologue' and 'Epilogue' segments try and bring about a unifying concept that doesn't quite hold up upon listening all the way through. Time proves to be competent ELO but not great ELO.“ (James Chrispell, AMG)

Jeff Lynne, lead and backing vocals, guitars, piano, synthesizers, vocoder
Bev Bevan, drums, percussion
Richard Tandy, acoustic and electric pianos, synthesizers, vocoder, guitars
Kelly Groucutt, bass, backing vocals

Recorded Early 1981 at Musicland Studios Munich, Germany
Produced by Jeff Lynne

Digitally remastered

The Electric Light Orchestra
The Electric Light Orchestra's ambitious yet irresistible fusion of Beatlesque pop, classical arrangements, and futuristic iconography rocketed the group to massive commercial success throughout the 1970s. ELO was formed in Birmingham, England in the autumn of 1970 from the ashes of the eccentric art-pop combo the Move, reuniting frontman Roy Wood with guitarist/composer Jeff Lynne, bassist Rick Price, and drummer Bev Bevan. Announcing their intentions to 'pick up where 'I Am the Walrus' left off,' the quartet sought to embellish their engagingly melodic rock with classical flourishes, tapping French horn player Bill Hunt and violinist Steve Woolam to record their self-titled debut LP (issued as No Answer in the U.S.). In the months between the sessions for the album and its eventual release, the Move embarked on their farewell tour, with Woolam exiting the ELO lineup prior to the enlistment of violinist Wilf Gibson, bassist Richard Tandy, and cellists Andy Craig and Hugh McDowell; despite the lengthy delay, Electric Light Orchestra sold strongly, buoyed by the success of the U.K. Top Ten hit '10538 Overture.'

However, Wood soon left ELO to form Wizzard, taking Hunt and McDowell with him; Price and Craig were soon out as well, and with the additions of bassist Michael D'Albuquerque, keyboardist Richard Tandy, and cellists Mike Edwards and Colin Walker, Lynne assumed vocal duties, with his Lennonesque tenor proving the ideal complement to his increasingly sophisticated melodies. With 1973's ELO II, the group returned to the Top Ten with their grandiose cover of the Chuck Berry chestnut 'Roll Over Beethoven'; the record was also their first American hit, with 1974's Eldorado yielding their first U.S. Top Ten, the lovely 'Can't Get It Out of My Head.' Despite Electric Light Orchestra's commercial success, the band remained relatively faceless; the lineup changed constantly, with sole mainstays Lynne and Bevan preferring to let their elaborate stage shows and omnipresent spaceship imagery instead serve as the group's public persona. 1975's Face the Music went gold, generating the hits 'Evil Woman' and 'Strange Magic,' while the follow-up, A New World Record, sold five million copies internationally thanks to standouts like 'Telephone Line' and 'Livin' Thing.'

The platinum-selling double-LP, Out of the Blue, appeared in 1977, although the record's success was tempered somewhat by a lawsuit filed by Electric Light Orchestra against their former distributor, United Artists, whom the band charged flooded the market with defective copies of the album. Columbia distributed the remainder of the group's output, issued through their own Jet Records imprint, beginning with 1979's Discovery, which notched the Top Ten entries 'Shine a Little Love' and 'Don't Bring Me Down.' In the wake of ELO's best-selling Greatest Hits compilation, Lynne wrote several songs for the soundtrack of the Olivia Newton-John film Xanadu, including the hit title track. The next proper Electric Light Orchestra album, 1981's Time, generated their final Top Ten hit, 'Hold on Tight.' Following 1983's Secret Messages, Bevan left the group to join Black Sabbath, although he returned to the fold for 1986's Balance of Power, which despite the presence of the Top 20 hit 'Calling America' received little interest from fans and media alike.

However, as Electric Light Orchestra's career descended, Lynne emerged as a sought-after producer, helming well-received comebacks from George Harrison (1987's Cloud Nine) and Roy Orbison (1989's Mystery Girl) and additionally re-teaming with both rock legends as well as Bob Dylan and Tom Petty in the hit supergroup the Traveling Wilburys. Lynne made his solo debut in 1990 with Armchair Theatre but otherwise spent the decade out of the limelight, instead producing material for Joe Cocker, Tom Jones, and Paul McCartney in addition to working on the Beatles' Anthology project. In 1988, meanwhile, Bevan formed Electric Light Orchestra Part II with vocalist Neil Lockwood, keyboardist Eric Troyer, and bassist Pete Haycock; although Lynne filed suit against the group (hence the 'Part II' tag), a self-titled LP followed in 1991, with a live collection recorded with the Moscow Symphony Orchestra appearing a year later. Outside of 1994's Moment of Truth, subsequent ELO II releases have been live efforts as well. (Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide)

This album contains no booklet.