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Post by Rob 2095 on Oct 7, 2014 1:15:19 GMT
Kazaa... oh the sound of that name brings back both great and terrible memories. The first ELO tracks I downloaded were through Kazaa as well. Had you already heard much of Secret Messages before buying it? Not at all. And it became one of my top 3 favorite ELO albums, strangely enough. Really? I made the mistake of listening to samples of ELO's '80s albums online right after absorbing the heyday material during a listening binge, and wasn't exactly impressed. It initially took me a couple of weeks to warm to Time, several months to warm to Secret Messages and eleven years on, Balance of Power is... Balance of Power . 'A mixed bag.
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Post by BSJ on Oct 7, 2014 17:36:55 GMT
I didn't have any '80's until I join this site. I cannot get into Balance of Power. I tried. After getting burned by Balance I didn't buy Time until I knew I liked it. It did take me awhile, but I wasn't turned off right at the bat like Balance. Secret Messages is next.
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Post by Horacewimp on Oct 7, 2014 18:09:51 GMT
Your in for a treat
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Post by BSJ on Oct 7, 2014 19:15:49 GMT
Your in for a treat Good! Thanks!
I just need to put aside his Hyde Park for awhile!
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Post by unomusette on Oct 7, 2014 20:11:05 GMT
Ohhh yes, Secret Messages. Take the phone off the hook, lock the doors and turn the volume up. For at least a whole weekend.
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Post by BSJ on Oct 7, 2014 20:16:14 GMT
I found it used and am waiting for a time like this.
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Post by Rob 2095 on Oct 8, 2014 0:22:11 GMT
I didn't have any '80's until I join this site. I cannot get into Balance of Power. I tried. After getting burned by Balance I didn't buy Time until I knew I liked it. It did take me awhile, but I wasn't turned off right at the bat like Balance. Secret Messages is next. You might try shuffling tracks around and making your own mix of the album. Balance of Power would have been a great, solid album if certain tracks were left off and others were included, IMO. Here is an improvised "version" of it I quite like: 01. Opening / Heaven Only Knows (alternate version) 02. So Serious 03. Getting to the Point 04. Matter of Fact 05. Send It 06. Secret Lives (alternate take) 07. Sorrow About to Fall (alternate mix) 08. Without Someone 09. Calling America 10. Destination Unknown
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Post by Helmut83 on Oct 8, 2014 2:13:30 GMT
Balance of Power would have been a great, solid album if certain tracks were left off and others were included, IMO. Here is an improvised "version" of it I quite like: 01. Opening / Heaven Only Knows (alternate version) 02. So Serious 03. Getting to the Point 04. Matter of Fact 05. Send It 06. Secret Lives (alternate take) 07. Sorrow About to Fall (alternate mix) 08. Without Someone 09. Calling America 10. Destination Unknown I agree about the alternate version of "Secret lives" being much better than the original. The song I wouldn't have left out of the album, though, is "Is it alright". I don't think it's a masterpiece or anything, but in my opinion it's good enough to be there.
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Post by Rob 2095 on Oct 8, 2014 2:58:48 GMT
I agree about the alternate version of "Secret lives" being much better than the original. The song I wouldn't have left out of the album, though, is "Is it alright". I don't think it's a masterpiece or anything, but in my opinion it's good enough to be there. Yeah, fair enough. What's weird about BOP is there have been times when I really enjoyed listening to the original album, and other times where I could go years without listening to it all the way through. Regardless of what one may think about the production or certain songs on it, there's little question that it contained some of the most personal lyrics written by Lynne, and that fact alone makes it stand out to a certain degree. Maybe it would grow on BSJ if she were to listen to it while in a good mood and or when drinking a cup of coffee... or maybe, even when jumping on a trampoline that's placed right above buried treasure.
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Post by Helmut83 on Oct 8, 2014 3:32:51 GMT
Yeah, fair enough. What's weird about BOP is there have been times when I really enjoyed listening to the original album, and other times where I could go years without listening to it all the way through. Regardless of what one may think about the production or certain songs on it, there's little question that it contained some of the most personal lyrics written by Lynne, and that fact alone makes it stand out to a certain degree. Maybe it would grow on BSJ if she were to listen to it while in a good mood and or when drinking a cup of coffee... or maybe, even when jumping on a trampoline that's placed right above buried treasure. I'd bet that the first time you listened to "Balance of Power" was on headphones while performing that activity you are so keen on: bigwheeling. Maybe you were enjoying it a lot while the big wheels trycicle was still rolling, and those sudden changes of mood resulting in inexplicable unwillingness to listen to it may be due to some whacking you got yourself when going too fast and not being able to control the vehicle. And do you know of any other song on that album besides "Getting to the Poin" in which Jeff talks, directly or indirectly, about some personal issue?
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Post by Rob 2095 on Oct 8, 2014 4:07:43 GMT
I'd bet that the first time you listened to "Balance of Power" was on headphones while performing that activity you are so keen on: bigwheeling. Maybe you were enjoying it a lot while the big wheels trycicle was still rolling, and those sudden changes of mood resulting in inexplicable unwillingness to listen to it may be due to some whacking you got yourself when going too fast and not being able to control the vehicle. Ha! No, no, my friend. I first heard BOP through headphones, yes, but in the comfort of one of my old bedrooms. ... but then again, I was introduced to ELO's Greatest Hits while cruisin'. To make a long story short, one of my shoelaces got tangled on a pedal and I ended up crashing into the bumper of a car that was parking along a sidewalk. The gorgeous brunette milf that quickly and angrily exited the car cursed me out and looked at my like I was a loser. 'What a mean lady she was... cursing and berating a 17 year old like that. And do you know of any other song on that album besides "Getting to the Poin" in which Jeff talks, directly or indirectly, about some personal issue? Not off hand. Maybe I should have said that the album sounds heavy-hearted, and that it's easy to imagine Lynne knowing that it would be the final ELO album while he was recording it. Anyway, do you remember where you were when you first heard it and how you reacted to it? The experience didn't involve flaming arrows, did it?
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Post by Helmut83 on Oct 8, 2014 6:43:54 GMT
Anyway, do you remember where you were when you first heard it and how you reacted to it? The experience didn't involve flaming arrows, did it? Haha... no, not this time. If I recall correctly, I was at home trying on a self-made Tinman costume for a Wizard of Oz enactment. I got stuck inside and there was no one to help me out. Being forced to wait until someone came to rescue me, I tried to figure how to make the most out of that time. With the tip of the funnel on my head I managed to hit the "play" button on a YouTube suggested video which happened to be BOP. As you can imagine, the acoustics inside that bunch of twisted pipes was not exactly optimal, but despite that and the hard conditions in which I was listening to it I quite liked the album (until "Caught in a trap" came to play, which I interpreted as a mockery and went mad with rage). BTW, what is the etymological origin of the word "milf"? Does it come from a Greek term? Roman? Phoenician?
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Post by unomusette on Oct 8, 2014 19:26:49 GMT
And do you know of any other song on that album besides "Getting to the Poin" in which Jeff talks, directly or indirectly, about some personal issue? In between being amazed at the interesting private lives of forum members round here, I've thought of Secret Lives, So Serious and Heaven Only Knows. Isn't Endless Lies on there too? That's another one. Or was it a trick question? And please say you still have that Tin Man costume? Or did you burst it apart when you got free, a bit like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon? Thank you for the mental pictures, even if you don't have any actual ones Legend
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Post by BSJ on Oct 8, 2014 20:30:04 GMT
I didn't have any '80's until I join this site. I cannot get into Balance of Power. I tried. After getting burned by Balance I didn't buy Time until I knew I liked it. It did take me awhile, but I wasn't turned off right at the bat like Balance. Secret Messages is next. You might try shuffling tracks around and making your own mix of the album. Balance of Power would have been a great, solid album if certain tracks were left off and others were included, IMO. Here is an improvised "version" of it I quite like: 01. Opening / Heaven Only Knows (alternate version) 02. So Serious 03. Getting to the Point 04. Matter of Fact 05. Send It 06. Secret Lives (alternate take) 07. Sorrow About to Fall (alternate mix) 08. Without Someone 09. Calling America 10. Destination Unknown Will give it a whirl! Thanks Rob! Good mood? The 'ell's that?
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Post by Helmut83 on Oct 8, 2014 20:51:50 GMT
And please say you still have that Tin Man costume? Or did you burst it apart when you got free, a bit like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon? Thank you for the mental pictures, even if you don't have any actual ones Legend Yes, I still have it. When I first came out of it (thanks to my father needing the funnel for some plumbery work) I thought of completely modifying it so I could get in and out more easily, but after I started to work on that I realized it would be so hard to do that I would have to get another solution. Happily, there was a big bucket of tractor oil in the garage. I discovered that if I totally smeared myself in that oil I could get in and out of it without it being much of a problem (except for a few twisted elbows), so that's what I did. Thanks to that I could play my role in the act, and people in the public were stunned at the fact that the Tin Man was so realistic even some oil was dripping from it's joints. Unluckily, given time (and kilograms) it wouldn't work either with tractor oil . But I still have it.
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