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Post by Timeblue on Jan 30, 2017 11:36:58 GMT
Richard playing guitar on the 'Rock n Roll is King' video....why?
Two completely different videos for 'Shine A Little Love'....again,why? There wasn't alternate videos for the other Discovery songs.
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Post by ShardEnder on Jan 30, 2017 23:45:00 GMT
Richard played guitar with The Move and even on a few ELO tracks, but I do feel it would have made a lot more sense for someone to be miming a piano part for Rock 'N' Roll Is King. By the way, have you ever noticed that the band members are standing in the middle of a pentagram in the video for this song? Clearly the same people who complained about the warning sticker on the back of Secret Messages didn't notice this more subtle nod to prior accusations that ELO had Satanic leanings!
As for why there were two promo clips for Shine A Little Love, the first was shot in Musicland Studios as a preview of sorts because Discovery looked as if it might be delayed, and the other was filmed later as part of the corresponding "video album" once Jeff announced there wouldn't be a tour in 1979, since he'd already committed to providing half the soundtrack for Xanadu, which meant ELO missing out on the chance to headline the Knebworth festival that year, giving Bev time to compile his journals into a book.
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Post by Timeblue on Jan 31, 2017 10:16:14 GMT
I knew that Richard played guitar,namely the bass but like you say it would have been better for him to mime keyboards.I'll check out the vid again for the pentagram.
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Post by eloneen on Mar 28, 2017 2:36:14 GMT
Richard played guitar with The Move and even on a few ELO tracks, but I do feel it would have made a lot more sense for someone to be miming a piano part for Rock 'N' Roll Is King. By the way, have you ever noticed that the band members are standing in the middle of a pentagram in the video for this song? Clearly the same people who complained about the warning sticker on the back of Secret Messages didn't notice this more subtle nod to prior accusations that ELO had Satanic leanings! As for why there were two promo clips for Shine A Little Love, the first was shot in Musicland Studios as a preview of sorts because Discovery looked as if it might be delayed, and the other was filmed later as part of the corresponding "video album" once Jeff announced there wouldn't be a tour in 1979, since he'd already committed to providing half the soundtrack for Xanadu, which meant ELO missing out on the chance to headline the Knebworth festival that year, giving Bev time to compile his journals into a book. After reading what you wrote about the "Rock n Roll is King" video, I watched it again and saw a star with six points. Take a look again and see what you think. I'm always very impressed with your extensive ELO knowledge, by the way! I'm looking forward to the publication of your book.
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Post by ash2 on Mar 28, 2017 5:46:56 GMT
Jeff stating in the song Loser Gone Wild that he has had enough of the ELO concept.
"I don't mind if violin's don't play I don't listen to them anyway I don't care what people say (Loser gone wild) Somethings just can't be arranged"
Secret Messages was supposed to be the last ELO album.
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Post by ShardEnder on Mar 28, 2017 15:38:29 GMT
That one verse of Loser Gone Wild is definitely reflective of Jeff's feelings about continuing to add strings onto ELO tracks, while Hello My Old Friend definitely plays into the idea of its parent album (nearly) being the group's final statement, both professionally and personally. Speaking of Secret Messages as a whole, I once considered Jeff's brief remark about Letter From Spain in the 2001 remastered edition's liner notes a mere throwaway comment, but maybe this song was originally called Letter From France... His second wife moved into a property on the outskirts of Paris not long before this period, and it's likely Is It Alright from Balance Of Power was another similar "letter" to Sandi.
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Post by ShardEnder on Mar 28, 2017 16:04:39 GMT
After reading what you wrote about the "Rock n Roll is King" video, I watched it again and saw a star with six points. Take a look again and see what you think. I based my earlier comment about the pentagram on something once written by Rob Caiger, though I've since done a lot more research on this subject (yes, even the most trivial of details is something I'll be meticulously checking for my project)... According to one of the designers who helped create the artwork for Secret Messages prior to the entire album's visual identity being overhauled after the Rock 'N' Roll Is King video was already filmed, there were several intentional hidden elements that the marketing department at CBS weren't entirely comfortable approving. Of these, the band performing inside a six-pointed star - which the powers that be apparently didn't notice! - supposedly connected directly with the original double LP handshake cover to mock a specific controversial and possibly Masonic figure behind the scenes, but I'm not at liberty to discuss such a matter any further until my publishers have checked this with their legal team. Similarly, the image of the Trifid Nebula seen in the Secret Messages video was originally going to be the background of the inner gatefold, plus the antennae seem to feature Morse code that remains encrypted. Another remaining mystery is why the eventual sleeve art was heavily inspired by Hello My Old Friend, a song that didn't even make the final running order, and whether its own lyrics containing a nod to the abandoned concept is proof that In For The Kill either dated from the Wisseloord sessions or was penned later but meant as a reference to CBS executives shooting down what should have been Jeff's last project as ELO's leader.
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