|
Post by tremblinwilbury on Nov 20, 2017 10:03:30 GMT
I was thinking this week that I really didn't like "Without Someone" for a good while after hearing it for the first time. I still don't like the little synth intro, but I've grown to like the song quite a bit over the last few months. Dark and brooding, sad... I like sad songs! Was Balance Of Power a whimper, or a grand finale?
Serious! It might not have had the elaborate Louis Clark strings, but it had a story. Well, I hear a story running through it. The theme - the guy realising that his 'relationship' is coming to an end. Read into that the band, if you will. Follow the progression of the songs through to Send It, and I hope you'll see what I mean. I think it's very clever - and a genuine 'concept album'. I love the album cover too.
Of late, BOP has been the album I've listened to most. Strangely enough, though, it's just been pushed aside by the 'Bust' CDs. They're rather good!
This isn't the subject of this thread, though...
|
|
|
Post by Timeblue on Nov 20, 2017 10:17:15 GMT
Tying in with BOP and this thread nicely,another song I hated at the time was 'Endless Lies' with Jeff doing his mock Roy Orbison voice. The song just didn't seem to fit together in my mind but over the years I've grown to like it and appreciate it for what it is....(still hate 'Send It' though)
|
|
|
Post by eloneen on Nov 20, 2017 11:57:27 GMT
I agree that BOP has a story, or at least a theme. Hubby and I were listening to it in the car on the way back from our recent trip, and he found it a bit self-indulgent for JL to deal with his personal issues so openly over a full album, and wondered about putting "the rest of the band" through that (rest of what band at this point?). Hubby said JL should have just found a good therapist! I found some of his soul-purging songs to have some of the best, most honest, most coherent lyrics, but I don't feel the same way about the music on the album- it's hit or miss for me.
I like "Send It," but I can see how its synth-infused rockabilly sound could be annoying. "Endless Lies" still feels a bit over the top when he goes for the RO sound, but I like the rest of it. I prefer the version that was left off of Secret Messages, though.
|
|
|
Post by eloneen on Nov 20, 2017 12:10:09 GMT
I'm OK with it until they start singing about Dixie . I know it's supposed to be tongue in cheek, but that is really visceral for me as a black person. Down Home Town... Yes, eloneen, I can see why it disturbs you - and with good reason. There is no place for racial segregation. But, let's bear in mind, that Jeff is a VERY good song WRITER. He's great with the choons (obviously!), andI'm sure we all know the words to every song. Most of them have a meaning - and a purpose for being written. I see the song as an independent commentary on 'America' as he found it in the seventies. Bono did more or less the same thing in the eighties with The Joshua Tree. Personally, I see the song as a practice session for Wild West Hero (one of my favourite performances from 'Bust'). DHT is one song I happily skip. There are others... more anon... I get it. It's the "Dixie" part that bothers me... Believe me, I could share some stories about America in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and up to today!!!
|
|
|
Post by Timeblue on Nov 20, 2017 12:46:56 GMT
I agree that BOP has a story, or at least a theme. Hubby and I were listening to it in the car on the way back from our recent trip, and he found it a bit self-indulgent for JL to deal with his personal issues so openly over a full album, and wondered about putting "the rest of the band" through that (rest of what band at this point?). Hubby said JL should have just found a good therapist! I found some of his soul-purging songs to have some of the best, most honest, most coherent lyrics, but I don't feel the same way about the music on the album- it's hit or miss for me. I like "Send It," but I can see how its synth-infused rockabilly sound could be annoying. "Endless Lies" still feels a bit over the top when he goes for the RO sound, but I like the rest of it. I prefer the version that was left off of Secret Messages, though. Endless Lies is so over the top it's difficult to see where it comes down! and at first that's why I didn't like it,but over time and reading about Jeff's love for Roy, it seems to work fine.
|
|
|
Post by tremblinwilbury on Nov 20, 2017 14:38:35 GMT
Another tuppence-worth from me...
We all know that Endless Lies didn't make it onto Secret Messages. Again, keeping in mind my theory of a story running through BOP, he needed a song to follow Calling America - when he finally realises that his 'love' isn't coming back. In a way, he feels betrayed, especially as the little madam 'left her number for him'...
Rather than writing something new, out came Endless Lies from the bottom drawer - with a tweak here and there. The sentiment makes it belong more on BOP than SM. I think.
Yes, it's big and bombastic - but couldn't you say that about all ELO stuff?
|
|
|
Post by queenofthehours on Nov 20, 2017 16:13:21 GMT
Nothing new has grown on me recently but when I first heard Time I didn't love it and now it's a favourite. BOP grows with every listen but my best "grower" was Eldorado. It took until I got a yellow vinyl for me to appreciate how good the second half was. On CD I'm still not into those songs but on vinyl it's a different story. Maybe it's the authentic vinyl vibes or the fact that those songs are all neatly packaged on one side rather than slapped alongside side A on the CD?
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2017 21:09:33 GMT
Across The Border never did much for me back then, but now I hum it incessantly.
|
|
denver
Junior Member
Posts: 27
|
Post by denver on Nov 20, 2017 21:45:58 GMT
I don't know if it requires another thread or not, but contrarily, I loved Four Little Diamonds when it was first released, but now I don't know what I ever saw in that song.
|
|
|
Post by eloneen on Nov 20, 2017 23:39:17 GMT
denver You used to think it was the greatest thing...
|
|
|
Post by Timeblue on Nov 20, 2017 23:47:08 GMT
I don't know if it requires another thread or not, but contrarily, I loved Four Little Diamonds when it was first released, but now I don't know what I ever saw in that song. Theres just no answer to give...
|
|
|
Post by Helmut83 on Nov 21, 2017 4:11:44 GMT
Good question. The main I can think of is "One Summer Dream". I went months without paying much attention to it, then gradually I went realizing it has quite some hidden magic inside it and today I consider it a masterpiece. The outro might be a bit too long but the verses are brilliant. That fast chords change when the melody goes descending ("hearts-of-those-who-feel") really gets me.
Another one: "The way life's meant to be". At first listen, it was just OK, 6/10 points. Now it's 10**/10. And "Laredo Tornado" also took me a good while to get.
|
|
|
Post by Helmut83 on Nov 21, 2017 4:20:43 GMT
We all know that Endless Lies didn't make it onto Secret Messages. Again, keeping in mind my theory of a story running through BOP, he needed a song to follow Calling America - when he finally realises that his 'love' isn't coming back. In a way, he feels betrayed, especially as the little madam 'left her number for him'... Rather than writing something new, out came Endless Lies from the bottom drawer - with a tweak here and there. The sentiment makes it belong more on BOP than SM. I think. My humble opinion is you might be ellaborating too much with this. I mean, Bev Bevan himself said that people analyzed Jeff Lynne's lyrics too much when all Jeff cared about when writing them was getting something which rhymed and which had the required amount of syllables. So if not all lyrics by Jeff have a true meaning, supposing the positioning of the songs in an album was decided by the search for a joint meaning, as if it were a concept album, seems like a very long shot to me.
|
|
|
Post by tremblinwilbury on Nov 21, 2017 8:30:16 GMT
You know, you're probably right Helmut. I'm happy with what I get from it. We each like different things for different reasons. It's what makes life exciting
|
|
|
Post by Timeblue on Nov 21, 2017 9:26:58 GMT
Good question. The main I can think of is "One Summer Dream". I went months without paying much attention to it, then gradually I went realizing it has quite some hidden magic inside it and today I consider it a masterpiece. The outro might be a bit too long but the verses are brilliant. That fast chords change when the melody goes descending ("hearts-of-those-who-feel") really gets me. Another one: "The way life's meant to be". At first listen, it was just OK, 6/10 points. Now it's 10**/10. And "Laredo Tornado" also took me a good while to get. Nice to see that you are learning Helmut............
|
|