|
Post by Lucyblue on Jun 18, 2022 21:11:00 GMT
Hi all,
This is part of a bigger question I have later but:
How was this OST viewed by ELO fans at the time?
How was the fact they shared a soundtrack and song with ONJ seen as?
Was it welcomed? Shunned?
What did ELO get out of it?
The songs generally seem accepted to be good so were they wasted on this or is it a happy memory?
How good were they? Rate them.
Was it seen as a progression or regression from Discovery?
Did this lead to a greater or less expectation of "Time"?
Should they have kept the songs for a future ELO album?
Oh and why is "The Fall" unavailable other than on physical copies?
My thanks,
Luce.
|
|
|
Post by Timeblue on Jun 18, 2022 21:59:00 GMT
Hi all, This is part of a bigger question I have later but: How was this OST viewed by ELO fans at the time? How was the fact they shared a soundtrack and song with ONJ seen as? Was it welcomed? Shunned? What did ELO get out of it? The songs generally seem accepted to be good so were they wasted on this or is it a happy memory? How good were they? Rate them. Was it seen as a progression or regression from Discovery? Did this lead to a greater or less expectation of "Time"? Should they have kept the songs for a future ELO album? Oh and why is "The Fall" unavailable other than on physical copies? My thanks, Luce. You ask a lot of questions Luce! here a few answers from myself. At the time (and still to this day) I only play side 2, my copy looks brand new on side 1. As far as I can remember when the film was announced, there was much anticipation in the ELO ranks regarding the movie since Discovery was a global hit,what possibly could go wrong? Because the film tanked,Jeffs confidence took a big hit I feel and that (imo) played a big part in future ELO work. All of ELOs songs on the album to me anyway are good, the best being AOTW,DWA and X.
|
|
|
Post by BSJ on Jun 18, 2022 23:58:07 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Horacewimp on Jun 19, 2022 7:52:41 GMT
Any rock fans I knew thought ELO had sold out with Discovery, even ones that still continued to follow ELO were even more horrified with Xanadu. I was more into pop as well as rock and so although the band were heading in a different direction than ANWR and OOTB I still enjoyed the music.
ONJ had had massive hits in the U.K. with the songs from Grease and so the anticipation of Xanadu was massive, as a ELO fan I expected good thing to come from their involvement but as we know the film flopped however much of the music was well received.
|
|
|
Post by lawrev on Jun 20, 2022 13:57:57 GMT
Hi all, This is part of a bigger question I have later but: How was this OST viewed by ELO fans at the time? How was the fact they shared a soundtrack and song with ONJ seen as? Was it welcomed? Shunned? What did ELO get out of it? The songs generally seem accepted to be good so were they wasted on this or is it a happy memory? How good were they? Rate them. Was it seen as a progression or regression from Discovery? Did this lead to a greater or less expectation of "Time"? Should they have kept the songs for a future ELO album? Oh and why is "The Fall" unavailable other than on physical copies? My thanks, Luce. Up until Discovery ELO was known, first, as a progressive rock band, and then simply a rock band. Then with Discovery they went largely pop and disco (save for Don't Bring Me Down, which was rock but with a disco feel as it was played in the dance clubs in the USA). Then with Xanadu they were pop, with ONJ and Gene Kelly dancing around on roller skates. Needless to say, ELO lost a good portion of its rock base in the USA, which would never come back. I remember interviews from late 1980 early 1981 where Bev would say that the new album Time was going to be heavier and be their Sgt. Peppers. Definitely a reaction to Discovery and Xanadu. Time was a good return, but looking at the attendance figures for the USA Time dates it was clear that Bev was right - ELO lost a good portion of their rock base - coupled with the firing of the string section which made ELO unique in the first place.
By this time, Bev did most of the face to face PR for the band, and the press saying that Jeff was becoming more reclusive.
Jeff wanted to go in a different direction and that led to a decline in the size of the band as well as record sales and the lack of touring in the 1980s. Jeff never liked touring, but even the Big Night Tour, globally, would be considered an average tour today. And ELO Part II played in countries that the original ELO never went to. Jeff could do that today - play Warsaw! But I don't understand why he won't go to new locations.
|
|
|
Post by Spin on Jun 20, 2022 14:14:47 GMT
The ironic thing about Xanadu is the fact that one of it's songs, All Over The World, seems like it's poised to take over Mr. Blue Sky as ELO's signature song.
|
|
|
Post by Lucyblue on Jun 20, 2022 21:07:18 GMT
Thank you all so much.
Some really interesting stuff and pretty much exactly what I needed to know - there is no substitute for what fans thought at the time!
As I said, it's part of a bigger project of mine (not a book lol) but already you've highlighted and answered a few things I was even going to ask in addition.
Thanks again, you guys rock.
Luce.
|
|
|
Post by janne on Jul 28, 2022 6:34:08 GMT
As I remember it, Xanadu was not seen as a "real" ELO album. More like something to hold everybody over, until the next real album.
Since it was a shared affair with ONJ, the fans cut Jeff some slack and didn't expect too much from the new tunes. I remember thinking they were okay, but not more. I liked I'm Alive, the rest of the songs I didn't really care for.
There was nothing wrong with ONJ, but back in the day (I was 13 at the time), I wasn't that interested in her music. I have come to appreciate it more over the years.
|
|
|
Post by janne on Jul 28, 2022 6:37:16 GMT
The ironic thing about Xanadu is the fact that one of it's songs, All Over The World, seems like it's poised to take over Mr. Blue Sky as ELO's signature song. I don't think that's true. Mr. Blue Sky, as number one, has 698 million plays on Spotify. ELO's number two is Don't Bring Me Down, with 205 million plays. All Over The World is not even in the top ten.
|
|
|
Post by Timeblue on Jul 28, 2022 12:17:18 GMT
I'd hate it if AOTW became overplayed as is the case with MBS, it grates on me to hear a dj on commercial radio state that 'coming up is ELO...' and 9 times out of 10 its you know what....
|
|
|
Post by lawrev on Jul 31, 2022 21:44:25 GMT
Xanadu continued ELO's slide into pop. The Time album was meant to rectify ELO's slide into disco and pop, which I believe they succeeded in doing, but they lost much of their audience in America. Most dates on ELO's American leg of the Time Tour were 50 - 66% full and Time went gold in the U.S. (and never has gone platinum in the 40 years since).
ONJ had a massive hit in the U.S. with Physical in 1982 but she was always more of a pop entity than ELO.
|
|