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Post by ShardEnder on Apr 8, 2016 11:39:12 GMT
I just can't believe Julie and When Time Stood Still didn't make the album. They fit the story so much better than Hold On Tight and News and are much better songs. If things had been a bit different it could have been close to my all time fav album. Well hopefully when the much rumoured re-re-re-releases finally see the day Time will be issued with the extra tracks slotted into their correct places on the album. I doubt the classic albums will be reconfigured - any bonus material is more likely to appear on a separate disc (unless we're only getting a handful of extras again, which I'm really hoping isn't the case). On the other hand, Secret Messages is crying out to be restored to its originally intended 18-track format, with my understanding being that the scrapped 30th annniversary Legacy Deluxe Edition was to include exactly this as its first CD, with a second to have featured the single LP variation, any unique b-sides, such as the longer After All, and further outtakes probably consisting of alternate mixes.
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Time
Apr 8, 2016 15:54:03 GMT
Post by nickheynes on Apr 8, 2016 15:54:03 GMT
Well hopefully when the much rumoured re-re-re-releases finally see the day Time will be issued with the extra tracks slotted into their correct places on the album. I doubt the classic albums will be reconfigured - any bonus material is more likely to appear on a separate disc (unless we're only getting a handful of extras again, which I'm really hoping isn't the case). On the other hand, Secret Messages is crying out to be restored to its originally intended 18-track format, with my understanding being that the scrapped 30th annniversary Legacy Deluxe Edition was to include exactly this as its first CD, with a second to have featured the single LP variation, any unique b-sides, such as the longer After All, and further outtakes probably consisting of alternate mixes. I don't mind outtakes, alternate mixes etc being on a different disc but I don't see the point of not putting fully completed tracks in the order in which they should have appeared on the album originally. Especially where Time is considered as there is a narrative to the album.
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Post by ShardEnder on Apr 9, 2016 16:16:43 GMT
For better or worse, Jeff changed the running order of Time late into the making of this album, recording Hold On Tight and Another Heart Breaks in Los Angeles without the rest of the band (except for Richard on the latter) after an initial test acetate pressed there proved unsatisfactory. I've been reliably informed that this disc was virtually identical to the sequencing we all know and love, the first side ending with When Time Stood Still, dropped because its sparse, cymbal-heavy production was supposedly ruined by a combination of sibilance and inner groove distortion. Rather than delay the project significantly, Jeff chose not to reshuffle the entire LP, simply switching out When Time Stood Still with its instrumental replacement, produced in such a way that it didn't matter if this was affected by quality issues as much. Curiously, despite fitting into the plot around the mid-point, Julie Don't Live Here wasn't ever intended for Time from what I can tell, only being completed because Jeff had been advised - possibly by Craig Fruin, who was then ELO's road manager and later promoted to represent Jeff personally - to give fans more incentive to collect all of his group's singles. Although originally placed where Hold On Tight eventually went, Jeff later claimed that The Bouncer was another song never meant to have been part of the Time concept, yet it's clear this was the album's original "silly ending," substituted by the more direct yet equally as uplifting Hold On Tight, followed by the brief Epilogue with its abrupt conclusion.
One thing I've never been able to understand is whether The Bouncer really was finished in 1981, as there have been rumours of an early instrumental version called simply Bouncer that was eventually reworked for the track's inclusion on the 12" Four Little Diamonds single two years later. Rob Caiger insists that only the b-side mix exists in the vaults, with all three released variations of this song being from the same source, so I'm inclined to believe there was never an instrumental mix. Saying that, if ELO were being encouraged to issue more exclusive material on their singles, why did The Bouncer remain in the vault when they put out The Way Life's Meant To Be as a final single from Time? The only plausible explanation I can think of is that Jet were responsible for this last sampler, perhaps to help shift the LP, since it's known sales were relatively poor compared to Out Of The Blue, Discovery and even Xanadu. Also, since the band had just committed to a European leg of their Time Tour, it's possible this single was released to coincide with their activities. Due to Jeff being busy elsewhere, he might not have been available to choose b-sides or even approve the sleeve design, which is Wishing was recycled from Discovery along with cover art from a previous picture disc for the Ticket To The Moon/Here Is The News double a-side, never mind being available long enough to appear in a promotional video for the song. Then again, there wasn't a clip made for Rain Is Falling, either, and that was backed with Another Heart Breaks.
On the subject of the Time era material left off the final album, I always found it odd that Jeff felt the need to drop When Time Stood Still, which is almost a companion piece to The Way Life's Meant To Be. On the other hand, maybe another reason he chose to remove this song was due to it directly following one that shares many lyrical references, including the mention of ivory towers and plastic flowers? Rather than repeating themes, I like to think Jeff kept bringing up this specific imagery because the character he was singing as felt trapped in a very monotonous world of 2095 compared to that left behind in 1981. Continuing on from the idea of him being stunned by how much the once-familiar landscape of his hometown had changed, you could argue that Jeff was still in this mode when he wrote Julie Don't Live Here, with similar themes later repeated in much of the Secret Messages era material, Stranger and Hello My Old Friend being the two most notable examples, plus Alright and A Long Time Gone from Zoom, even. As if we didn't need reminding that Jeff felt nostalgic for the Birmingham he once moved away from, he goes even further on the sleeve of Long Wave by having himself digitally inserted into an old picture. For someone who once said that he doesn't give much effort to his words, it's remarkable just how much a fan can get from Jeff's lyrics! I genuinely could discuss this side of his work all day if it wasn't for a certain book needing to be finished...
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Post by Timeblue on Apr 9, 2016 18:25:02 GMT
Although Time is my fave album (see pic left...) and side 2 is pretty near perfect,my fave side to any album has to be side 1 of Eldorado just for Louis' s brilliant orchestrations.
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Time
Apr 9, 2016 21:39:37 GMT
Post by Timeblue on Apr 9, 2016 21:39:37 GMT
If the songs on side two of Time were on side on but started after Twilight then side one of Time with the side two songs (you keeping up here?) would possibly be the best.....
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Time
Apr 9, 2016 22:44:56 GMT
Post by BSJ on Apr 9, 2016 22:44:56 GMT
If I am understanding correctly.
Your side one: Twilight Rain Is Falling From the End of the World The Lights Go Down Here Is the News 21st Century Man Hold On Tight Epilogue
No "Ticket To The Moon" a major theme song?
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Time
Apr 9, 2016 23:08:49 GMT
Post by Timeblue on Apr 9, 2016 23:08:49 GMT
I'm sure we could squeeze it in somewhere....
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Time
Apr 9, 2016 23:15:01 GMT
Post by BSJ on Apr 9, 2016 23:15:01 GMT
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Time
Apr 11, 2016 19:32:55 GMT
BSJ likes this
Post by Timeblue on Apr 11, 2016 19:32:55 GMT
I'm sure we could squeeze it in somewhere.... ....in fact,how about just after ' Twilight'? and also while we're at it,'The way life's....' squeezed in just after 'Here is the news'.... Oh yes,the ULTIMATE side one of any ELO album.(in fact I might make that side one myself...)
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