I enjoyed the Led Zeppelin entry in this "On Track..." series of paperbacks (see separate review - Sonicbond Publishing have maybe 50 or so titles under this generic name) - a really good book written by someone who knows the music, the band and their recorded output.
So I was kind of expecting more of the same from Barry Delve's go at ELO and that’s exactly what you get – a genuinely excellent take on the band and where it hurts – the actual music.
Published 26 November 2021 (31 December 2021 in the USA) - this Sonicbond Publishing paperback "On Track... ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Every Album, Every Song" by BARRY DELVE follows the same layout format as all the others - 160-ish A5 pages of text - 16-pages of colour illustrations (album artwork, singles, posters, live shots etc) and song-by-song reviews. You get full Personnel lists, release dates (no catalogue numbers) and chart positions.
Delve has been a lifelong fan of Roy Wood's and Jeff Lynne's multi-headed Rock-orchestral beast since their inception back in the days of The Move and The Idle Race. You know you're in the space of a proper fan when he explains the Brummie scene from whence they came, the debut self-titled album issued in the UK in November 1971 on Harvest Records forever being called "No Answer" in the USA by United Artists because the secretary that called from the States and asked for the LP title got those words as a reply and literally took it verbatim. Hence the American debut has always been "No Answer". Delve isn't delusional about his stringy crave either, rightly deriding the stink bomb that was the "Xanadu" film, but noting that ELO's June 1980 soundtrack LP on Jet Records wasn't a dog musically and duly achieved a No. 2 UK and No. 4 USA chart placing on the Rock LP lists with ease.
In fact as you wade through these typically in-depth ruminations on the songs and their slow growing chart successes - you begin to notice that ELO were so much bigger Stateside than they ever were in the UK - each of their albums consistently released in America as much as two months in advance of the British issues. The first two on Harvest UK established the String vs. Rock template both Wood and Lynne wanted for ELO - "The Electric Light Orchestra" in 1971, "ELO 2" in 1972 and "On The Third Day" followed by "Eldorado – A Symphony By" in 1973 and 1974, both for Warner Brothers.
ELO then went on to a hugely successful run on Jet Records - "Face The Music" (1975) and "A New World Record" (1976) - each release becoming ever more sophisticated and hit-obsessed. The onslaught to win hearts and ears culminated in the 1977 double-album monster "Out Of The Blue" and the equally prolific five-singles "Discovery" album in 1979 – the late Seventies being their zenith. After "Time" in 1981 (went to No. 1 in the UK though few remember it and unfairly so according to the writer), their fortunes waned badly and it is with no small amount of pride that Delve tells us that 2019's "From Out Of Nowhere" credited to Jeff Lynne's ELO went in at No. 1 in the UK – their first decent chart showing in a quite a while and showing they were no longer perceived as just an oldies band.
There are reminiscences and interview quotes - all key players and musicians are listed like Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Michael de Albuquerque, Kim Kaminski, Richard Tandy etc as well as Lynne solo - and each outtake or period straggler song that turned up after the event on CD reissues and remasters are also discussed at the end of each LP review.
Delve's book is thorough, informational and above all feels like a genuinely good appraisal of an often unrated band celebrating their 50th Anniversary in 2021.
"On Track...ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA, Every Album, Every Song" does for E.L.O.'s legacy where it matters - discussing the actual songs and albums.
Priced at £14.99 - I've seen it on sale at just above ten quid. So, if you're a fan, it's a must own and for the music/history curious - a big recommend too...
