Electric Light Orchestra were one of THE bands of the 1970s. Formed by Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne from the ashes of The Move, they fused the sounds of the rock band with elements of the classics. Things did not go according to plan, at least in Wood’s mind and after two albums he went his own way (with Wizard and others). This left Lynne to explore and develop this orchestral rock fusion to its peak.

At the time of this album ELO were in their fully established line up of Jeff Lynne (Lead guitar and vocals), Kelly Groucutt (Bass and vocals), Richard Tandy (Keyboards), Bev Bevan (Drums), Mik Kaminski (violin), Hugh McDowell (cello), Melvyn Gale (cello). I had the great fortune of seeing them at Newcastle City Hall during their UK tour in the late 1970s.

This review is primarily of the CD release although I did own the album originally on vinyl. It is also of interest that ELO made videos to accompany every track of the album. These have been now collected together and released as a bonus on the ‘Out Of The Blue – Live at Wembley’ DVD.

(I originally purchased a Region 1 version of that DVD but it is now available in this country. If I can pursuade the Powers-that-be to include it I will produce a review in due course.)

The album is perhaps a little more ‘main stream’ than some of the earlier offerings. It is also perhaps shaded out from my all time favourite spot by ‘Eldorado’ – but only just. I don't include 'Zoom' in this reckoning but I will publish a review of Jeff Lynne's recent album soon to explain why.

However 'Discovery' demonstrates the full range of the ELO sound, the combination of rock instruments with strings, the frankly upbeat rocker and the more gentle ballad, the vocal range and harmonies. ‘Discovery’ has some great songs with good lyrics, beautiful melodies and superb arrangements. All compositions were by Jeff Lynne.

The songs are (with my own rating out of five):

Shine A Little Love ****

Quiet, ethereal tinkling sounds usher in the driving upbeat of this opening number. There are good examples of Lynne and Groucutt in vocal harmony together. The lush strings and pounding bass and cellos are also in evidence.

On the DVD the band are arranged across a barren landscape. It’s interesting to be reminded of the late 70s hair and dress styles. Evident are also the white cellos and blue violin.

Confusion *****

A glorious romantic melancholic ballad with a great tune. There are full orchestral sounds in the choruses and gentle pizzicato strings accompanying in the verses. Beautiful – one of my favourite songs of ELO.

Need Her Love *****

Again a very quiet opening with electronic sounds, keyboard and muted guitar builds up with gentle strings to a gentle romantic ballad.

The video superimposes pop art imagery and the ELO space ship symbol over the group’s performance.

The Diary Of Horace Wimp **

The introduction suggests Sparky’s magic piano meets Mantovani. Otherwise it is a jaunty enough upbeat number with little distinguishing features. This is not my favourite track on this album – although a great many people disagreed with me and made it a hit single.

The accompanying cartoon animations are diverting.

Last Train To London ***

A good railway rhythm from the bass and drums pervades the backing of this track. Good swirling strings too.

(Video) The song is performed on a stage with dry ice swirling about their feet.

Midnight Blue *****

Another slower romantic ballad that starts quietly. There is a yearningly loving feel to the choruses. ‘I will love you tonight. I will stay beside your side. Loving you, I’m feeling midnight blue!’

On The Run ****

A busy drum and keyboard riff accompany this upbeat rocker. There are hints of ‘Eldorado’ in the orchestral ending.

Wishing ****

This is a further slower and wistful ballad. The ELO sound is particularly strong in the arrangement of this track.

(Rainbows and more dry ice accompany the video)

Don’t Bring Me Down *****

A great all round track to bring the album to a close. There is a driving rock rhythm from the bass and drums. There are thundering rumblings from the cellos; hand claps and raging strings. The voices span the whole spectrum. Fantastic – play it loud; play it again.

The sound quality is great on both formats. The video imagery is perfect. The introductory sequence and ‘Confusion’ take forward the motif of the album cover into a video production. Ali Baba climbs out of the stone jar to claim the ELO jewel. It would be worth buying the DVD just for this production (although with the concert it has a playing time of 101 minutes).

If you missed them the first time around and haven’t heard of ELO before, ‘Discovery’ is a great introduction. If you are already a fan, then the DVD is a ‘must have’ addition to your collection. It’s a pity other video producers do not take full advantage of the capacity of this medium in similar fashion.

You should be able to find copies of the DVD at Amazon or CD-NOW.

DISCOVERY Jet 1979

POSTSCRIPT:

In response to a query from Okkaraoke (Who is Bruce in the song "Don't bring me down") I did a little research on the internet. The word as printed in the CD insert is 'grroosss'. I found the following explanation on the Asian Electric Light Orchestra web site (http://admiralty.pacific.net.hk/~bluesky/best/elo_306e.htm#3)

“This question pops up from time to time and many discussions have taken place on the mailing list. Some say it’s another word for a greeting in German or Danish. Then we have our friends in Australia who say Jeff sings ‘Bruce’ not 'Groosss'. Kelly Groucutt once answered it was a fun word without any meaning, however it is confirmed by Jeff Lynne in the Flashback notes (Discovery) "No kids, Lynne’s not singing 'Bruce' in the backing vocals for the album’s inspired rocker 'Don’t Bring Me Down'".”No, it’s ‘groos’ – just a word I made up in the studio to fill up this hole. Everybody loved it so I left it in. Mack – our engineer at Musicland – said ‘How’d you know that?’. He told me that ‘groos’ sounds just like the German word for ‘Greetings’. But everyone heard it a ‘Bruce’, and at all the shows I ended up singing it that way too"."