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35 years later, this new re-edition finally corrects a terrible injustice. Despite its colossal success at the end of the 1970s, the powerful major distributing ELO in the United States vetoed the double-album project, forcing Jeff Lynne – who had become the band’s uncontested leader −, to change his strategy and tame his ambitions, settling for a reasonably long simple album. Professionals in the business had strong doubts over whether or not this veteran of the 70s could survive the 80s, a decade in which pop music lost all dignity. In other words, he who was one of the few to come close to the Beatles’ excellence and knew how to adapt, with more or less finesse, to the zeitgeist, particularly the disco wave, was in danger of becoming old fashioned… Still, his two previous albums, Discovery (1979) and the ambitious Time (1981) both topped the charts in many countries, as well as his original soundtrack for the disappointing film Xanadu.
Listening to the 17 tracks of this revised and corrected version of Secret Messages, it becomes clear that Lynne’s updating work should have earned him more respect. Retaining its idiosyncratic components that allowed for rock’n’roll influences to harmoniously coexist with pronounced classical influences, ELO broadened their skill set while mastering the latest progress in technology. Tracks that had been scattered over singles, compilations, or the following album (Balance Of Power) have finally been re-integrated, with, as a bonus, a handful of previously unreleased songs that are well worth a listen. Only Beatles Forever is missing, the tribute Lynne still doesn’t deign to officially release, despite achieving his dream by producing the Liverpool band during their Anthology period, after collaborating with two of its members (George Harrison and Ringo Starr). © Jean-Pierre Sabouret/Qobuz
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Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Doug Sax, Mastering Engineer - Marc Mann, Assistant Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Ryan Ulyate, Assistant Engineer - Robert Hadley, Mastering Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Al Quaglieri, Producer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Doug Sax, Mastering Engineer - Marc Mann, Assistant Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Ryan Ulyate, Assistant Engineer - Robert Hadley, Mastering Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Al Quaglieri, Producer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Bass, Synthesizer, Vocal - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass, Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1990 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Doug Sax, Mastering Engineer - Marc Mann, Assistant Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Ryan Ulyate, Assistant Engineer - Robert Hadley, Mastering Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Al Quaglieri, Producer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 2001 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Bass, Synthesizer, Vocal - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass, Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1990 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Doug Sax, Mastering Engineer - Marc Mann, Assistant Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Ryan Ulyate, Assistant Engineer - Robert Hadley, Mastering Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Mik Kaminski, Violin
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Bass, Synthesizer, Vocal - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass, Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1990 Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
Dave Morgan, Background Vocal - Brian Gardner, Mastering Engineer - Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Percussion, Piano, Synthesizer, Background Vocal, Vocal - BILL BOTTRELL, Engineer - Joseph M. Palmaccio, Mastering Engineer - Bev Bevan, Drums, Percussion - Richard Tandy, Piano, Synthesizer, Harmonica - Kelly Groucutt, Bass Guitar, Background Vocal - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Jeff Lynne, Composer, Lyricist, Producer - Electric Light Orchestra, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
(P) 1983 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
35 years later, this new re-edition finally corrects a terrible injustice. Despite its colossal success at the end of the 1970s, the powerful major distributing ELO in the United States vetoed the double-album project, forcing Jeff Lynne – who had become the band’s uncontested leader −, to change his strategy and tame his ambitions, settling for a reasonably long simple album. Professionals in the business had strong doubts over whether or not this veteran of the 70s could survive the 80s, a decade in which pop music lost all dignity. In other words, he who was one of the few to come close to the Beatles’ excellence and knew how to adapt, with more or less finesse, to the zeitgeist, particularly the disco wave, was in danger of becoming old fashioned… Still, his two previous albums, Discovery (1979) and the ambitious Time (1981) both topped the charts in many countries, as well as his original soundtrack for the disappointing film Xanadu.
Listening to the 17 tracks of this revised and corrected version of Secret Messages, it becomes clear that Lynne’s updating work should have earned him more respect. Retaining its idiosyncratic components that allowed for rock’n’roll influences to harmoniously coexist with pronounced classical influences, ELO broadened their skill set while mastering the latest progress in technology. Tracks that had been scattered over singles, compilations, or the following album (Balance Of Power) have finally been re-integrated, with, as a bonus, a handful of previously unreleased songs that are well worth a listen. Only Beatles Forever is missing, the tribute Lynne still doesn’t deign to officially release, despite achieving his dream by producing the Liverpool band during their Anthology period, after collaborating with two of its members (George Harrison and Ringo Starr). © Jean-Pierre Sabouret/Qobuz
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 17 track(s)
- Total length: 01:11:47
- Main artists: Electric Light Orchestra
- Composer: Jeff Lynne
- Label: Epic - Legacy
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
This compilation (P) 2018 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment
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