1979 proved a bittersweet year for a host of rock titans.
In August of that year Led Zeppelin were roundly scoffed at by the critics for their strangely hesitant ‘In Through the Out Door‘ set, this while it climbed effortlessly to number one around the world – just as the following month new releases from The Kinks (‘Low Budget‘) and the Eagles (‘The Long Run‘) both returned massive sales figures in the midst of receiving any number of critical brickbats.
This final year of the decade trend for whacking old war horses of 60s & 70s rock had in fact begun back in the summer (the music press perplexed rather than poisonous in regard to Dylan’s ‘Slow Train Coming‘), when the Electric Light Orchestra received a pasting for ‘DISCOVERY‘ (June 1979).
The eighth studio album from an ensemble who year-on-year since 1971 had carved themselves a niche for sophisticated, string-laden, not to say infectious pop, suddenly found themselves the subject of several scathing reviews. Not that the negative response had the slightest effect on chart success as ‘Discovery‘ was to become the epitome of a global hit.
At their core ELO were a vehicle for the songwriting/lead vocal/production talents of Birmingham (UK) born Jeff Lynne, whose increasingly Beatles-honed compositions, decorated with gusto by the trio of string players within the seven-piece unit, reached its highest peak yet with the 1977 double set ‘Out of the Blue‘.
For some four sides of Lynne’s luscious if lyrically lightweight material was over-egging the pudding, but in my final year of senior school, even lyric nerds such as myself into Bowie, The Who and Steely Dan were well aware our ELO-devoted classmates were totally smitten by the new release. That said, highlights such as ‘Mr. Blue Sky‘ and ‘Turn to Stone‘ were nigh-on impossible to dislike.
Greeted with positive notices and attaining widespread lofty chart positions, the success of ‘Out of the Blue‘ had the effect of elevating the Electric Light Orchestra to a point where few could match them either as a concert draw or in terms of record sales.
Yet when they emerged from a two year recording hiatus the troupe had been reduced from seven to four – ‘Discovery‘ the work of a quartet comprising of Lynne (guitars, keyboards, lead vocals), Bev Bevan (drums), Richard Tandy (keyboards) and Kelly Groucutt (bass), the string section of Melvyn Gale, Mik Kiminski and Hugh McDowell having departed in the interim.
Which is not to say the orchestral sweep, so long a feature of their songs, had been dispensed with. To varying degrees strings, often through the use of synthesizer, are evident through most of the nine tracks, all of which, once again are credited solely to Lynne. Indeed, the music, in many instances, reflected the current popularity of dance music – which moved keyboardist Tandy to rechristen the album ‘Disco-very.’
Yet the dismissive reaction of reviewers – ELO, no doubt like Zeppelin and the Eagles, braced for a backlash at some point given their colossal standing – was not based upon a lack of creativity or intent, simply the fact much of what Lynne wrote for the album was below par. Once again, however, he excels as a producer in creating a pristine feel, no matter how busy the instrumentation, the texture so distinctive it could only be them.
Such adherence to the established formula was embraced by a swathe of the record buying public who sent the L.P. to number one in the U.K. (their first to reach the top spot), while Lynne once again showed he had all the answers when it came to crafting hits to order – leaving the big questions of 1979 to be asked by the likes of Elvis Costello, Neil Young and The Clash.
The inflections of a more contemporary sound are immediately evident on opening cut ‘Shine A Little Love‘, the incisive synthesizer patterns and Groucutt’s bouncing bass line creating a sumptuous blend of where Earth, Wind and Fire had been and the Bee Gees were going.
The words do not bear much scrutiny, which in the great scheme of things is neither here nor there, Lynne has such an engaging vocal style the substance in what he delivers is almost secondary. The lyrics may be slight, yet the performance is anything but, very few bands able to capture their true essence on record with equal confidence and aplomb.
Followed by ‘Confusion‘, at just over three and half minutes the shortest track on the record, Lynne gives full reign to his prime influence on this mid tempo piece that he delivers in an effective, near falsetto voice. By this point it has become hard to fathom, especially with the next up ballad ‘Need Her Love‘ whether he is shadow-boxing Paul McCartney or if his band Wings have become a variation of ELO.
Essentially a novelty number based on a timid man who receives guidance from above, ‘The Diary of Horace Wimp‘ takes the character of the title from being alone on Tuesday to being married five days later. At times it sounds more Beatles-parody then pre-occupation, ‘A Day in the Life‘ evoked in the verses which are sung with maximum Macca-overtones, the chorus reverting to more Lennon-like phrasing.
While it was easy at the time to be snooty in thinking John would never sing in such a contrived way, the following year he opened his (with Yoko Ono) ‘Double Fantasy‘ record with (Just Like) ‘Starting Over‘, that with judicious use of cello and synthesizer could easily have been the work of Lynne and co.
Side two opens with inventive use of the clavinet, the ‘Boogie Nights‘ (a 1977 hit for funk outfit Heatwave), motifs going a long way to shape the resounding ‘Last Train to London.’
The protagonist is faced with making a late night journey to the English capital, but torn between leaving for the faraway city or staying with his lover:
‘It was one of those nights/One of those nights when you feel the world stop turning/You were standing there/There was music in the air/I should have been away/But I knew I had to stay.‘
The pounding drums, combined with strings that soar and dive, create, as they do at various other moments on the album, a late-70s version of the Phil Spector ‘Wall of Sound‘ – the ‘Crystalline Cascade‘ Jeff Lynne equivalent, ensuring him steady work as a sought-after producer to this day.
The second side unfolds through ‘Midnight Blue‘ a schmaltzy piano/synthesizer affair that meanders along without leaving any lasting impression, while ‘On the Run‘, despite being more up tempo also has little to truly enthuse over, the immediately recognisable hooks making it interchangeable with the more formulaic tracks on their previous two or three albums.
With penultimate cut ‘Wishing‘ Lynne returns to a McCartney-styled vocal delivery for an agreeable mid paced number depicting a romance being tested by the time and distance between the couple, ‘I thought I’d be back now/I must have got it wrong/You and California call me in this song.’ To the fore are breezy strings and sprightly piano which combine to steer a charming melody that leaves a longer lasting impression than the lyrical content.
‘Discovery‘ comes to a close with the rousing ‘Don’t Bring Me Down‘, drummer Bevan laying down a solid platform for this superb illustration of ELO at their most energetic.
So irresistible as to prompt turning up the radio each time it came on, the sing-a-along, oft-repeated title was so catchy the track, when released as a single, reached the top five on both sides of the Atlantic. Helped in no small way by the defiant sentiments, strident percussion and stellar lead vocal, the ‘no no no‘ chorus refrains are surely a nod to the ‘yeah yeah yeahs‘ of an aforementioned 60s combo. Indeed, the ultimate irony for a band renowned for having strings as part of their musical make-up was the biggest selling 45 the Electric Light Orchestra would ever produce comes with none.
When it appeared ‘Discovery‘ proved an immediate best-seller and on the strength of spawning five hit singles, (‘Shine A Little Love‘, ‘Confusion‘, ‘The Diary of Horace Wimp‘, ‘Last Train to London‘ and ‘Don’t Bring Me Down‘), maintained a high chart profile for months. Despite prompting such appraisals as ‘unconvincing‘ (NME) and ‘plodding, a let-down‘ (Sounds), from the music press in their U.K. homeland, it was still riding high when Paul McCartney & Wings released ‘Back to the Egg‘ six weeks later.
The reference is made as such were the damming reviews, ‘Paul is on a treadmill of banality‘ (Melody Maker), they made reaction to ‘Discovery‘ seem positively euphoric – although one suspects this was one time when Jeff Lynne did not enjoy being mentioned in connection with McCartney.
ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – DISCOVERY (Released June 1 1979):
Shine a Little Love/Confusion/Need Her Love/The Diary of Horace Wimp/Last Train to London/Midnight Blue/On the Run/Wishing/Don’t Let Me Down;
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