Discovery

Undamaged and sounded great

In June of 1979, English art rockers Electric Light Orchestra a/k/a/ ELO released their album Discovery.Following the enormous success of the epic double album Out Of the Blue (and its subsequent tour to support the album), the members of ELO (which comprised of guitarist/singer/chief songwriter/producer Jeff Lynne, bass player/backing singer extraordinaire (the late) Kelly Groucutt, keyboard player/arranger Richard Tandy and drummer Bev Bevan), sans the violinist and cello players, returned to Musicland Studios in Munich with longtime engineer Mack to record the album Discovery a/k/a DISCO VERY! Would this album be an excellent followup to a masterpiece or would it be the disco sellout many claim it. Read on and find out, as I did when I bought the CD in August of 2004.The album opens with synthesizer effects which then segues into the first of the album's two US Top 10 hits with the opening disco rocker "Shine a Little Love". Next is the excellent the Roy Orbison sounding Top 40 hit single entitled "Confusion". We follow with "Need Her Love" which is a nice ballad with some great playing from the band. The first half ends with "The Ballad of Horace Wimp" which tells the tale of a hapless lad who winds up falling for the girl of his dreams. The falsetto chorus was sung by Groucutt while Lynne does the verses.Side Two of the original album kicked off with the disco sounding "Last Train to London" which was another US Top 40 hit for the band. Next is a ballad out of "Midnight Blue" which is another excellent ballad we came to expect from ELO. We then rock out with the synthesizer drenched rocker "On the Run" which chugs along then slows down for the string induced ending. We then slow down for the mid-tempo track entitled "Wishing" which had a nice piano solo from Richard Tandy. We close the album with the anthemic rocker "Don't Bring Me Down" which became ELO's biggest North American hit single reaching the US Top 5 in the summer of 1979. In fact, the part where it sounds like they go "don't bring me down Bruce" is actually saying "GRUS" which is German for "GREETINGS".The Discovery album would go on to be ELO's biggest seller in the US with 2 million copies sold to date (the first million sold was in 1979 alone) and a #5 chart position (went to #1 in the band's native UK) despite the fact there was no concert tour to support the album. Instead, the band did a video album of videos for all of the tracks (which got airplay on The Midnight Special and Don Kirshner's Rock Concert). Despite its success, some fans have called Discovery ELO's kiss of death.In 2001, the album was re-released in a digitally remastered CD with a number of bonus tracks, one of which was the Del Shannon-esque number "Little Town Flirt" which is a great song.Highly recommended!

Still great after all these years..

Estoy preocupado por Amazon; hasta hace un tiempo todo funcionaba; siempre comentaba y los recomendaba por su eficiencia y entrega, sin embargo, desde un tiempo a la fecha algo paso; los CDs de música que he comprado llegan con sus cajas rotas y las películas en BluRay con sus discos sueltos; algo lamentable e impresentable; envían nuestros pedidos en sobres que su contenido no resiste los golpes o movimientos bruscos.Uds. SON Amazon, este tipo de detalles no se les puede pasar por alto; espero que lean esto y busquen la solución; no creo ser el único que pasa por esto al comprar. Saludos.

$6 is a steal for ELO, but the case that is holding the CD has continued to break right after taking it out of the plastic wrap. If you really want this CD, I recommend buying a replacement CD case because the ones Amazon are sending are useless, even the replacements.

ELO’s music is so different from what many call music today. It uses ancient techniques called “melody” and “harmony” (some of you may have to look up those mysterious terms), avoids all profanity and tells a story in each song. This is not for you if you are a Millennial or younger, because the melodic phrases are more than 2 bars long, which will only try your patience; look elsewhere.If, however, you are old enough to remember what true music is, you’re in for a treat. This album is beautifully mastered, so please put on your headphones; you wouldn’t want to offend the thronging masses out there with your sophisticated taste. 🙂

Great ELO, bonus tracks not favorable

I could easily give this album 5 stars if I wanted to, because it's a nice sounding album. By the way, I even like how it sounds disco-ish; it helps present ELO with an interesting new style. I guess it also helps that I have a minor sweet tooth for disco-ish things. ;)Marked down 1 star because 1) the album is pretty short to begin with, but then 2) you only get a few short bonus tracks; one of which (Second Time Around) is an unfinished song that made me REALLY wish for more than half a minute's worth of it. On the bright side, that last bonus track (Little Town Flirt) is a good cover of a Del Shannon classic.Above all it's certainly worth buying if you're an ELO fan.

Now I already have the best of ELO - because there are alot of great records - so I didnt really need to get this did I?OF COURSE I DID!Discovery is without doubt confirmed as one of my go to albums - and for me is the one ELO album I need to have.Very much a huge part of my growing up - part of my early 80s soundtrack, the flow of tracks on this record are essential to mepersonally. Whilst Im aware Im completely subjectively looking at this record in a 5 star way - the thing which makes merebel against all the ELO naysayers with this album is how well its stands up compared to listening to any ELO best ofs.The sound of the record is beautiful - beautifully produced - the order of tracks are way more preferable than say the Essential mix....and for me there's not a weak track on the record. - Need her love and midnight blue fore example tend not to get a good run in on any best ofrecords for a start - but I kid you not, i think this album in terms of its flow and the artwork feels like a fresh and mythical daisysitting amongst all ELO's other great bunches of stuff. Ok, ok...Im getting a bit over excited just like I did with Clannad's take on Robin Hoodwith Legend.........but for me these albums have that essential charm and artistry - the ability to wrap you in a warm blanketof early 80s warmth - mainly because the music is touching and fantastically realised (in both cases! I highly recommend Clannadsalbum too of course!)With some music context can be everything - especially if you grew up with that record - but still if you are an ELO newbyget this - maybe try and get on vinyl or cassette (proper 80's styleee!) - play it loud - and just check your face by the end of it - because I bet your mouth is wide open in astonishment....just like mine is everytime I listen to it - metaphorically speaking of course..........

So-so effort from Jeff Lynne and co, containing several solid tracks but lacking the originality of either Out of The Blue or the superb New World Record. The Diary of Horace Wimp is probably the strongest track on the album. I seem to recall they went into something of a decline after this release. A pleasant enough album for the sake of nostalgia, but nothing more.

Electric Light Orchestra were part of my young womanhood. Together withwith the 'Out of the Blue' album, it was required listening at home and on holiday, in the car and on long journeys throughout Europe, and I rediscovered both albums re-released on CD some years ago and bought them again then with relish. Returning from living in a foreign country for some years, several years ago, 'Discovery' was misplaced. This was unthinkable and I have just bought a new copy. Listening to the whole album is to be instantly transported down the years to my lost youth, and yet, to my ears, the music sounds as good as any anything anybody produces today. Favourite tracks are the poignant 'Need Her Love' and 'Midnight Blue', but who could not be cheered by 'The Diary of Horace Wimp or 'Don't Bring Me Down'.Several niggles. My copy came with the artwork paper reversed so that the album appeared to possibly be ELO in concert and had me dithering over whether to return the CD for exchange, when it was simply a matter of reversing the leaflet, and also the addition of the demos of 'On the Run' and 'Second Time Around' and also 'Little Town Flirt' which were certainly not included on the original vinyl and add nothing to what is otherwise an absolutely fab album.

This cd takes me back to my younger years ...Epic stuff and every single track is an absolute classic...a 200% definite buy and collectors piece.

I was a foreign student living in Birmingham when this album was released in the year 1979. Many of the songs in this album were aired over the local radio station frequently. I purchased a copy in cassette format upon returning home and the copy has since worn out. I have a few favorite tracks in this album but Last Train To London stands out. I also prefer this album more than Out Of The Blue that I have in vinyl. I purchase this audio CD to reminisce the good memories I had while living in Birmingham. Very nostalgic.