Electric Light Orchestra - On the Third Day

ELO finally hits its stride "On The Third Day"

Much closer to the ELO that would deliver "A New World Record" and "Out of the Blue" than the first two albums. "Daybreaker" rocks, Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is fun, and of course "Showdown" and "Ma-Ma-Ma-Belle" rock hard, deserving their status as fan faves.

Nice to see the original UK cover restored, I always hated the US "Belly Button" cover photo.

Overall, a solid remaster with some nice bonus tracks and great sound. I recommend this for any ELO fan or prog rock aficionado. March 3, 2008

Exciting British symphonic pop

Unfortunately, I completely ignored ELO (along with a host of other bands) in the early 1980's for reasons related to overplaying on the radio and to what sounded to my progger ears like commercial pop music. Although still very much a raving prog freak, I have re-visited some of the groups I dismissed in my youth and have found the music to be a lot less commercial sounding than I remember it being. This 1973 album certainly falls in that category and may very well be one of the more adventurous examples of British symphonic pop I have ever heard. In fact, certain prog rock fans feel it is ELO's finest recorded performance.

The lineup at this point included Jeff Lynne (electric and acoustic guitars; vocals); Bev Bevan (drums and percussion); Richard Tandy (acoustic piano; mini-moog synthesizer); Michael de Albuquerque (electric bass guitar); Mike Edwards (cello); and Mik Kaminski (violin). Additional musicians included Colin Walker (violin); Wilfred Gibson (violin); and Marc Bolan (electric guitar). The musicians are generally good, although there is far more emphasis on full, symphonic arrangements and Beatle-esque harmonies than intricate ensemble work and virtuoso musicianship. Based on what I have read, this was the last ELO album where Jeff Lynne attempted to re-create an orchestral sound by multi-tracking the cello and violin parts - the use of cellos and violins was a distinctive aspect of the early ELO sound. As a prog rock fan I loved hearing the mini-moog synthesizer and it is used quite a lot on this album.

Overall, this album constitutes a fine mix of classical, psychedelic, Beatles-influenced pop, blues rock, and some progressive rock. In fact, On the Third Day is considered by some to be the closest in style to prog rock, although I still consider this music more in keeping with the British symphonic pop style. In large part, ELO was influenced more by the symphonic fullness of the English progressive rock groups rather than the fact that they used (for example) quartal harmony, odd root movements, and intricate meters.

Not to diminish the high quality of this album however, On the Third Day makes for a very enjoyable listening experience. What makes On the Third Day so thrilling for me are the thoughtful ensemble arrangements and instrumental interludes sandwiched between the more "straightforward" tracks. There are some wonderful vocal harmonies (which can get haunting at times) and I certainly do not mind the heavy references to the Beatles one bit. Of course, the rapid, right hand arpeggios on the mini-moog thrown in here and there sound pretty cool too and gives the music a somewhat proggy feel; especially when the band gets going full steam. While I admire them for playing an adaptation of Norwegian composer Edvard Hagerup Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King, it just did not hold my interest nearly as much as their own compositions. I guess the weakest track for me however is the bluesy, hard rocking track Ma-ma-ma Belle - it just not fit very well with the other material, which is comparatively more involved.

This remastered album is very nice and boasts great sound quality and informative liner notes that feature pictures of the band. The bonus tracks are just OK, although I was more than satisfied with the tracks on the original album.

All in all, this is a fine example of British symphonic pop and is recommended along with their other progressive effort ELO II (1973), in addition to other albums from the genre including one by Su September 18, 2007

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