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[King Rollo]

For my first album of the month, I have chosen the sixth album released by my favourite group, the Electric Light Orchestra. After buying my first cassette player in 1981, I was given this album as a birthday present along with Out Of The Blue and Discovery which were all part of an ELO box set called 'Four Light Years'. This was before I had bought any album with my own pocket money so A New World Record was the first album I listened to. I knew the singles but quickly came to love the rest of the album.

A New World Record was the first ELO album to sell in large amounts both in the UK and the US. Up to this point, the Birmingham group had been much more popular in America. It's the first album to feature the ELO logo on the cover which went on to be used on most of the subsequent albums. As usual, Jeff Lynne wrote all the songs on his own before recording them with the group. The Montreal Olympics were going on at the time with "a new world record" often being heard when the band took breaks from recording to watch it and keyboard player Richard Tandy came up with the idea of that being the album's title.

The first track, 'Tightrope', starts with a spacey keyboard sound, a gong, and then the strings and choir come in before the electric guitars. It's one of the best intros to any song. The rest of it as a rock/pop tune that would have been a big hit if it had been released as a single. It's followed by the ballad 'Telephone Line' which has one of Louis Clark's best string arrangements. That one got to number 8 as a single. The next track, 'Rockaria!' was also a top 10 hit. Featuring opera singer Mary Thomas, it's a rock'n'roll song which name checks Wagner, Beethoven, Puccini and Verdi in the chorus.

Jeff has dabbled with science fiction a few times and the next song, 'Mission', is about an alien who lands on Earth and observes the goings on at a charity building for homeless people. 'So Fine' is a breezy pop song which segues into the next track with the key of the last note gradually coming down to the first note of the next track, 'Livin' Thing', which is the best known song here, giving the group their first top 5 single.

Next is an understated two minute ballad, 'Above The Clouds', which is followed by the rock song 'Do Ya' which had already been recorded by The Move in 1972. Jeff decided to re-record it in the style of ELO. The final track, 'Shangri-La', is my favourite. It's a string soaked ballad with a beautiful coda which comes in just as you think the song is coming to a close.

Jeff's production throughout the album is top notch with the orchestra and choir playing a big role and this is the only ELO album which utilises female backing singers. It's not my favourite album by them, that would be 'Time', but I've chosen this one as it seems to be generally acknowledged to be their best album.


This is the Spotify link if anyone wants to listen to the album. It's only 37 minutes long so it won't take up too much time. Tell me what you think of it. I don't mind any criticism, I know ELO are not as cool as Leftfield.