Elo - On the Third Day (9 tracks) +Album Reviews

On the third day is a great album

Stewart Stewson | denmark,ks. | 04/04/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the 3rd release for E.L.O. . Jeff Lynne was just coming off ELO2 without friend Roy Wood and with this release it showed that he was doing just fine. The disc starts out with a conceptual work of "Ocean Breakup"/"King of the Universe" to the lovely "Bluebird is Dead", "Oh No Not Susan" if you listen really close you can here Jeff Lynne drop the F-bomb. The concept ends with "New World Rising"/"Ocean Breakup Reprise", this song resembles The Beatles one of Jeff's biggest influences. The big hit off this disc was the r&b sounding "Showdown" #53 in 1974. Side 2 begins with the minor hit #87 "Daybreaker" a great instrumental with some fine snyth playing from Richard Tandy. "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" should have been a top 10 hit but radio was'nt ready for this jarring rock song, great slide guitar by Jeff and tremendous cello work by Hugh McDowell and Mike Edwards. "Dreaming of 4000" is a great song, I heard this song on many a rock-religious radio shows in 1974. The cd finishes with ELO's own arrangment of "In The Hall Of The Mountain King" it starts out with spooky strings and great drumming by Bev Bevan, in the middle Mik Kaminski shines for about a 50 second violin solo. As a whole this disc flows with excellence. P.S. If you love early ELO try and find "B.B.C. Live" a 2 cd set worth having it has a lot of great stuff on it!"

Vision of rock/classic fusion comes to fruition.

Stewart Stewson | 03/28/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"On this, ELO's third album, the vision that Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne originally had for the fusion of classical strings/arrangements with rock and roll begans to really take shape. The groundwork for the band's masterpiece follow-up album, ELDORADO, is well-laid here, as strings and electronics blend smoothly, rather than being in conflict. Richard Tandy, the band's outstanding keyboardist, really comes into his own here. Mik Kaminski's violin work is also stellar. Jeff Lynne's vocals are in fine form, particularly on the Marvin Gaye-influenced hit song, "Showdown." And how about the incredible guitar solo Jeff plays on that cut! Spiritual themes crop up throughout the album, particularly on "King of the Universe," "New World Rising" (a forerunner of "Mr. Blue Sky"), and "Dreaming of 4000." A jaw-rattling rocker, "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle," has become an all-time ELO concert favorite. If you ever wondered if strings could rock, check this one out. And, two of ELO's best instrumentals are also here: "Daybreaker," a lively, superb synth-rock hit (#87 in BILLBOARD), and the epic "In the Hall of the Mountain King." The first time I heard "In the Hall of the Mountain King," I flipped. I had never heard anything like it before...I don't know that I've ever heard anything like it since. For sheer drama, ON THE THIRD DAY ranks up there with anything ELO has ever produced. It's still a little uneven compared with some of their later work, but ELO was never more spirited than ON THE THIRD DAY."

On The Third Album

Mike Parker | Noblesville, IN United States | 05/22/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I would have to aggree with the other reviewers who say that Lynne's vision of what the group would eventually become starts to peak through the cracks here with this album. I really do love the first 2 E.L.O. albums for different reasons but this album shows the most development of the first 3. You're absolutely deaf if you can't here the influence of the latter period Beatles here. I'm a sucker for those slow 4/4's with ascending melodies - LOL. The arrangements are dipped in equal parts Sgt. Pepper, White Album with a heaping helping of Abbey Road to much success. I love the way a lot of the tracks are segued together like a suite (ala the second side/half of Abbey Road). Also, this sounds best when listend to in its entireity as a complete work. Give it a try!"

Orchestral grandeur, pure pop, and gritty rawk collide

Dr. Emil "Tom" Shuffhausen | Central Gulf Coast | 11/19/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"ON THE THIRD DAY is a thrill ride, a gutsy swing for the fences that connects on many levels. On this, ELO's third album, the vision that Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne originally had for the fusion of classical strings/arrangements with rock and roll begans to really take shape. The groundwork for the band's masterpiece follow-up album, ELDORADO, is well-laid here, as strings and electronics blend smoothly, rather than being in conflict. Richard Tandy, the band's outstanding keyboardist, really comes into his own here. Mik Kaminski's violin work is also stellar. Jeff Lynne's vocals are in fine form, particularly on the Marvin Gaye-influenced hit song, "Showdown." And how about the incredible guitar solo Jeff plays on that cut! Spiritual themes crop up throughout the album, particularly on "King of the Universe," "New World Rising" (a forerunner of "Mr. Blue Sky"), and the intense and visionary "Dreaming of 4000." A jaw-rattling rocker, "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle," has become an all-time ELO concert favorite. If you ever wondered if strings could rock, check this one out. (Marc Bolan of T.Rex plays uncredited guitar here alongside of his buddy Jeff Lynne.) And, two of ELO's best instrumentals are also here: "Daybreaker," a lively, superb synth-rock hit (#87 in BILLBOARD), and the epic "In the Hall of the Mountain King." The first time I heard "In the Hall of the Mountain King," I flipped. I had never heard anything like it before...I don't know that I've ever heard anything like it since. For sheer drama, ON THE THIRD DAY ranks up there with anything ELO has ever produced. It's still a little uneven compared with some of their later work, but ELO was never more spirited than ON THE THIRD DAY. This CD holds up extremely well today, more than 30 years later.

"

My Favourite from ELO

Adam Bailey | Rochester, NY United States | 05/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Just a great album... more raw than the following albums, all of which are also great... but this just has an energy and quirkiness that lends itself to me very well. Very Beatlesesque in parts, it was no wonder that John Lennon during this era (concerning the song Showdown specifically) called ELO "Son of Beatles" or something like that... not sure if that quite applies to their later albums as much (lets not forget that they are great, but ELO had definitely developed its own unique flavour by then, comparisons to the Beatles are strained at best). As is said in the title, my favourite ELO album... for now anyways!"

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	Elo On the Third Day Genres: International Music, Pop, Rock, Classic Rock Track Listings (9) - Disc #1 Ocean Breakup/King of the Universe Bluebird Is Dead Oh No Not Susan New World Rising/Ocean Breakup (Reprise) Showdown Daybreaker Ma-Ma-Ma Belle Dreaming of 4000 In the Hall of the Mountain King - Electric Light Orchestra, Grieg, Edvard
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