The Electric Light Orchestra/ No Answer [1971]
The album starts of with a sort of rock melody with underlining string instruments in 10538 Overture. This style continues through the album but drops the electric guitar after the first song.
Look at Me Now is the second track and features various string instruments as the melody, some woodwinds underneath the strings, and has Roy Wood, one of the founding members of ELO, on vocals. Look at Me Now is a truly interesting piece, one of my favorite portions of the song happens at the two minute and fifteen second mark where Mike Edwards has a small cello solo that just sounds so crisp.
The third track is Nellie Takes Her Bow which features a piano on melody, as well as cellos and violins. Jeff Lynne sings the vocals for this track and I must admit this has to be one of my favorite songs on this album, especially when the instrumental break occurs at the two minute and twenty seconds mark which includes french horn, piano, drum set, and strings.
The fourth track is The Battle of Marston Moore (July 2nd, 1644) and this song is more of a story telling song featuring only instruments the entire song, except the first minute where there are vocals setting up the story. It's a pretty good song and I believe that it is a very good start to ELO's instrumental songs.
Track five is First Movement (Jumping Biz) which is a take on a classical piece of music in a different way. This features acoustic guitar, drum set, and strings.
The sixth, and probably most remembered song, is Mr. Radio. Ah Mr. Radio, this song is a very good song. It starts off with some static noise and then fades in with a string quartet. After this it dives into the song, which features Jeff Lynne on vocals, and violin, cello, and piano as the backing instruments. This song is relatively slow moving, but it is very beautiful.
The seventh track is Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) which is another storytelling song as well as an instrumental song. It is very reminiscent of the Capriccio portion of Ceaser Giovannini's Chorale and Capriccio. The song features piano, strings, woodwinds, and drum set.
Track number eight is Queen of The Hours, my favorite track on the album. This features Jeff Lynne on vocals and strings as the backing instrumental. The way the strings form such a crisp and beautiful sound is what really makes me adore this song.
The final song on the album is Whisper in the Night and is a great way to end an album. It features Roy wood on vocals and starts off with an acoustic guitar then slowly adds in string instruments. This is a very slow and melodic song and also has a small choir part after the instrumental break.
So, does this album still hold up forty-one years after it's release? Well, if you're a die-hard ELO fan like myself, then I say you would definitely like this album, however the "baroque-and-roll" style of the album may turn most modern day music lovers away, but really, it's their loss.
Track listingWant to suggest an album? Leave a suggestion in the comments and I'll see what I can do!
[1] 10538 Overture - 5:33
[2] Look at Me Now - 3:22
[3] Nellie Takes Her Bow - 6:02
[4] The Battle of Marston Moore (July 2nd, 1644) - 6:05
[5] First Movement (Jumping Biz) - 3:01
[6] Mr. Radio - 5:06
[7] Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) - 4:26
[8] Queen of The Hours - 3:22
[9] Whisper In The Night - 4:46
