Electric Light Orchestra: No Answer (Remastered + Expanded) CD Track Listing

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Electric Light Orchestra No Answer (Remastered + Expanded) (1972)
No Answer (Remastered + Expanded)\nElectric Light Orchestra\n2006 Columbia/Legacy\n\nOriginally Released 1972\nCD Edition Released 1990\nRemastered + Expanded CD Edition Released March 28, 2006\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Their most lively album, this debut is driven by Roy Wood's manic musical sensibilities. An energetic offshoot of the Move's final album. -- Bruce Eder\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: This long-awaited American upgraded reissue of Electric Light Orchestra's debut album won't be a disappointment -- for a change with this band, Sony's Legacy division has gotten it right, at least within the confines of a single-CD reissue; it's still only a shadow of the deluxe double-CD set issued in England by EMI a few years earlier, but for sound quality and a basic array of bonus tracks, this is a very solid upgrade and one of the better efforts in association with this band to show up in the United States. The album itself is an astonishing creation in its own right, though neophyte listeners should be aware that it bears very little resemblance to the sound for which ELO would become known on their subsequent records. No Answer, as it ended up being called in America through a miscommunication with ELO's U.S. label, is a minimalist work by comparison with anything on the band's later albums. The core trio of Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, and Bev Bevan -- who were still officially part of the Move at the time of this recording -- augmented by one horn player and a violinist, approaches the music alternately like a hard rock band attacking a song and a string ensemble playing a chamber piece. Filled with surprisingly loose playing and myriad sounds throughout -- ranging from hard rock to acoustic pop -- and with a psychedelic aura hovering over most of the music, No Answer is unique in ELO's output. Written and sung by Lynne, "10538 Overture" is the opener and the best song on the album. Wood's "Look at Me Now," by comparison, plays like a sweet, melodic follow-up to "Beautiful Daughter" from the Move's Shazam album, with some digressions on the oboe and a cello and violin subbing for the guitars.\n\nThe rest moves from period-style popular songs to strangely cinematic conceptual pieces, on which the rock elements almost disappear in favor of quasi-classical playing by all concerned. A beautiful acoustic guitar workout by Wood, "1st Movement" also features the song's composer on the oboe, while "Mr. Radio," an exercise in 1920s nostalgia written and sung by Lynne, digresses for a moment into 1940s-style classical piano pyrotechnics. Wood's "Whisper in the Night" ends the album with a lean and textured acoustic sound that, ironically, disappeared from ELO's repertory when he exited the lineup following these sessions. The bonus tracks consist of alternate mixes and outtakes of "10538 Overture," "Mr. Radio," "Nellie Takes Her Bow," and "The Battle of Marston Moor," which are different enough to hold the listener, assuming one doesn't already have this material on the earlier U.K. double CD. It's good to get it all out into the group's American catalog, especially with the accompanying boost in overall sound quality for the entire album, and the new annotation by Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood -- in which each lavishes tons of praise on the other -- is not only informative but gives the whole CD a really good vibe. -- Bruce Eder\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nTerrible sound quality!, April 6, 2006\nReviewer: J. Busher (PA USA)\nThis disc says "newly remastered from the original anaolog tapes" and but it's a lie! This disc is an exact copy of the heavily noise reduced and badly EQ'd "First Light" remaster that came out in the UK a few years ago! They even admitted that they used the UK CD as their source! In other words, if you already have that disc, you won't need this one. FaceTheMusic.com says this disc is different from the UK remaster but it's a BALD-FACED LIE! Sony, and everybody involved with this reissue, should be ashamed of themselves!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nHow 'bout a review on the merits of the music?, April 16, 2006\nReviewer: J. A. DeSilva (San Jose, CA USA)\nAs I'm not an "audiophile" or professional sound engineer, I'm not going to get into the merits of "lack of tape hiss" or "bad EQ" or the engineering expertise of EMI's Peter Mew. What I will say is that as a long-time ELO fan, I'm very impressed with what I hear on this disk. If you weren't fortunate enough to get the original "First Light" 2-disk UK edition of this album (probably only for die-hard early ELO fans to be honest), then this CD is definitely the next best thing, at a very reasonable price. This is the original concept of ELO, conceived by Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne. Very experimental pieces of music, most of which work beautifully. The magnificent "10538 Overture" is the template for all that went after, even during the "hit-making" years. Roy Wood's contributions are some of his best work - "Look At Me Now", "Whisper In The Night", and "First Movement (Jumpin' Biz)". "The Battle Of Marston Moor" is probably a hard listen for those who loved "Discovery" and "Xanadu", but an interesting example of the sincere attempt to meld classical and rock together in one piece of music. The bonus tracks are also interesting insights into the creative process that went into making this album. \n\nIf you like this, you should also check out the EMI remastered edition of the Move's "Message From The Country", which was recorded simultaneously with this album. In fact "10538 Overture" was originally intended to be a Move "B-side". \n\nIt really doesn't matter what the technical aspects of the remastering process are if the music isn't good - so if you're into progressive, experimental music with an early 1970's English pop music basis, you should check this out.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nHorrible SOUNDING remaster!!!!, April 17, 2006\nReviewer: Jamie Tate (Hermitage, TN United States)\nPeter Mew (remastering engineer at Abbey Road) continues to play George Lucas by destroying many of my favorite albums. Why does he feel the need to over process everything with noise reduction? \n\n\nSTOP SMOTHERING MY MUSIC WITH NOISE REDUCTION!!!!!! \n\n\nNoise reduction sucks the life and space out of music. It makes 24 bit recordings sounds like chirpy MP3s. If you think this remaster sounds good you need to educate yourself with the many audible artifacts left behind from the No-Noise? processing. Once you learn it you'll hear why all of us are upset over its use.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nBalance of EQ, April 22, 2006\nReviewer: Mark A. Frumento (Cherry Hill, NJ USA)\nI would imagine it's difficult for some one to decide about buying this CD based on some of the other reviews. I can sum up my opinion this way: if you are a sound expert (for real or just self-proclaimed) you may have some difficulty with No Answer or ELO II. Clearly, in eliminating tape hiss, some of the high end sound is gone. But I'm not a sound expert so that's where my EQ analysis ends. \n\nThe fact is that both ELO remasters sound better than the US originals. There's really no comparison even if it's just the fact that CD mastering techniques have improved with time. It's worth updating your collection with these excellent new versions. \n\nIf I have any complaint it's that Sony had chosen to market these CDs as US remasters. They aren't. They are just re-reissues of the UK remasters of a few years back. Sony couldn't even be bothered to use the US cover of ELO II and from the looks of things to come the same goes for the reissue of On the Third Day. \n\nThe other complaint I have is the touting of these reissues as "Jeff Lynne approved" as if that really means anything. The fact that JL is involved at all probably hurts the reissues more than it helps... just look at the lack of fully unreleased songs. So, yes, these reissue are "Jeff Lynne approved" but... so what. \n\nThe bottom line is that No Answer (as it was named in the US) is a wonderfully strange album and this remaster is very good. It's not perfect but given that most of the CD buying public could care less about ELO we're never going to get perfect reissues. This CD is definitely worth buying.\n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nElectric Light Orchestra: Roy Wood (vocals, acoustic & slide guitars, cello, clarinet, bassoon, recorder, bass, percussion); Jeff Lynne (vocals, electric guitar, piano, bass, percussion); Steve Woolam (violin); Bill Hunt (French horn); Bev Bevans (drums, percussion).\n\nRecorded at Philips Studio, London, England (1970 - 1971)\n\nHere's one of the few rock urban legends that appears to be true: This album, eponymously titled in the rest of the world, was called NO ANSWER in the US because when a secretary at United Artists called the band's office to find out the title, no one was there, and a handwritten note to that effect was mistaken for the record's name.\nThis is less the first ELO album than the last Move album. Four of the nine tracks are by Move leader Roy Wood, and even the five Jeff Lynne tracks sound closer to the Move's classically orchestrated hard-rock masterpiece MESSAGE FROM THE COUNTRY than to the shiny pure-pop ELO albums to come. Wood's tracks, like the acoustic instrumental "First Movement" and the faux-medieval "Battle of Marston Moor," foreshadow his more experimental solo work, while Lynne's brilliant "10538 Overture" is the first of his classic string of pop songs.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nbelligerent cellos, metallic vocals, and 70s drama, January 25, 2006\nReviewer: T. Boram "baltimorescience" (Jarrettsville, md United States)\ni'm rather a fan of 70s glam and i can absorb vintage prog in conservative doses. the first ELO record is a strange mix of the two and it caught my ear immediately the other day when a couple of dandified clerks at my local video store cranked it up. \n\ni heard the first cut, "overture 10258" once a while ago and i always wondered who it was. it's a pretty shocking track. it sounds like a lost beatles cut from "magical mystery tour" gone completely wrong. a majestic pop melody is there and a dense layering of exotic instrumentation is there, but the voice sounds mechanical, as if someone tried to program a robot to croon and emote a rock song. then you listen to the drummer, and while he's basically on time, he sounds a little clumsy and lethargic, and then you hear to the string arrangment, which sounds abrasive and not entirely unlike humpback mating calls. however, because i like wierd s*** i was pretty excited by this track. the strange appeal of it is undeniable. \n\nso when the two video store dandies put on this cut i ran to the desk to find out who was responsible for producing this masterpiece/trainwreck. it turns out it was ELO from their debut album. WOW! i've enjoyed some of the move's music and i appreciate (though not without a wee bit of irony) ELO's decadent pop concept rock, but this was some pretty wacko vintage ELO that i'd never known about and it seems that it is generally obscured by what came before and what came after. \n\ni went out and got the album immediately and i've been listening to it often. i must say that it is about 47% laughable, 50% gorgeous 70s rock, and 3% something totally ineffable. i enjoy that this is the same ELO as on the "xanadu" soundtrack doing this awkward and dissonant string quartet prog pop, but it simply cannot to be listened to all through in any seriousness. i don't think it is possible to ever understand what could motivate someone to write some of these arrangements. i don't think drugs is the whole story, because even the strongest drugs could not inspire someone to have a belligerent sounding string quartet highlighting the melody to "god rest ye merry gentlmen" during the instrumental middle section of a dramatic elton john-esque power ballad, which is exactly what happens on the third track. it sounds like elton john gone "autistic avant garde" and collaborating with anton webern's worst student from "serialism 101." \n\nthe whole album runs on in this clunky way. the "magical mystery tour" elements never blend effectively with the avant garde marching band type element and the result is charmingly abrasive. this makes for a curious listen. put this on at a party to make your guests confused, concerned or bummed out.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nAudacious and melodic , August 11, 2005\nReviewer: U.A. Wood "Roy" (State of Mind)\nIn many ways, this is my favorite ELO album. I don't consider it the BEST, mind you, but I do love the risky, experimental nature of it. For instance, "10538 Overture" really connects, despite it's lumbering, at points out of time, rumbling rhythm. The rough strings and horns highlight a great melody and compelling story. Other great songs here include the lovely lilt of "Mr. Radio," the urgency of "Look at Me Now," two cracking instrumentals ("1st Movement" and "Manhattan Rumble") and the gorgeous "Whisper in the Night." There's never a dull moment here, even when the band slips around a bit walking on their high wire. This is not the ELO of 1975-1980, a sleek pop hitmaking machine. This is more akin to The Move muscially and sonically(actually, it really IS The Move) under a new name. On "No Answer," Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne, and Bev Bevan lay the groundwork for what would become an amazing decade for all three...albeit in different directions. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nMove morphs into orchestral vision, November 18, 2004\nReviewer: Dr. Emil Shuffhausen (Central Gulf Coast)\nThus began ELO...a vision...two Birmingham, England buddies, Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, wanted to "pick up where the Beatles left off on 'Strawberry Fields' and 'I Am the Walrus.'" Roy was the leader of the amazingly popular band, The Move, while Jeff was the leader of an up-and-coming group called Idle Race. When personnel problems created an opening in The Move, Roy invited Jeff to join he and drummer Bev Bevan. Jeff consented, provided that he and Roy could work on their side "orchestra rock" project. In 1971, the Electric Light Orchestra was birthed out of The Move with a lumbering single called "10538 Overture," which quickly ascended the charts in England. Little did they know then that the accompanying album, NO ANSWER, would be the herald of one of rock and roll's most enduring success stories. "10538" is essentially a Move single, and as such is wonderfully quirky, melodic, and somewhat disturbing. "Look At Me Now" is a very nice Roy Wood ballad, with an interesting arrangement and instrumental curios. "Nellie Takes Her Bow" sounds like Jeff Lynne gone vaudeville, and is very effective, though overly long. The martial instrumental break might have fit better in the following cut..."The Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644). The "Battle" cut earns ELO points for trying, but is not, at the end of the day, extraordinarily listenable. Wood's "1st Movement" on the other hand, is a wonderful pastiche of guitar and string quartet, not unlike "Classical Gas." "Mr. Radio" is very evocative and well-written, and highlights Jeff's great talent for pathos, even at an early age. It's perhaps the closest thing to the later ELO sound on this album. "Manhattan Rumble (49th St. Massacre)" is a fine Jeff Lynne piano instrumental that indeed rumbles along like some eerie 1930s mob film. "Queen of the Hours" is another nice Lynne ballad, thrown a bit by the jarring string intro, though it does remind one of the Beatles circa 1968. "Whisper in the Night" is sweet and stirring. Basically, it's Roy, a guitar, and a few strings, and a prayer. It's a nice benediction for this album. I would love to start a campaign for Roy and Jeff to do more work together. Until then, I'll give this CD and all of my Move stuff some more spins. If you're expecting the polished power pop of A NEW WORLD RECORD or OUT OF THE BLUE, you'll be surprised and maybe disappointed. But, if you approach this CD with an open mind, and a little patience, you'll find it to be ultimately a richly rewarding experience. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nMoody, spooky, (Looky Likey) A Near Classic Of An Album, August 1, 2004\nReviewer: Oymaprat (Nowhere In Particular)\nThis one is their first and best but for its' sequal. \nYes it was ahead of it's time in concept (classical rock) but it sounds as though it was made in the 17th century. Now, that isn't a slur on the recording, but the voices (especially on The Battle of Marston Moore) are really creepy and give me images of pouring rain, muddy fields, castles etc. It's the fist album to put mental images in my mind since Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Rick Wakeman (admittedly recorded afterwards but I heard it before). There are so many great instrumentles here that I wont list them. Pretty much every song is great. Not perhaps (as another review stated) for the latter, pop ELO loving fans but if classical rock tickles your fancy get this. (If you are into latter ELO and want to be able to appreciate this, my advice is work your way back from Eldorado-that way you have a better chance. \nI hope I've given valid advice... Toodle Pipskie (is that how you spell it?) \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nA strange trip mixing the Baroque with Progressive Rock, February 4, 2000\nReviewer: Henry R. Kujawa ("The Forbidden Zone" (Camden, NJ))\nAfter all these years, this is STILL one of the strangest albums I've ever heard. ELO's debut was actually the 3rd collaboration between Move leader Roy Wood and Idle Race frontman Jeff Lynne, and with the possible exception of LOOKING ON (their first) may be the most bizarre-sounding ELO ever got. Until I'd heard everything Wood & Lynne had done before it (and the "evolution" of the music styles) I couldn't imagine where it had "come from". Lots to get into here! "10538 Overture" is the closest they came to living up to their ambition to "pick up where 'I Am The Walrus' left off". "Look At Me Now" seems a tribute to "Eleanor Rigby" while "Nellie Takes Her Bow" is a complex piece combining ballet with a durge-like excerpt of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". British history gets a look-into with "The Battle Of Marston Moor" (nobody ever SAID music couldn't be educational!). And notoriously, "First Movement (Jumpin' Biz)", one of my faves, borrows the sound & style of Mason Williams' "Classical Gas" while tacking on a MUCH better melody! With so much wild experimentation going on, Lynne's "Queen Of the Hours" and Wood's gentle "Whisper In The Night" sound almost "normal" by comparison. Hard to believe these are the same 3 guys (with drummer Bev Bevan) who 6 months later did "California Man" and "Do Ya" before going their separate ways!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nElectric Light Orchestra's underrated masterpiece of a debut, February 7, 2004\nReviewer: Darth Kommissar (Las Vegas, NV (USA))\n \nElectric Light Orchestra/No Answer (1971.) Electric Light Orchestra's first album. \n\nINTRODUCTION: \nElectric Light Orchestra. Through the course of the seventies and eighties, Jeff Lynne's band that fused elements of pop-rock with classical music elements remained one of the finest bands around. The group actually evolved the Move, the previous band Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, and Roy Wood played in together. Lynne and Wood constantly said their mission was to pick up where the Beatles left of with I Am The Walrus - an interesting comment that often surfaces. Although the band's heyday would come in the mid-late seventies, the group actually got their start very early in the decade. In the final weeks of 1971 the band released their debut album. Read on, and see how the first effort from E.L.O. measures up! \n\nOVERVIEW: \nElectric Light Orchestra's self-titled debut album was released in December of 1971. The album was retitled No Answer for its American release. Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood produced the album. The tracklist consists of 10538 Overture, Look At Me Now, Nellie Takes Her Bow, The Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644), First Movement (Jumping Biz), Mr. Radio \nManhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre), Queen Of The Hours, Whisper In The Night, The Battle Of Marston Moor, and 10538 Overture. This is the only E.L.O. album to feature Roy Wood as a full-time member of the band - he'd leave to form a new group called Wizzard after leaving the band after the recordings of this era. \n\nREVIEW: \nI LOVE this album, but it's a far cry from anything else the Electric Light Orchestra EVER recorded. This was the only album the band ever recorded with both Roy Wood AND Jeff Lynne as co-frontmen. With Roy Wood as the head honcho in the band, their sound was drastically different. The album is heavier on classical experimentation than later E.L.O. released. This is their most Baroque-sounding album, and definitely one of their most underrated releases. Read on to see how each cut on the album fares! \n\n-SIDE A- \n\n-10358 Overture: The most popular song the album spawned is this, the opening track. This here is an excellent pop rocker, with that classical touch only early E.L.O. could pull off. While most of the songs on this album are long forgotten by the world, this one actually shows up on a few of the hits compilations the band has released. One of the band's classics for the ages. \n\n-Look At Me Now: Track number two on the album demonstrates beautifully the band's classic vision of wanting to pick up where the Beatles left off. The song is strikingly similar to the classic Beatles tune, Eleanor Rigby, right down to the type of orchestral instrumentation used. A very memorable and all-around excellent piece. \n\n-Nellie Takes Her Bow. Track three is one of the many underrated early masterpieces from the band. The opening and closing portions of this track are melodic pop rock with a slight orchestral touch, but the bridge in the middle is radically different. Just when you think you've got this song all figured out, you get pure orchestral cacophony, right where you'd least expect it. I LOVE it when a song catches me off guard like this - It just adds to the song's charm. Good stuff. \n\n-Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2 1644): This is a song about the historic battle, as the title suggests. The melodies that kick off this track are priceless attention-getters. All through the track, the band experiments with a variety of heavily classical sounds. The O in E.L.O. stands for Orchestra, sure enough, and this album stresses that orchestral element more than any other, and perhaps this track itself epitomizes this point better than any other. Solid stuff through and through. \n\n-SIDE B- \n\n-First Movement: Practically everyone compares this track to the classic Mason Williams instrumental, Classical Gas, and once you listen to the song, you'll see why - the song sounds like it could have been a direct companion piece to the Williams tune! Yet another great piece of music. \n\n-Mr. Radio: A lot of the fans of E.L.O. seem to praise this song as an underrated masterpiece from the band's earlier. This tune is one of the most Beatles-esque things on here, definitely bringing to mind the Fab Four's late-era experiments with a semi-classical sound. It's not hard to love this song. \n\n-Manhattan Rumble (49th St. Massacre): This is another instrumental, and arguably my favorite tune from Roy Wood-era E.L.O. The sheer insturmentation of the band is unrivaled here. I can't believe this song doesn't get more credit! It's a shame it tends to be forgotten, like so many tunes for this era. \n\n-Queen Of The Hours: Here's a song heavy on the Baroque-flavored instrumental stylings E.L.O. only did in the Wood days. Like so many songs from this masterful, short-lived era, it's an underrated masterpiece. The instrumentation and vocals on this one could not be better. \n\n-Whisper In The Night: This is a melodic, orchestral piece that ends things on a high note, making for a good finisher. The song is very slow and melodic all the way through, with a lighter instrumentation sound to it. Ultimately, it makes for a great closer. \n\nOVERALL: \nIn the end, the first full-length offering from E.L.O. sounds NOTHING like their later work, but it's still a masterpiece in its own right, well worth discovering or rediscovering. The Lynne-Wood face of Electric Light Orchestra was a short-lived one, but it was nothing short of excellent. If you're looking for a place to start your E.L.O. collection, I recommend starting with one of the later albums with more pop hits (A New World Record would be a good bet), but if you're already a tried and true fan who wants to experience the band's lesser-known early sound, give this one a whirl. You might wind up being pleasantly surprised by its sheer uniqueness, and wonder what E.L.O. would have been like had Roy Wood not left to form Wizzard. Final verdict? This belongs in the collection of all E.L.O. fans. Five stars all the way. \n\nEDITION NOTES: \nThe American version of this album is a bare bones issue - the album itself and nothing more. However, there are import versions out there with a whole bonus disc of material! If you're a bigger E.L.O. fan than the average person, I recommend hunting down one of those editions for the sake of all the bonus material the domestic version lacks.
This rock cd contains 13 tracks and runs 59min 40sec.
Freedb: b80dfa0d
Buy: from Amazon.com

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