56. L.E.O.--Alpacas Orgling

 #56. L.E.O.--Alpacas Orgling (2006)

Top-Notch Tracks: "Distracted," "Goodbye Innocence," "You Had Me Going," "The Old College Try"

Album Depth: "Nothing Will Ever Change," "Make Me," "Don't Let It Go," "Sukaz Are Born Every Minute"

Weak Links: "Private Line"

Stand-Out Lyrics: "I can hear the cellos singing, don't know what tomorrow's bringing, I don't mind at all."--"Distracted"

"It's a bummer I discovered that my lover has another above her. Did I forget to mention he's a drummer? A drummer!"--"Don't Let It Go"

"Another day, another penny--who'd have thought we'd have so many?"--"Make Me"

"Alex introduced me to the brother of his roommate Sue, whose friend Marie was kind of sweet on me."--"The Old College Try"

"Maybe you're just the fizz in his cheap champagne."--"Nothing Will Ever Change"

L.E.O.--Alpacas Orgling

Album Cover: 9 out of 10. It's futuristic! It's retro! Are they aliens? Is it a television? Is it a lunch box? The only thing wrong is there are no alpacas. (Or any orgling.)

Comments: This is a prime example of an album just having a good feel to it. A good album flow. There aren't any great songs here, just a whole lot of really, really good songs. (The songs on the "Top-Notch Tracks" and "Album Depth" lines above could all be interchangeable. Even the "Weak Link" song is probably worthy of "Album Depth" status.)

The four best songs from the Jeff Lynne's ELO album "Alone In the Universe" are all better than any song on this album, yet "Alpacas Orgling" is higher on this list of favorite-ish albums. Because all the songs are consistently good.

When this album came out in 2006, it had been 20 years since the last real ELO album ("Balance of Power," which was a contractual obligational disappointment) and 23 years since the last really good ELO album ("Secret Messages.") (I'm skipping past the 2001 ELO album "Zoom," because it felt more like a Jeff Lynne solo album, and, except for two excellent songs and two other decent songs, was mostly a misfire.)

So, when some guy named Bleu and a bunch of his friends decided to do a tribute album in the style of ELO, it filled a big "new ELO music" hole that I hadn't realized was there. Stellar music, excellent riffs (of both the rock and disco style), clever lyrics, and great production--it's all here. And it ends up being a better ELO album than several albums actually made by ELO. 

Also, without this album I would not know that orgling is the low, guttural sound that is the mating call of an alpaca. 


Up next: 38 songs in 43 minutes.


Comments

  1. darenolsonFebruary 9, 2021 at 5:40 PM

    So many questions flooding my brain right now. Did the L.E.O. album actually contain any low guttural sounds? If so, were they made by actual alpacas, or did they just use some session llamas that were hanging around the studio? Does the orgling sound funnier if played at 78 rpm? Do I have to play the album backwards to hear the orgling? Did E.L.O. ever feature orgling on any albums? Is Jeff Lynn's beard the cause of the orgling, or is the orgling triggered by spaceships? If orgling was a crime, what would be the punishment? Does Kim Orgill own an orgling alpaca?

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