5. Electric Light Orchestra--Discovery

 #5: Electric Light Orchestra--Discovery (1979)

Top-Notch Tracks: "The Diary of Horace Wimp," [HJ200 #8], "Don't Bring Me Down," [HJ200 #64], "Need Her Love," "Last Train to London," "Shine a Little Love," "Midnight Blue," "On the Run," "Confusion" 

Album Depth: "Wishing"

Weak Links: 

Stand-Out Lyrics: "(Monday.) Late again today. He'd be in trouble, but he'd say he was sorry. He'd have to hurry out to the bus. (Tuesday.) Horace was so sad. He'd never had a girl that he could care for. And if he was late once more, he'd be out. Uh-oh."--"The Diary of Horace Wimp"

"You got me running, going out of my mind. You got me thinking that I'm wasting my time."--"Don't Bring Me Down"

"She gives me love that I could never hope to have. She tells me that she needs me. She tells me that she's glad. And if she goes away, I'm like someone who's left out in the rain."--"Need Her Love"

"It was one of those nights. One of those nights when you feel the world stop turning. You were standing there. There was music in the air. I should have been away, but I knew I had to stay."--"Last Train to London"

"Can you understand? (Yes, I understand.) Can you feel it's right? (I know it is.) Will you be the same? (I'll do it all again.)"--"Shine a Little Love"

"I count the words that I am never gonna say, and I see you, in midnight blue."--"Midnight Blue"

"I hear them talking and they go on and on, they think that nothing is wrong, and so they just carry on about you."--"On the Run"

"You've lost your love and you just can't carry on. (Can't carry on.) You feel there's no one there for you to lean on."--"Confusion"

"I wish that everything was gold. I wish you were here to hold."--"Wishing"

"(Wednesday) Horace met the girl. She was small and she was very pretty. He thought he was in love. He was afraid. Uh-oh. (Thursday) Asks her out for a date, the cafe down the street tomorrow evening. His head was reeling when she said, 'Yes. Okay.'"--"The Diary of Horace Wimp"

"What happened to the girl I used to know? You let your mind out somewhere down the road."--"Don't Bring Me Down"

"The boats that sail, the planes that fly, she is with me. I wonder if she wonders if this is all for real? I couldn't stand to see her cry because of me. (That would be sad.)"--"Need Her Love"

"There you were on your own, looking like you were the only one around."--"Last Train to London"

"It's been a year now, and it's getting so much better. You came home without a word. Though everybody said you'll soon forget her. They couldn't see and they just didn't understand. And looking in the mirror, there were fools at either hand."--"Shine a Little Love"

"Can't you feel the love that I'm offering you? Can't you see how it's meant to be? Can't you hear the words that I'm saying to you? Can't you believe like I believe? It's only one, and one it's true. Still I see you in midnight blue."--"Midnight Blue"

"I see them waiting there for most of the day. I know you asked them to stay, but they just won't go away."--"On the Run"

"Dark is the road you wander, and as you stand there under. The starry sky, you feel sad inside."--"Confusion"

"(Friday) Horace, this is it. He asks the girl if maybe they could marry. When she says, 'Gladly,' Horace cries. Boo hoo. (Sunday) Everybody's at the church when Horace rushes in and says, 'Now here comes my wife, for the rest of my life!' And she did."--"The Diary of Horace Wimp"

"You're looking good, just like a snake in the grass. One of these days you're gonna break your glass."--"Don't Bring Me Down"

"She tells me everything. She makes me smile. She tries to sing. But, never shares her suffering if things are going wrong. She makes it like a dream. If things are as they seem, the world is good."--"Need Her Love"

"Underneath a starry sky, time was still but hours must really have rushed by. I didn't realize, but love was in your eyes. I really should have gone, but love went on and on."--"Last Train to London"

"Don't be afraid. Just knock on the door. But, he just stood there mumbling and fumbling, when a voice from above said, 'Horace Wimp, is this your wife? Go out and find yourself a life. Make a stand and be a man, and you will have a great life plan.'"--"The Diary of Horace Wimp"

Electric Light Orchestra--Discovery

Album cover: 10 out of 10. I like that there is an unknown story to this cover. There's a sense of mystery and, dare I say, discovery to it. And I'm sorry, but as a 13 year-old kid I really, really wanted a light-up ELO spaceship toy that I could hold in my hands like that. (Heck, what am I saying? At 55 years old I still want a light-up ELO spaceship toy that I could hold in my hands like that!)

Comments:  Disco. Very disco. Disco, very. DiscoVery. Discovery.

Was Electric Light Orchestra's "Discovery" a disco album? It's hard to argue that it wasn't. Just listen to the "disco gallop" from the opening song, "Shine a Little Love," or to the very danceable bass line from "Last Train to London." And while those two songs might be the most at home beneath a rotating disco ball, the music trend certainly has other influences throughout the album.

(I think it's nice that, after attempting to give their first two albums the most pedestrian as possible of names, "Electric Light Orchestra," and "Electric Light Orchestra II," that the band employed some relatively clever titles for later albums. See: "On the Third Day," "Face the Music," "A New World Record," and "Discovery.")

"Discovery" was released in the United States on June 8, 1979, just after I finished 7th grade. I was less than a month away from officially becoming a teenager, and this is one of the albums that most helped shape my teenage years. 

It was the first time I remember really anticipating the arrival of a new album--that feeling of joy and excitement upon hearing new music from an artist you love for the very first time. "ELO has a new album!!! ELO has a new album!!!" It was a wonderful time to be alive.

Of course, Jeff Lynne hasn't always been a master of good timing. He released his disco masterpiece in the waning days of the disco trend. In fact, a little more than a month after the album's release the Chicago White Sox baseball team held a "Disco Demolition Night" promotion in between two games of a double-header, causing an infamous riot. "Disco sucks," became a common refrain among fans of "real" rock and roll. (Whatever that is.) "Discovery" was one of the last big disco-influenced hit albums. (Not that that stopped ELO from releasing a soundtrack album to a movie about a roller-disco a year later.)

(And, if you want to hear Jeff Lynne really attempt some funky disco, check out "Doin' That Crazy Thing," and its b-side, "Goin' Down to Rio." Crazy, funky, and wow.)

The songs from "Discovery" are wonderful. There's the dance hits, (the aforementioned "Shine a Little Love," and "Last Train to London," along with "Confusion."); there's the love ballads, ("Need Her Love," and "Midnight Blue,"); there's the pounding rock tune, ("Don't Bring Me Down,"); there's the story of my life, ("The Diary of Horace Wimp,"); and the rest, ("The Professor," and "Mary Ann,"--oops, I mean, "On the Run," and "Wishing.")

Teenage me can't believe I didn't include "Need Her Love" on the HondoJoe Top 200, because at the time I thought it was the ultimate love song. (It's okay, because 55 year-old me wonders why I didn't include it, too.) Meanwhile, I think #8 was too low for "The Diary of Horace Wimp." It's definitely one of my five favorite songs ever. 

I was listening to the album the other day, and a few hours later my five year-old was running around the house (as he is wont to do) randomly shouting, "Don't bring me down." (He may have been attempting to sing, but to me it sounded more like shouting. These kids today and their music.)

When they formed the Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood, and Bev Bevan set out to create a marriage between rock and roll music and orchestral strings. For "Discovery," the band attempted to bring together rock and roll and disco. In the end, it wasn't a lasting marriage, but it sure was one helluva fun fling!

Up next: Button up your overcoat.