Electric Light Orchestra fans were full of praise for a song that feels like a “goodbye” from frontman Jeff Lynne.
The band leader, 76, is set to bow out from stage duties following the conclusion of the Over and Out Tour. A final date at Hyde Park in London is scheduled for later this year, and fans are preparing themselves for an emotional farewell to the legend of stage and studio.
While Lynne says he will continue working in the studio, fans are finding themselves hoping for the performance of a song which, at the time of its release, felt like a farewell letter from the frontman. A post to r/ELO on Reddit saw listeners discuss which songs from ELO feel like a powerful goodbye.
A user asked: “What’s a song that you didn’t know was recorded by ELO until years after you first heard it? Mine was Getting to the Point. I had known about ELO for a while, but I had never known that they had written a power ballad.”
Fans were full of suggestions but landed on a Balance of Power track which felt like an apt farewell for the band. The album, which received mixed reviews at the time of its release, marked the last release from the band until more than a decade later with the Lynne-led return, Zoom. He and Richard Tandy were the only original members to return to ELO, now titled Jeff Lynne’s ELO.
One fan wrote: “Don’t they have several power ballads in their repertoire? Why did it come as such a surprise? Great song too!” Another replied: “That was one of the songs on Balance of Power that I feel was a goodbye from Jeff.
“The other was a B-side in the UK, and was included in the “bonus tracks” on the 2007 remastered CD: Destination Unknown. (Actually, Jeff’s destination was soon known: helping his friend George Harrison produce Cloud Nine.)” A third added: “I feel like many of the songs on Balance of Power were Jeff saying goodbye, or at least could be interpreted as such.”
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Getting To The Point
Jeff’s Goodbye To Elo