Electric Light Orchestra fans have pinpointed the one song from the Jeff Lynne-led group that “sounds better live”.
A post to r/ELO saw fans ask which song from their backlog sounds better on the stage than it does in the studio. They asked: “What song(s) sounded better to you live than on the studio recording? Self-explanatory question for everyone who saw them live. For me, All Over the World, Shine a Little Love and One More Time live gave me a whole new appreciation for the songs. The Phantom of the Opera part of One More Time was eargasmic live.” Other users have suggested a series of instrumentals and covers which made up the early Electric Light Orchestra live sets which they say casts a shadow over the album versions.
One user suggested: “10538 Overture is especially heavy sounding live, almost dark.” Another wrote: “My pick is Roll Over Beethoven. Very fun live song.” Other users have pointed to some of the band’s best-known songs as ultimately stronger on stage than they are in the studio.
One wrote: “Strange Magic. On the record it’s a good song, and would be phenomenal for most other bands, but it never did it for me like so many of their others…until I saw them in September.” Another suggested “every song on Wembley or Bust” had stronger versions than the studio could offer. The live album, released in 2017, features songs like Mr. Blue Sky, Evil Woman and Turn to Stone.
What song(s) sounded better to you live than on the studio recording?
byu/dtrain2495 inelo
Another user wrote: “Shine A Little Love. Hearing that song live will simply send you to the stars.” The original thread maker on the r/ELO page replied: “I wanted Twilight at that concert so bad for that reason. But the ‘whoo’s’ and sparkle sounds were incredible live.”
A third user suggested: “It’s not better but Twilight live has a completely different sound. It’s a lot less ‘Oh my God I’m travelling through time,’ and more ‘Oh man, I’m gonna miss my decade and girlfriend’. It’s like Xanadu by Olivia [Newton John] vs. Lynne.” Twilight did feature occasionally on the band’s farewell setlist on the Over and Out tour but was cut after just a few shows.
Another user added: “The full live version of Roll Over Beethoven he performed at the Hyde Park gig was the best ever. I say full, as the UK Blu-ray has a minute and a half cut out of it, as opposed to the original BBC Red Button broadcast on the day.”
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I totally agree…all over the world 🌎 was great when I seen Jeff and ELO in Nashville….what a fantastic concert
Since ELO were made in the beginning of the 70s, I fell in love with that band and their type of music, absolute class music, a different type of music to listen to, then from then on I seen them 3 times live, brilliant Jeff Lynne
The band has come a long, long way since I first saw them at the Birmingham Hippodrome in 1972. One of the best!
Been a fan since the early days, but the first Hyde park concert after not playing live for 20 years blue my mind, for some reason can’t get you out of my head, really stood out, in our household he’s always referred to as Sir Jeff
We are going to his last ever concert in Hyde park in August
Can’t wait to see a humble genius again
Rockaria
I saw them in Oakland, opening with ‘Twilight’ What made it a great opening song, was they had a robot cruise out onto the dark stage, raising its arm, speaking robotically and then the lights blasted on after the drum intro, very cool