Track Listing

1. Shine a little love
2. Confusion
3. Need her love
4. The diary of Horace Wimp
5. Last train to London
6. Midnight blue
7. On the run
8. Wishing
9. Don't bring me down
10. On the run (bonus track)
11. Second time around (bonus track)
12. Little town flirt (bonus track)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12610 in Music
• Released on: 2001-06-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.co.uk Review
Although Discovery isn't one of the Electric Light Orchestra's strongest albums, it is more than redeemed by the inclusion of what is perhaps their greatest single, the massive, drum-looped pop genius of "Don't Bring Me Down". "Shine a Little Love" and "Confusion" are also both classic ELO: synths, guitars and orchestration all merging into a finely crafted whole. Unfortunately, songs such as the Beatles pastiche of "The Diary of Horace Wimp" and the overly sentimental "Last Train to London" all show that, for this world-conquering band, time was about to run out. This remastered edition includes three extra tracks, including a cover of Del Shannon's "Little Town Flirt". --Robert Burrow

CD Description
The last of ELO's classic trio of late-'70s releases, after1976's A NEW WORLD RECORD and 1977's OUT OF THE BLUE, 1979's DISCOVERY was also the group's last significant commercialsuccess. A bit more self-consciously experimental than the previous pair of ELO albums--"The Diary of Horace Wimp" could have come from the pen of Jeff Lynne's more musically adventurous former musical partner Roy Wood--the album also finds Lynne finally taking notice of the musical trends of the day. The hyper-prominent snare pulse, keening violins, and scratchy guitar of the opening "Shine a Little Love" marks this as ELO's disco song, though the Beatlesque harmonies of the bridge are unmistakably Lynne's. The album's big hit, "Don't Bring Me Down", couldn't be called punk, or even new wave, but the in-your-face arrangement and snarling vocals do atleast betray some hint of the more aggressive new music.

Customer Reviews

Solid
The follow up to 'Out Of The Blue'. Expectations were High. And I was not disappointed at the time. Although for example the opening track 'Shine A Little Love' is rather too disco-ish and let's face it...ordinary (by their standards)... to rank as an ELO classic, the rest of of the album contains so many highlights that simply delighted at the time, and equally so 35 years later. 'Confusion' is just perfect in its McCartneyesque melody, 'Need Her Love' is up there with the great ELO ballads, the melody again seemingly made in Heaven. 'Horace Wimp' is Beatlesque for sure but rather too manufactured for my liking. Even a tad annoying if I'm honest. 'Last Train To London' is a disco single yes, but a great one. Play this one Loud. 'Midnight Blue' is even better than 'Need her Love'. Beautiful. 'On The Run' is an upbeat, utterly infectious ELO song. 'Wishing' is good but not great. The closing number 'Don't Bring Me Down' is absolutely brilliant and when played loud is about the best rocker they ever recorded.
So a bit of a mixed bag here as they struggled to follow up their masterpiece 'Out of the Blue' from the previous year. And before they returned with the timeless album 'Time' (Ha Ha) in 1981 which may be their best record of all.
From most bands, an album of this quality would probably prompt multiple cartwheels in the corridor. And there is a lot of very fine stuff here. It's just that when you're a band as talented as the Electric Light Orchestra, you set standards pretty high. And the facts are that this album is inferior to the previous two 'A New World Record' (1976) and 'Out Of The Blue (1978) and to the next one 'Time' (1981).
But that shouldn't detract from the highlights here, which are as timeless as anything they ever did. Jeff Lynne, between 1976 and 1981 very rarely put a foot wrong. This album may have displayed a minor dip in quality but this was hardly noticaeble at the time and contained enough golden eggs to keep the ELO flame alive. They were on this album still a Mightily Talented Band.

One of ELOs best
Although different to ELOs early stuff, Discovery progressed from Out of the Blue and when you consider that this was the late seventies, and what kind of music other bands of their kind were making you can appreciate how good an album this was (and still is). I was only about ten when this came out and so it was one of the first of ELOs albums that I heard. I liked it then and I still like it. Virtually all of the tracks were first class and together they form one of the best albums they made. Anybody interested in trying out ELO or Jeff Lynne could do far worse than listening to this classic album.

discovery
I first bought this in 79 or 80,I loved it then and I love it know.The new enhanced version is even better .Tracks are varied but with that classic elo sound to them.Not my favourite album but pretty close.Try it,the elo sound will grip you.