Product 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.

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: #4514 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

Customer Reviews

The Beginning of The End
This album probably marks the end of the most fertile part of Jeff Lynne's songwriting career, as well as the time where ELO's musical direction coincided with the public mood. It's also the album where the band flirted more with the rhythmic possibilities and technologies of disco and (at that time) dance music. It also sounds wonderfully rich and textured, as one would expect from Lynne's production by this time. It's a testament to the band that this album is still largely a success.

The signs were clear in tracks like Shine A Little Love and Confusion. Indeed, the latter's influence clearly stayed with Lynne because some of its sounds resurfaced on George Harrison's Stuck Inside A Cloud from the posthumous, Lynne-produced Brainwashed. Shine A Little Love, meanwhile, is a relatively slight but tasty confection that acts as an appetiser for the repast to come.

Where Discovery falls slightly below the standards that ELO had set for that time was in the ballads. Both Wishing and Need Her Love could be charitably described as workmanlike but more accurately as uninispired and flat. Midnight Blue is thankfully very much better.

The up-tempo numbers are rather more successful. On the Run is tight and pacy, while the heavily disco-tinged and somewhat maligned Last Train to London is actually really rather lovely. Even the fact that Atomic Kitten appropriated samples from it for their own use can't detract from its beautiful juxtaposition of electronica and strings.

The song that divides all is the Beatlesque pastiche of The Diary of Horace Wimp; a top ten hit in 1979 but subsequently thought irredeemably naff by most. While being musically rather pleasant the lyric probably oversteps the bounds of whimsy into something overly silly. Still, I hold it in no little childhood affection and can't dislike it totally.

The album's closer is possibly ELO's finest hour: Don't Bring Me Down. A mighty, anthemic, pumping rock stomp which was the first time they had hit the chart without the use of strings. It still sounds just as fresh and immediate, nearly thirty years later.

The extras, such as they are, are largely inconsequential, though the cover of Del Shannon's Little Town Flirt is the rather delightful exception.

After this, the path was downhill for ELO and, while Time and Secret Messages still showed continued evidence of high quality, the music-buying public were starting to move on. As a result this album is really the beginning of the end of ELO's remarkable commercial pulling-power and, as such, marks the end of an era.

Disco-very
My favourite elo album. Very pop tastic. All the songs could have been singles and lets face it, most were. Shine a Little Love has a superb opening , great single first choice. Horace wimp is unlike anything you have heard before. Great lyric. Confusion/Last Train to london. Cant decide which would make the best single? Neither could they so a double a side then. Don't bring me down was the last single from the album and surprisingly the biggest hit. All the songs were top 10 hits in 1979 making this there most prolific year. Unfortunately all this success brought along their downfall. They could never match the success chartwise. Just 9 songs but they are all belters. Pure pop with several strong influences like the beatles and bee gees. Maybe a bit of abba. Much better than out of the blue i thought. Stronger songs all round. Much recommended.

Go on
Having bought Discovery on its first release in my early teens and being a fan I was somewhat disappointed with it coming after New World Record & Out Of The Blue. It may have been that I was moving onto a more heavier sound and that ELO did not fit comfortably with Deep Purple Rush Led Zep & Genesis that had been carefully sown on my demin jacket. With this in mind I had put off buying Discovery for sometime, but having now taken the plunge I am glad I did. It might be for sentimetal reasons but I like it. So go on and give it a spin. Now all I have to do is find that jacket!.