Time
By ELO
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Track listing
Show track credits
- A1 Prologue 1:16
- A2 Twilight 3:42
- A3 Yours Truly, 2095 3:11
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Sandivoice
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- A4 Ticket to the Moon 4:07
- A5 The Way Life's Meant to Be 4:38
- A6 Another Heart Breaks 3:48
- B1 Rain Is Falling 3:55
- B2 From the End of the World 3:16
- B3 The Lights Go Down 3:33
- B4 Here Is the News 3:50
- B5 21st Century Man 4:03
- B6 Hold On Tight 3:06
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Ghislainevocal
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- B7 Epilogue 1:31
- Total length: 43:56
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29 Issues
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Time [p] 33 rpm
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Time 33 rpm
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Time 33 rpm
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Time 33 rpm
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Time 33 rpm
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Time 33 rpm
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Time 33 rpm
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Time 33 rpm
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Time 33 rpm
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Time Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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Time Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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Time Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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Time Bonus Tracks, CD Sized Album Replica, Limited Edition, Remastered
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Time Bonus Tracks, CD Sized Album Replica, Paper/Cardboard Sleeve, Remastered
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Time Bonus Tracks, Paper/Cardboard Sleeve, Remastered
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Time 192-24 FLAC Digital file, Streaming
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Time Bonus Tracks, CD Sized Album Replica, Limited Edition, Remastered
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Time 180 gram, 33 rpm
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Time 33 rpm
104 Reviews
The story so far...
The Electric Light Orchestra are formed from the ashes of '60's psych outfit, The Move, and immediately fail to set the world alight. One album in and, perceived creative lynchpin, Roy Wood walks, allowing his apprentice, Jeff Lynne, to take the reins and turn the band into a stadium-eating pop machine. 1979 sees Lynne embrace the disco scene just as it's about to die with the album "Discovery". Brows the world over furrow in bewilderment. Even more so when he takes up the challenge of creating more dance-oriented fare for the "other, far less popular musical starring Olivia Newton-John", "Xanadu". In 1981, with only three albums left to see out his contract, a troubled Lynne enters the studio. Now read on...
By '81, Lynne had had enough. The endless cycle of touring and recording had taken it's toll. He had already decided to wind ELO down and spend more time with his young family, but contracts had to be fulfilled. "Time" is often seen as a straightforward time-travel concept album. But, look more closely and you'll see that's nothing more than an allegory - Lynne has cast himself here as the central character, alone and lost in a world he knows but no longer understands. This is an incredibly dark album. Every song on the album deals with themes of lost love, alienation, despair and longing. And to re-inforce the message, he's seems to have taken a massive volte-face, in regard to instrumentation and production - nearly everything here is either synthesized, treated or generally fucked about with - to drive the fact home that he's not willing to play the game anymore.
As good as they are, most ELO albums have lyrics that contain as much intrigue as the side of a cereal pack. "Time", on the other hand, is Lynne's deepest and most personal statement to date. The individual songs don't offer up any startling revelations, as such, but, taken as a body of work, it's difficult not to concede that "Time" sees Lynne in a state of flux: there are countless references to being left alone, promises of being home soon or wanting to get back home, visions of a general dystopia - of things going wrong. "Time" is Lynne's therapy. It can also be seen as a possible attempt to sabotage his own career.
ELO's lifespan can be split into three disctinct phases: the maverick experimentation of the first three albums; the kitchen-sink era which ran from "Eldorado" to "Xanadu"; and the latter 'autumn years' - of which "Time" is the first album. This album, along with "Secret Messages" and the truly anodyne swansong, "Balance of Power", were a trio of sidesteps allowing Lynne to throw caution to the wind and act as contrarily as he never had done in his entire career. Not all of it worked, but, for me it's certainly the most interesting phase. Why? Because this is Lynne doing what he wants, instead of what he believed would be accepted. It seemed to work for him - as he says in this album's highlight, "21st Century Man": "You stepped out of a dream, believing everything was gone / Return with what you've learnt, they'll kiss the ground you walk upon". How prescient...he followed "Time" with two far more upbeat albums, but then left ELO far behind (albeit temporarily), to carve out a niche as one of the world's top producers.
At the end of the day, the song's the thing! "Time" is full of belters. It's not a hit-fest, like past albums - you all know "Hold On Tight", of course. But, "Twilight"? "The Way Life's Meant To Be"? "Ticket To The Moon"? Whaddya mean no? They were all singles. It's seems Lynne's wish was granted. "Time" was another nail in the coffin. Despair has never sounded so good.
(Note on bonus tracks: Don't get me started!!! Disgraceful!!! "The Bouncer", "When Time Stood Still", "Julie Don't Live Here" - yes, fantastic songs, all. But, Mr. Epic/Legacy, we are ELO fans, which means we've already got the "Afterglow" box set, on which these three tracks appear! Bastards!!!)
The Electric Light Orchestra are formed from the ashes of '60's psych outfit, The Move, and immediately fail to set the world alight. One album in and, perceived creative lynchpin, Roy Wood walks, allowing his apprentice, Jeff Lynne, to take the reins and turn the band into a stadium-eating pop machine. 1979 sees Lynne embrace the disco scene just as it's about to die with the album "Discovery". Brows the world over furrow in bewilderment. Even more so when he takes up the challenge of creating more dance-oriented fare for the "other, far less popular musical starring Olivia Newton-John", "Xanadu". In 1981, with only three albums left to see out his contract, a troubled Lynne enters the studio. Now read on...
By '81, Lynne had had enough. The endless cycle of touring and recording had taken it's toll. He had already decided to wind ELO down and spend more time with his young family, but contracts had to be fulfilled. "Time" is often seen as a straightforward time-travel concept album. But, look more closely and you'll see that's nothing more than an allegory - Lynne has cast himself here as the central character, alone and lost in a world he knows but no longer understands. This is an incredibly dark album. Every song on the album deals with themes of lost love, alienation, despair and longing. And to re-inforce the message, he's seems to have taken a massive volte-face, in regard to instrumentation and production - nearly everything here is either synthesized, treated or generally fucked about with - to drive the fact home that he's not willing to play the game anymore.
As good as they are, most ELO albums have lyrics that contain as much intrigue as the side of a cereal pack. "Time", on the other hand, is Lynne's deepest and most personal statement to date. The individual songs don't offer up any startling revelations, as such, but, taken as a body of work, it's difficult not to concede that "Time" sees Lynne in a state of flux: there are countless references to being left alone, promises of being home soon or wanting to get back home, visions of a general dystopia - of things going wrong. "Time" is Lynne's therapy. It can also be seen as a possible attempt to sabotage his own career.
ELO's lifespan can be split into three disctinct phases: the maverick experimentation of the first three albums; the kitchen-sink era which ran from "Eldorado" to "Xanadu"; and the latter 'autumn years' - of which "Time" is the first album. This album, along with "Secret Messages" and the truly anodyne swansong, "Balance of Power", were a trio of sidesteps allowing Lynne to throw caution to the wind and act as contrarily as he never had done in his entire career. Not all of it worked, but, for me it's certainly the most interesting phase. Why? Because this is Lynne doing what he wants, instead of what he believed would be accepted. It seemed to work for him - as he says in this album's highlight, "21st Century Man": "You stepped out of a dream, believing everything was gone / Return with what you've learnt, they'll kiss the ground you walk upon". How prescient...he followed "Time" with two far more upbeat albums, but then left ELO far behind (albeit temporarily), to carve out a niche as one of the world's top producers.
At the end of the day, the song's the thing! "Time" is full of belters. It's not a hit-fest, like past albums - you all know "Hold On Tight", of course. But, "Twilight"? "The Way Life's Meant To Be"? "Ticket To The Moon"? Whaddya mean no? They were all singles. It's seems Lynne's wish was granted. "Time" was another nail in the coffin. Despair has never sounded so good.
(Note on bonus tracks: Don't get me started!!! Disgraceful!!! "The Bouncer", "When Time Stood Still", "Julie Don't Live Here" - yes, fantastic songs, all. But, Mr. Epic/Legacy, we are ELO fans, which means we've already got the "Afterglow" box set, on which these three tracks appear! Bastards!!!)
Published
EK 85421 CD (2001)
ADVERTISEMENT
By the time that ELO kept the name abbreviated and stopped doing as much with strings and did more with synths. Fine songs were created by doing this. I almost wonder if I could have moved it up half a mark, as the album has remarkable flow from track to track.
Apparently this was their last hurrah, but what a last hurrah.
Apparently this was their last hurrah, but what a last hurrah.
Published
Synth-pop? You bet! But... but... it's CLASSY synth-pop!
Published
Jeff Lynne; a Beatles fanboy turned good - excellent, in fact! He is the heart of ELO, composing, writing and producing the band's records, while also handling the lead vocals as well as playing guitar and synths on them. With Time he created a modern-sounding and well-crafted album, yet still did not give up on the Beatlesque textures and musical flourishes that are so lovingly interspersed throughout, making the sound and the songs all the richer for it.
John Lennon had died some months earlier and his ghost can be heard clearly in the way Lynne enunciates some key vocal parts and lyrics, as if he is willfully trying to embody John's singing on some of the Beatles masterpieces like Sgt. Pepper and the White Album. And it works!
I also hear a bit of Kraftwerk and even, dare I say it, some future Radiohead soundscapes on the record, giving the arrangements a nice edge amidst the synth-fest, which Time undeniably is. I can see how it might have paved the way to 80s bands like Ultravox and A-ha in particular. Moreover, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree fame sites Jeff Lynne as one of his musical heroes of his youth, and sure enough, he has made ample use of the 'telephone voice' that Lynne showcases here. But what I truly love about the record is how cohesive it sounds, how enjoyable a listen it is from start to finish, with no filler songs whatsoever. (Even the wholly instrumental "Another Heart Breaks" with the very guitar-sounding synths more than earns its place on the album.) I suppose a concept album is meant to sound cohesive, but we know all too well that often this is not the case...
Today, I did something rare: I pulled the booklet out and sang along to the lyrics while enjoying the music, and I don't think I've had as much fun listening to an album so intently in a long time, what a thrill! I do prefer the poppier sound of ELO, but it's worth pointing out how somber the themes and the overall concept on Time is, dealing with the uncertainty of the future and the alienation of man (not unlike Radiohead's OK Computer, in fact!) Listening to this record, in particular, it's as if I can envisage how the Beatles might have sounded like if they had gone on… It's quite eerie in places but oh, is it also evocative and even melancholic. Thankfully, Jeff Lynne mastered the skill of putting his own, indelible stamp on the music he created as the front figure of ELO. Time is steeped in time, yet…time…less.
Key tracks: Twilight, The Way Life's Meant to Be, 21st Century Man
Favourite track: Ticket to the Moon
John Lennon had died some months earlier and his ghost can be heard clearly in the way Lynne enunciates some key vocal parts and lyrics, as if he is willfully trying to embody John's singing on some of the Beatles masterpieces like Sgt. Pepper and the White Album. And it works!
I also hear a bit of Kraftwerk and even, dare I say it, some future Radiohead soundscapes on the record, giving the arrangements a nice edge amidst the synth-fest, which Time undeniably is. I can see how it might have paved the way to 80s bands like Ultravox and A-ha in particular. Moreover, Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree fame sites Jeff Lynne as one of his musical heroes of his youth, and sure enough, he has made ample use of the 'telephone voice' that Lynne showcases here. But what I truly love about the record is how cohesive it sounds, how enjoyable a listen it is from start to finish, with no filler songs whatsoever. (Even the wholly instrumental "Another Heart Breaks" with the very guitar-sounding synths more than earns its place on the album.) I suppose a concept album is meant to sound cohesive, but we know all too well that often this is not the case...
Today, I did something rare: I pulled the booklet out and sang along to the lyrics while enjoying the music, and I don't think I've had as much fun listening to an album so intently in a long time, what a thrill! I do prefer the poppier sound of ELO, but it's worth pointing out how somber the themes and the overall concept on Time is, dealing with the uncertainty of the future and the alienation of man (not unlike Radiohead's OK Computer, in fact!) Listening to this record, in particular, it's as if I can envisage how the Beatles might have sounded like if they had gone on… It's quite eerie in places but oh, is it also evocative and even melancholic. Thankfully, Jeff Lynne mastered the skill of putting his own, indelible stamp on the music he created as the front figure of ELO. Time is steeped in time, yet…time…less.
Key tracks: Twilight, The Way Life's Meant to Be, 21st Century Man
Favourite track: Ticket to the Moon
Published
ADVERTISEMENT
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A1
Prologue
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A2
Twilight
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A3
Yours Truly, 2095
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A4
Ticket to the Moon
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A5
The Way Life's Meant to Be
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A6
Another Heart Breaks
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B1
Rain Is Falling
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B2
From the End of the World
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B3
The Lights Go Down
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B4
Here Is the News
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B5
21st Century Man
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B6
Hold On Tight
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B7
Epilogue
The concept is a little strange at times. Thematically, it's supposed to take place in the future, specifically the year 2095, where the protagonist falls in love with robots and misses the "good ol 1980s where things were so uncomplicated" but he can also send messages to past relationships from 1981, and it's not really clear what he's doing there, or even how or why he got there (there's some kind of time-transporter, I guess). Musically, there's a lot of nods to 1950's balladry ("The Lights Go Down") and rockabilly ("Hold on Tight") combined with 'cutting-edge' 1980s gadgetry, and maybe this was what Jeff Lynne thought the music of the future would be?? Regardless, the idea pays off splendidly - all the smash hits are excellent, and most of the non-hits are great too. The Spanish-flavored "The Way Life's Meant to Be" feels like a lesser quality song, and the boring ballad "21st Century Man" pretty much invented Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, but the rest is just some excellent pop songwriting. The best ELO there is, really.
Published
I've listened to this album since I was born, still never gets old, still not bored of it!
Published
Anyone who listens to this album can easily say that this is made in eighties.This is no prog album,altough some fragments of it is still discernable.But if you don't care if it is prog or not ,this is an excellent album ,one of the best of ELO.The tracks 2,3,4,5,6 are fantastic songs.
Published
I loved this when I was thirteen. I am the same person, I do not feel ashame to recognice it like a masterpiece. Jeff Lyne has real talent
Published
JET LP 236 Vinyl LP (1981)
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