Jeff Lynne reportedly regards this album and its follow-up, Out of the Blue, as the high points in the band's history.
One might be better off opting for A New World Record over its successor, however, as a more modest-sized creation chock full of superb songs that are produced even better.
Opening with the opulently orchestrated "Tightrope," which heralds the perfect production found throughout this album, A New World Record contains seven of the best songs ever to come out of the group.
The Beatles influence is present, to be sure, but developed to a very high degree of sophistication and on Lynne's own terms, rather than being imitative of specific songs.
"Telephone Line" might be the best Lennon-McCartney collaboration that never was, lyrical and soaring in a way that manages to echo elements of Revolver and the Beatles without ever mimicking them.
The original LP's second side opened with "So Fine," which seems like the perfect pop synthesis of guitar, percussion, and orchestral sounds, embodying precisely what Lynne had first set out to do with Roy Wood at the moment ELO was conceived.
From there, the album soars through stomping rock numbers like "Livin' Thing" and "Do Ya," interspersed with lyrical pieces like "Above the Clouds" (which makes striking use of pizzicato bass strings).
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TightropeJeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | Play | 05:06 | 11 MB | 34 MB |
| 2 | Telephone LineJeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 3 | Rockaria!Jeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 4 | Mission (A World Record)Jeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | Play | 04:25 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 5 | So FineJeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | Play | 03:55 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Livin' ThingJeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | Play | 03:32 | 8 MB | 23 MB |
| 7 | Above the CloudsJeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | Play | 02:17 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 8 | Do YaJeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 9 | Shangri-LaJeff Lynne | Electric Light Orchestra | Play | 05:35 | 12 MB | 34 MB |
| 36 mins | 83 MB | |||||
| 36 mins | 233 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bev Bevan | Drums, Group Member, Percussion, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 2 | Louis Clark | Choir Arrangement, Orchestration, Producer |
| 3 | Electric Light Orchestra | Primary Artist |
| 4 | Melvyn Gale | Cello, Group Member |
| 5 | Kelly Groucutt | Bass, Group Member, Guitar (Bass), Percussion, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 6 | Mik Kaminski | Violin |
| 7 | Jeff Lynne | Audio Production, Choir Arrangement, Composer, Group Member, Guitar, Keyboards, Orchestration, Producer, Synthesizer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Hugh McDowell | Cello, Group Member |
| 9 | Richard Tandy | Choir Arrangement, Clavinet, Group Member, Guitar, Keyboards, Moog Synthesizer, Orchestration, Piano, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |