Nothin' But the Music - Track 6

                Few bands live up to the title of this post series like Electric Light Orchestra.  With them, you really need nothin’ but the music.  They have such a unique sound and can take a song from fast to slow and back in a split second with a lot of fun and a lot of style.  The brain-child of Jeff Lynne, ELO has seen multiple configurations of vocalists and musicians but keeps turning out great tunes.  Though in their hay day in the 1970s, Lynne and his modern make-up of ELO are still rocking out.  Combining classical orchestra instruments and components is not foreign to rock and pop music, but ELO is without equal in putting them to use so well and building a very distinctive brand out of it.  While an instrumental collection by this group would have no rank of favorites, just a lot of really great music, my personal ranking comes from the balance of great tunes with great lyrics.  Here is Chuckonia’s top 5 by Electric Light Orchestra:
#5 – “Don’t Bring Me Down” - A quintessential "don't mess with us" song, this has an intense beat that makes it ideal for the many ad campaigns and TV and film spots that have featured it.

#4 – “Mr. Blue Sky” - For all the great songs about positive thought and emotion, particularly from the 70s, this is a rarity in that it questions why such thoughts and feelings aren't constant in life.  But what a great melody with which to ask Mr. Blue Sky "Please tell us why you had to hide away for so long?"

#3 – “Living Thing” - This one may be more about the music than the lyrics.  It's a complex and fun composition.  While the lyrics don't always make sense to me, you can't tell me you've never wanted to jump into a pool and hear an echo of "I'm takin' a dive!"

#2 – “Turn to Stone” - If a person's inner-monologue spoke really fast when a person was lonely, this is what it would say.  A great fast-paced song about missing one's love, whether for the short or long term, everyone wants to come out of a stint of depression "in my blue world."

#1 – “Evil Woman” - Love this song!  The beat, the pace, the shifts, the words - it's all there.  Not just another great song from the 70s, this is THE ultimate song to crank up and play loud if you're pissed off at a woman.  It also fits as the personal theme song for any woman who wants to flaunt her villainy.  I could imagine it playing as Carmen Sandiego enters a room, or perhaps any well-renowned evil queen or witch.  If we put more women in the electric chair in America, this would also be a neat sound effect when the switch is thrown.  Crank it up and sing along now!