My Second-Favorite JL of the 1960s

Anyone with even a passing interest in rock music is undoubtedly familiar with the glittering 1970s spectacle that is the Electric Light Orchestra. I don't think I've ever thumbed through a dollar record bin without coming across at least one worse-for-the-wear copy of El Dorado (no link necessary). I think it was either Paul McCartney or my boyfriend who once noted that if the Beatles hadn't broken up, they probably would've turned into ELO Part II.

This statement is easyish for me to digest because of the eternal flame I will always hold for ELO frontman Jeff Lynne, a bona fide auteur of brilliantly (or obnoxiously, depending on your P.O.V) catchy pop music. However, as much as Turn to Stone and Mr. Blue Sky may rule, they don't even come close to hitting the max levels of infectiousness that Lynne conjured up with his late-sixties pre-prog baroque-psych group, The Idle Race.

The Idle Race are the most overlooked and neglected band of the nineteen-sixties. Over time, they have faded into near-complete obscurity but for the inclusion of a couple singles on the Nuggets II compilation (and their ELO connection, of course). In fact, I would venture to guess that I may very well be the biggest Idle Race fan alive today. Which is why I consider it my responsibility to use my blogosphere hook-up as a chance to spread the gospel of these disregarded geniuses (seriously: if I had my way, they would totally swoop in and steal the Who's third-place spot in the Holy Trinity of Sixties British Pop Bands).

The band's first single, Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree (click to download), is one of my favorite songs EVER. Penned by the incomparable Roy Wood (with whom Lynne later collaborated on the first ELO record) and first performed by his band The Move, this is one of those rare cases where the cover version wholly surpasses the original. Lemon Tree is a sugary, juicy summertime anthem: it is music like this that reminds one of precisely why the format of three-minute pop song is so timeless and treasured.

Knocking Nails Into My House (again, click to download) is a weird chompy stomper from early '68, the B-side to the equally contagious Imposters of Life's Magazine (one of their two contributions to Nuggets). This is perhaps the only song in pop music history that deals with the subject matter of having one's house unexpectedly destroyed by a gang of thuggish repo men.

Hurry Up John (click it!!!) is the final track on the band's self-titled second (and last) album. This record is epic, symphonic and lush; its highest moments worthy of the Fab Four themselves (Their first full-length, The Birthday Party, is equally impressive: a concept album about, yes, you guessed it: birthdays. If that's not a rad out-there concept, I don't know what is). This sparkling, hallucinatory soundscape is like lysergic acid diethylamide with zero comedown. Dig it!

Posted by Laura in Music
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