The Second Coming - Electric Light Orchestra Discography (1970-1971 + Retcons)

Here's another Second Coming post from me, this time focusing on the sons of the Beatles, the Electric Light Orchestra! This one is a bit more different as not only am I adding new albums, I'm also making some retcons from the first draft. We'll come back to that in a bit, but for now, here's the three new albums by ELO, beginning with...

The Electric Light Orchestra (December 4, 1970)

Side A (22:48)

1. Looking On - 7:48 (Looking On)

2. Turkish Tram Conductor Blues - 4:38 (Looking On)

3. What? - 6:42 (Looking On)

4. When Alice Comes Back to the Farm - 3:40 (Looking On)

Side B (22:13)

5. Open Up Said the World at the Door - 7:10 (Looking On)

6. Mr. Radio - 5:04

7. First Movement (Jumping Biz) - 3:00

8. 10538 Overture - 5:32

9. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Lettuce - 1:27 (Looking On)

This is actually the Move's third album Looking On, which is practically an ELO album in all but name, but with "Brontosaurus" and "Feel Too Good" removed and replaced with three tracks that ended up on ELO's debut album from OTL. I think it's reasonable as said album first began recording in 1970, around the same time as Looking On. For this scenario, ELO forms outright upon Jeff Lynne's entry into the Move, signing onto Apple Records at the same time, while the remaining members of the Move such as Carl Wayne and Rick Price carry on without Lynne, Roy Wood and Bev Bevan. Richard Tandy and Bill Hunt also become ELO members in 1971.

Message from the Country (June 4, 1971)

Side A (19:44)

1. Message from the Country - 4:45

2. Ella James - 3:11

3. No Time - 3:38

4. Don’t Mess Me Up - 3:07

5. Until Your Mama’s Gone - 5:03

Side B (20:21)

6. It Wasn’t My Idea to Dance - 5:28

7. The Minister - 4:27

8. Ben Crawley Steel Company - 3:02

9. The Words of Aaron - 5:25

10. My Marge - 1:59

Besides the change of band name on the cover, nothing about Message from the Country has changed whatsoever. ELO were on their way to stardom from this point on.

No Answer (December 3, 1971)

Side A (22:48)

1. Tonight - 3:15 (Message from the Country)

2. Look at Me Now - 3:17

3 Down on the Bay - 4:14 (Message from the Country)

4. Nellie Takes Her Bow - 5:59

5. The Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644) - 6:03

Side B (23:18)

6. Chinatown - 3:06 (Message from the Country)

7. Do Ya - 4:03 (Message from the Country)

8. California Man - 3:35 (Message from the Country)

9. Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) - 4:22

10. Queen of the Hours - 3:22

11. Whisper in the Night - 4:50

No Answer was the name of ELO's debut album in America after a bit of miscommunication regarding the album's name; I couldn't come up with another title for this album, so I decided to keep it as a placeholder for now. This album compiles the leftover tracks from their OTL debut along with five bonus tracks included on the reissue of Message from the Country, including the 1971 version of "Do Ya", which eventually ended up on A New World Record in 1976.

So those are the first three albums by ELO for The Second Coming. 1972's The Lost Planet and 1973's Hocus Pocus both remain unaltered from the original draft. The albums from 1974-1977, however...

The Falcons of Eldorado (September 28, 1974)

Side A (22:53)

1. Overture/Eddy’s Rock - 6:36 (Eldorado/Introducing Eddy and the Falcons; edit)

2. Can’t Get It Out of My Head - 4:21 (Eldorado)

3. Brand New 88 - 3:23 (Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

4. You Got Me Runnin’ - 3:15 (Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

5. Boy Blue - 5:18 (Eldorado)

Side B (22:32)

6. Are You Ready to Rock - 2:31 (Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

7. This is the Story of My Love (Baby) - 5:46 (Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

8. Laredo Tornado - 5:29 (Eldorado)

9. Poor Boy (The Greenwood) - 2:57 (Eldorado)

10. We’re Gonna Rock ‘n’ Roll Tonight - 5:49 (Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

Side C (20:52)

11. Dark City/Rock and Roll Winter - 5:51 (Eldorado/Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

12. Nobody’s Child - 3:40 (Eldorado)

13. Illusions in G Major - 2:36 (Eldorado)

14. Everyday I Wonder - 5:21 (Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

15. Crazy Jeans - 3:24 (Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

Side D (20:25)

16. Mister Kingdom - 5:50 (Eldorado)

17. I Dun Lotsa Cryin’ Over You - 3:23 (Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

18. Come Back Karen - 4:32 (Introducing Eddy and the Falcons)

19. Eldorado - 6:40 (Eldorado; edit)

And this is where the retcons begin to take place; in retrospect, I wasn't particularly happy with how both The Falcons of Eldorado and Face the Music ended up. The tracks that were included from Introducing Eddy and the Falcons were spread out over both of them, when really, they should all be a part of the same album. And so, I decided that the tracks from both Eldorado and Introducing Eddy and the Falcons would all be part of the same album, making The Falcons of Eldorado a double. In turn, this makes this the final album to feature Roy Wood as a member of ELO, afterward starting his own side projects, having previously done so while as a member, before fading into the background.

After that, 1975's Face the Music is released as it was per OTL, as is 1976's A New World Record, but with "Surrender" replacing "Do Ya" and having its position swapped around with "Above the Clouds". Likewise, 1977's Out of the Blue retains the original double album track listing.

Light Years (September 15, 1978)

Side A (23:38)

1. Ball Park Incident - 3:42 (Wizzard Brew)

2. Momma - 7:03 (ELO 2)

3. Roll Over Beethoven - 7:52 (ELO 2; edit)

4. See My Baby Jive - 5:01 (Wizzard Brew)

Side B (23:50)

5. Showdown - 4:09 (On the Third Day)

6. Daybreaker - 3:34 (On the Third Day)

7. Rattlesnake Roll - 4:02 (Mustard)

8. Indiana Rainbow - 3:53 (Mustard)

9. Latitude 88 North - 3:24 (Out of the Blue)

10. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday - 4:48 (Wizzard Brew)

As several tracks have been moved back onto the regular albums, Light Years now becomes a single album featuring ten non-album tracks, ending with "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday". Afterward, ELO's discography happens as it did up to 1983 per the original draft, albeit the track listing to 1980's All Over the World is now as follows:

All Over the World (August 1, 1980)

Side A: Songs from Xanadu (22:46)

1. I'm Alive - 3:46 (Xanadu)

2. The Fall - 3:34 (Xanadu)

3. Don't Walk Away - 4:48 (Xanadu)

4. All Over the World - 4:04 (Xanadu)

5. Drum Dreams - 3:06 (Xanadu)

6. Xanadu [w/ Olivia Newton-John] - 3:28 (Xanadu)

Side B: 1972-1979 Outtakes (23:42)

7. Baby, I Apologize - 3:43 (ELO 2)

8. Bluebird is Dead - 4:24 (On the Third Day)

9. Everyone's Born to Die - 3:43 (On the Third Day)

10. Doin’ That Crazy Thing - 3:25 (non-album single)

11. Goin’ Down to Rio - 3:45 (non-album single)

12. The Quick and the Daft - 1:49 (Out of the Blue)

13. Little Town Flirt - 2:53 (Discovery)

So Side A now focuses on the tracks that were recorded for Xanadu, including the title track featuring the recently deceased Olivia Newton-John, and Side B features outtakes from 1972 to 1979, including a solo Jeff Lynne single from 1977.

What happens after 1983?

I could see ELO continuing past Secret Messages, and they still remain attached to Apple Records right into the 2010s. They would probably take a hiatus in the late 1980s due to Jeff Lynne's focus on the Traveling Wilburys, but they make a comeback in the early 1990s with Eric Troyer as their new keyboardist and joint lead vocalist, effectively butterflying away ELO Part II and The Orchestra. Songs from both projects, however, become official ELO songs. Their post-1983 albums are as follows:

Balance of Power (1986)

Armchair Theatre (1991)

Moment of Truth (1994)

Zoom (2001)

Light Years II (2006; compilation album)

No Rewind (2010)

2015's Alone in the Universe and 2019's From Out of Nowhere are unchanged from OTL, except they're now credited to ELO. This brings ELO's discography up to twenty albums, twenty-two if both Light Years albums are counted, compared to OTL's fourteen (fifteen if Xanadu is counted).