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Tightrope
Telephone Line
Rockaria!
Mission (A World Record)
So Fine
Livin' Thing
Above the Clouds
Do Ya
Shangri-La
Electric Light Orchestra’s sixth album was their big international breakthrough. Hitting the Top 10 in every country in which it was released, A New World Record sold five million units worldwide.
Its title – inspired by the Montreal Olympics, which held the world’s attention while the band were recording in Munich – was fitting for an album that elevated ELO to global fame.
At home, the album produced three Top 10 singles with Livin’ Thing, Telephone Line and Rockaria!, the latter a prime example of Lynne’s classical/rock style, complete with boogie riff, sawing strings, trilling opera singer and references to Wagner, Beethoven and more.
“I was quietly confident about the songs,” mainman Jeff Lynne later commented. No wonder.
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in October 1976
- Chestnut Street Incident - Johnny Cougar
- Hoppkorv - Hot Tuna
- Triumph - Triumph
- Johnny the Fox - Thin Lizzy
- Zoot Allures - Frank Zappa
- Leftoverture - Kansas
- The Song Remains the Same - Led Zeppelin
- Technical Ecstasy - Black Sabbath
- Blue Moves - Elton John
- Night Moves - Bob Seger
- Calling Card - Rory Gallagher
- World Record - Van der Graaf Generator
- Crystal Ball - Styx
- Rock and Roll Heart - Lou Reed
- Big Beat - Sparks
- Burton Cummings - Burton Cummings
- Deep Cuts - Strawbs
- Flow Motion - Can
- Heat Treatment - Graham Parker
- Long Misty Days - Robin Trower
- Love's a Prima Donna - Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel
- New England - Wishbone Ash
- Radio Ethiopia - Patti Smith Group
What they said...
"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." (AllMusic)
"Eat your diploma, Eric Carmen - after years of floundering, they've gone all the way and made a Moody Blues album with brains, hooks, and laffs galore. My fave is Rockaria!, about a lass who 'loves the way Puccini lays down a tune.' Granted, I initially thought it was strictly for those who got off on music appreciation in high school, like the lass. But now I think it's also for those who hated it, like me. (Robert Christgau)
"There aren’t many criticisms you could genuinely level at A New World Record. Perhaps it didn’t rock particularly hard, but it had been obvious for years that Lynne’s interest had been in sophisticated pop rather than heads-down guitar riffing. That’s not to say that ELO were incapable of riffing, indeed their reworking of Do Ya by Lynne’s previous band, The Move, demonstrates that they could do it when they wanted to, they just didn’t want to very often." (Backseat Mafia)
What you said...
Jim Husk: Great album, wonderful tunes and a true slice of the musical pie during this time. I sang my lungs out to these songs while on many long drives.
Chas Heiling: Such a great LP. Bought it when I was 14 and played it to death. IMO, it’s ELO’s finest release!
Richard Slee: A good example of a no-filler album.
Chris Elliott: ELO are a slightly strange band for me. I just can't find the spark. I actually enjoy the albums if I hear them. There are great tracks along the way, but there's nothing that makes me want to go back.
It's that "thing" that's missing. I adore the Moody Blues, same with Barclay James Harvest – who are the closest in my tastes to ELO – but can't make that jump with ELO.
Adam Halpin: IMO their best album and one of my favourites of all time. Not one bad song.
Jon Peacock: A New World Record was the first album of ELO’s that was talked about at school. This may be an odd thing to say, but often this was how you heard of new music, this and Sounds/NME. No internet, etc.
It's not an album I listen to often at all, but have enjoyed revisiting it a lot. There are definitely elements of what was to come next, but this stands well on its own. Great harmonies, good song structures and, of course, excellent musicianship/production.
I have always found Jeff Lynne to be a really good songwriter and musician. It certainly shows in this album. A strong 8/10.
Henry Martinez: Can't say I ever fell in love with any ELO album, but this one comes the closest. Livin' Thing is the top-shelf highlight, and it reminds me that it was put to good use for the end credits of the classic movie Boogie Nights. The lead character truly had a livin' thing, lol.
Paul Kent: The singles lifted from this superb album endlessly crop up on countless 70's hits compilations: Telephone Line, Livin' Thing, Rockaria!" Do Ya - songs as old friends, speaking metaphorically! But, everything else here more than compares to these radio staples, and it would not be ridiculous to say that, of all ELO's albums, A New World Record is the only one where any track could potentially have been a hit. Yes, it really is that good.
For Jeff Lynne, everything was building to this. Without compromising, he'd reached an artistic plateau and had finally attained a modicum of critical acclaim. However, once you've reached the top of the mountain, the only way left is down. Taking the themes and ideas of this release to their gargantuan nadir on Out Of The Blue, the inevitable backlash occurred with Discovery, and ELO's star waned slowly, but steadily, before winking out of existence forever (in this incarnation, anyway!)
Ultimately, nothing Lynne subsequently recorded (including Out Of The Blue) could satisfactorily replicate the sheer quality in evidence here. Sure, he'd pen big hits and make damn good albums. But, for A New World Record, the planets aligned: it's not too big, it's not too clever, it's not contrived - it's, quite simply, perfect!
John Davidson: Like many, I was in thrall to ELO for a few months in 1977/78 when Out Of The Blue dominated the airways. But, of course, ELO didn't appear out of the blue; they'd been building up to it for years with ever more sophisticated pop/rock.
Alongside The Eagles, Steely Dan, 10cc, Gerry Rafferty and Rumours-era Fleetwood Mac, this was mid-70s style adult-oriented rock at its most polished.
It's enjoyable stuff, and takes me back to those long hot summer days watching Wimbledon and playing tennis in the park, but it's hard to evaluate in the context of 'classic rock'.
As an album, it doesn't flag at all and there are no clunkers that have me reaching for the skip button. A nostalgic 8/10.
Evan Sanders: I don't even need to listen to this one again, as it's one of the first albums I ever bought, and it still is a frequent listen. I think it's superior to its follow-up, Out Of The Blue, as that double album has multiple good songs as well as multiple that were typical filler for double studio albums back in the 1970s.
On the other hand, I think A New World Record solidified ELO's brand of pop rock with classical accompaniment. Besides the big hits of Telephone Line and Livin' Thing, it has a strong opener with Tightrope, the opera name-dropping Rockaria, and the band sort of covering their former selves with Do Ya.
The other songs are pleasant pop numbers that fit in. I also like how the record begins and ends with a similar musical theme for Tightrope and the Shangri La fade-out, which makes it feel like Lynne wanted to be taken more seriously. 8 or 9 out of 10 for an album that won't bring you down.
Greg Schwepe: 10. I’ll just do this week’s review backwards. Rating right at the beginning, so everyone can see, since this album is a classic for me. The first album I ever bought by ELO, and where I started with the band, A New World Record” is burned into my memory.
For me, this is the perfect ELO album. Everything gels into a perfect cohesive example of Jeff Lynne’s vision, songwriting, and production. Years later, when I bought all of ELO’s catalogue and then went backwards to see what preceded A New World Record, oh, there was good stuff there, alright. But for me, there was always something keeping those albums from being “the one.”
And hey, if you’re listening to ELO, you’re OK with the whole “string section meshed into a rock and roll band” concept. Those strings, and the harmonies. And again… the songwriting and production. I mean, they had radio hits from previous albums, but man, Telephone Line, Rockaria, Livin’ Thing, Do Ya. This one’s loaded.
I play a little musical game with myself called “Pick Two.” I take a band and determine what two albums I would buy if I could only have two from them. For ELO, it’s this one and Out Of The Blue. Lynne has made some super albums over his ELO career, but A New World Record is top tier.
I bought this probably within a year of its release, and part of the reason it’s so ingrained in me is due to painting our house. My Dad gave me $50 (or was it just a measly $25?) to paint it, and I would put my stereo speakers in the window and listen to albums while I painted. This one, especially. The bad part was having to get down off the ladder, go inside, flip the album over, then return to painting, and then repeat. But it was worth it.
And this album was such a big deal, I totally remember seeing a commercial for it here in the U.S., when commercials like that were a thing! This one showed a track meet in a stadium, an athlete throwing an album/discus emblazoned with ELO artwork from the album that flew through the air and then landed in the grass. A track official then runs over with a tape measure, which is set next to the album, and he exclaims, “It’s A New World Record!”
A little too much trip down memory lane and gushing for this review? Probably. But it’s albums like that this that stick with people forever.
Warren Bubb: A huge step up from the previous album as ELO hit their stride to world domination. A truly great album full of wonderful songs. Still gets played regularly.
Mark Herrington: A New World Record sits somewhat in the shadow of its follow-up Out Of The Blue, but has real qualities that are all its own.
Whilst Out Of The Blue has bigger highs, it also has some lesser spots for me, particularly some tracks on sides 2 and 4.
For me, there’s more consistency on A New World Record with a clutch of rockers, classics and emotive charmers all placed naturally in its more concise running order.
It opens with Tightrope, setting the pace for the rest of the album, with synths, strings and stirring vocals aplenty. Followed then by the classic, bittersweet Telephone Line. Next up, Opera meets Rock in the wonderfully dramatic Rockaria. Closing side one, Mission, a sad Earth story, heavy on pathos.
So Fine may seem a lesser track at first, but it sets a tone and dovetails perfectly on the lead into the classic and stirring Livin' Thing. Above the Clouds leads into an old Move favourite given a new lease of life, the rocking Do Ya.
It leaves Shangri-La to close the album, a song of heartbreak and tragedy that gradually builds to a stirring orchestral end with a combination of plaintive vocals.
My favourite ELO album, with the best of their older style, combining well with their newer, more commercial direction. A good score from me.
Adam Ranger: A New World Record set up a period of world domination for ELO. For the next few years, they could do no wrong.
This is a classic slice of pop rock that still sounds great today. My favourite track is Do Ya, it's louder and more rocking than the rest. But Livin' Thing is a close second. That hook still sounds mighty fine to me. One of the greatest pop singles ever. The only low point for me is Shangri-La. A slightly dreary end to a fabulous album.
Philip Qvist: I was a huge ELO fan during the late 70s and early 80s, while Discovery will always have a place in my heart as that was the first record that started my now considerable album collection. I also think Time is an underrated classic from the band, but all things considered, when I'm asked to name ELO's greatest albums, then there are only two contenders, Out Of The Blue and this one, A New World Record.
A New World Record fulfilled all the promise hinted at on both Eldorado and Face The Music - and then some. Just nine songs on this record, and none of them are duds. Tightrope is a great opening song, and it has the three big hits: Livin' Thing, Rockaria and Telephone Line, while songs like Mission (A World Record) and Do Ya all add to the quality of this album.
As songwriter and producer, band leader Jeff Lynne calls most of the shots here, but you cannot ignore the contributions that Bev Bevan, Kelly Groucutt and the brilliant Richard Tandy all made to this album. I loved this record at the time, and I still do. A 10 from me this week
Adrian Bolster: One of the first albums I bought as a kid, on cassette. Three big hits, but is a brilliant album in total. I still play it now.
Final score: 8.12 (70 votes cast, total score 569)
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