The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach
The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Live album by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
Released | 30 May 1974 | |||
Recorded | 12 May 1974 | |||
Venue | Long Beach Auditorium, Long Beach, California | |||
Genre | Progressive rock | |||
Length | 40:20 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. (Germany) | |||
Producer | Jeff Lynne | |||
Electric Light Orchestra chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Reissue album cover | ||||
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [2] |
MusicHound | 2/5[3] |
The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach is a 1974 live album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) recorded on the evening of 12 May 1974 at the Long Beach Auditorium in Long Beach, California; its title lampoons "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" by Vicki Lawrence.
Background and limited release
This live album was intended as the follow-up to On the Third Day, but the original recording was marred by technical issues both on and off the stage. The problems started when the truck carrying the band's equipment broke down en route to the venue, and the band did not have enough time to perform a proper soundcheck before the concert.[4]
Initial vinyl pressings of the album were of such poor quality that ELO's management eventually filed a lawsuit against the production company for compensation. The garish gatefold sleeve of the original album, designed by Mick Haggerty, showed a cartoony 1950s-era horror film mob running in terror from an unseen source of light, with the album's title scrawled across the sleeve. The inside held distorted photos of the band performing onstage.
Ultimately, both ELO's UK and US labels decided against issuing The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach. It only achieved "legitimate" release in Germany and a handful of other countries such as Australia, although it was eventually issued in the UK in 1985. It was never released in the US (although it was heavily imported into the US, and sold quite well in the specialty rock music shops around the country). However, in the US, the live version of "10538 Overture" from this recording was later used as the B-side for the ELO single "Evil Woman" from the studio album Face the Music. The live version of "Roll Over Beethoven" from Long Beach saw limited release in the US on the B-side of the alternate version of "Telephone Line" in the CBS Hall of Fame 45 re-issue series.
Restoration
A 1990s CD remastering and reissue corrected the poor sound quality of the original album and restored several songs to their full-length versions. It was discovered that the original LP pressing had been mastered using an inferior copy of the concert (according to the CD's liner notes, the tape used had been marked 'Rough Mix, Do Not Use'), hence its muddy sound. However, the original master tape was discovered in the record company's vault, and the album was restored to its intended sound quality.
The album is notable for being the sole live recording of ELO released during their initial period of activity.
Original track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Daybreaker" | Jeff Lynne | 5:34 |
2. | "Showdown" | Lynne | 6:54 |
3. | "Day Tripper" | Lennon–McCartney | 6:40 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
4. | "10538 Overture" | Lynne | 5:44 |
5. | "Mik's Solo/Orange Blossom Special" | Mik Kaminski/Ervin T. Rouse | 2:28 |
6. | "In the Hall of the Mountain King/Great Balls of Fire" | Edvard Grieg/Jack Hammer, Otis Blackwell | 8:35 |
7. | "Roll Over Beethoven" | Chuck Berry | 4:25 |
Total length: | 40:20 |
Personnel
- Jeff Lynne – lead vocals, electric guitar
- Bev Bevan – drums
- Richard Tandy – Wurlitzer electric piano, Minimoog synthesizer
- Mike de Albuquerque – co-lead vocals, bass, backing vocals
- Mik Kaminski – violin
- Hugh McDowell – cello
- Mike Edwards – cello
References
- ^ Eder, Bruce. "The Night the Lights Went On (In Long Beach) – Electric Light Orchestra: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 915. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 382. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
- ^ "The Night the Light Went On (In Long Beach) - Electric Light Orchestra - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- v
- t
- e
- Bev Bevan
- Roy Wood
- Richard Tandy
- Mike Edwards
- Wilfred Gibson
- Hugh McDowell
- Mike de Albuquerque
- Colin Walker
- Mik Kaminski
- Kelly Groucutt
- Melvyn Gale
- The Electric Light Orchestra (No Answer)
- ELO 2 (Electric Light Orchestra II)
- On the Third Day
- Eldorado
- Face the Music
- A New World Record
- Out of the Blue
- Discovery
- Time
- Secret Messages
- Balance of Power
- Zoom
- Alone in the Universe
- From Out of Nowhere
- The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach
- Live at Wembley '78
- Live at Winterland '76
- The BBC Sessions
- Live at the BBC
- Electric Light Orchestra Live
- Wembley or Bust
- Xanadu
- Showdown
- Olé ELO
- The Light Shines On
- Three Light Years
- The Light Shines On Vol 2
- ELO's Greatest Hits
- A Box of Their Best
- Four Light Years
- Afterglow
- ELO's Greatest Hits Vol. 2
- The Very Best of the Electric Light Orchestra
- Strange Magic
- Light Years
- Definitive Collection
- Friends & Relatives
- Flashback
- The Ultimate Collection
- The Essential Electric Light Orchestra
- All Over the World
- Ticket to the Moon
- The Essential Electric Light Orchestra (2 CD Edition)
- Mr. Blue Sky
- "10538 Overture"
- "Mr. Radio" (withdrawn)
- "Roll Over Beethoven"
- "Showdown"
- "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"
- "Can't Get It Out of My Head" / "Illusions in G Major"
- "Boy Blue" / "Eldorado"
- "Evil Woman"
- "Strange Magic"
- "Nightrider"
- "Strange Magic"
- "Livin' Thing" / "Fire On High"
- "Rockaria!"
- "Do Ya"
- "Telephone Line" / "Poor Boy (The Greenwood)"
- "Turn to Stone" / "Mister Kingdom"
- "Mr. Blue Sky" / "One Summer Dream"
- "Sweet Talkin' Woman"
- "Wild West Hero"
- "It's Over"
- "Shine a Little Love"
- "The Diary of Horace Wimp"
- "Don't Bring Me Down"
- "Confusion"
- "Last Train to London"
- "I'm Alive"
- "Xanadu" (with Olivia Newton-John)
- "All Over the World"
- "Don't Walk Away"
- "Hold On Tight"
- "Twilight"
- "Here Is the News" / "Ticket to the Moon"
- "Rain Is Falling"
- "The Way Life's Meant to Be"
- "Rock 'n' Roll Is King"
- "Secret Messages"
- "Four Little Diamonds"
- "Stranger"
- "Calling America"
- "So Serious"
- "Getting to the Point"
- Out of the Blue: Live at Wembley (1980)
- Fusion – Live in London (1990)
- Zoom Tour Live (2001)
- ELO – Total Rock Review (2006)
- Live: The Early Years (2010)
- Jeff Lynne's ELO: Live in Hyde Park (2015)
- Wembley or Bust (2017)
- Louis Clark
- Dave Morgan
- Gregg Bissonette
- Matt Bissonette
- Marc Mann
- Rosie Vela
- Discography
- Members
- Song list
- The Move
- Wizzard
- ELO Part II
- The Orchestra
- Violinski
- Earthrise
- L.E.O.
- Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO
- Category