Electric Light Orchestra - The Whale

[Oregonmw]

that was brilliant!!

It was really deep!!!

brought me to tears beautiful perspective.

Loved this song since I was 14 now I'm 47

[MrMark2106]

This was one of my brothers fav songs to get stoned to! Rest in peace Big Brother I'm with ya bro in case youre watching J D came back to me bro! This week it helps heal

Thank for posting this peps!

[MISSROSASROSAS]

this is a magical sleep that relaxes you and gives you serenity ... fabulous, I love you

[JAIMITO20662]

fantastic

[gmaccruyff55]

Jeff Lynne learnt the tricks of the trade,learing from George Martin and the Beatles at Abbey road studios in the late 60s.My god was he some student.His imagination ran riot after that experiance and he want on to manufacture some of the most intelligent music youll ever hear.

[dezamora100]

ELO is timeless.

[joey1127]

In the 1970's, this was a form of Progresive rock...it was a TOP SELLER in it's day. Not cheese at all. They did, like most Prog Rock bands of the era, decline as time progressed into the 1980's.

[MegaFingers88]

I had out of the blue on blue vinyl, I leant it to someone, it never came back, must have been about 1980, more than average cheese for sure.

[Thadesgal]

@MegaFingers88 I lost a few albums the same way. I don't even know how many copies of Fleetwood Mac Rumors I went through because they never came back. About three - I'm guessin - before I learned my lesson.

[CrackerLance]

Loved ELO back in the day and still do. I'm like a junky for them, even the seeds & residue will do. This is one of those songs. At times it sounds like Barry White should be singing to it and at others you can actually conjure up images of a giant blue whale gracefully gliding at the surface of a crystal clear, moonlit ocean. Jeff Lynne is an absolute genius. Exactly whom did he piss off in the biz, for himself & ELO to not yet be inducted into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame? Mystifying!

[ACTractionLTD]

ELO Made good songs, they was weird but in a good way

[TheLightningSniper15]

Another Heart Breaks, Fire on High, and The Quick and The Daft by elo are extremly good The Whale is even better

[paulhereford]

wonderful

[the81kid]

i have a question (and this is coming from a 29-year old who sometimes really likes ELO):

are ELO amazingly good, or just average cheese?

they seem to go from amazing, melodic, harmonic, experimental, atmospheric, amazing chord progressions and melody with simple but subtle lyrics (this for example plus many more), ... to cheese (Xanadu?!) they really mix rock and orchestral music amazingly well at times, and then become really banal - often on the same album! in-spite of that, i like them...

[pboogie1023]

@the81kid

I do understand your point, but they're definitely not average cheese. In my humble opinion, the extraordinary ELO (Jeff Lynne) compositions resonate with me more than the not so great ones. I'd say that "Out Of The Blue" had a few oddities, but is their most brilliant album to date.

Peace,

Pboogie

[the81kid]

@pboogie1023

peace! i agree with you, but it still is very jarring (and annoying) to suddenly hit a cheesy song after really good music. but yes, Jeff Lynne is really talented, i'm a big fan. maybe the fact that he isn't, and wasn't, a media-loving celebrity hasn't helped him. he's really stayed out of the limelight as far as i know.

[Nivekrst]

@the81kid It is odd when a band does that. But so many bands are guilty of the exact same tactic. Even the Beatles had some silly cheesy stuff. (Maxwell's silver hammer). The Stones and Kiss had Disco hits, REO, Styx and Supertramp were all amazing bands before reaching for the "radio hits" via sappy tunes. To get an album produced, (read: paid for by a record company) bands often provided what they thought would be a current hit, and sadly the average listener made it so.

[the81kid]

@Nivekrst

'tis true. we can enjoy the good stuff still.

[conservatory]

@the81kid Can't say i agree. Also, Xanadu was made for a cheesy rollerskating movie, I wouldn't be judging the ELO canon on Xanadu. There's nothing average about this band.

[the81kid]

@conservatory

Well there's quite a lot of cheesy, crass, songs on the ELO canon. I'd say it's about equal to the genius songs. No they're not an average band, and I like them. But why did they have such a frequent lapse of taste? Still, I like so many of their songs.

[conservatory]

@the81kid I feel like labeling ELO as crass/cheesy/overproduced is such a stale opinion. They have elements of camp and certainly songs that would be considered "cheesy" (same as the beatles) But they also have a certain positive charm and a timelessness to the songs that enable them to transcend such labels. To label half their back catalogue as pure cheese is a bit ignorant to me, but hey, you're entitled.

[the81kid]

@conservatory

Well i'm not ignorant - i have pretty much all the songs on mp3s. Plus I do like them. But for every "The Whale" there is a "Xanadu". And yep the Beatles had their fair share of cheese (I can't really listen to "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", it's a bit babyish.), and then had their amazing "Day In The Life" songs. Besides, Jeff Lynne said he really wanted ELO to be a continuation of the Beatles, he was very influenced by them. And I do think ELO are timeless too.

[eightiesguy62]

@the81kid They are GREAT!!! They were way ahead of their time and even today their music is like no other.....no other group has come along with this same sound or anything even similair.....only group that might be close was the Beatles but they broke up before they could perfect it and reach the plateau as ELO!! Just think if Jeff Lynne had been a Beatle!! WOW!!

[eightiesguy62]

@the81kid They are GREAT!!! They were way ahead of their time and even today their music is like no other.....no other group has come along with this same sound or anything even similair.....only group that might be close was the Beatles but they broke up before they could perfect it and reach the plateau as ELO!! Just think if Jeff Lynne had been a Beatle!! WOW!!

[r5t6y12]

@the81kid,

There can be a few answers that set ELO apart from some of the other groups of their generation.

1 answer that I can give you is in the fact that they used classical strings (Violin, Viola, Cello, and upright Bass) in more of a "carrying" setting than a "background" setting. "Believe Me Now" and the beginning of "Tightrope" are 2 very good examples. In these 2 examples, the strings "carried" the song rather than "filled it in" a little more.

[r5t6y12]

@the81kid,

For me, another aspect of some of the songs, is the individual sounds that were placed in certain areas of certain songs where any "lesser" sound wouldn't be so enticing and inviting.

God, look at this list.

The last sound in "Mission".

Half of the background sounds in "Concerto For A Rainy Day".

The 1st 0:20 of "The Whale"

ANYWHERE that a VOCODER is used (regardless of what is being said). For me that's a BIG KEY!!! BIG KEY!!!

[r5t6y12]

@the81kid,

Now I've never REALLY heard any album other than "A New World Record" and "Out Of The Blue", so like any other group who had ONLY 1 or 2 great albums, (and everything else was junk), I could say these ELO was average cheese, but then BOSTON only put out 3 albums in 25 years and some people would say that they were phenomenal. The 1st side of their 1st album is the best 1st album EVER. The 2nd side was eeehhh???

[Vednier]

This is pretty rare track of ELO, they usually dont make pure instrumental tracks

Anothe such track is "another heart breaks"

[SVB2002]

@Vednier Then what do you call Another Heart Breaks, Fire on High, Daybreaker, In the Hall of the Mountain King and 1/3 of their debut album?

[Roadie02]

This had to be their best album ever, I listened to it oer and over.

[KVFKID]

Flashback to 77, thanks for an excellent video

[kezadrone]

If I didn't know better this start sounds like it was created now.

[Hanjai3006]

Oh my... I used to listen to the whole album years ago... Thank you for reminding me such a great period... <3

[pboogie1023]

@Hanjai3006

You're welcome : )

[jaredini]

Choir being used on Mellotron in the last chorus....sounds haunting, but warm.....

[pboogie1023]

Yes indeed.

[theonlyonebuttwo]

love this song, thanks for uploading :)

[pboogie1023]

Thanks, you're welcome.

[daveandodrummer]

Love this. Great sat in the car with it on cos you get the sound effects travelling all around the car! Lovely music n atmosphere in the song

[pboogie1023]

Yes, one of the best songs definitely. Thanks.

[SirValois]

This video is awesome!!!

[pboogie1023]

Thank you!!!

[yoyichero]

long like jeff lynne genious!!!

[pboogie1023]

Yes, he definitely is.

[Perktube1]

My favorite part is 3:08 to 3:57, but especially 3:39, where those violins create bliss.

[pboogie1023]

Thank you!!!

[Thadesgal]

This song is best enjoyed in quad. The music spins around you. Kinda like "Whole Lotta Love" by Led. It's meant for 4 speakers. If you can add extra, I suggest you do and then listen to this. It gets inside your head and takes you away. Kinda like Calgon! LOL :o )

[pboogie1023]

Oh yes, you have the right idea!

[kperk014]

I bought Out of the Blue in 1978 but didn't discover The Whale until early 1979. It quickly became my favorite song. Try cranking it up loud and turning off the lights. You can really get lost in it.

[pboogie1023]

I totally agree. Cranking it up is the only way to play it; close your eyes and enjoy the fantasy.

[tnj2323]

This caught me by surprise...I didn't think I was going to enjoy this one!

[pboogie1023]

This is one of my all time favorite songs. Glad to share it.

[HowayBonnyLad]

Excellent is not a good enough word!

[pboogie1023]

Thank you.

[MarkyCool67]

The BEST song from ELO ever.

[pboogie1023]

I agree.

[0marigolds]

Exquisite -

[pboogie1023]

Thanks!

[BlackmoonUK]

Absolutely gorgeous!

[pboogie1023]

Thanks!