Tracklist
album info:
Verified yes
Discs1
GenrePop, Rock, Electronic
Rank2,159 (new)
Released1981-07-01
Record labelColumbia, Jet Records
Charts
AddedNovember 3rd, 2005
Last updatedJune 9th, 2017
AboutTime is the ninth studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (credited as ELO). It was released in July 1981 by Jet Records in the United Kingdom and in August 1981 by Columbia Records in the United States. It topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks. Time is a concept album written about a man from the 1980s who is taken to the year 2095, where he is confronted by the dichotomy between technological advancement and a longing for past romance.
As a work of synth-pop, Time combines elements from 1950s music, new wave, reggae, rockabilly, the Beatles, Phil Spector, and the Shadows. The album signaled a departure from the band's sound by emphasizing electronics over its usual orchestra. It is also the band's second concept album, the first being Eldorado in 1974. The music video created for its lead single "Hold On Tight" was the most expensive ever made to that point, with a budget of approximately £40,000. Four more singles followed the album's release: "Twilight", "Ticket to the Moon" (backed with "Here Is the News"), "Rain Is Falling", and "The Way Life's Meant to Be". The record is noted for its cult following of retrofuturist enthusiasts. It is considered the first major concept album devoted to time travel as well as ELO's most influential album. In 2001, a CD reissue included three additional tracks that were originally left off the LP.
In 1981, a man drifts into a state of twilight ("Twilight"), where he appears to have entered the year 2095, meets an android woman ("Yours Truly, 2095"), and reflects on the 1980s, "back when things were so uncomplicated" ("Ticket to the Moon"). Walking down the same street from a hundred years before, he is dismayed by the plastic ivory towers which have grown on top of it ("The Way Life's Meant to Be"). As he remains in this future period, he looks out his window depressed, watching the world go by ("Rain Is Falling"). He attempts to send a letter in the form of a dream to his girlfriend in the past, but fails ("From the End of the World").
When asked whether the man's experiences had been a dream all along, Lynne responded: "This is what I'd like to know, because it's baffled me since I wrote it, if he has actually gone [to the future], or if he's just thinking about it. ... It could be real, or it could be a dream... I'm not sure. I'd rather not say, because I don't know either. I'm supposed to, but I don't."
According to The Guardian's Mark Beaumont, Time is the most influential album of ELO's catalogue. The book The Time Traveler's Almanac cites it as the first major concept album devoted entirely to time travel. Rockol states that while Time is not one of the most celebrated ELO albums, it has attracted a cult following from those interested in retrofuturism. Among the album's "unexpected" fans are the Flaming Lips and Daft Punk.
In an early 1980s Rolling Stone magazine interview, Steve Winwood said that ELO's Time had influenced him. Ladyhawke has stated that ELO's Time is one of her five favourite albums.
In 1983, the track "Twilight" become popularly known for its use in the animated short Daicon IV Opening Animation, created for the Nihon SF Taikai, an annual science fiction convention held in Japan. In 1998, Cher sampled a synth sound from "Prologue" and "Epilogue" at the beginning of her number 1 hit single "Believe". The song "Hold On Tight" was featured in a Coffee Achievers ad campaign.
All tracks written by Jeff Lynne.
As a work of synth-pop, Time combines elements from 1950s music, new wave, reggae, rockabilly, the Beatles, Phil Spector, and the Shadows. The album signaled a departure from the band's sound by emphasizing electronics over its usual orchestra. It is also the band's second concept album, the first being Eldorado in 1974. The music video created for its lead single "Hold On Tight" was the most expensive ever made to that point, with a budget of approximately £40,000. Four more singles followed the album's release: "Twilight", "Ticket to the Moon" (backed with "Here Is the News"), "Rain Is Falling", and "The Way Life's Meant to Be". The record is noted for its cult following of retrofuturist enthusiasts. It is considered the first major concept album devoted to time travel as well as ELO's most influential album. In 2001, a CD reissue included three additional tracks that were originally left off the LP.
In 1981, a man drifts into a state of twilight ("Twilight"), where he appears to have entered the year 2095, meets an android woman ("Yours Truly, 2095"), and reflects on the 1980s, "back when things were so uncomplicated" ("Ticket to the Moon"). Walking down the same street from a hundred years before, he is dismayed by the plastic ivory towers which have grown on top of it ("The Way Life's Meant to Be"). As he remains in this future period, he looks out his window depressed, watching the world go by ("Rain Is Falling"). He attempts to send a letter in the form of a dream to his girlfriend in the past, but fails ("From the End of the World").
When asked whether the man's experiences had been a dream all along, Lynne responded: "This is what I'd like to know, because it's baffled me since I wrote it, if he has actually gone [to the future], or if he's just thinking about it. ... It could be real, or it could be a dream... I'm not sure. I'd rather not say, because I don't know either. I'm supposed to, but I don't."
According to The Guardian's Mark Beaumont, Time is the most influential album of ELO's catalogue. The book The Time Traveler's Almanac cites it as the first major concept album devoted entirely to time travel. Rockol states that while Time is not one of the most celebrated ELO albums, it has attracted a cult following from those interested in retrofuturism. Among the album's "unexpected" fans are the Flaming Lips and Daft Punk.
In an early 1980s Rolling Stone magazine interview, Steve Winwood said that ELO's Time had influenced him. Ladyhawke has stated that ELO's Time is one of her five favourite albums.
In 1983, the track "Twilight" become popularly known for its use in the animated short Daicon IV Opening Animation, created for the Nihon SF Taikai, an annual science fiction convention held in Japan. In 1998, Cher sampled a synth sound from "Prologue" and "Epilogue" at the beginning of her number 1 hit single "Believe". The song "Hold On Tight" was featured in a Coffee Achievers ad campaign.
All tracks written by Jeff Lynne.