Glen and The Orchestra

[GrandIllusionist725]

So, I received my copy of "No Rewind" by The Orchestra (also known as ELO II) and I absolutely love it!!

I am a huge fan of ELO and Jeff Lynne but I am finding myself enjoying this album. I was wondering if anyone out there has checked out their work? Especially since Glen Burtnik has been apart of this group. I think it would be real exciting if a new record could be recorded with some of Glen's vocals.

Thoughts?

[Abitaman]

Is Glen doing any lead vocals on this cd that is out?

[GrandIllusionist725]

Sadly he isn't. The only CD that came out was "No Rewind" back in 2005. He just joined them this past year I believe.

[stmonkeys]

there's a bunch of stuff up on youtube from this year's tour. he returns from russia this week.

[Starrider]

Sadly he isn't. The only CD that came out was "No Rewind" back in 2005. He just joined them this past year I believe.

Glen joined the band when bassist/vocalist Kelly Groucutt (who was involved in the 70's and early 80's with Jeff Lynne in ELO) passed away after suffering a heart attack. Glen had done some fill-in work in the ELO Part II days when Kelly fell ill, so The Orchestra (their official name now, but commonly billed as ELO/ELO Part II Former Members) contacted him about taking up Kelly's spot on a permanent basis. He started with them this past spring, but missed a few dates due to other commitments (some with DDY). He plays one of his songs during an acoustic portion of their set and sings lead on some of the songs that Kelly used to sing lead on. There are a number of audience-shot videos on YouTube. I have a full video boot of a show Glen did with them not too long ago in England. They did one show this July in Michigan opening for the Alan Parsons Live Project, but don't do too many shows in the USA. Hopefully that will change. I wouldn't hold my breath too hard hoping for new music. They released two studio albums as Electric Light Orchestra Part II in the 1990's, then one as The Orchestra in 2005. They have some live CD's out under both names, so that might be a better hope, except that they just released a live CD about a year ago or so.

They were called Electric Light Orchestra Part II because drummer Bev Bevan did own a share of the rights to ELO. When he left ELO Part II in 1999, he sold his share to Jeff Lynne, who barred them from using the name. They tried a few other names that he blocked, until settling on The Orchestra. He tried to bar them from using the catchphrase "ELO and ELO Part II Former Members" and similar, but could not, as it was a factually correct statement. The music has a pretty solid following, and Jeff Lynne won't perform it, so The Orchestra gets some pretty steady gigging. Probably decent, consistent work with Glen. They won't be playing any huge stadiums, but it's work and he looks like he's enjoying it.

Information on The Orchestra can be found at:
http://www.orchestrafan.com
http://www.theorchestra.net

[Ehwmatt]

Hmm I'll have to check them out, dunno about ELO with Jeff Lynne at all... sounds pretty bush league to me.

[chowhall]

Hmm I'll have to check them out, dunno about ELO with Jeff Lynne at all... sounds pretty bush league to me.

Jeff Lynne is ELO. He wrote all of the songs, produced all of the albums. I don't begrudge the former band members trying to make a living, but ELO without Jeff is just like Creedence without John Fogarty.

[SuiteMadameBlue]

I hope they tour in the US. I would love to see this show!!!

[Everett]

Is this the band that did the "Don't Bring Me Down" song?

[yogi]

Didn't ELO do Milli Vanilli before Milli Vallnilli did.

If I remember correctly they were the group that actually invented the Milli Vanilli.

This is what brought them down.

Am I correct on this????

[Starrider]

Didn't ELO do Milli Vanilli before Milli Vallnilli did.

If I remember correctly they were the group that actually invented the Milli Vanilli.

This is what brought them down.

Am I correct on this????

I'm not sure what you mean here, but ELO was known for using backing tracks in concert. Jeff Lynne was known for doing elaborate overdubs in the studio that made the songs near impossible to be duplicated live. They had problems with the violin and cellos going out of tune during their live performances (due to excessive heat onstage from their "spaceship" stage set) and had trouble duplicating the vocals with only Jeff and Kelly singing onstage. At times, they had Jake Commander standing in a darkened part of the stage singing harmonies and background vocals. They actually did play live, but used backing tracks. They probably could have used a second live guitarist and one or two more vocalists to be able to better reproduce their studio efforts. During their last tours before they hung things up in the 1980's, they had a much larger cast onstage, but it wasn't the same without Kelly. His harmony vocals were a huge part of their sound.

Milli Vanilli was an entirely different story. They lip-synched to recorded vocal tracks that were sung by entirely different people.

[chowhall]

ELo live in concert was disappointing. I saw the Time tour and it didn't live up to the albums. Some things are better in the studio.

[pinkfloyd1973]

Didn't ELO do Milli Vanilli before Milli Vallnilli did.

If I remember correctly they were the group that actually invented the Milli Vanilli.

This is what brought them down.

Am I correct on this????

No...BRRRUUCCCCEEEEEEEEE did


Robin 8)

[Ehwmatt]

Hmm I'll have to check them out, dunno about ELO with Jeff Lynne at all... sounds pretty bush league to me.

Jeff Lynne is ELO. He wrote all of the songs, produced all of the albums. I don't begrudge the former band members trying to make a living, but ELO without Jeff is just like Creedence without John Fogarty.

I don't disagree with you one bit

[yogi]

My brother saw ELO back in the late 70's at the old Met Sports Center( North Star Hockey anyone??)

Anyway, he told me then and he told me last night that they had NUMEROUS memorix moments the night he saw them.

They actually played a medley of songs that didnt even come close to lining up with their singing. He said it was one of the worst concerts he had ever seen.

His quote was " it was nowhere near live, We could have have just put in Mitch'es 'Out Of The Blue' 8 Track, and drove around in the Datsun".

[froy]

Didn't ELO do Milli Vanilli before Milli Vallnilli did.

If I remember correctly they were the group that actually invented the Milli Vanilli.

This is what brought them down.

Am I correct on this????

No...BRRRUUCCCCEEEEEEEEE did


Robin 8)

[/qu

ote]

Its gruce not bruce
Everyone thinks its bruce

[froy]

ELo live in concert was disappointing. I saw the Time tour and it didn't live up to the albums. Some things are better in the studio.

I saw New World Record , Out of The Blue and Time tours

New World Record was on fire stunning light show
Out of the Blue was taped and should have been a real Orchestra show not just 3 guys
Time was great in Chicago really liked it

[pinkfloyd1973]

Its gruce not bruce
Everyone thinks its bruce

What's a gruce?


Robin

[Zan]

Hmm I'll have to check them out, dunno about ELO with Jeff Lynne at all... sounds pretty bush league to me.

Jeff Lynne is ELO. He wrote all of the songs, produced all of the albums. I don't begrudge the former band members trying to make a living, but ELO without Jeff is just like Creedence without John Fogarty.

It isn't ELO. It's The Orchestra.

[chowhall]

Hmm I'll have to check them out, dunno about ELO with Jeff Lynne at all... sounds pretty bush league to me.

Jeff Lynne is ELO. He wrote all of the songs, produced all of the albums. I don't begrudge the former band members trying to make a living, but ELO without Jeff is just like Creedence without John Fogarty.

It isn't ELO. It's The Orchestra.

And what songs do "The Orchestra" play?

[Zan]

Hmm I'll have to check them out, dunno about ELO with Jeff Lynne at all... sounds pretty bush league to me.

Jeff Lynne is ELO. He wrote all of the songs, produced all of the albums. I don't begrudge the former band members trying to make a living, but ELO without Jeff is just like Creedence without John Fogarty.

It isn't ELO. It's The Orchestra.

And what songs do "The Orchestra" play?

I call BS on this one.

Everyone's biggest gripe about Styx after Dennis was booted was that they were using "the name." The Orchestra is NOT using "the name." Therefore, it is not ELO, and therefore, you have NOTHING to bitch about. Nothing.

BFD if they are playing ELO songs. That's their band! Duh.

[chowhall]

I call BS on this one.

Everyone's biggest gripe about Styx after Dennis was booted was that they were using "the name." The Orchestra is NOT using "the name." Therefore, it is not ELO, and therefore, you have NOTHING to bitch about. Nothing.

BFD if they are playing ELO songs. That's their band! Duh.

Who's bitchin about them? They were using the name ELOII until Bev sold that back to Jeff. Unlike Styx, there wasn't another band member with a hit. If they came near me and didn't cost too much, I'd go and see them. Step away from the Burtnik koolaid. It'll be OK.

[Higgy]

I call BS on this one.

Everyone's biggest gripe about Styx after Dennis was booted was that they were using "the name." The Orchestra is NOT using "the name." Therefore, it is not ELO, and therefore, you have NOTHING to bitch about. Nothing.

BFD if they are playing ELO songs. That's their band! Duh.

Who's bitchin about them? They were using the name ELOII until Bev sold that back to Jeff. Unlike Styx, there wasn't another band member with a hit. If they came near me and didn't cost too much, I'd go and see them. Step away from the Burtnik koolaid. It'll be OK.

That's weird Chow - you're sounding off about something you know nothing about. Jeff Lynne is the only ELO member with a hit? Roy Wood? Kelly Groucutt? Yes Jeff had all the songs that the mass public know (oh yeah, kind of like Dennis Deyoung) but Kelly Groucutt sang and had songwriting credit on songs like Nightrider and Poker and a shitload more from the mid-70s. His contribution is every bit as important to ELO as Tommy Shaw's was to Styx.

BTW, ELOII featured John Payne who would later replace John Wetton in Asia and form his own version of Asia when the original band reformed and would later confuse Chowhall... Well I guess thats not hard to do!

[chowhall]

I call BS on this one.

Everyone's biggest gripe about Styx after Dennis was booted was that they were using "the name." The Orchestra is NOT using "the name." Therefore, it is not ELO, and therefore, you have NOTHING to bitch about. Nothing.

BFD if they are playing ELO songs. That's their band! Duh.

Who's bitchin about them? They were using the name ELOII until Bev sold that back to Jeff. Unlike Styx, there wasn't another band member with a hit. If they came near me and didn't cost too much, I'd go and see them. Step away from the Burtnik koolaid. It'll be OK.

That's weird Chow - you're sounding off about something you know nothing about. Jeff Lynne is the only ELO member with a hit? Roy Wood? Kelly Groucutt? Yes Jeff had all the songs that the mass public know (oh yeah, kind of like Dennis Deyoung) but Kelly Groucutt sang and had songwriting credit on songs like Nightrider and Poker and a shitload more from the mid-70s. His contribution is every bit as important to ELO as Tommy Shaw's was to Styx.

BTW, ELOII featured John Payne who would later replace John Wetton in Asia and form his own version of Asia when the original band reformed and would later confuse Chowhall... Well I guess thats not hard to do!

You are still the only one who gives a s**t about Asia. As far as Kelly Groucott being just as important to ELO as Tommy Shaw is to Styx, What are you smoking because it must be some good stuff? Nightrider and Poker are good songs, but certainly unimportant to the general public as to who ELO is. There are two very big differences between Tommy and Kelly. 1. Tommy has hits that are played on the radio today and 2. Tommy is still alive.

[Higgy]

I call BS on this one.

Everyone's biggest gripe about Styx after Dennis was booted was that they were using "the name." The Orchestra is NOT using "the name." Therefore, it is not ELO, and therefore, you have NOTHING to bitch about. Nothing.

BFD if they are playing ELO songs. That's their band! Duh.

Who's bitchin about them? They were using the name ELOII until Bev sold that back to Jeff. Unlike Styx, there wasn't another band member with a hit. If they came near me and didn't cost too much, I'd go and see them. Step away from the Burtnik koolaid. It'll be OK.

That's weird Chow - you're sounding off about something you know nothing about. Jeff Lynne is the only ELO member with a hit? Roy Wood? Kelly Groucutt? Yes Jeff had all the songs that the mass public know (oh yeah, kind of like Dennis Deyoung) but Kelly Groucutt sang and had songwriting credit on songs like Nightrider and Poker and a shitload more from the mid-70s. His contribution is every bit as important to ELO as Tommy Shaw's was to Styx.

BTW, ELOII featured John Payne who would later replace John Wetton in Asia and form his own version of Asia when the original band reformed and would later confuse Chowhall... Well I guess thats not hard to do!

You are still the only one who gives a s**t about Asia. As far as Kelly Groucott being just as important to ELO as Tommy Shaw is to Styx, What are you smoking because it must be some good stuff? Nightrider and Poker are good songs, but certainly unimportant to the general public as to who ELO is. There are two very big differences between Tommy and Kelly. 1. Tommy has hits that are played on the radio today and 2. Tommy is still alive.

The 2 million more people that bought Phoenix over Cyclorama disagree with your position on Asia. The drunk guy at the county fair agrees with you though - he wants to hear Renegade because it "fuckin' rocks man!"

Styx should have taken a lesson from "The Orchestra" They could have become "Tyx" or "Tommy and the Renegade Fooling Hands" or "Lawrence and the Chipmunks".

[chowhall]

The 2 million more people that bought Phoenix over Cyclorama disagree with your position on Asia. The drunk guy at the county fair agrees with you though - he wants to hear Renegade because it "fuckin' rocks man!"

Styx should have taken a lesson from "The Orchestra" They could have become "Tyx" or "Tommy and the Renegade Fooling Hands" or "Lawrence and the Chipmunks".

Phoenix (CD)
By: Asia (Artist)
More About this Product

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List Price: $18.98
Tower Price: $9.71
You Save: $9.27 (49%)

Product Description
Category: Music » Rock & Pop » General Rock & Pop
Format: CD Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
Release Date: April 15, 2008
Number of Discs: 1
Label: EMI Records (USA)
UPC: 5099921286926
WAPI (Tower ID): 111964137
Average Customer Review: (2 customer reviews)
Tower.com Sales Rank: #12663 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
#5128 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
#3086 in General Rock & Pop (See Top 100 General Rock & Pop Bestsellers)

Yea, that looks like they sold 2,000,000 copies of an album no one cares about. You might want to get DDY's penis out of your mouth the next time you speak.

[Higgy]

The 2 million more people that bought Phoenix over Cyclorama disagree with your position on Asia. The drunk guy at the county fair agrees with you though - he wants to hear Renegade because it "fuckin' rocks man!"

Styx should have taken a lesson from "The Orchestra" They could have become "Tyx" or "Tommy and the Renegade Fooling Hands" or "Lawrence and the Chipmunks".

Phoenix (CD)
By: Asia (Artist)
More About this Product

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
List Price: $18.98
Tower Price: $9.71
You Save: $9.27 (49%)

Product Description
Category: Music » Rock & Pop » General Rock & Pop
Format: CD Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
Release Date: April 15, 2008
Number of Discs: 1
Label: EMI Records (USA)
UPC: 5099921286926
WAPI (Tower ID): 111964137
Average Customer Review: (2 customer reviews)
Tower.com Sales Rank: #12663 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
#5128 in Rock & Pop (See Top 100 Rock & Pop Bestsellers)
#3086 in General Rock & Pop (See Top 100 General Rock & Pop Bestsellers)

Yea, that looks like they sold 2,000,000 copies of an album no one cares about. You might want to get DDY's penis out of your mouth the next time you speak.

Hey, homophobic douche, you should look at Billboard instead of "Tower Records" (where EVERYBODY shops for music in 2009!!) Here, I'll do it for you...

Asia:
2008 Phoenix The Billboard 200 73 2xP
2008 Phoenix Top Internet Albums 73 2xP
Chart information courtesy of Billboard.com © 2006 VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Styx:
2003 Cyclorama The Billboard 200 127

[Zan]

Burtnik koolaide? lol


I must admit, this thread has made me laugh on more than one ocassion - thanks guys.

[cinj]

Some ELO trivia you may or may not care about:

1) The original 3 members of E.L.O. were 3/4 of the British pop group "The Move".

2) Roy Wood left after the very first album (leaving only 2 original members - Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan). Ever since then, every E.L.O. song was written by Jeff Lynne (the exception being "Roll Over Beethoven")

3) The band broke up in 1986, two years after Kelly Groucutt sued the band. He claimed he was never a "member" of the band and only received a salary (he'd been with them since 1976). Jeff Lynne countered with "Kelly should have read his contract."

4) E.L.O. Part 2 formed in 1990. The only original band member from the former E.L.O. on the CD was Bev Bevan, although when they toured, Groucutt and vilonist Mik Kaminski were brought on board. I didn't think the CD was that good, nor did it sound much like E.L.O. (there were a couple of exceptions).

5) Jeff Lynne "put E.L.O. back together" in 2000. The album was titled "Zoom". The only other former member of E.L.O. featured on it was keyboardist Richard Tandy. They planned on a massive tour, but was cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

6) Jeff Lynne always hated touring. He always preferred the recording studio. In all fairness, their music in their heyday wasn't really tailored for live shows, so it wouldn't surprise me if they used a lot of "embellishment".

7)They briefly stopped calling themselve "The Electrick Light Orchestra" and only called themselves "E.L.O." This was during the "Time" album since they really didn't use much orchestration during this period.

I guess you can go back to your fighting now.
Cinj

[bugsymalone]

And "ELO" is a three-letter answer on a zillion crossword puzzles.

Bugsy