| Time | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
| Released | US: July 1981 UK: August 1981 |
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| Recorded | Early 1981 at Musicland Studios Munich, Germany |
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| Genre | Rock, electronica, art rock, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 43:57 | |||
| Label | Jet Records | |||
| Producer | Jeff Lynne | |||
| Electric Light Orchestra chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | 2 |
| George Starostin | (11/15) 3 |
| Rolling Stone | 4 |
| Popmatters | (favourable) 5 |
Time is a concept album by Electric Light Orchestra released in 1981 through Jet Records. The album tells the story, through its songs and lyrics, about a man from the 1980's finding himself in the year 2095 and trying to come to terms with being unable to return and adjusting to his new surroundings.
An immediate success upon its original release, Time would rank as the sixth highest charting album in the world for 1981.[1]
In 2001, the album was remastered and reissued on CD with three additional bonus tracks, two of which ("Julie Don't Live Here" and "When Time Stood Still") had already been released as B-sides of singles ("Twilight" and "Hold On Tight" respectively) from the original album, while the other ("The Bouncer") was originally released as the UK B-side of the 1983 single "Four Little Diamonds" from the follow-up album Secret Messages.
Contents |
While the two preceding ELO albums, Discovery and Xanadu, were heavily influenced by pop and disco, Time is much closer to ELO's roots of progressive rock music. Songs like "Ticket To The Moon", "The Way Life's Meant to Be", "Rain Is Falling", and "21st Century Man" are reminiscent of material from the A New World Record through Out Of The Blue era of ELO, while other tracks explore new influences such as New Wave ("Twilight", "Yours Truly, 2095", "Another Heart Breaks", "From The End Of The World", and "Here Is The News"), and Rockabilly ("Hold On Tight") with the core ELO sound. The album reached #1 in the UK Albums Chart (see list of UK #1 albums from the 1980s). The hit single "Hold On Tight" proved to be the band's last top-ten single in both the US and UK, and the album itself achieved Platinum and Gold status in the UK and US respectively.
Rainer Pietsch took over conducting the strings, although Louis Clark did appear (for the first time) playing keyboards in the live line-up on the subsequent Time tour.
The album's sound influenced the band Brave Saint Saturn to create the astro-rock music genre.
The musical style and theme of Time were echoed in later albums such as The Sophtware Slump by Grandaddy, who cited the album as a great influence; and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips.
In an early 1980s Rolling Stone magazine interview, Steve Winwood said that Time had influenced him.
In 1999, Cher sampled a synth sound from "Prologue" and "Epilogue" at the beginning of her #1 hit single "Believe".
All music composed and lyrics written by Jeff Lynne. Strings conducted by Rainer Pietsch.
| Country | Peak | Top 40 weeks | Total weeks | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 1 | 41 | 6 7 | |
| Sweden | 1 | 18 | 38 | 8 |
| Spain | 1 | 33 | 9 | |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 15 | 32 | 10 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 18 | 19 | 11 |
| Norway | 2 | 17 | 17 | 12 |
| Austria | 2 | 16 | 16 | 13 |
| Australia | 3 | 25 | 14 | |
| Canada | 7 | 15 | 29 | 15 |
| New Zealand | 10 | 14 | 16 | 16 |
| United States | 16 | 12 | 20 | 17 |
| Italy | 19 | 18 | ||
| France | 28 | 16 | 19 | |
| Japan | 36 | 17 | 20 |
| Preceded by The Official BBC Album of the Royal Wedding by Various Artists |
UK Albums Chart number-one album August 29, 1981 – September 11, 1981 |
Succeeded by Dead Ringer by Meat Loaf |