On the Third Day
Encyclopedia
On the Third Day is the third studio LP by Electric Light Orchestra
and the first to be recorded without any input from Roy Wood
.
made his debut on side one of this album replacing Wilf Gibson
, although Gibson plays on side two (plus the bonus tracks). Also, cellist Colin Walker left the line up around the same time, leaving Mike Edwards
as lone cellist.
Of all other ELO albums, except for ELO 2, this might be considered closest in style to progressive rock
, with some elaborate band arrangements and complicated musical segués between tracks. The Mini Moog synthesizer can be heard prominently on several tracks, particularly as lead instrument on the instrumental "Daybreaker". It was to be the last ELO album where Jeff Lynne attempted to re-create an orchestral sound in the studio by multi-tracking the cellos and solo violin of the band members - for the next album, a real orchestra would be hired. Marc Bolan
played guitar on "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" and "Dreaming of 4000", both originally uncredited, as well as on "Everyone's Born to Die", which was not released at the time but appears as a bonus track on the 2006 remaster.
In September 2006 the album was remastered and released again with bonus tracks, featuring the Hipgnosis
album art from the original UK release. The bonus tracks "Auntie" (working title of "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"), "Mambo" (working title of "Dreaming of 4000") and "Everyone's Born to Die" were recorded during the ELO 2 sessions.
Additional personnel
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
and the first to be recorded without any input from Roy Wood
Roy Wood
Roy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...
.
Overview
On the Third Day was released in 1973 and failed to enter the UK charts at the time, although it did reach the US charts. Side two of the album was recorded during or shortly after the sessions for ELO's LP ELO 2, but unlike its predecessor it contains shorter tracks. By contrast, the four songs on side one of the album were linked into a continuous suite. Violinist Mik KaminskiMik Kaminski
Mik Kaminski is best known for playing violin in the Electric Light Orchestra between 1973 and 1979.-Biography:...
made his debut on side one of this album replacing Wilf Gibson
Wilfred Gibson
Wilfred Gibson is an English violinist who played in the band Electric Light Orchestra, and has performed as a session musician. He replaced original ELO violinist Steve Woolam in 1972 and performed in their first live concert...
, although Gibson plays on side two (plus the bonus tracks). Also, cellist Colin Walker left the line up around the same time, leaving Mike Edwards
Mike Edwards (musician)
Mike Edwards , known as Swami Deva Pramada or simply Pramada, was an English cellist and music teacher. His wide-ranging career was most widely notable for his membership of the Electric Light Orchestra.-Early life:...
as lone cellist.
Of all other ELO albums, except for ELO 2, this might be considered closest in style to progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, with some elaborate band arrangements and complicated musical segués between tracks. The Mini Moog synthesizer can be heard prominently on several tracks, particularly as lead instrument on the instrumental "Daybreaker". It was to be the last ELO album where Jeff Lynne attempted to re-create an orchestral sound in the studio by multi-tracking the cellos and solo violin of the band members - for the next album, a real orchestra would be hired. Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
played guitar on "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" and "Dreaming of 4000", both originally uncredited, as well as on "Everyone's Born to Die", which was not released at the time but appears as a bonus track on the 2006 remaster.
In September 2006 the album was remastered and released again with bonus tracks, featuring the Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis
Hipgnosis was a British art design group that specialized in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands, most notably Pink Floyd, T.Rex, The Pretty Things, UFO, 10cc, Bad Company, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Scorpions, Yes, The Alan Parsons Project, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, ELO and XTC...
album art from the original UK release. The bonus tracks "Auntie" (working title of "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"), "Mambo" (working title of "Dreaming of 4000") and "Everyone's Born to Die" were recorded during the ELO 2 sessions.
Miscellaneous
- "Ocean Breakup/King of the Universe" contains a sequence of morse codeMorse codeMorse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
signaling ELO, something Jeff Lynne would also do 10 years later on "Secret MessagesSecret Messages (song)"Secret Messages" is a song recorded by Electric Light Orchestra and is the title track of the 1983 album Secret Messages....
". - "Showdown" was originally intended to be released on single only and, since it was on a different label (Harvest RecordsHarvest Records-References:* Harvest Records collectors guide ISBN 978-5-9622-0021-7...
) than the UK LP, did not appear on the original UK LP. It was, however, included on the US LP. - "Bluebird Is Dead" features a guitar solo played backwards.
- Although he didn't actually record on the album, Hugh McDowellHugh McDowellHugh McDowell is an English cellist best known for his membership in Electric Light Orchestra and related acts.-Career:...
did appear on this front cover of the US LP seen at right, which was an unusual photograph taken by famed photographer Richard AvedonRichard AvedonRichard Avedon was an American photographer. An obituary published in The New York Times said that "his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America's image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century."-Photography career:Avedon was born in New York City to a Jewish Russian...
that had ELO displaying their belly-buttons. - In 2006, New Zealand rap group Frontline sampled a piece of "Dreaming of 4000" for their latest release "Hold 'em".
- The working titles for "In the Hall of the Mountain King" was "In the Hole of the Mounted Parrot", "Daybreaker" was "Theme from Glass Table" and "Dreaming of 4000" was "I'm Only Dreaming" and "Mambo".
Chart positions and runs
- US: #52 Billboard 200Billboard 200The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, 24 weeks - UK: did not chart on its own when first released, but reached #38 in 1978 as part of the 3-LP box-set Three Light YearsThree Light YearsThree Light Years was a boxed set of three studio albums by Electric Light Orchestra. It was released in December 1978 and reached #38 on the UK Albums Chart.-Contents:...
. - AUS: #46 ARIA Albums ChartARIA ChartsThe ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, 10 weeks - CAN: #40 RPM Albums ChartRPM (magazine)RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,...
, 14 weeks
Side one
- "Ocean Breakup/King of the Universe" – 4:07
- "Bluebird Is Dead" – 4:42
- "Oh No Not Susan" – 3:07
- "New World Rising/Ocean Breakup (Reprise)" – 4:05
- "ShowdownShowdown (Electric Light Orchestra song)"Showdown" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra.It was the band's last contemporary recording to be released on the Harvest label....
" – 4:09 (Not included in original UK release)
Side two
- "Daybreaker" – 3:51
- "Ma-Ma-Ma BelleMa-Ma-Ma Belle"Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" is a song recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra.It was taken from the 1973 album On the Third Day. In the UK, the single version had a slightly different mix from the album original featuring a descending string crescendo and was edited in length.Marc Bolan plays twin lead...
" – 3:56 - "Dreaming of 4000" – 5:04
- "In the Hall of the Mountain KingIn the Hall of the Mountain KingIn the Hall of the Mountain King is a piece of orchestral music composed by Edvard Grieg for the sixth scene of Act II in Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt, which premiered in Christiania on February 24, 1876....
" (Edvard GriegEdvard GriegEdvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
) – 6:37
Bonus tracks
- "Auntie (Ma-Ma-Ma Belle)" (Take 1) – 1:19
- "Auntie (Ma-Ma-Ma Belle)" (Take 2) – 4:05
- "Mambo (Dreaming of 4000)" (Take 1) – 5:05
- "Everyone's Born to Die" – 3:43
- "Interludes" (Previously unreleased) – 3:40
Personnel
- Jeff LynneJeff LynneJeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
- Vocals, Guitars - Bev BevanBev BevanBev Bevan is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra...
- Drums, Percussion - Richard TandyRichard TandyRichard Tandy , is best known as the keyboard player in the rock band, Electric Light Orchestra...
- Piano, Moog - Mike de Albuquerque - Bass, Backing Vocals
- Wilf GibsonWilfred GibsonWilfred Gibson is an English violinist who played in the band Electric Light Orchestra, and has performed as a session musician. He replaced original ELO violinist Steve Woolam in 1972 and performed in their first live concert...
- Violin on tracks 5-14 - Colin Walker - Cello on tracks 5-14
- Mike EdwardsMike Edwards (musician)Mike Edwards , known as Swami Deva Pramada or simply Pramada, was an English cellist and music teacher. His wide-ranging career was most widely notable for his membership of the Electric Light Orchestra.-Early life:...
- Cello - Mik KaminskiMik KaminskiMik Kaminski is best known for playing violin in the Electric Light Orchestra between 1973 and 1979.-Biography:...
- Violin on tracks 1-4
Additional personnel
- Marc BolanMarc BolanMarc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
- Guitar on tracks 7, 8, 10-13