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Rock 'N' Roll Is King: ELO's "Secret Messages" Comes to Double Vinyl in August

June 6, 2018 By Joe Marchese 1 Comment

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35 years after its first appearance, Electric Light Orchestra's Secret Messages is returning to vinyl in a new edition moving closer to founder Jeff Lynne's original vision for the album.  On August 3, Legacy Recordings will reissue Secret Messages on double 150-gram vinyl restoring all but one of the tracks which were cut from the original LP release.  Alas, that outtake - the near-legendary "Beatles Forever" - is still missing in action.

1983's Secret Messages was originally conceived by producer-writer Lynne as a 2-LP set, but the idea was torpedoed by a cautious record label.  Accordingly, Lynne reimagined the record, removing numerous songs from the final running order.  Of these, "Buildings Have Eyes" emerged as a single B-side to the title track "Secret Messages," and "After All" (in a different, longer edit) was released as the flipside of the top 20 hit "Rock 'N' Roll is King."  "Mandalay," "No Way Out" and "Hello My Old Friend" were first released on the band's 1990 Afterglow box set.  The Roy Orbison-inspired "Endless Lies" (re-recorded for 1986's Balance of Power) was added to the 2001 CD reissue of Secret Messages.  Still other songs were tweaked for the single-LP version of Secret Messages.  Adding to the confusion, "Time After Time" was included only on the original CD and cassette releases, though it was available on vinyl via the "Rock 'N' Roll Is King" maxi-single.

It's unknown whether the upcoming LP will restore the original edits of the songs from the double Secret Messages, though the sequence matches Lynne's original concept for the album minus the affectionate homage "Beatles Forever" which reportedly would have been slotted between "No Way Out" and "Letter from Spain" on Side B.  The track titles show, however, that the original, shorter "Rock 'N' Roll Is King" titled "Motor Factory/Rock 'N' Roll Is King" is here, so it's likely that the originally-intended versions will be utilized.

The remastered and expanded Secret Messages is due on vinyl from Legacy on August 3 and can be pre-ordered at the links below!

Electric Light Orchestra, Secret Messages (Jet LP QZ 38490, 1983 - reissued Epic/Legacy, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Link TBD)

LP 1

  1. Secret Messages
  2. Loser Gone Wild
  3. Bluebird
  4. Take Me On and On
  5. Stranger
  6. No Way Out
  7. Letter from Spain
  8. Danger Ahead

LP 2

  1. Four Little Diamonds
  2. Train of Gold
  3. Endless Lies
  4. Buildings Have Eyes
  5. Motor Factory/Rock 'N' Roll Is King
  6. Mandalay
  7. Time After Time
  8. After All
  9. Hello My Old Friend

LP 1, Track 6 and LP 2, Tracks 6 & 9 first released on Afterglow, Epic Z3K 46090, 1990
LP 2, Track 3 from Secret Messages, Epic EK 85424, 2001
LP 2, Track 4 from Jet single A 3720, 1983
LP 2, Track 7 from Jet maxi-single TA 3500, 1983

Categories: News Formats: Vinyl Genre: Classic Rock, Pop, Rock Tags: Electric Light Orchestra, Jeff Lynne

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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Comments

  1. Bruce Padgett says

    June 6, 2018 at 10:48 pm

    I understand that the music for “Beatles Forever” was repurposed for the Jeff Lynne track “Video” on the “Electric Dreams” soundtrack. So for completists there’s that at least! Really, the original lyrics for “Beatles Forever” are very, very bad, which is surely why Jeff doesn’t want the complete track ever released. Those lyrics have been leaked over the years, perhaps sourced from a couple of surviving acetates of the original double set. Loads of conjecture about this track, a Holy Grail of sorts.

    Also in question is if the originally planned LP cover will finally be released as well. For ELO fans this is all heady news.

    Reply

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