FULL ALBUM
Side 1:
Prologue 0:00
Twilight 1:14
Your’s Truly, 2095 4:56
Ticket To The Moon 8:09
That’s The Way Life’s Meant To Be 12:17
Another Heart Breaks 16:57
Side 2:
Rain Is Falling 20:46
From The End Of The World 24:43
The Lights Go Down 28:00
Here Is The News 31:34
21st Century Man 35:20
Hold On Tight 39:28
Epilogue 42:35
This is a direct rip from an original US pressing mastered by Allen Zentz, and is commonly considered the best way to hear this album.
Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)
Jeff Lynne – Lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, piano, synthesizers, vocoder, production
Bev Bevan – Drums, percussion
Richard Tandy – Acoustic and electric pianos, synthesizers, vocoder, guitars
Kelly Groucutt – Bass guitar, backing vocals
Additional personnel
Bill Bottrell – Engineer
Mack – Engineer
Rainer Pietsch – String conductor
From Wikipedia:
Time is the ninth studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (credited as ELO), released 2 July 1981 on Jet Records. It is a concept album 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. The record topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, though it attracted mixed reviews for its heavy use of synthesizers and stylistic shift away from the orchestral rock of previous ELO albums. It has since gained a cult following, particularly among retrofuturist enthusiasts.
Time is a work of synth-pop that combines elements from 1950s music, new wave, reggae, rockabilly, the Beatles, Phil Spector and the Shadows. The album signalled a departure from the band’s sound by emphasising 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 considered the first major concept album devoted to time travel as well as ELO’s most influential album. “Twilight“ became popularly known for its use in the 1983 animated short Daicon IV Opening Animation. In 2001, a CD reissue of Time included three additional tracks that were originally left off the LP.
Background and recording
Time followed the albums Discovery, on which ELO had dispensed with their three-man string section (although orchestration was used on the album), and Xanadu, the soundtrack to the 1980 musical film of the same name, which was met with a mixed reception. On Time, bandleader Jeff Lynne chose to emphasise electronics over the band’s orchestral sound. He wrote a collection of songs with a theme that focused on time travel and civilisation in the year 2095. The album’s musical style draws from the 1950s, new wave, reggae, rockabilly and the work of artists such as the Beatles, Phil Spector and the Shadows. Writing for PopMatters, Kevin Mathews says that the album reflects Lynne’s absorption in the UK synth-pop sound popularised by contemporary artists such as Gary Numan, OMD and Human League.
ELO recorded Time mainly at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany, with some sessions taking place at Polar Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Three additional songs written in the album’s context were recorded, but left off the release: “The Bouncer“, “When Time Stood Still“ and “Julie Don’t Live Here“. These songs were originally going to be on a double album of Time, but they were instead issued as B-sides of later singles after Time was reduced to a single album.