First Time Hearing Electric Light Orchestra - Boy Blue

[@headrushindi]

Musically that is not a Bad chord , it is a suspended diminished chord, which is in the correct key of the song but the listener is so accustomed to hearing him transition from major to minor. that the diminished chord takes everyone by surprise because it of course is a very dissonant sound with a much darker ominous feel. which was of course his intention. This song is reflective of ELO's earlier years when their classic influence was a bit more prominent. No one in those days understood the Genius of it fully , as apparently is the case today.

[@jennyburns787]

Love “Boy Blue” it’s about welcoming home a hero with fanfare. (Dreaming returning home.) Enjoyed your reaction to ELO! You have great parents, sounds like - good for you!

[@frankjones297]

Just saw u-tube video of this song, found with the words "Boy Blue-w/lyrics" that gives real emotional meaning to the words. It's mostly old pictures of soldiers in the civil war, which, with the words on screen really hits home. These are great lyrics, if only they were more clear on the record.

[@mikeporten8174]

This is a PERFECT SONG. How does she not like it?

[@doobiewonkanooby]

She just needs another listen…

[@stevetaylor7206]

Jeff's singing about Norman oppression following the defeat at battle of hastings . I e. Poor boy the Greenwood. English/Anglo Saxon.

[@highheartwellness]

One of my favorites of theirs. Love ELO experimentation style. This it starts several times, then you think it ends several times. Fun stuff.

[@QUBIQremixer]

One of my favorite war protest songs. The last verse always gets to me.

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

Tyler and Marissa, thanks for the reaction! Marissa, you mentioned Jeff's subdued vocals in the mix. My compliments to you on yet another keen insight. You're absolutely right. And I have a theory about the way Jeff mixed his vocals. I think he was insecure about his voice. Which sounds crazy to us, because he has fantastic voice. But he frequently buries it a bit too much in the mix during ELO's first several albums, including this one. Not always though. Some songs he feels really confident on. And you'll hear him really belting it out, further up front in the mix, in a few songs on this album--including the next track, "Laredo Tornado". Eldorado is ELO's 4th album. By his 5th album, Face The Music, he's not hiding his voice really any more. And definitely not by his 6th album, A New World Record. What might've happened...you wonder...between Eldorado and Face The Music, to give him more confidence in his voice?? I think it was the addition of bassist and backup vocalist, Kelly Groucutt, to the band. Kelly has an exceptional voice, and isn't at all shy about it. I think his confidence rubbed off on Jeff, and the two of them sound amazing together, like on, "Nightrider", which you reacted to previously. But even in the '90s when Jeff was producing two lost Beatles songs, Ringo Starr said, *"Jeff doesn't realize what an incredible voice he has."* Looking forward to the Aftershow! When you read the lyrics you'll understand why Jeff used the fanfare music. I'm eager to see how you tie, "Boy Blue", into the album's concept as established by the first two tracks, "Eldorado Overture", and in particular, "Can't Get It Out of My Head". ps~In your first Aftershow, I don't believe you went over the lyrics of the opening track, "Eldorado Overture". You should do that, as they are informative towards understanding this concept album. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[@flanflinger37]

Not sure I agree Cosmo. I think Jeff had tremendous confidence in his voice as many other tracks on this and earlier albums have shown. I think it’s simply that he wanted this track to be top heavy with instrumentation - both orchestration and guitar/ drum - and overlaying that with an ‘angry’ vocal to complement the story he was telling in the lyrics.

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

@@flanflinger37 Gotcha, well, I'm sticking with my theory. And now that I think about it, I seem to recall Jeff saying in an interview that he didn't care for his voice, or words to that effect. There are just so many songs on the first 4 albums where he's either buried his voice in the mix to some extent, or, treated it with some effect, like in, "Mr. Radio", and, "New World Rising", to name a couple.

[@flanflinger37]

As he has shown many times he was open to experimenting ( as were his idols, The Beatles) so that’s reflected in his production on various early tracks. His voice has been exposed so much on tracks such as Momma and Kuiama and more-so on Eldorado with Can’t get it out of my head, Eldorado itself and Nobody’s Child to name a few.

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

@@flanflinger37 Of course he experimented, but the fact is Jeff's vocals are much harder to understand in those first 4 albums. People listen to, "10538 Overture", and have no idea what he's saying or talking about. As I previously stated, there are exceptions, where he gives us clear, front of the mix, vocals. But so much more of it is buried back further -- something The Beatles almost never did.

[@flanflinger37]

Maybe, but I don’t believe that’s due to any lack of confidence in his vocal ability else many other earlier tracks would exhibit pushing his vocals to the background. I still contend that he was experimenting with his production style, trying arrangements that often worked sometimes didn’t. I wasn’t suggesting the Beatles hid their vocals, just that they tried very different instrumental and productions techniques. Interesting that you mention 10538, I always felt his lyrics were quite clear even though its instrumentation was heavy.

[@mikeporten8174]

The mixing of his vocals was done on purpose.

[@lhpl]

Withou going into details (lest I upset Cozzie even more), this is one of Jeff's many (?) great anti-war songs. Several went before, both with the Idle Race, the Move, and the early ELO albums. Speaking of: if you think the voice is muddled here, wait till you hear something from On The Third Day. He - deliberately, I guess - muddled it so much, that he got away with singing "fucking" on one song, without getting censored. The monologue given by Boy Blue at the end reminds me of another great anti-war monologue: the speech Chaplin gives at the end of his masterpiece movie "The Great Dictator".

[@betacall9634]

Ok Tyler and Marissa I just watched all 34 of your ELO reaction vids back to back this afternoon. I love your appreciation of Jeff Lynn’s musical genius. Don’t forget you’re listening to these songs for the first time while many of us who grew up on ELO have listened to them 1000’s of times and over different stages of our lives from adolescence to older adulthood. Marissa, can’t get it out of my head is an incredibly beautiful song and a commercial success but the more you listen to songs like Boy Blue I think you’ll appreciate them as masterpieces in their own right. Jeff was influenced by the Beatles but towards the end of the song you’ll hear Bob Dylan influence especially talking about war and not taking up arms and even the way jeff sings the lyrics matches with Dylan. For "10538 Overture” you recently reacted to with a little less than stellar critique and I think you sometimes interrupt the songs a bit too much and miss the flow. David O Russel used this classic for the trailer to American Hustle staring Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper. Watch the trailer on YT and I think you’ll have a new found appreciation for how good the song is albeit it’s one of Jeff’s first works. Last, I’d suggest listening to El Dorado entirely as an album before tackling any more ELO. It’s a masterpiece and each song flows into the next. One note, when it was written all we had were record players so the needle and groove allowed the song to immediately flow into the next song so that’s why each song sounds unfinished at its end as the music is intended to continue into the next track like a symphonic movement. Keep up the wonderful reactions and I would love to see your reaction to one of the most beautiful love songs ever written beyond scores of Jeff’s other songs. It’s called “One Summer Dream” from the Album Face the Music. It’s like a movie in its own. A love story. Last year I made a slide show tribute video to my daughter Claire for her 21st birthday to One Summer Dream and she still weeps every time she watches it (just starting her senior year today at Hamilton College in Upstate NY/ and my younger daughter Elle starting her sophomore year at Tufts in Boston). You have a new subscriber in me and love to see young people of this generation appreciate music of yesterday and musical geniuses like Jeff Lynne the likes of which we may never see again:)

[@AlbertTomson-s1c]

Your tishirt says Alien ! Well i am part of Andormedan Galagcy ! I saw Huge blak Andormedan UFO in 1998 with tecnology 35,000 years into the future, it put the sh-it out of be from fear, i was crying shaking and in pure pannic

[@AlbertTomson-s1c]

Out of me

[@MadMax-pu1kj]

Jeff Lynne created his 4th Studio album at the age of 27! He was enamored with the Beatles but he was also intrigued by other music coming out in England and across the Pond. In various songs over his career, he wrote pieces to try his hand at the sound other artists were making such as Elvis (Don't Say Goodbye, Out of Luck), Bob Dylan (Everyone's Born to Die), Doobie Brothers (Goin' Down to Rio), Pink Floyd (Alone in the Universe), Etta James (In My Own Time), Johnny Cash (Ben Crawley Steel Company), and 1940's St. Louis Jazz (No Way Out & Nobody's Child).

[@JEFFREYJERDON]

The album version of the song starts with a Baroque-style trumpet and string quartet fanfare - reminiscent of Jeremiah Clarke's "Prince of Denmark's March" (ca. 1700) - and then develops into a minimoog sequence before the song properly begins. The song includes a midway solo of the band's three string players. At the end of the song the string instruments quickly fade, immediately leading into the LP's fourth track "Laredo Tornado". The melody matches the fanfare of the lyrics by matching verses that have a strident sense of swing to them with a sing-along chorus built on a descending-note hook. Bassist Mike de Albuquerque sings on the song - one of his final appearances in the ELO catalogue. The song is an anti-war song set during the Crusades and forms the second dream as part of the overall Eldorado dreamscape. It tells the story of Boy Blue, a war hero returning from a far-off war and the rapturous welcome he receives from his town folk. The chorus is made up of the town folk singing "Hey, Boy Blue is back." Boy Blue rebuffs the hero worship and declares his hatred of war, stating his refusal to ever “take up arms again”. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@chronomatt6990]

I think you might have a difficult time with Eldorado. It's a transitionary recording that moves from their raw origins to the classic radio-friendly sound started with the next album Face The Music. Eldorado is a highly regarded, sublime piece of art - the audio equivalent of a Dali painting with a sprinkling of Picasso. For those weened on Telephone Line, Don’t Bring Me Down, and Mr Blue Sky’s pure commercial execution, this album can sound like it comes from a completely different band.

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

i agree with all but your first sentence. They seem to be doing just fine with it so far. Indeed, Marissa has found her new favorite ELO song, "Can't Get It Out of My Head", on the album.

[@chronomatt6990]

@@Cosmo-Kramer I wrote “they MIGHT have a difficult time...” Very rarely does anyone have trouble with the Top 10 “Can’t Get It…”; it’s the most commercial of the bunch, and Eldorado Overture was met with raised eyebrows. Marissa stated she didn't care for Boy Blue, which was the second commercial single from the album. We’re only two full songs in - time will tell. But honestly, I have only a passing interest in the reactions.

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

@@chronomatt6990 Why do you have only a passing interest in their reactions? ELO is your favorite band, and you take time to comment (as do I) on almost every ELO reaction posted on KZbin. I would think that a couple of kids who are taking the time and interest to tackle what you referred to as a, "sublime piece of art", the concept album Eldorado, to the extent that they're not just reacting to every song in order, but they're doing a separate, deeper-dive video they call the "Aftershow" the following day, for each song. Seems right up your alley. Why the "only passing interest" remark?

[@auntvesuvi3872]

Thanks, Marissa! Thanks, Tyler! ♂ #TylerCreatesContent #ElectricLightOrchestra #ELO #BoyBlue

[@marissa6805]

Your comments are so simple, but we honestly love them! Thanks for supporting us :)

[@auntvesuvi3872]

@@marissa6805 You're so very welcome. 🌱

[@TylerCreatesContent]

we really do!! sometimes it gets buried in held for review for some reason but i always make sure they get approved!

[@auntvesuvi3872]

@@TylerCreatesContent It's what I do. 🙂

[@rickhawk22]

Love your ELO track by track reactions to Jeff's brilliant songs! From here on out it gets better and better with each album! Another fantastic album to check out with orchestral transitions between tracks and is another masterpiece, is "Days of Future Past" by the Moody Blues. That is another album you have to do a track by track reaction culminating in the beautiful Nights in White Satin.

[@ModeMan101]

Really looking forward to your reaction to the next track, it's my favourite on the whole album.

[@StephenSmith-z9h]

Marissa, this song is a ELO crowning achievement in it's own right. Listen to it again. Boy Blue is a classical classic!

[@SirOliverNorwell]

I must confess Boy Blue isn't my favourite either. In the middle it feels more like a sung declamation than a proper song. That was, of course, intended by JL, but I don't have Boy Blue on repeat listening. As far as anti-war-songs go musically I prefer Kuiama from ELO 2 which I absolutely love, raw as it is by ELO standards. My favourite of Eldorado and one of my all time favourites will always be the title track with the Eldorado Finale at the end. Eldorado (the song) also contains one of Jeff Lynne's greatest vocal performances IMO. But the next track on the album 'Laredo Tornado' is also fantastic and one of my favs. Cheers from Germany

[@leoiori9675]

Please note both of you Tyler & Marissa, Jeff Lynne was barely 27 when composing, performing and conducting the 40-pieces orchestra section throughout the whole Eldorado album … can you really think about this? 🤩🤩🤩

[@mikemopar9989]

Please go to the 1983 album.....the song: Hello my old friend..................his masterpiece

[@andgate2000]

👍

[@Shnordy]

Good reaction. What I would have said has been covered in the comments already so I wont labor the point. Once you are done with 'Eldorado' I hope you will go back to 'A New World Record' and 'Out of the Blue'. You missed SO MANY great Jeff Lynne / ELO bangers from those albums. IMHO Jeff was at the peak of his powers then.

[@scottbolander8137]

I really wish you guys had gone over the lyrics and judged this song within the context of the story. Lynne imagines "Boy Blue" in this song, a returned soldier, a veteran of a won war. Amid the town's cerebration of the victory and his return, he stands and make a speech speaking to the strange wonders he has seen, and how everyone is mortal whether king or peasant. Finally ending with a vow to never take up arms again, and that men should not harm each other.

[@TylerCreatesContent]

tomorrow we go through the lyrics :)

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

Hi Scott, can you please delete your breakdown of the lyrics? I guess you aren't aware (they said it at the end of the video), that they are doing what they call an "ELO Aftershow", the following day after each reaction video. It is in these Aftershows that they try to interpret the lyrics and how the song adds to the album's concept.

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

@@TylerCreatesContent Did you already record the Aftershow in the last few days, or will you record it and upload tomorrow?

[@TylerCreatesContent]

we record all of our aftershows directly after listening!

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

@@TylerCreatesContent Oh good. I'm glad you're not getting spoiled then by people who feel the need to spell everything out for you in the comments of the reaction video.

[@frankjones297]

Marissa mentioned not being able to hear Jeff -- he hides everything. He hides behind glasses, beard, big hair, so why not his voice, I guess. He has a most excellent voice, which he revealed more and more in his later to much later work. I actually believe it improved with age.

[@frankjones297]

I shoulda kept reading before commenting --- Cosmo said almost the same thing.

[@ianhunter8327]

Song about John lennon

[@PabloDiaz5DMusic]

In my opinion the best song from that album is Mister Kingdom

[@Cosmo-Kramer]

It's a very cool song, indeed. But not my favorite.

[@florentinosanzpastor9556]

@@Cosmo-Kramer agreed. Eldorado, Laredo Tornado or Nobody's Child among others are better imo

[@JoeScottish]

You still havent done Telephone Line, one of their mega hits....

[@marissa6805]

I added it to our list! We're probably going to finish the Eldorado album first though....

[@JoeScottish]

@@marissa6805 That works for me... 😁

[@andgate2000]

Not my fav either....dont forget 1974...early days..production was lacking early on.

[@crichtonjohn3393]

There were a lot of individual elements that were good, but overall as a song, it was too random and all over the place. Enjoyable as a one off for the orchestration but there is nothing that sticks in my brain and make me want to hear it again. I agree on the mix of the vocals? Why? Why do this ? Meh

[@scottbolander8137]

I find this one over-produced with muddy sound. Almost like a bootleg from a concert. I find the lyrics fantastic and how it fits into the story is excellent - but you have to look up the words to know what he is singing about.

[@lhpl]

Maybe this song requires a stickier brain...

[@crichtonjohn3393]

@@lhpl maybe this song requires a melody, a hook and less kitchen sink.