On the Third Day

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On the Third Day
Studio album by Electric Light Orchestra
Released	August 1973 September 2006 (reissue)
Recorded	1972 - 1973 Air Studios, London
Genre	Progressive Rock, Rock
Length	39:26 (original)
Label	Warner Bros. Records United Artists
Producer(s)	Jeff Lynne
Professional reviews
Progarchives.com link All Music Guide link Music Box link George Starostin 9/10 link
Electric Light Orchestra chronology
ELO 2 (1973)	On the Third Day (1973)	The Night the Light Went On (In Long Beach) (1974)
Alternative cover
Alternate US cover

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.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Miscellanea 2.1 Chart Position 3 Track listing 3.1 Bonus tracks 4 Personnel 4.1 Additional 5 Links

[edit] Overview

On the Third Day was released in 1973 (see 1973 in music) 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 Kaminski 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 ELO's albums, 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 was hired. Marc Bolan played guitar on "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" and "Dreaming of 4000" (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 US version of the album was remastered and released again with bonus tracks, featuring the 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.

[edit] Miscellanea

• "Ocean Breakup/King Of The Universe" contains a sequence of morse code signaling ELO
• "Oh No Not Susan" managed to slip past the BBC censors. The lyrics contain the expletive word "fucking". Despite this, it received much airplay without anyone noticing
• "Showdown" was originally intended to be released on single only and did not appear on the original UK LP, since it was on a different label (Harvest Records) than the UK album
• "Bluebird Is Dead" features a guitar solo played backwards
• Hugh McDowell appeared on the front cover of the US LP, although he actually did not play on this recording.
• 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".

[edit] Chart Position

• #52
• #46

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Jeff Lynne unless otherwise indicated.

1. "Ocean Breakup/King of the Universe" – 4:07
2. "Bluebird Is Dead" – 4:42
3. "Oh No Not Susan" – 3:07
4. "New World Rising/Ocean Breakup (reprise)" – 4:05
5. "Showdown" – 4:09
6. "Daybreaker" – 3:51
7. "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" – 3:56
8. "Dreaming Of 4000" – 5:04
9. "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (Edvard Grieg) – 6:37

[edit] Bonus tracks

10. "Auntie (Ma-Ma-Ma Belle)" (Take 1) – 1:19
11. "Auntie (Ma-Ma-Ma Belle)" (Take 2) – 4:05
12. "Mambo (Dreaming of 4000)" (Take 1) – 5:05
13. "Everyone's Born to Die" – 3:43
14. "Interludes" (previously unreleased) – 3:40

[edit] Personnel

• Jeff Lynne - Vocals, Guitars
• Bev Bevan - Drums, Percussion
• Richard Tandy - Piano, Moog
• Mike de Albuquerque - Bass, Backing Vocals
• Mik Kaminski - Violin (tracks 1-4)
• Mike Edwards - Cello

[edit] Additional

• Marc Bolan - Guitar (tracks 7, 8, 10-13)
• Wilf Gibson - Violin (tracks 5-14)
• Colin Walker - Cello - (tracks 5-14)

[edit] Links

On the Third Day Remastered Info

Electric Light Orchestra
Founding members: Jeff Lynne | Roy Wood | Bev Bevan Other members in Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra discography
Studio albums: The Electric Light Orchestra/No Answer | ELO 2 | On the Third Day | Eldorado, A Symphony | Face the Music | A New World Record | Out of the Blue | Discovery | Xanadu | Time | Secret Messages | Balance of Power | Zoom
Live albums: The Night the Light Went On (In Long Beach) | Live at Winterland '76 | Live at Wembley '78
Compilation albums: Showdown | Olé ELO | The Light Shines On | The Light Shines On Vol 2 | ELO's Greatest Hits | A Box of their Best | Afterglow | ELO's Greatest Hits Vol. 2 | Strange Magic | Flashback | The Essential Electric Light Orchestra | All Over the World
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