Time (Electric Light Orchestra album)

Time
Studio album by ELO
Released	July 1981 (UK) August 1981 (US)
Recorded	Early 1981
Studio	Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany
Genre	Pop, synthpop
Length	43:57
Label	Jet Columbia
Producer	Jeff Lynne
ELO chronology
Four Light Years (1980)Four Light Years1980 Time (1981) Secret Messages (1983)Secret Messages1983
Singles from Time
"Hold On Tight" Released: July 1981 "Twilight" Released: October 1981 "Ticket to the Moon/Here Is the News" Released: December 1981 "Rain Is Falling" Released: January 1982 "The Way Life's Meant to Be" Released: March 1982

Time is the tenth studio album by British rock band Electric Light Orchestra (credited only as ELO) released in 1981 through Jet Records. It is a concept album which tells a story of a man from the 1980s finding himself in the year 2095 and trying to come to terms with being unable to return and adjusting to his new surroundings.

In 2001, the album was remastered and reissued on CD with three additional bonus tracks, two of which ("Julie Don't Live Here" and "When Time Stood Still") had already been released as B-sides of singles ("Twilight" and "Hold On Tight" respectively) from the original album, while the other ("The Bouncer") was originally released as the UK B-side of the 1983 single "Four Little Diamonds" from the follow-up album Secret Messages.

Musical style

While the two preceding ELO albums, Discovery and Xanadu, were heavily influenced by pop and disco, Time is much closer to ELO's roots of progressive rock music. Songs like "Ticket to the Moon", "The Way Life's Meant to Be", "Rain Is Falling", and "21st Century Man" are reminiscent of material from the peak era of ELO, which produced albums such as A New World Record and Out of the Blue; while other tracks explore new influences such as new wave ("Twilight", "Yours Truly, 2095", "Another Heart Breaks", "From the End of the World", and "Here Is the News"), reggae ("The Lights Go Down"), and rockabilly ("Hold On Tight") with the core ELO sound.

Rainer Pietsch conducted the album's strings, with previous conductor Louis Clark serving as an additional keyboardist on the album's tour.

Release

See also: Time Tour

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone
Popmatters	(Positive)

The album reached number 1 in the UK Albums Chart. The hit single "Hold On Tight" proved to be the band's last top-ten single in both the US and UK, and the album itself achieved Platinum and Gold status in the UK and US respectively.

Legacy

The album's sound influenced the band Brave Saint Saturn to create the astro-rock music genre. The musical style and theme of Time were echoed in later albums such as The Sophtware Slump by Grandaddy, who cited the album as a great influence; and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by the Flaming Lips. In an early 1980s Rolling Stone magazine interview, Steve Winwood said that ELO's Time had influenced him. Ladyhawke has stated that ELO's Time is one of her five favourite albums. In 1998, Cher sampled a synth sound from "Prologue" and "Epilogue" at the beginning of her number 1 hit single "Believe". The song "Hold on Tight" was featured in a Coffee Achievers ad campaign.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Jeff Lynne; strings conducted by Rainer Pietsch. 

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Prologue"	1:15
2.	"Twilight"	3:35
3.	"Yours Truly, 2095"	3:15
4.	"Ticket to the Moon"	4:06
5.	"The Way Life's Meant to Be"	4:36
6.	"Another Heart Breaks"	3:46

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Rain Is Falling"	3:54
2.	"From the End of the World"	3:16
3.	"The Lights Go Down"	3:31
4.	"Here Is the News"	3:49
5.	"21st Century Man"	4:00
6.	"Hold On Tight"	3:05
7.	"Epilogue"	1:30
Total length:		43:57

Bonus tracks on the 2001 edition
No.	Title	Original A-side	Length
14.	"The Bouncer"	"Four Little Diamonds"	3:14
15.	"When Time Stood Still"	"Hold On Tight"	3:33
16.	"Julie Don't Live Here"	"Twilight"	3:42

Personnel

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
• Strings conducted by Rainer Pietsch
• Al Quaglieri – Reissue Producer (2001)

Charts

Chart positions

Chart (1981)	Peak position
Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart	3
Austrian Albums Chart	2
Canadian RPM Albums Chart	7
Dutch Mega Albums Chart	2
French SNEP Albums Chart	28
Italian Albums Chart	19
Japanese Oricon LP Chart	36
New Zealand Albums Chart	10
Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart	2
Swedish Albums Chart	1
UK Albums Chart	1
US Billboard 200	16
US (CashBox)	9
West German Media Control Albums Chart	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1981)	Position
Australian Albums Chart	18
Austrian Albums Chart	16
Canadian Albums Chart	32
Italian Albums Chart	66
UK Albums Chart	21

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia		130,000
Germany (BVMI)	Gold	250,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	Platinum	300,000
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

Preceded by Kim Wilde by Kim Wilde	Swedish Chart number-one album 28 August 1981	Succeeded by Fantasi by Freestyle
Preceded by The Official BBC Album of the Royal Wedding by Various Artists	UK Albums Chart number-one album 29 August – 11 September 1981	Succeeded by Dead Ringer by Meat Loaf
Preceded by Kim Wilde by Kim Wilde	West German Media Control Chart number-one album 11 September – 15 October 1981	Succeeded by Quietschfidelio by Electronica's