The five most Beatles-esque ELO songs
There is no escaping the fact that The Beatles are the most important band in the history of music. It wasn’t just their sound; it was the precedent they set for the rest of the world. They showed British bands how they could successfully market themselves in the States while also showing people the power of playing in a band.
Andrew Loog Oldham, the manager of the Rolling Stones, put it best when he was talking about the true impact of The Beatles. “There was no real future for a British band before The Beatles appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. That was the turning point, after which there was an avalanche,” he said, “It totally transformed the possibilities, and as usual, The Beatles were the frontrunners. In music, there is The Beatles, and then there is everybody else.”
Because of The Beatles’ success, many bands ripped them off. Equally, some bands didn’t rip them off but had elements within their sound that were somewhat reminiscent of The Beatles. ELO falls into the latter category, as while there is no doubt they have songs that sound like they could be by The Beatles, there is also no chance that they have blatantly copied the Fab Four.
When you start listening out for similarities, you can clearly hear The Beatles’ impact on a range of different bands. Here, we will look at ELO’s five songs that sound most like something The Beatles could come up with.
Five ELO songs that sound like The Beatles:
‘Mr Blue Sky’
This song was quite literally created thanks to the beauty of a blue sky. During the writing process, Jeff Lynne decided to lock himself away in a Swiss chalet, and after a long period of darkness, the sun finally started shining. “It was dark and misty for two weeks, and I didn’t come up with a thing,” he said, “Suddenly the sun shone and it was ‘Wow, look at those beautiful Alps’. I wrote ‘Mr Blue Sky’ and 13 other songs in the next two weeks.”
The song is one of ELO’s most famous pieces of music, and yet it is also often compared to something that The Beatles might write. The melody and structure of the song certainly resemble those of the Fab Four, which means that many people, upon hearing the track, said that Lynne was trying to embody the style of the boys from Liverpool.
‘Telephone Line’
This is one of the sadder offerings from ELO. ‘Telephone Line’ talks about missing somebody and waiting for them to call in a bid to talk to them again. It’s an incredibly sweet track that really highlights Jeff Lynne’s emotive range and what he was able to achieve with his music.
The opening of this track is incredibly reminiscent of The Beatles. The singular chord hits on the piano, along with the lyrics, “Hello, how are you? Have you been alright through all those lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely nights?” along with the harmonies that ELO uses throughout the track are incredibly serene and comparable to The Beatles’.
’21st Century Man’
There shouldn’t be much of a surprise that ELO’s ‘21st Century Man’ sounds a bit like a song by The Beatles, given it was written as an ode to John Lennon himself. It was released as part of the album TIME, which came out one year following the death of John Lennon.
The song evokes the spirit of John Lennon in an incredibly beautiful way. Both the vocals and arrangement feel like something he could have put together. It’s unclear whether Lynne was trying to sound like Lennon or whether this was indirect because he was writing about Lennon. Either way, this is a beautifully moving song.
‘Strange Beauty’
This song was released in 1975, during a period of experimentation for ELO. They played around with their orchestral sound, trying to make it come across a bit brighter so that it would be viewed as more radio-friendly. They were successful, as ‘Strange Beauty’ became one of their biggest hits, but it also evoked the sound of another familiar band.
When The Beatles used orchestral sounds, George Martin helped make the concoction of strings come across as light-sounding and beautiful. Similar sounds are on display throughout some of The Beatles’ later material and songs, such as ‘Strange Beauty’, as they are both shimmering and full-bodied.
‘Can’t Get It Out Of My Head’
“It’s about a guy in a dream who sees this vision of loveliness and wakes up and finds that he’s actually a clerk working in a bank,” said Jeff Lynne when discussing the meaning behind the track ‘Can’t Get It Out Of My Head’, “And he hasn’t got any chance of getting her or doing all these wonderful things that he thought he was going to do.”
The song is a fan favourite amongst ELO lovers and was released on the band’s 1974 album Eldorado. It is another track that sounds reminiscent of John Lennon, as the songwriting style and dream-like nature of the track feel like something the Beatles could have put together himself.
