A New World Record

A New World Record
Studio album by Electric Light Orchestra
Publication (s)	November 1976
admission	July 1976
Label (s)	Jet Records, United Artists Records , Epic Records , Legacy, Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Format (s)	CD, LP, MC
Genre (s)	Symphonic rock , art rock
Title (number)	9
running time	36:20
occupation	Vocals , guitar , piano : Jeff Lynne Vocals, drums : Bev Bevan Vocals, piano, synthesizer , mellotron : Richard Tandy Vocals, bass : Kelly Groucutt Violin : Mik Kaminski Cello : Hugh McDowell Cello: Melvyn Gale
production	Jeff Lynne
Studio (s)	Musicland Studios , Munich (Germany)
chronology Face the Music (1975) A New World Record Out of the Blue (1977)

A New World Record (double English for: "A new world record" and "A record from the new world") is the sixth studio album by the British rock band Electric Light Orchestra from 1976. The album was the first to hit the British album charts and With a top rating at number 6, it is considered the band's commercial breakthrough in their home country. The album sold over five million times.

background

Stylistically, the album is influenced by the Beatles . Allmusic sees the song Telephone Line as the "best Lennon / McCartney collaboration that never existed".

A New World Record contains both orchestral pop elements and “pounding rock ”. It has “brains and hooks ”.

On the cover (design: Kosh, art direction: Ria Lewerke) of the album, the famous spaceship with the lettering ELO is shown in a top view over the night skyline of a big city . The backside continues the skyline, the spaceship is replaced by seven gold stars, although it is the sixth studio album.

On the album cover itself, in addition to the album data, a group photo (photo: Moshe Brakha) of the band can be seen (from left to right: Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Hugh McDowell, Michael 'Mik' Kaminski, Melvyn Gale , Richard Tandy and Kelly Groucutt). On the back there are the lyrics against the background of a blueprint of the ELO spaceship.

Track list

1. Tightrope (Jeff Lynne) - 5:03
2. Telephone Line (Jeff Lynne) - 4:38
3. Rockaria (Jeff Lynne) - 3:12
4. Mission (A World Record) (Jeff Lynne) - 4:25
5. So Fine (Jeff Lynne) - 3:54
6. Livin 'Thing (Jeff Lynne) - 3:31
7. Above the Clouds (Jeff Lynne) - 2:16
8. Do Ya (Jeff Lynne) - 3:43
9. Shangri-La (Jeff Lynne) - 5:32

Bonus tracks (remastered version from 2006)

10. Telephone Line (Jeff Lynne) - 4:41 (Alternate Vocal)
11. Surrender (Jeff Lynne) - 2:37 (Unreleased title)
12. Tightrope (Jeff Lynne) - 4:55 (Alternate Mix)
13. Above the Clouds (Jeff Lynne) - 1:14 (Instrumental Version)
14. So Fine (Jeff Lynne) - 4:16 (instrumental version)
15. Telephone Line (Jeff Lynne) - 4:51 (instrumental version)

reception

Jeff Lynne sees the album and its successor, Out of the Blue , a high point in the band's history. The linguist and music blogger George Starostin, however, accuses ELO of selling out the album, and not out of dilettantism , but because of the attempt to compulsively put classical music in a rock garb.

Chart placements

album

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1976	A New World Record	DE7 (36 weeks) DE	AT9 (16 weeks) AT	-	UK6 (99 weeks) UK	US5 (69 weeks) US

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1976	Livin 'thing	DE5 (20 weeks) DE	AT3 (16 weeks) AT	-	UK4 (12 weeks) UK	US13 (18 weeks) US
1977	Rockaria!	-	AT7 (12 weeks) AT	-	UK9 (9 weeks) UK	-
1977	Telephone line	DE32 (9 weeks) DE	-	-	UK8 (10 weeks) UK	US7 (23 weeks) US

Awards for music sales

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Finland (IFPI)	gold	25,200
Canada (MC)	2 × platinum	200,000
Netherlands (NVPI)	gold	50,000
United States (RIAA)	platinum	1,000,000
United Kingdom (BPI)	platinum	300,000
All in all	2 × gold 4 × platinum	1,575,200

Web links

• A New World Record at Allmusic (English)
• Reviews of A New World Record on the Babyblauen Seiten
• A New World Record at laut.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A New World Record at Discogs (accessed June 4, 2010)
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Bruce Elder: Review at Allmusic (accessed June 4, 2010)
3. ^ Robert Christgau: CG: electric lights orchestra (accessed on June 4, 2010)
4. ↑ starling.rinet.ru : ELO (accessed June 4, 2010)
5. ↑ ^{a b} chart sources:
   • A New World Record in the German charts at OfficialCharts.de
   • A New World Record in the Austrian charts on AustrianCharts.at
   • A New World Record in the Swiss charts on Hitparade.ch
   • A New World Record in the Official UK Charts (English)
   • A New World Record on the Billboard 200 US album chart
6. ↑ Award in Finland
7. ↑ Award in Canada
8. ↑ Award in the Netherlands
9. ↑ Distinction in the United States
10. ↑ Award in the United Kingdom