Rockaria!

"Rockaria!"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album A New World Record
B-side"Poker"
Released4 February 1977[1]
StudioMusicland Studios, Munich
Length
LabelJet
Songwriter(s)Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Livin' Thing"
(1976) 		"Rockaria!"
(1977) 		"Do Ya"
(1977)
A New World Record track listing
9 tracks
Side one
  1. "Tightrope"
  2. "Telephone Line"
  3. "Rockaria!"
  4. "Mission (A World Record)"
Side two
  2. "So Fine"
  3. "Livin' Thing"
  4. "Above the Clouds"
  5. "Do Ya"
  6. "Shangri-La"
Music video
"Rockaria!" on YouTube

"Rockaria!" is a song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), written by Jeff Lynne. It was the third track on the band's successful 1976 album A New World Record, and was the second single from the album. On some CD pressings of A New World Record, the title appears without the exclamation mark.

Recording

The operatic voice of Mary Thomas is featured on the track, particularly during the introduction. On the first take of the song, Thomas mistakenly began the vocal too early. However, Lynne elected to use that take, complete with her interjection, "Oops!", although the interjection is omitted from some later pressings of the album.

Released as a single in 1977, it reached the Top Ten in the UK Singles Chart.[2] AllMusic noted that the track "is rightly considered to be one of Jeff Lynne's finest achievements on record".[3]

B-side

"Poker" is a song written and performed by Electric Light Orchestra.

The song first appeared on the band's LP Face the Music as the fifth track. At 3:34, it is the shortest song on the album. During recording, Kelly Groucutt sang most of the song's lyrics (generally, Jeff Lynne sang the vocals of ELO songs).

The song twice appeared as a B-side, first of "Rockaria!" in the UK, then in 1979 as the flip side of the US single version of "Confusion".

"Poker rocks along with murderous intent, despite corn ball lyrics." – John Ingham (1975 – from a transcribed UK Face the Music album review of unknown origin)

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Chart (1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[4] 10
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 7
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 26
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[7] 28
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[8] 23
UK Singles (OCC)[2] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (1977) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 59

Jeff Lynne version

Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released on a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name,[10] as an iTunes Store exclusive bonus track.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Music Week" (PDF). p. 27.
  2. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  3. ^ Guarisco, Donald A. "Rockaria!". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012.
  4. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  5. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Rockaria!" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Rockaria!" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  7. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Rockaria!" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Kent Music Report No 183 – 26 December 1977 > National Top 100 Singles for 1977". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 8 January 2022 – via Imgur.com.
  10. ^ "Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra". Elo.biz. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  11. ^ "Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra (Deluxe Edition) (Rerecorded) by Electric Light Orchestra". iTunes. Apple Inc. Retrieved 28 February 2013.