"Can't Get It Out of My Head" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Electric Light Orchestra | ||||
from the album Eldorado | ||||
B-side | "Illusions in G Major" | |||
Released | November 1974 (US) [1] January 1975 (UK) [1] | |||
Recorded | 1974 De Lane Lea Studios | |||
Genre | Soft rock [2] | |||
Length | 4:23 (Album version) 3:07 (Single edit) | |||
Label | Warner Bros. (UK) United Artists (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne | |||
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Eldorado track listing | ||||
10 tracks
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Can't Get It Out of My Head" on YouTube |
"Can't Get It Out of My Head" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and originally recorded by Electric Light Orchestra (also known as ELO).
First released on the band's fourth album Eldorado in September 1974,the song is the second track on the album and follows "Eldorado Overture". The song was released in November the same year as a single.
The song became the band's first top 10 single in the United States,reaching number 9, [3] and helped boost public awareness of the band in the U.S.,although the single and LP failed to chart in the UK. In 1978,it was included as the lead song on the four-track The ELO EP (UK release),reaching number 34 on the UK charts. The song has appeared on many ELO compilation albums.
Lynne wrote "Can't Get It Out of My Head" partially in response to his father's criticism that the previous songs he wrote didn't have any tune, [4] [5] [6] wanting to show that he could write a song with a beautiful melody. [4] [5]
Lynne has stated that the lyrics "were about a man who was dreaming,sees this vision of loveliness and wakes up and finds that he's actually a clerk working in a bank" and so will not be able to act on this dream. [4] [7]
Record World said that "Jeff Lynne and company brew up a brilliant batch of hook melody strains from the last decade of ballads into one fresh triumph." [8]
AllMusic's Mike DeGagne said the song would become "one of Electric Light Orchestra's most beautiful ballads" thanks to "the rich backdrop of strings (especially cello) and the steady,delicate cymbal taps that enhance the song's charm",adding:"there's an honest simplicity built around the dynamics of the relaxed rhythm and it's this enchanting air,mixed with the storybook lyrics and poetic wonderment of the song that carries the listener away,even if they're indecipherable at times",considering the song as "the band's best example of this recipe implemented toward a slower style". [9]
Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as ELO's 10th best song,calling it a "sentimental grooving ballad." [10] Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated it as ELO's 9th best song. [11] Stereogum contributor Ryan Reed rated it as ELO's 4th best song. [6]
Credits adapted from "Can't Get It Out of My Head" liner notes. [12] [13] [14]
Electric Light Orchestra
Additional musicians
Production
Recording
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
"Can't Get It Out of My Head" | |
---|---|
Song by Electric Light Orchestra | |
from the album Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra | |
Released | 8 October 2012 (UK) 9 October 2012 (US) |
Recorded | 2001–2012 Bungalow Palace |
Length | 4:35 |
Label | Frontiers |
Songwriter(s) | Jeff Lynne |
Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne |
Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra track listing | |
12 tracks
|
Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released in a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs under the ELO name. [24]
In 2012, as part of the concert from his home studio, Live From Bungalow Palace, Lynne performed an acoustic version of the song with longtime ELO pianist Richard Tandy. [25]
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. From this point until their first break-up in 1986, Lynne, Bevan, and keyboardist Richard Tandy were the group's only consistent members.
Face the Music is the fifth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in September 1975 by United Artists Records and on 14 November 1975 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records. The album moves away from the large-scale classical orchestrated sound of the previous album, Eldorado, in favour of more "radio-friendly" pop/rock songs, though the string sections are still very prominent. The new sound proved successful for the group, for Face the Music was the first ELO album to go platinum.
On the Third Day is the third studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the first to be recorded without input from Roy Wood. It was released in the United States in November 1973 by United Artists Records, and in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1973 by Warner Bros. Records. From this album on, the word The was dropped from the band's name. The album was reissued on 12 September 2006.
Out of the Blue is the seventh studio album by the British rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released on 24 October 1977 in the United States and four days after in the UK on 28 October. Written and produced by ELO frontman Jeff Lynne, the double album is among the most commercially successful records in the group's history, selling about 10 million copies worldwide by 2007.
Zoom is the twelfth studio album by British symphonic rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released on 12 June 2001 on Epic Records. It was the first official ELO album since 1986's Balance of Power.
"Livin' Thing" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It appears on ELO's 1976 album A New World Record and was also released as a single. Patti Quatro sang uncredited vocals, particularly the "higher and higher" parts.
"Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album Out of the Blue (1977). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the song forms the fourth and final track of the "Concerto for a Rainy Day" suite on side three of the original double album. "Mr. Blue Sky" was the second single to be taken from Out of the Blue, peaking at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and number 35 in the US Billboard Charts.
"10538 Overture" is the debut single by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1972.
"Do Ya" is a song written by Jeff Lynne, that was originally recorded by The Move, which became a hit for the Electric Light Orchestra in 1977.
"Turn to Stone" is a 1977 song by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO).
"Showdown" is a 1973 song written by Jeff Lynne and recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was the band's last contemporary recording to be released on the Harvest label. The song was released as a single and reached No 12 in the UK Singles Chart, in the week beginning 28 October, and No 9 on the Norwegian chart VG-lista.
"Evil Woman" is a song recorded by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and written by lead vocalist Jeff Lynne. It was first released on the band's fifth album, 1975's Face the Music.
"Telephone Line" is a song by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in May 1977 through Jet Records and United Artists Records as part of the album A New World Record. It was commercially successful, topping the charts of Canada and New Zealand and entering the top 10 in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album Discovery. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States to date.
"Xanadu" is the title song from the soundtrack of the 1980 musical film of the same name. Written by Jeff Lynne of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the song is performed by English-born Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John, with Lynne adding parenthetic vocals in the style of his other songs on the Xanadu soundtrack, and ELO providing the instrumentation. It was Lynne's least favourite of his own songs. Released as a single in June 1980, it reached number one in several European countries and was the band's only UK number-one single when it peaked there for two weeks in July 1980. It was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. It also peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100.
Zoom Tour Live was a one-off concert performed by the Electric Light Orchestra recorded originally for television, later released as a film.
Eldorado is the fourth studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in the United States in September 1974 by United Artists Records and in the United Kingdom in October 1974 by Warner Bros. Records.
Long Wave is the second solo album recorded by Jeff Lynne released on 8 October (UK) and 9 October 2012 (US). The album contains cover versions of songs that influenced Lynne's songwriting while growing up and residing in Birmingham. It was recorded between 2010 and 2012.
Alone in the Universe is the thirteenth studio album by British rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the first credited to Jeff Lynne's ELO. The moniker came out from Lynne as a response to ELO tribute and imitation bands, who repeatedly used ELO for promoting their own tours. Released on 13 November 2015, the album is the first of new original material credited to the group since Zoom in 2001, and the second since the group's original disbandment in 1986.
From Out of Nowhere is the fourteenth studio album by British rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the second credited to Jeff Lynne's ELO. The band's first studio album in four years, it was released on 1 November 2019 through Big Trilby and Columbia Records. The title track was released as the lead single on 26 September 2019. Lynne played most instruments on the album. Keyboardist Richard Tandy returned to play on one track, prior to his death in 2024.
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