It's Over (Electric Light Orchestra song)

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"It's Over"
It's Over (Electric Light Orchestra song) cover.jpg
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Out of the Blue
B-side "The Whale"
Released4 October 1978 (1978-10-04) (US)
Recorded1977
Studio Musicland, Munich, Germany
Genre Progressive pop
Length
Label Jet
Songwriter(s) Jeff Lynne
Producer(s) Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Sweet Talkin' Woman"
(1978)		"It's Over"
(1978)		" The ELO EP "
(1978)
Music video
"It's Over" on YouTube

"It's Over" is a song recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It is the second track from the LP Out of the Blue . It was the last single to be lifted from the album and was released exclusively in the United States, becoming a minor hit. The orchestral beginning was actually the end of "Mr. Blue Sky" reversed.[ citation needed ]

Contents

In 2007, hip hop artist and producer will.i.am sampled parts of the song, and it formed the backbone of his opening track "Over" from the album Songs About Girls .

Reception

Billboard said that "It's Over" has a "classical feel" as a result of the shifting moods generated by the song. [1] Cash Box said that it begins "with simple chording which opens to a strumming beat" and that the "strings add panorama" and that "the vocals are characteristically crystalline and soaring." [2] Record World called it "a classic ELO single keyed by Jeff Lynne's unique vocals and production techniques." [3]

Chart performance

Chart (1978)Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 [4] 75

"The Whale"

"The Whale" is an instrumental by the Electric Light Orchestra.

The song is track 15 from their hugely successful 1977 double LP Out of the Blue. The song was the B-side of "It's Over" in 1978 and was remastered and reissued on their box set Flashback .

The song features the keyboard talents of Richard Tandy prominently, as well as the usual orchestration conducted by Louis Clark. Composer Jeff Lynne was moved to write the instrumental piece after watching a documentary on the killing of whales, similar to Jon Anderson (of Yes fame)'s penning of "Don't Kill the Whale" in 1978.

In the 1980s and early 1990s, a portion of the song was featured during the nightly sign-off on Toronto television station CFTO-TV.

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References

  1. ↑ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. 21 October 1978. p. 90. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 28 October 1978. p. 22. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 28 October 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "Electric Light Orchestra - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.



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