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{{about|the Electric Light Orchestra song|the ELO greatest hits album|Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra|the 2015 computer-animated film|Strange Magic (film)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox song
{{Infobox song
| name = Strange Magic
| name = Strange Magic
| cover = STRANGE MAGIC.jpg
| cover = STRANGE MAGIC.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| type = single
| type = single
| artist = [[Electric Light Orchestra]]
| artist = [[Electric Light Orchestra]]
| album = [[Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Face the Music]]
| album = [[Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Face the Music]]
| B-side = {{unbulleted list|"[[Showdown (Electric Light Orchestra song)|Showdown]] (Live)" (UK)|"New World Rising" (US)}}
| B-side = {{unbulleted list|"[[Showdown (Electric Light Orchestra song)|Showdown]] (Live)" (UK)|"New World Rising" (US)}}
| released = February 1976 (US)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Electric+Light+Orchestra&titel=Strange+Magic&cat=s|title=ELO singles}}</ref>
| released = 1976
| recorded = 1975
| recorded = 1975
| studio = [[Musicland Studios]], [[Munich]]
| studio = [[Musicland Studios]], [[Munich]]
| venue =
| venue =
| genre =
| genre = [[Psychedelia]]
| length = {{unbulleted list|4:29 (Album version)|4:06 (UK [[Radio edit|single edit]])|3:20 (US single edit)}}
| length = {{unbulleted list|4:29 (Album version)|4:06 (UK [[Radio edit|single edit]])|3:22 (US single edit)}}
| label = [[Jet Records|Jet]]
| label = [[Jet Records|Jet]]
| writer = [[Jeff Lynne]]
| writer = [[Jeff Lynne]]
| producer = Jeff Lynne
| producer = Jeff Lynne
| prev_title = [[Evil Woman (Electric Light Orchestra song)|Evil Woman]]
| prev_title = [[Evil Woman (Electric Light Orchestra song)|Evil Woman]]
| prev_year = 1975
| prev_year = 1975
| next_title = [[Nightrider (song)|Nightrider]]
| next_title = [[Nightrider (song)|Nightrider]]
| next_year = 1976
| next_year = 1976
| misc = {{Extra track listing
| misc = {{Extra track listing
| album = [[Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Face the Music]]
| album = [[Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Face the Music]]
| type = studio
| type = studio
Line 30: Line 29:
}}
}}


"'''Strange Magic'''" is a song written and performed by the [[Electric Light Orchestra]] (ELO). It was released on their 1975 ''[[Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Face the Music]]'' album.
"'''Strange Magic'''" is a song written by [[Jeff Lynne]] and performed by [[Electric Light Orchestra]] (ELO). It was originally released on their 1975 ''[[Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Face the Music]]'' album.


Released as a single in 1976, the single was edited in the US, whereas in the UK the song appeared as the album cut minus the orchestral intro. The US single edit can be found on the remastered ''Face the Music'' released in September 2006. The song was also included on the band's 1978 ''[[The ELO EP]]''. A remastered version was included on the box set ''[[Flashback (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Flashback]]'' in 2000. The 'weeping' guitar lick was provided by keyboardist [[Richard Tandy]] while [[Jeff Lynne]] played a 12-string acoustic guitar fed through a phase shifter.
The 'weeping' guitar lick was provided by keyboardist [[Richard Tandy]] while [[Jeff Lynne]] played a 12-string acoustic guitar fed through a phase shifter. The song has been described as [[Psychedelic experience|psychedelic]].<ref name=":0" />

==Versions==
The song has a complicated history with a number of different versions — most by ELO and one by [[Jeff Lynne]] alone — released both as a single and as a track on a number of different albums.
After its initial appearance on ''Face the Music'', it was released as a single in 1976 in two versions, one for the US and one for the UK, both different from the original. The US single was more edited than the UK single which appeared as it was originally in ''Face the Music'', but without the orchestral intro.

Also in 1976, "Strange Magic" was included as the final track in the [[United Artists Records]] promotional ELO album, ''[[Olé ELO]]''.

In 1978, the song was included on the band's ''[[The ELO EP]]''.

A remastered version was included on the box set ''[[Flashback (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Flashback]]'' in 2000.

In September 2006, a remastered ''Face the Music'' album was released; it contained the US edit version from the 1976 single releases.

⚫
Finally, Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio in 2012. It was released in [[Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra|a compilation album]] with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name.<ref>{{cite web|title= Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra |website= Elo.biz |date= 5 October 2012 |accessdate= 28 February 2013 |url= http://www.elo.biz/releases/elo/mr_blue_sky_the_very_best_of_electric_light_orchestra}}</ref>


==Critical reception==
==Critical reception==
AllMusic's Donald A. Guarisco considered it one of the best tracks on their "breakthrough" album ''[[Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Face the Music]]'', praising Jeff Lynne's skill at "creating ballads that are as memorably hook-laden as his uptempo pop tunes", noting the "stunning intro full of swirling strings, some [[George Harrison]]-styled slide guitar riffs".<ref>{{cite web|first= Donald A. |last= Guarisco |title= Electric Light Orchestra – Strange Magic – Song Review |website= [[AllMusic]] |accessdate= 26 January 2020 |url= https://www.allmusic.com/song/strange-magic-mt0009237965 }}</ref> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' considered it to be an "easy rocker" with "smooth vocals and skillful string arrangements."<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Billboard's Top Single Picks |magazine= [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page= 66 |date= 6 March 1976 |accessdate= 13 July 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1976/Billboard%201976-03-06.pdf}}</ref>
AllMusic's Donald A. Guarisco considered it one of the best tracks on their "breakthrough" album ''[[Face the Music (Electric Light Orchestra album)|Face the Music]]'', praising Jeff Lynne's skill at "creating ballads that are as memorably hook-laden as his uptempo pop tunes", noting the "stunning intro full of swirling strings, some [[George Harrison]]-styled slide guitar riffs".<ref name=":0">{{cite web|first= Donald A. |last= Guarisco |title= Electric Light Orchestra – Strange Magic – Song Review |website= [[AllMusic]] |accessdate= 26 January 2020 |url= https://www.allmusic.com/song/strange-magic-mt0009237965 }}</ref> ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' considered it to be an "easy rocker" with "smooth vocals and skillful string arrangements."<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Billboard's Top Single Picks |magazine= [[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |page= 66 |date= 6 March 1976 |accessdate= 13 July 2020 |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1976/Billboard%201976-03-06.pdf}}</ref> ''[[Record World]]'' said that "an immaculate production by Jeff Lynne maintains the high calibre of the group's recorded work."<ref name=rw>{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=March 6, 1976|page=1|accessdate=2023-03-06|title=Hits of the Week|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/76/RW-1976-03-06.pdf}}</ref>

''[[Stereogum]]'' contributor Ryan Reed rated it as ELO's 3rd best song, saying that it shows "Lynne's mastery of tension and release" and noting the "odd [[arrangement (music)|arrangement]]" with "ascending and descending strings, random jazz accents of the keys" and drums that enter halfway through the song but without stereotypical bluster.<ref>{{cite web|title=The 10 Best ELO Songs|date=7 January 2016|last=Reed|first=Ryan|accessdate=2023-05-03|publisher=Stereogum|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1850258/the-10-best-elo-songs/lists/}}</ref>


==Chart performance==
==Chart performance==
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{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Electric Light Orchestra|title=Strange Magic|award=Gold|relyear=1976|certyear=2021|digital=true|accessdate=28 April 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Electric Light Orchestra|title=Strange Magic|award=Gold|relyear=1976|certyear=2021|digital=true|accessdate=28 April 2021}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}

==Jeff Lynne version==
⚫
[[Jeff Lynne]] re-recorded the song in his own home studio in 2012. It was released in [[Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra|a compilation album]] with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name.<ref>{{cite web|title= Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra |website= Elo.biz |date= 5 October 2012 |accessdate= 28 February 2013 |url= http://www.elo.biz/releases/elo/mr_blue_sky_the_very_best_of_electric_light_orchestra}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
Line 91: Line 104:


==External links==
==External links==
*{{MetroLyrics song|electric-light-orchestra|strange-magic}}<!-- Licensed lyrics provider -->
*{{YouTube|-Wtj59opWKg|Electric Light Orchestra - Strange Magic}}
*{{YouTube|-Wtj59opWKg|Electric Light Orchestra - Strange Magic}}


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[[Category:Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by Jeff Lynne]]
[[Category:Songs written by Jeff Lynne]]
[[Category:Songs written by Jeff Lynne]]


{{1970s-rock-song-stub}}

Latest revision as of 22:30, 2 May 2024

"Strange Magic"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Face the Music
B-side
  • "Showdown (Live)" (UK)
  • "New World Rising" (US)
ReleasedFebruary 1976 (US)[1]
Recorded1975
StudioMusicland Studios, Munich
GenrePsychedelia
Length
  • 4:29 (Album version)
  • 4:06 (UK single edit)
  • 3:22 (US single edit)
LabelJet
Songwriter(s)Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Evil Woman"
(1975) 		"Strange Magic"
(1976) 		"Nightrider"
(1976)
Face the Music track listing
8 tracks
Side one
  1. "Fire On High"
  2. "Waterfall"
  3. "Evil Woman"
  4. "Nightrider"
Side two
  2. "Poker"
  3. "Strange Magic"
  4. "Down Home Town"
  5. "One Summer Dream"

"Strange Magic" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was originally released on their 1975 Face the Music album.

The 'weeping' guitar lick was provided by keyboardist Richard Tandy while Jeff Lynne played a 12-string acoustic guitar fed through a phase shifter. The song has been described as psychedelic.[2]

Versions

[edit]

The song has a complicated history with a number of different versions — most by ELO and one by Jeff Lynne alone — released both as a single and as a track on a number of different albums.

After its initial appearance on Face the Music, it was released as a single in 1976 in two versions, one for the US and one for the UK, both different from the original. The US single was more edited than the UK single which appeared as it was originally in Face the Music, but without the orchestral intro.

Also in 1976, "Strange Magic" was included as the final track in the United Artists Records promotional ELO album, Olé ELO.

In 1978, the song was included on the band's The ELO EP.

A remastered version was included on the box set Flashback in 2000.

In September 2006, a remastered Face the Music album was released; it contained the US edit version from the 1976 single releases.

Finally, Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio in 2012. It was released in a compilation album with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name.[3]

Critical reception

[edit]

AllMusic's Donald A. Guarisco considered it one of the best tracks on their "breakthrough" album Face the Music, praising Jeff Lynne's skill at "creating ballads that are as memorably hook-laden as his uptempo pop tunes", noting the "stunning intro full of swirling strings, some George Harrison-styled slide guitar riffs".[2] Billboard considered it to be an "easy rocker" with "smooth vocals and skillful string arrangements."[4] Record World said that "an immaculate production by Jeff Lynne maintains the high calibre of the group's recorded work."[5]

Stereogum contributor Ryan Reed rated it as ELO's 3rd best song, saying that it shows "Lynne's mastery of tension and release" and noting the "odd arrangement" with "ascending and descending strings, random jazz accents of the keys" and drums that enter halfway through the song but without stereotypical bluster.[6]

Chart performance

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[16] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "ELO singles".
  2. ^ a b Guarisco, Donald A. "Electric Light Orchestra – Strange Magic – Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Mr. Blue Sky – The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra". Elo.biz. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  4. ^ "Billboard's Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. 6 March 1976. p. 66. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 6 March 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  6. ^ Reed, Ryan (7 January 2016). "The 10 Best ELO Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  7. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 4139." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4116a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  11. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra – Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  12. ^ Whitburn, Joel. "Electric Light Orchestra". Top Adult Contemporary 1961-2001. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research Inc. p. 86.
  13. ^ "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending MAY 8, 1976". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 2 September 2012.
  14. ^ "The Singles Chart" (PDF). Record World. 29 May 1976. p. 35. ISSN 0034-1622. See last week peak position. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  15. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1976". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012.
  16. ^ "American single certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Strange Magic". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
[edit]
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