I really like ELO…they had some of the best , innovative music of the 1970’s. I was just listening to an old CD of theirs…and I have some questions. “Rockola”-in the opening, what Verdi opera is the voice singing? And, in “MR BLUE SKY”-how is Jeff Lynde’s voice electronically modified?
I await you answers?
In “Rockaria”, that’s Mary Thomas singing, but I don’t know that it IS from an actual opera.
That’s a Vocoder being used to modify Jeff’s voice. In the 2001 Zoom concert, Richard Tandy does the part live (and the audience wents nuts!).
It was perhaps influenced by Puccini’s “Un bel di” (Madame Butterfly), but as far as I know it’s not from a particular opera.
From This site:
FTR, this is a Rockola
If the top part looks familiar, it should. It’s the influence for the ELO logo
And the Orchestra was playing all Chuck Berry’s greatest tunes
And the singers in the chorus all got off on singing blues.
“Best” is a matter of taste, but innovative?
In this song, the lead singer’s voice (Jeff Lynde?) is somehow electronically distorted…how was this done?
Jeff Lynne ran his voice (if it’s indeed him) through a Vocoder, which is basically a microphone connected to a synthesizer. You vocalize into the mic and play the keyboard, and your voice comes out synthesized.