Fire On High

"Fire On High"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Face the Music
A-side
Released29 October 1976 (UK)
February 1978 (US)
Recorded1975
GenreArt rock, progressive rock[1]
Length5:31
4:01 (US single version)
LabelJet/United Artists (UK)
United Artists (US)
Songwriter(s)Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne
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"

"Fire on High" is the opening instrumental track from the 1975 Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) album Face the Music.

The song was the UK B-side to the band's worldwide hit single "Livin' Thing", issued in blue vinyl. It was also later included — in an edited form minus the backwards vocals — as the flip side of the United States hit single "Sweet Talkin' Woman" in 1978.

Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as ELO's 7th best song, saying that "From the song’s creepy opening to the sports-themed glass-sounding mighty guitar riff, it has remained one of the most interesting and exciting Electric Light Orchestra songs in the band’s catalog."[2]

Stereogum contributor Ryan Reed rated it as ELO's 10th best song, saying that it "displays the complexity and widescreen scope of symphonic prog, but with a playfulness that many of the era’s legends often lacked."[3]

Something Else! critic Mark Saleski said called it "a cool song, full of weird orchestration, violently strummed guitar, fusion-esque violin, and even (in the full version) a backwards masked message."[4]

  1. ^ Murphy, Sean (27 March 2017). "The 100 Best Classic Progressive Rock Songs: Part 2, 80-61". PopMatters. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  2. ^ Kachejian, Brian. "Top 10 Electric Light Orchestra Songs". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  3. ^ Reed, Ryan (7 January 2016). "The 10 Best ELO Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. ^ Saleski, Mark (14 February 2011). "Guilty pleasures: Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra". Something Else!. Retrieved 13 May 2023.