Twilight (Electric Light Orchestra song)

"Twilight"
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Time
B-side"Julie Don't Live Here"
Released16 October 1981 (UK)
November 1981 (US)
Recorded1981
StudioMusicland Studios, Munich
Genre
Length3:37
LabelJet
Songwriter(s)Jeff Lynne
Producer(s)Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra singles chronology
"Hold On Tight"
(1981) 		"Twilight"
(1981) 		"Ticket to the Moon/Here Is the News"
(1982)
Time track listing
13 tracks
Side one
  1. "Prologue"
  2. "Twilight"
  3. "Yours Truly, 2095"
  4. "Ticket to the Moon"
  5. "The Way Life's Meant to Be"
  6. "Another Heart Breaks"
Side two
  2. "Rain Is Falling"
  3. "From the End of the World"
  4. "The Lights Go Down"
  5. "Here Is the News"
  6. "21st Century Man"
  7. "Hold on Tight"
  8. "Epilogue"
Music video
"Twilight" on YouTube

"Twilight" is a song written by Jeff Lynne for English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), originally released on their 1981 album Time. The lyrics tell of a man who falls asleep while in a twilight state, where he imagines everything in his life that is going to happen to him. They contribute to the album's overarching theme of time travel.[1] ELO writer Barry Delve says that "a cacophony of sound effects...transport us chaotically to the year 2095" to start the album and that the song "doesn't stop or pause for at least 2 minutes," making the song "one of the most exciting experiences ELO ever gave you."[2] Delve suggests that the piano break is influenced by Sergei Rachmaninoff.[2] Billboard said that it was "more intricate" than most ELO songs and that "a grand orchestral build coincides with swirling vocal harmonies for great effect."[3] Record World said that it has "roller-coaster surges of angelic voices and awesome strings."[4] Messenger-Press critic Steve Wosahla said that "Twilight" "indicates that ELO may never get away from Jeff Lynne's accessibly spacey pop pizzaz."[5] Cincinnati Post critic Jerry Stein said that it "is a pounding tune but still has that soaring arrangement favored by the Beatles in so many of their uptempo songs.[6]

It was the second single released from the album, peaking at number 30 on the UK Singles Chart and number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Delve explains the single's relatively poor performance despite his thinking that it is "A-grade ELO" saying that "with Time conceived and realized as a running narrative rather than a series of unconnected songs heard in isolation, many of the lyrics are quite esoteric with their talk of such things as time transporters and baffling references to the 1980s as if they were in the distant past which would have made less sense when heard out of context on top-40 radio stations."[2]

  1. ^ Lynne, Jeff (1981). "Innerview" (Interview). Interviewed by Jim Ladd. KMET.
  2. ^ a b c Delve, Barry (2021). Electric Light Orchestra: Every Album, Every Song. Sonicbond. p. 96. ISBN 9781789521528.
  3. ^ "Top Single Picks". Billboard. October 17, 1981. p. 79. Retrieved 2023-01-21.
  4. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 17, 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
  5. ^ Wosahla, Steve (September 17, 1981). "In the Groove". Messenger-Press. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-03-10 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Stein, Jerry (November 9, 1981). "Electric Light: mining Beatles' load". Cincinnati Post. p. 7B. Retrieved 2023-03-10 – via newspapers.com.