''Zoom'' is the twelfth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by British

symphonic rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Initi ...

band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released on 12 June 2001 on

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. It was the first official ELO album since 1986's '' Balance of Power.''

Recording

''Zoom'' was recorded primarily by

Jeff Lynne Jeffrey Lynne (born 30 December 1947) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970. As a songwriter, he has cont ...

alone, with guest musicians including

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

and

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...

. It was one of Harrison's last recordings before his death. The only other ELO member appearing on the album,

Richard Tandy Richard Tandy (born 26 March 1948) is an English musician. He is best known as the keyboardist in the rock band Electric Light Orchestra ("ELO"). His palette of keyboards (including Minimoog, Clavinet, Mellotron, and piano) was an importan ...

, appears on the opening track and performed live in promotional concerts.

Release and reception

The album was the band's first release of new material since '' Balance of Power'', released in 1986. Although billed as a return to the classic ELO sound, the album sales were relatively poor and a planned North American concert tour was cancelled. Upon release, the album charted at number 34 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

. In the US, it debuted at number 94 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 14 on the Billboard Top Internet Albums chart, with around 18,000 copies sold in the United States. As of October 2015, the album had sold 87,000 copies in the US. The album peaked at number 51 on Austria's '' Ö3 Austria Top 40 Longplay'' chart, and number 16 on Germany's

Media Control Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

Album Chart. The single from the album ''Alright'' peaked at number 87 on the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

chart in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. A remaster by

Frontiers Frontiers may refer to: * Frontier, areas near or beyond a boundary Arts and entertainment Music * ''Frontiers'' (Journey album), 1983 * ''Frontiers'' (Jermaine Jackson album), 1978 * ''Frontiers'' (Jesse Cook album), 2007 * ''Frontiers'' ( ...

was released on 19 April 2013 in the UK, and on 23 April 2013 in the US, and included four previously unreleased bonus tracks; two of them being live recordings from the 2001

Zoom Tour Live ''Zoom Tour Live'' was a one-off concert performed by the Electric Light Orchestra recorded originally for television, later released as a film. History After the release of the 2001 album '' Zoom'', Jeff Lynne announced a North American tour ...

PBS taping at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. The remaster of the Japan-only track, "Long Black Road" (which doesn't appear on the Frontiers release), was included along with " 10538 Overture" in the soundtrack for the 2013 film '' American Hustle''.

Track listing

Personnel

– Vocals, electric guitars, bass, keyboards, cello ("Melting in the Sun"), drums ;Guest musicians *

– Keyboards ("Alright") *

–

Slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

("A Long Time Gone" and "All She Wanted") *

– Drums ("Moment in Paradise" and "Easy Money") *

Marc Mann Marc Mann is an American keyboardist, guitarist, programmer, arranger and conductor. He has a Master's Degree in Music from UCLA. Mann is known for his work with Oingo Boingo, Jeff Lynne and the Electric Light Orchestra. Mann is credited as perf ...

– Rhythm guitar ("Moment in Paradise"), string arrangements ("In My Own Time" and "Melting in the Sun") * Suzie Katayama – Cello ("Just for Love", "Stranger on a Quiet Street" and "All She Wanted") * Roger Lebow – Cello ("Lonesome Lullaby") * Dave Boruff – Saxophone ("A Long Time Gone") *Laura Lynne – Backing vocals ("All She Wanted") *

Rosie Vela Roseanne Vela (born December 18, 1952) is an American model, singer and songwriter. Early life, education and modeling career Roseanne Vela was born on December 18, 1952 in Galveston, Texas. Her family later moved to Arkansas, where she attende ...

– Backing vocals ("Alright", "All She Wanted"), spoken parts and

Tap dancing Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

("In My Own Time") * Kris Wilkinson – String arrangements ("Ordinary Dream")

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zoom (Album) Electric Light Orchestra albums Albums produced by Jeff Lynne 2001 albums Epic Records albums