Evil Woman (Electric Light Orchestra song)

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"Evil Woman"
File:Evil Woman by Electric Light Orchestra UK vinyl A-side label.jpg
A-side label of the UK vinyl release
Single by Electric Light Orchestra
from the album Face the Music
B-side "10538 Overture (Live)"
Released
  • October 1975 (US)
  • 10 January 1976 (UK)
Recorded 1975
Studio Musicland, Munich, Germany
Genre Progressive rock
Length
  • 4:35 (Album version)
  • 4:12 (UK single edit)
  • 3:15 (US single edit)
  • 5:17 (Full-length version)
  • 5:00 (Stripped down mix)
Label
Songwriter(s) Jeff Lynne
Producer(s) Jeff Lynne
Script error: The function "ucfirst" does not exist. singles chronology
"Boy Blue"
(1975)		 "Evil Woman"
(1975)		 "Strange Magic"
(1976)
Music video
"Evil Woman" on YouTube

"Evil Woman" is a song recorded by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and written by lead vocalist Jeff Lynne. It was first released on the band's fifth album, 1975's Face the Music.

Background

Lynne wrote the song quickly when Face the Music was almost complete but he didn't think they had a good lead single.[1] Lynne said:<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />

I wrote this in a matter of minutes. The rest of the album was done. I listened to it and thought, 'There’s not a good single.' So I sent the band out to a game of football and made up 'Evil Woman' on the spot. The first three chords came right to me. It was the quickest thing I’d ever done. We kept it slick and cool, kind of like an R&B song. It was kind of a posh one for me, with all the big piano solos and the string arrangement. It was inspired by a certain woman, but I can’t say who. She’s appeared a few times in my songs.[1]

Lynne described the structure saying it has a "repetitive chord sequence and then the melody turns into a chorus."[2]

When released as a single in late 1975, the song became the band's first worldwide hit.[3] According to Lynne, this song was the quickest he had ever written, in 30 minutes, originally as 'filler' for the group's Face the Music album.[3] The song placed in the top 10 on both sides of the Atlantic in early 1976. It was released again in 1978 on The ELO EP.[4]

The lyric "There's a hole in my head where the rain comes in" in the song is a tribute to The Beatles' song "Fixing a Hole".[5]

Reception

Billboard praised the use of the title lyrics as a hook.[6] Cash Box noted the 20th-century influences and "commercial qualities" of the song, stating "from the classic hookline — a recurring four notes from 'Anchors Aweigh,' through an electronic schism from a dramatic TV serial two-thirds of the way through."[7] Record World said that the song "puts rock within a classical frame and shows one of the few bands capable of a viable combination of experimentation with commerciality."[8]

Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated it ELO's 3rd best song, saying that it has "old-school strings and new-school keyboards...backing a funky dance-floor beat that drives the song all the way to pop glory."[9] Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as ELO's 4th best song, saying that "Jeff Lynne took a simple three-chord progression that Led Zeppelin utilized at the end of 'Stairway To Heaven,' and added his own touch, melody and production to score a huge hit."[10] Stereogum contributor Ryan Reed rated it as ELO's 7th best song.[3]

In 2022 Lynne listed it as one of his nine favorite ELO songs.[11]

Chart performance

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[26] Platinum 1,000,000

xunspecified figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone

Jeff Lynne version

Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released in a compilation album, Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra, with other re-recorded ELO songs, under the ELO name.[27]

Cover versions

A cover version of the song was performed by Oh Mercy on Triple J's Like a Version segment in April 2011.[28]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4081a." RPM. Library and Archives Canada.
  14. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Evil Woman". Irish Singles Chart.
  15. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 2, 1976" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  16. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Electric Light Orchestra – Evil Woman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  17. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Electric Light Orchestra – Evil Woman". Top 40 Singles.
  18. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1976-01-31" UK Singles Chart.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Evil Woman in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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