ELO (1971) Nellie Takes Her Bow LOST70sGEMS

A Roy Wood ELO number along the lines of Whisper in the Night, it displays in full ELO's early heavily Progged out sound from Wood's demonic croon that is electronically processed much the same as Peter Hammill with a crackly distortion and a high cutoff frequency. The tale about the eponymous Nellie is secondary to the dragged out piano and lazy day drawl delivery of Wood. The middle section like Battle of Marston Moor on this record displayed their mini orchestra with a turgid cello and double bass and shrieking strings like a neo-renaissance interpretative dance. But I love the hazy lethargic downbeat quality of the track and how Roy Wood's croaked vibrato  is enhanced and then slowly submerged in a very crackly and vibrating filter. The contrast of a very old style of music and a very new mechanical vocal is a great contrast, the delivery of Wood's vocals intensifies along with the layers of flanger or whatever that effect is, it would be used for that megaphonic effect heard years later on Mr Blue Sky and many more of ELo's poppier songs but here it suits Wood's voice far more than Lynne as heard here.