Guilty Pleasure Songs: ELO "Xanadu"

ELO!

I love ELO.  The Electric Light Orchestra, to me, basically sounds like what The Beatles would've sounded like if they continued as a band into the 70's, with that orchestra-pop sound with a more 70's production.  There are so many songs that are among my favorites by ELO that it's hard to choose my favorite..."Sweet Talkin Women", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Shine A Little Love", and "10538 Overture", to name a few.  Among my favorite songs by ELO is the track "Xanadu".  No, not the version sung by Olivia Newton-John for that horrible 70's flick of the same name, but the actual version by the Electric Light Orchestra, sung by Jeff Lynne himself. There is an underlying sadness in the way it's sung, and I can't pinpoint why I feel it, but it's there.  It's a lovely tune, and yes, maybe the lyrics are a little cheesy.  However, it's a good pop song, sounding a little like a precursor to the Traveling Wilburys pop sound (the late 80's supergroup Lynne was in with Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty) and as I said, I feel some sadness in the way Lynne sings it.