On the Third Day by Electric Light Orchestra

On the Third Day was released in 1973 and failed to enter the UK charts at the time, although it did reach the US charts at number 52. Side two of the album was recorded during or shortly after the sessions for ELO's LP ELO 2, but unlike its predecessor it contains shorter tracks. By contrast, the four songs on side one of the album were linked into a continuous suite. Violinist Mik Kaminski made his debut on side one of this album replacing Wilf Gibson, although Gibson plays on side two (plus the bonus tracks). Also, cellist Colin Walker left the line up around the same time, leaving Mike Edwards as lone cellist. "Showdown" was originally intended to be released on single only and, since it was on a different label (Harvest) than the UK LP, did not appear on the original UK LP. It was, however, included on the US LP. Although he didn't actually record on the album, Hugh McDowell did appear on this front cover of the US LP seen at right, which was an unusual photograph taken by famed photographer Richard Avedon that had ELO displaying their belly-buttons. In 2006, New Zealand rap group Frontline sampled a piece of "Dreaming of 4000" for their latest release "Hold 'em". ℗ 1973 Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment