Livin' Thing
"Livin' Thing" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It appears on ELO's 1976 album "A New World Record" and was also released as a single. Patti Quatro sang uncredited vocals, particularly the "higher and higher" parts. In August 2006, "Livin' Thing" was named by the UK's "Q" as the number 1 "Guilty Pleasure" single of all time – a list designed to celebrate "uncool" but excellent records, and which received considerable publicity. The original single had the bonus of having "Fire On High" on the flip side, a tune  that became the band's most popular instrumental piece. The UK version was released in a blue vinyl format. Critical reception. AllMusic's writer Stewart Mason described the song structure: "[it] opens with a mock-Spanish orchestral flourish before swinging into a more typical mid-tempo ELO rocker, driven by a battery of acoustic rhythm guitars on the verses and modulating upwards into a falsetto Jeff Lynne vocal on a chorus that’s powered by an even more prominent than usual contribution from the group's string section", adding that it lacks "that impossible-to-dislodge hook that typified Lynne 's most successful songs from this era, but it's still a darn sight better than most of what was at the top of the charts in late 1976". "Billboard" said that it "moves through a dark U.K. rock distillation into a soaring, ethereal chorale and a return to the minor-key mode. "Cash Box" said that "a diabolical arrangement hits hard along with some ever ready harmonies which sew this record up into sure hit potential." Jeff Lynne version. Jeff Lynne re-recorded the song in his own home studio. It was released in with other re-recorded ELO  songs, under the ELO name. Covers. In 2001, PFR covered the track on the album "Lynne Me Your Ears – A Tribute to the Music of Jeff Lynne". In 2004, The Beautiful South covered the track for their covers album "Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs". It reached number 24 on the UK charts and number 26 on the Irish charts. Uses in other media. In 2017, "Livin' Thing" was featured in Telltale's "" game. The 2017 "Guardians" sequel of the 2014 original film also contains music from ELO. The 1997 feature film "Boogie Nights" uses "Livin' Thing" for the end credits  of the movie. Initially, Jeff Lynne refused to release the rights to the song, but changed his mind after viewing a screening of the film with director Paul Thomas Anderson and being impressed.