"Confusion" is the second song from the 1979 Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) album Discovery. It features 12-string acoustic guitar and vocoder.

It was released in the UK as a double A-side single with "Last Train to London". It peaked at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart, making it the fourth consecutive top 10 single to be taken from the Discovery album.[1] In the United States the song was released as a single with "Poker" on the B-side becoming a more modest hit, reaching number 37 on the Billboard Hot 100.[2]

Billboard rated "Confusion" as "a superbly crafted single," describing it as "a mid-tempo rock track that mixes a Beatlesque sound with a hint of disco."[3] Cash Box called it a "bubbly Lynne concoction, mixing glossy pop melody with alternately grandiose and circus-like keyboard fills" and praised the song's hook and craftsmanship."[4] Record World called it a "mellifluous, pop disc with the everpresent falsetto vocals & keyboard gymnastics."[5]

I'd just got hold of the very latest synthesizer, the Yamaha CS-80. The song is based entirely on the sound it made.

— Discovery remaster (2001), Jeff Lynne

Charts

Chart (1979–80) Peak
position
Austrian Ö3 Austria Top 40[6] 5
Canadian RPM Top Singles[7] 20
German Media Control Singles Chart[8] 6
Irish Singles Chart[9] 9
New Zealand (RIANZ)[10] 19
South African Singles Chart[11] 10
UK Singles Chart[1] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[2] 37
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[12] 41
US Cash Box Top 100 Singles 47

References

  1. ^ a b "Electric Light Orchestra". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Electric Light Orchestra - Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. 13 October 1979. p. 85. Retrieved 7 July 2020.
  4. ^ "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 13 October 1979. p. 22. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 13 October 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  6. ^ "Electric Light Orchestra - Confusion - austriancharts.at". Retrieved 22 March 2009.
  7. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - December 8, 1979" (PDF).
  8. ^ "charts.de - Electric Light Orchestra". charts.de. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  9. ^ "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2 June 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2013. Enter Electric Light Orchestra in the Search by Artist field, then click Search.
  10. ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart".
  11. ^ "South African Rock Lists Website - SA Charts 1969 - 1989 Acts (E)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  12. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 79.



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