Tracks
Also by Electric Light Orchestra
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ELO is one of those bands that can slip completely below the radar. You hear their songs all the time, you just never make the association with the band name. This collection, though short and nowhere near complete, will set off some of those familiarity bells in your head, and you will come to realize you know just about every song on the set.
The collection starts out with maybe their two most played tunes: Evil Woman and Livin' Thing. These songs tell you straight off what the band is about. They are a soft rock band with a deep string section that very nicely compliments the rock guitar and drums; they are great with the lyrics, and they will never get too heavy. This is a true seventies band that sits somewhere between rock and disco. Somewhere between Wings and ABBA, you will find ELO. That's not a bad thing either, this is a talented group that found their niche and stuck to it. A song like Can't Get It Out Of My Head has been covered dozens of times. Just because they were a good fit for the seventies doesn't mean they can't fit anywhere else.
Which goes back to this being an incomplete collection. The band continues to make music, and some of their biggest hits didn't come out until the eighties. Songs like Home On Tight and Don't Bring Me Down came later, so you might want to try one of the many other hits collections instead of this one. It's still a great collection, and you are likely to recognize just about every song here. You may even realize that the architect of the group sounds familiar. The name to recognize is Jeff Lynne, you'll recognize him as the least recognizable of the Traveling Wilburys. He's also produced albums for Tim Petty and many others; he's an incredibly talented musician.
While this is a solid collection, it's nowhere near complete. There is a volume two that helps fill in the gaps, but even better is the Strange Magic two disc set. Better still are the many live sets available, as ELO is an excellent live band. Some of these singles sound a bit stiff, even stale today, but they come out much better in the live setting.
The collection starts out with maybe their two most played tunes: Evil Woman and Livin' Thing. These songs tell you straight off what the band is about. They are a soft rock band with a deep string section that very nicely compliments the rock guitar and drums; they are great with the lyrics, and they will never get too heavy. This is a true seventies band that sits somewhere between rock and disco. Somewhere between Wings and ABBA, you will find ELO. That's not a bad thing either, this is a talented group that found their niche and stuck to it. A song like Can't Get It Out Of My Head has been covered dozens of times. Just because they were a good fit for the seventies doesn't mean they can't fit anywhere else.
Which goes back to this being an incomplete collection. The band continues to make music, and some of their biggest hits didn't come out until the eighties. Songs like Home On Tight and Don't Bring Me Down came later, so you might want to try one of the many other hits collections instead of this one. It's still a great collection, and you are likely to recognize just about every song here. You may even realize that the architect of the group sounds familiar. The name to recognize is Jeff Lynne, you'll recognize him as the least recognizable of the Traveling Wilburys. He's also produced albums for Tim Petty and many others; he's an incredibly talented musician.
While this is a solid collection, it's nowhere near complete. There is a volume two that helps fill in the gaps, but even better is the Strange Magic two disc set. Better still are the many live sets available, as ELO is an excellent live band. Some of these singles sound a bit stiff, even stale today, but they come out much better in the live setting.