Customer Reviews

Harvest Years 1970-1973

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

30+ years on and the Electric Light Orchestra sounds as highbrow and rockin' as ever. Super ELO fan Rob Caiger has worked to compile the band's first 2 LPs plus an overflowing cornucopia of rarities, including sessions tracks, alternate mixes and more, all in pristine remastered sound quality. At 3 CDs long, this is definitely for the hardcore ELO nut, and not for the casual convert. Yet, there is some startlingly cool stuff here, even besides the band's surprisingly good and (still) unique cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven." My faves? From the first album (The Electric Light Orchestra) I'll pick "Nellie Takes Her Bow" and "Look At Me Now"; from the second LP (ELO 2), "Momma..." and "Roll Over Beethoven". The singles edits and alternate mixes are fun, too; as are the liner notes for us ELO geeks. Quotes from Jeff Lynne make it sound like he couldn't wait to stop The Move and get the Orchestra on the charts, and listening to this set, you can hear why.

THIS IS A VERY NICE 3 CD SET IF YOU WANT ELO'S FIRST 2 LP'S AND SOME NICE BONUS TRACKS TOO.
KEEP IN MIND HOWEVER THAT THESE ARE THE UK VERSIONS OF THE LP'S, MEANING THAT ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN IS ONLY ABOUT 7:03 COMPARE TO THE US 8:11 TIMING *Grrrrrrr !!!*
I NEVER DID UNDERSTAND WHY THE UK VERSION OF ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN ON THE ELO II LP WAS EDITED A BIT SHORTER THAN THE US, BUT I GUESS JEFF OR SOMEONE ELSE HAD THEIR REASONS.
THIS SET ALSO HAS A VERY THIN BUT STILL NICE BOOKLET INSIDE.

P.S. I PERSONALLY THINK IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE IF THEY WOULD HAVE INCLUDED THE US 8:11 VERSION OF ROLL OVER BEETHOVEN AS A BONUS TRACK ALSO ..... BUT THAT'S JUST ME.

.................. BOB

Good songs, a lot of them are remakes of existing songs but they were recorded differently than them so they sound a bit different, plus a lot of newly released songs from the 70's.

What is 'The Electric Light Orchestra Alternate Album Mix (1973)'? The accompanying booklet includes: 'The album also released in Brazil in quadraphonic sound format during 1973 but a UK release was subsequently cancelled as quad went out of fashion. Incredibly rare, the alternate mix is presented here complete for the first time.' Quad seems out of fashion on this release too. I was almost expecting a dts CD, or maybe it's a hybrid SACD I can't play. 10538 Overture, on track 6 CD3, as it starts almost sounds like half of a quad mix. No mention of a downmix either.