Customer Reviews

One Night - Live in Australia

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

 

 

ELO Part II may go down as rock music's biggest footnote. But what folks don't understand is the genuine musicianship of this ELO wannabe group. They seem to pull off the impossible. The orchestral intro to "Standing In The Rain", the giddy-up of "Evil Woman", the majesty in "Can't Get It Out Of My Head". In some cases these arrangements have more depth and clarity than the original recordings. Check out "Telephone Line" for exhibit A. Sprinkled ELO II originals don't damage the overall flow and mood of the album. In fact, "One More Tommorow" sounds as if it was taken from the Jeff Lynne unused song archives. Also of note is the "strange magic-sweet talkin woman-confusion-do ya " medley. Wow. If you want the hits they're here! The album concludes with a raucous version of "Don't Bring Me Down", sort of a parting shot at Jeff Lynne who did everything in his power to derail Part II. He may be a genius, but if he doesn't like to tour, he ought to let the rest of his former underpaid mates make the dough. For Pete's sake, Jeff. Anyway, great disc, great sound, great band. Buy it!

If you a seeking a great rocking experience and instant energy on a compact disc, put this on, step back, and get ready to roll. Incredible concert production!

There are live albums of the original lineup out there, but without exception, the sound on all of them is absolutely cruddy. Well, I never had a bootleg mentality (paying more than a decent album wiould cost just to own the thing), so I never touched the things. Okay, so these guys in this one aren't all the same guys. Big deal. Not only do they present the newer material well like you'd expect, they even do a decent job on the oldies (I mean, some of these guys were little kids when that stuff was first released). And this being the decade it is, the sound is good. So, not only is this a worthwhile album for the new fan, it has something for us dinosaurs who followed the old lineup, too! Don't forget, "our" ELO never did get around to a decent live album.

One Night, live in Australia, finally a good live album! ELO Part II does a superb job delivering some ELO classics and some of their own material. Having seen ELO Part II myself I can say that this CD really tears the roof off the house. Though most people dismiss Part II saying they're just imitating ELO, I have to say that this still is one of my favorites. For me, the highlights of this CD are the Intro to Can't Get it Out of My Head, the Eldorado Overture. The only complaint is it's not quite up to tempo. The other highlight is the "ELO hits" medley near the end of the show. (The end of this CD, this is actually a double CD cut down to one without some great songs, drat) The first three songs are great in their own respects but the final two, Do Ya sounds great and it leads right up into the orchestral/vocal explosion of Rockaria! With Kelly Groucutt singing his patented opera segment that was originally sung by Mary Thomas on the album for those of you who don't know. And of course every song on this album is great. I'm not quite sure but I think that the line in "Roll Over Beethoven" that says, "Hey diddle diddle gonna play my fiddle" now reads "Hey diddle diddle, Mik Kaminski's playin' his fiddle" I may be wrong. My opinion, buy this CD, for the sake of the band if nothing else.

For some reason, Amazon has this listed as an ELO album. It's NOT. It's "ELO Part 2", a group of former and non-members of the original band, covering the songs of the original band. Jeff Lynne, the composer, arranger, singer and guitarist does not appear. Buyer beware!

The Electric Light Orchestra Part Two undertook this live performance in Australia while on tour supporting their excellent MOMENT OF TRUTH album. Most of the songs performed here are written by the departed Jeff Lynne, which earns the album at least one or two stars right away. ELO Part Two actually offered a better live album on 1992's PERFORMING ELO's GREATEST HITS LIVE FEATURING THE MOSCOW SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (see my review on Amazon.com under that album section). This album rocks much harder than the previous one, which is both a strength and a weakness. At times, the album seems a bit frantic; as if the band is trying too hard to connect. Most of the performances are competent; some feel a little rushed and perfunctory, particularly toward the end.

Vocalist/Guitarist Phil Bates, while tremendously talented, just doesn't seem to be a good fit for ELO overall (he has since departed). His vocals and guitar work on this CD are a little bit showy and, at times, desperate. I really liked some of his contributions to MOMENT OF TRUTH, but here, his "Whiskey Girls" and the loathsome "Ain't Necessarily So" stink up the joint. Sorry to say. He does a better job on "Evil Woman," "Showdown," and hams it up on "Rockaria." Bates really shines on the gorgeous "One More Tomorrow."

Eric Troyer, as usual, is a real standout. No one can replace Jeff Lynne's vocals or Richard Tandy's superb keys, but Troyer does a nice job on his own "Don't Wanna" as well as on ELO classics such as "Can't Get It Out of My Head," "Strange Magic," "Confusion," and "Telephone Line."

For those (like me) who were disappointed by ELO's performance of "Standin' in the Rain" on the LIVE AT WEMBLEY '78 CD, check out that song on this release, which is a big improvement. Kelly Groucutt sounds great on this cut, as well as on "Livin' Thing," "Sweet Talkin' Woman," "Mr. Blue Sky," and his patented operatic opening to "Rockaria." However, a few less "Everybody put your hands in the air" throughout the CD would have been welcome. "Don't Bring Me Down" is pretty fun, and the crowd is really into it. Bev's drums sound better on this song than at any other point throughout the album.

Bates and Chris Tsangarides do a fairly competent job of producing. Some of ELO Part Two's excellent studio cuts might could have been included live, such as "Honest Men," "Power of a Million Lights," and "Breakin' Down the Walls," but the opportunity was missed. This album is somewhat repetitive of the earlier ELO Part Two live album. (However, kudos to CMC International for giving classic artists such as ELO, Yes, Styx, and Lynyrd Skynyrd the chance to release material.) ONE NIGHT is better than your average bear...barely.

After hearing ONE NIGHT, I'm still waiting for that one classic live ELO album.

Even though this is a nice recording, I would prefer to buy the oldest live presentations with the original line-up. This is a correct performance but nothing more.