Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra

E.L.O. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 11, 1995)
• Original Release Date: April 11, 1995
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: Legacy/Epic Associated
• ASIN: B000002A2V
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,537 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Strange Selections, March 18, 2000

By 

TexRex96 (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra (Audio CD)

This is a nice mix of seventies classics and the more pop-inspired eighties work kicked off by "Discovery." But we already know the songs, so rating a greatist hits compilation is mostly song selection, how the work is presented, and goodies like extra tracks and liner notes. Once again, ELO has pulled together a greatest hits collection omitting possibly the best rock instrumental ever, "Fire on High." Also missing is some very solid work from Xanadu ("I'm Alive," "All Over the World," and the title track). If "Fire on High" weren't such a gem in the ELO catalogue this may be less bothersome. After all, it's not like Jackson Browne's audacious omission of "Boulevard" in his "best of" effort, or Fleetwood Mac overlooking "The Chain" and "Gold Dust Woman" in theirs. Still, it's a double-CD that claims to offer the best of ELO, but doesn't really. The cynic in me says this leaves room for "Best of II..." Either way, it is a nice expansion of the prior "Greatest Hits" CD, so if this is your first foray into the world of ELO, I'd say go for it.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shine A Little ELO In Your Life, April 2, 2005

By 

Anthony Nasti "Tony" (Staten Island, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra (Audio CD)

One of the best (yet strangely underrated) post - Beatles bands to come out of the 1970s' was undoubtedly Electric Light Orchestra. Led by the heavily Beatles influenced Jeff Lynne, their unique mixture of rock and roll and classical music separated them from other '70s' mainstays such as Aerosmith and Led Zeppelin. At their best, their work came pretty damn close to matching the Fab Four's work their peak, and even when they didn't, you could still count on them to release great music.

That being said, thet two disc collection "Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra" contains all of Electric Light Orchestra's classic hits, the bulk of which include "Can't Get It Out Of My Head", "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing" (my personal favorite), "Strange Magic", "Telephone Line", "Turn To Stone" and "Don't Bring Me Down". Also added are several lesser known tracks such as "Rockaria", "Last Train To London", "Rock 'N' Roll Is King" (my all time favorite) and "So Serious" (a great song from 1986's often panned "Balance Of Power").

If you already have all these excellent songs, than the main reasn to buy this cd is the great remastering job. Just listen to how clear and crackling the strings sound on "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and how full the drums sound on the driving intro to "Don't Bring Me Down". It doesn't sound any better than this.

Another great reason to buy this cd is for the great booklet that comes with it. It features track info, a beautiully written essay by Ira Robbins and some great photos (I agree with the reviewer that says Jeff Lynne looks like Tim Curry).

So, in conclusion, I highly recommend the purchasing of this cd. It's the best ELO compilation available, and until they release one with "Xandadu" songs, "Tightrope" and "Fire On High", it will remain so.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magic indeed..., February 16, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra (Audio CD)

ELO is a very special band that has been completely and unfairly forgotten in recent years. I hardly ever hear their songs on the radio any more, but looking at this stellar line up of songs on this collection, you have to wonder why this is so. Out of the 30+ songs on this set, i believe only about 3 or 4 didnt crack the top 30. That is incredibly impressive, but yet all it seemed to earn Jeff Lynne was a trip down forgotten lane. ELO is one of the few bands that you can truly escape with...the music packaged with their clever album art made for a total rock music experience like none other. This music is great, and hopefully this low for a 2-disc set price will attract many new listeners. One testament to how good the ELO catalog is...this is a 2 disc set and everyone (myself included) still think they could have added a third disc with ease! From the string of quality hits with ELO, to his production work with Tom Petty, the Traveling Wilburys, George Harrison, Roy Orbison, Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson et al., Jeff Lynne not receiving a lifetime achievement award is almost a crime. This collection is an important piece of the rock era that should not be overlooked, and hopefully when the new ELO album "Zoom" comes out in 2001 people will re-discover this great band.