Customer Reviews

The Essential Electric Light Orchestra

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

There are some problems with this package, especially the editing of "Roll Over Beethoven" from eight minutes to four minutes, and excluding some of ELO's best songs. But every ELO "Greatest Hits" collection misses the mark in some way, and this is no exception.

I am sick of ELO being bashed as the poor man's Beatles, as sappy, as "disco-flavored violin trash," and as infantile muzak. All of these criticisms are from people who haven't bothered to listen to ELO from beginning to last and who are too obtuse to realize that Jeff Lynne is a musical genius (and no, I don't use that word lightly). Yes, his lyrics are banal, but with this type of music, who on earth cares? The lyrics to "Ob La Di, Ob La Da" are trite too, but with such catchy music, one can overlook the banality of the words.

There are many stellar songs curiously omited, including ELO's most underrated (and, I think, best) song, "Nightrider." And how about "Four Little Diamonds??" The omissions alone bring the rating down to four stars

I bought my first ELO single when I was 10 years old and I never looked back. If you've read this far, you're a fan like me and you will devour this set. Long live this sappy, trite, banal band... I still love 'em forever!

Like others, I am disappointed that Sony seems to give ELO a "leftovers" kind of treatment here with this somewhat perfunctory career overview. A second disc would have certainly been merited and could have contained many more classic "essential" cuts. But then, I suppose, we would have had just another repeat of STRANGE MAGIC, that wonderful 1995 two-disc collection of ELO's best tracks. So, once we get past the fact that many "essential" cuts are missing here and the packaging is a little skimpy, this is a fine collection of songs...all of them are superlative, save for the disastrous "edited" version of "Roll Over Beethoven." This collection certainly makes the case for ELO being one of the premier art pop bands of the 1970s and 1980s. ELO maestro Jeff Lynne is rightly considered a genius in the studio, and it's easy to see why with tracks such as the crunchy power pop of "Do Ya," the proto synth symphony "Turn to Stone," the lovely lilt of "Strange Magic," the orchestral rock of "Mr. Blue Sky," and the lush wistful ballad, "Can't Get it Out of My Head." If you must have only one single "best of" disc, this is probably the best way to go. But, also be on the lookout for outstanding bargain collections such as ELO CLASSICS and ELO SHINE ON. Of course, as mentioned, STRANGE MAGIC is superior with it's two discs and buffed up packaging. Best of all is FLASHBACK, a 3-disc set featuring numerous previously unreleased gems. (The rare AFTERGLOW is another great 3-CD set, though the sound is inferior.) Happy listening!

I have always loved ELO since I was a kid and am familiar with all of the assorted boxes/2 discs/single disc greatest that are out there. Let's determine a couple of things quickly.

-This is most by far now the best single disc collection by the band you could have; this makes the 1979 greatest extinct.
-The remastering is fabulous; all of these songs sound better here than on any prior collection.
-Of course, there will be many missing songs for the fanatics that they will deem "essential".

The only thing I would suggest is to get the 2 disc "Strange Magic" collection which contains nearly everything. However, this is now my favorite of all the collections. This one is more hit heavy than any of the others ... tracks 1 through 10 are amazing with the way they were sequenced here.

Some may dispute what I wrote here, but this essential ELO is worth having by any fan of this outstanding band. For an hours worth of pure pleasure play this straight through. Nothing but strange magic, I'll tell ya ... :)

As a lifelong ELO fan, I think this is a decent but definitely lacking collection of radio hits. Songs like "10538 Overture", "Fire On High", "Showdown" and "Ma Ma Ma Belle" should be included in any collection deemed "Essential". While this CD is of better quality due to improved re-mastering; a better representation of ELO's hits and catalog is the 2-disk "Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra". But again, for some reason, that collection omits the sports-arena anthem "Fire on High". Also, do not take the liner notes in this CD as gospel; because there are some factual errors (albeit minor ones).

With all do respect to "A Music Fan", I would like to recommend readers dismiss his/her review on this CD as it paints an incorrect portrayal of my favorite band. This user wrote that ELO synthesized all their strings. This is incorrect. Their earliest band members included veterans of the London Symphony Orchestra (on this CD they play the strings on "Roll Over Beethoven"). Some tracks on this album ("I Can't Get It Out of My Head", "Mr. Blue Sky") were recorded with a full symphonic orchestra. On their remastered album "Eldorado", Jeff Lynne comments that you can hear the union-orchestra members packing up their instruments before the recording session was complete because they wouldn't work one second later than they had to! In later years, (mostly the 80's) ELO did use more synthesizers and less strings; but they NEVER attempted to mislead anyone about what instruments were being used. Another interesting fact is that ELO's use of strings on stage helped to bring about great technological advances in the use of electronic pick-ups on classical instruments. "A Music Fan" claims his favorite song by them is "The Ace"; but there is no song recorded by ELO with that name. Subsequently I must urge Amazon.com users to dismiss that post as inaccurate and uninformed.

We all recall back in the 70's, when we had the time to sit and listen to an entire ELO album. We may have had all their albums. Times have changed. I don't believe anyone sits down and listens to an entire album anymore. Everyone is in a hurry!

There's not enough time anymore. So behold, the greatest ELO CD you'll ever have. It's chock full of the hits that made Jeff Lynne and his band, production wizards. The sound is superb. Favorites included: Telephone Line, Livin' Thing, Sweet Talking Woman, Evil Woman, Do Ya, Turn to Stone. I realize there may have been a favorite or two left off from previous albums, but these are truly the best of ELO. These were the big hits and they still sound great! Buy It! It's great for beginners and old pros alike. Shoot...I forgot to pay my cell phone bill..gotta go now!

I have loved E.L.O. eversince I can remember and this collection (which is remastered quite well) cannot call itself "essential" as it lacks many radio hits like "Showdown", "Last Train To London", "10538 Overture", "Fire On High", and "Ma Ma Ma Belle", among others which can be found on a 2 cd set released in 1995 titled "Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra". It's sold at a really low price and has the basic essential songs. To me essential also includes other wonderful songs that are missing in both of the aforementioned such as "One Summer Dream", "Starlight", "It's Over", and "Shangri-la" which can be found in the expansive 3 CD set titled 'Flashback". That set, which is not cheap, is the one to have, although the is some filler. As usual, I decided to take my favorites from the 3 CD set and ALMOST managed to fit them into one CD.

In a nutshell, this release is ok for the casual ELO fan, but for one who wants a better picture go with 1995's "Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra" as it give you much more for a very reasonable price. "Afterglow" is not reasonably priced but I am glad that I bought it and now I have taken what is THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION FOR ME and put then in one CD. A few did not fit, but none were essential to me and I can always get to them by listening to "Flashback".

ELO = 5 stars, Sony gets 1 star for releasing so many versions of E.L.O.'s greatest hits. By no means should my 3-star review give the impression that this is a bad release, it's just that there are better ones out there and it's time that SONY, as well as many other record companies, especially Universal with it's "20th Century Masters", stop releasing CDs that exclude so many songs and also have less than acceptable inserts.

The music industry is alive and kicking and in E.L.O. terms a "Livin' thing", but please keep in mind that trying to sell similar products time after time makes buyers weary. If CD's were priced more reasonably priced and shoddy products were kept to a minimum , the industry would find itself as healthy as ever. Yes, times have changed and there are many other entertainment choices fighting for our attention, but just because the old model does not work, let's not be quick to assume that loses are due to burning of CDs. The vast majority, if not all, of the CDs that I burn are purchases that I have made but want to tailor to my likes.

Amazon needs to distinguish this 2011 2-disc "Essential" from the earlier 1-disc version (Essential Electric Light Orchestra). Grouping the reviews for these two vastly different products together is misleading and confusing to the buyer and does not provide an accurate rating for this new collection.

This review is for the 2011, 2-disc, 37-track version. With the two "Very Best of..." collections (All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] and "Ticket to the Moon" Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra 2 (Snyr)) still in print and readily available I was reluctant to pick this up. Honestly, how many ELO compilations does one need? But considering the price and the track listing I decided to give it a go.

Track-wise this has more in common with the excellent 2-disc UK import Light Years: The Very Best of (from 1997), especially the inclusion of two "Xanadu" tracks which are not found on the "Very best of..." discs ("I'm Alive" and "Don't Walk Away") and the excellent Face the Music album track "Nightrider". This set also includes "10538 Overture" and "Roll Over Beethoven" which are not found on the 2 "Very Best of..." discs.

What is "Essential" missing that the 2 "Very Best of..." volumes include? First off three tracks from the 2000 Jeff Lynne/ELO "reunion" effort Zoom: "Alright", "Moment in Paradise", and "In My Own Time". The reason? Ownership for the "Zoom" tracks has passed from Sony back to Jeff Lynne who reportedly is working on a reissue with bonus tracks. (We'll see.) Also missing are album tracks: "Eldorado", "One Summer Dream", "Starlight", "Heaven Only Knows", and "Destination Unknown".

Overall it's a great sounding set which nicely presents ELO's hits... and near-hits. It's probably the best option out there for newbies looking for an introduction to ELO, but also for us die-hard fans who may want a concise collection of the hits presented chronologically, something we haven't seen on a 2-disc ELO compilation since the 1995 out-of-print Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra. ("Essential" trumps "Strange Magic" in terms of both track selection and sound.) I wish more thought had gone into the packaging which is bare bones with nothing more than track titles, playing time, and copyright information. That's it: no commentary, no history, photos, quotes, etc.

I do have two concerns regarding the music. First is the decision to include the Jeff Lynne/ELO remake of "Xanadu" from 2000 in place of the #1 hit version with Olivia Newton John on vocals and its soaring ELO strings. The remake sounds more like a Traveling Wilbury's cover than ELO. Also several tracks are presented in their single "edit" versions. For the most part the differences between the single and album versions are hardly noticeable with the exceptions being the two earliest tracks: "10538 Overture" and "Roll Over Beethoven" which are dramatically and noticebly edited from their original versions. Still two minor complaints in light of the overall quality and value of this collection.

Jeff Lynne has got to be one of the most underrated pop geniuses of the seventies and eighties. While the world of prog-rockers was bombasting themselves with side-long double album extravaganzas (Yes, I am talking about Yes...), Jeff Lynne and his mates in Electric Light Orchestra decided that "I Am The Walrus" and "Good Vibrations" were all the inspiration they needed.

The end result is a body of work that sounds even better to these aging ears than they did in 1975. From their orchestral rave-up on Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" to the "bama-lama-lama" chorus on the rockabilly "Rock and Roll Is King," Lynne mastered styles effortlessly for three decades. (Even if "Zoom" is not represented here.) Despite the fact that ELO had pretty much abandoned the "orchestra" part of their name by "Time," the 'pocket-symphony' concept stayed with them till the last hit on this CD, "Calling America." Songs like "Rock and Roll Is King" hint at the production chops Lynne would eventually bring to the likes of Tom Petty, Travelling Wilburys, George Harrison and Dave Edmunds.

I chose this "Essential ELO" CD to be in my collection over "All Over The World" primarily because this set includes "Do Ya." "All Over The World" does have a few choice classic-rock cuts ("Ma Ma Belle" and "The Diary Of Horace Wimp" to name two), but if you're looking to get the sugar coated buzz of the 70's singles, this is the collection to own. My rating is held to four stars because of ommissions like "Four Little Diamonds," "10538 Overture" or "Showdown." (This should have been a double set, ala "Strange Magic.") Now that all the albums are back out in pristine remasters, you can pick and choose the classic ELO to fit your whims.

HELLO,
Just thought that i might inform people here that most of the reviews here pertain to an
Essential ELO package that was released a few years ago containing one disc but the Essential
ELO was re-released in Oct. 2011 and addresses most of the concerns of the reviewers here
which is that the earlier release did not include all the hits but you will be glad to hear that
the 2011 2-disc release includes all of ELO SINGLES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

The only song missing might be Here is the News which was a double A sided single release with
Ticket to the Moon. Also the version of XANADU (their only No.1 hit) is a Jeff Lynne solo effort
and does not include O.N.J.

The collection is really a testament to the extraordinary multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter
producer/arranger, enigmatic musical genius Jeff Lynne who wrote everything here bar Roll over
Beethoven and though he did over-produce and over-dub at times nobody can deny his ability for
composing magical musical melodies.

The statistics don t lie and you will be pleased to know that this collection contains 26 U.K.
Top 30 entries 14 of which were Top 10 and 20 of the songs also hit the U.S. top 40.

So, buy this collection safe in the knowledge that not only are you getting some of the best
works from an enigmatic musical genius, but you are also purchasing a fair slice of pop history.

I have a lot of mixed emotions about this CD collection of a few my favorite band's best songs. While there's not a weak song in the bunch, this particular complilation is far from being what it could be. As has been mentioned, Sony has given ELO the short shrift...one CD, instead of the two they gave Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and so many of their other important artists. And make no mistake, ELO is one of the most important bands in the Sony catalog! Even the liner notes here are flawed and perfunctory. One really doesn't come away from this collection with anything new or unique in terms of knowledge and experience in comparison to so many of the other fine ELO collections. The "Strange Magic" collection is far superior, or better yet, try the "Flashback" or "Afterglow" box sets. Sure, for one disc, this CD is loaded with some killer tracks, but I mourn yet another Sony missed opportunity to have done something special and noteworthy for such a deserving band. One final note: I must agree with the *real* music fans here and correct the misinformation put forth by the so-called "music fan" concerning the composition of ELO's band. ELO never tried to fool anyone about synthesizers or strings; from the get-go, they had both. ELO has always been a somewhat quirky, albeit lovable experimental art-pop band that attempted to "pick up where the Beatles left off" with tracks like "Strawberry Fields" and "I Am the Walrus." And they succeeded brilliantly with an amazing catalog of memorable classic songs and albums. The late John Lennon praised them repeatedly; George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney demonstrated their esteem for ELO leader Jeff Lynne by having him produce each one of them individually...and also corporately as the Beatles. On each ELO album from 1972-1979, Lynne employed REAL cellists and violinists as members of the ELO studio band and the touring band. From "Discovery" in 1979 until "Balance of Power" in 1986, ELO did, in fact, move away from their organic orchestral sound, BUT they never abandoned it totally (strings appear on each album during that period). Even on the 2001 comeback album, "Zoom," ELO featured cellists and violinists on several tracks (not to mention George Harrison and Ringo Starr). And...as far as "The Ace," there is no track by that name ever recorded by ELO. There was an Ace Kefford in The Move, the incredible pre-cursor band to ELO. And Ace Frehley once did a fair cover of the ELO/Move classic, "Do Ya." Other than that, my friend, "the ace that's hiding up your sleeve/will cause the world to grieve," to quote from "Poker." HEY...WAIT A SEC...is "Poker" the song you mean, Music Fan?