ELO 2 - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA***

In Old England Town/Momma/Roll Over Beethoven/From The Sun To The World/Kuiama

ELO 2 is where Jeff Lynne took control of the band after the departure of Roy Wood to form Wizzard. The result is a more mainstream and less innovative and diverse sound. The cover of Roll Over Beethoven was a UK No. 6 hit. (US:62 UK:35)

“Never before on an ELO album has ambitiousness paid off so well; the more strings and piano orientated sound is interesting, and you never tire whilst you are listening, thanks to creative structures and instrumental initiative. The diversity between tracks is also to be admired.” “This sounds extremely good. While ELO's second album isn't quite as daring as the first, nor as melodic as the third, it features a number of classic Lynne songs.”

“It's at this point in ELO's story that Jeff Lynne took complete artistic control of the band. The friendship between Lynne and Roy Wood was under huge pressure as they began work on this album, with Wood attaining the lion's share of the attention from the music press. With both songwriters attempting to pull the band in opposing directions, it was inevitable that someone had to go and, eventually, Wood graciously bowed out.”

“Lynne's perception at the time was that, to be taken seriously as an artist, you had to compose extremely long songs, which he did. For some, this album is something of an endurance test. This is a shame, as once you get over the sheer width of these songs, it's easy to feel the quality.”

“This the first ELO album fully under the control of Jeff Lynne. With the absence of Roy Wood, the album is a chaotic mess. All of the songs are way too long and sound like they have been fleshed out simply for the sake of filling space on the record. This is not necessarily a bad album, though it is certainly an ill conceived one.”

“Unfortunately, though the longer-form songs on here definitely make this one of the band's more progressive efforts, they also make it one of the more forgettable.”

“This whole album has a very experimental air, and saw the band stretching its legs like never before or since. If the only ELO you know is from pop radio, you might give ELO 2 a spin as it contains some really fine progressive rock.”