Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Electric Light Orchestra
Label: EMI Records
Release: 1973
Rating: 4/5
Right before their second album, plainly titled “ELO 2”, Electric Light Orchestra made the pivotal move of their entire career. After their splendid debut showed off a singular, avant-garde mix of layered symphonic arrangements and melodic rock with a barely hidden Beatles influence, an ego clash between the band’s two leaders, Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood, was unavoidable. It was a collision of musical visions about where the band should go next. Lynne wanted the band to lean harder into its melodic rock side, while the eccentric Wood pushed for staying the avant-garde course. Wood eventually gave in, packed his bags and founded his own glam rock outfit, Wizzard, where he kept chasing his eccentric musical ideas, even if that kept him on the fringes of obscurity and meant waving goodbye to any chance of commercial success. Meanwhile, Lynne grabbed the reins of ELO and never let go of them again (not counting the short-lived experiment called ELO II in the first half of the ’90s).
Starting with “ELO 2”, Lynne steered ELO into its golden age under his leadership. He wasn’t just a great singer and multi-instrumentalist but also an outstanding sonic perfectionist, who spent a huge amount of time on the production of their albums and made it one of the best among the (prog) rock bands of the day. “ELO 2” was originally supposed to be called “The Lost Planet”, but after Wood’s departure that concept was scrapped and they went with a much simpler title. Even though he got no credit in the liner notes, Wood recorded the cello and bass parts on “In Old England Town (Boogie No 2)” and “From The Sun To The World (Boogie No 1)”. Wood was replaced on cello by two classically trained cellists, Colin Walker and Mike Edwards. Wif Gibson, meanwhile, took over violin from the original violinist, Steve Woolam. Richard Tandy took up the keyboards. And Mike de Albuqerque took the bass off Lynne’s hands, so he could focus even more on guitar. It was only with the arrival of these musicians that ELO truly came alive as a band, rather than a joint project of Lynne and Wood. As a fun fact, at this point Lynne invited none other than the legendary singer/bassist Glenn Hughes (ex-Trapeze, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath) to replace Wood in ELO, though luckily for both ELO and Deep Purple, that never happened.
All five tracks on the album run longer than your standard rock song and are packed with melodic orchestral arrangements. Next to their debut, this was undoubtedly their least commercially accessible album, even though the witty cover of “Roll Over Beethoven”, originally by Chuck Berry, smashed its way into the biggest British hits of that year. ELO never really bothered much with following the tradition of the symphonic prog giants, who mostly drew their inspiration from 19th-century and early 20th-century classical composers. Their lush orchestral arrangements on strings and keyboards were mostly baroque in nature and followed the central melody of each song’s rock skeleton. Even back then, improvisation was entirely negligible in their music, and pretty much nonexistent. Strip the orchestral arrangements from most of the songs on “ELO 2” and you’d get energetic melodic rock tunes, but you’d also rob the band of one of the key elements of their signature sound. The melodic approach, the accessible arrangements and the gleaming production were already among the main ingredients in the recipe for their later, massive commercial success.
On the dramatic opener “In Old England Town (Boogie No 2)”, which with its slightly obscure structure picked up stylistically right where the debut left off, you can’t miss Wood’s energetic contribution on cello. The track opens with a dark, chilling riff on guitar and cello that comes back several times through the composition. That and a few other obscure string arrangements even nudge it a bit toward King Crimson, making it the closest of all the album’s tracks to some of the famous prog rock bands. Lynne and company then, as expected, calm the initial obscure mood quite a bit with the subtle and rather melancholic ballad “Mama”, which is certainly among their most beautiful creations. What gets the listener here is its melodic yet complex structure, Lynne’s melancholic vocals and the extremely tasteful orchestral arrangements, which stir up a special kind of nostalgia every time you play it.
Next up is one of the best-known ELO classics, the excellent cover of Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven”, which Lynne and his crew reshaped in a completely unique way, turning it into a song with a totally different character from the original. They reworked it mainly through dramatic, dark arrangements on both cellos and violin, as well as an intro built on the central motif of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. The transition from that classical motif into the honky tonk/rock’n’roll section that comes from Berry’s original is especially well pulled off. On top of the superb orchestral arrangements, the song is further enriched by Bevan’s dramatic drum fills and Lynne’s scorching guitar riffs, along with his dramatic guitar show. To close out the song, they repeat the central motif of the Fifth Symphony once more. This excellent cover was their second single and second hit, and it broke into the most successful songs of that year not only in their homeland but in the US too. Over the years “Roll Over Beethoven” became ELO’s trademark anthem and the obligatory finale of all their live shows.
The excellent “From The Sun To The World (Boogie No 1)” stands out for its many dramatic symphonic arrangements, a bouncy, almost boogie rhythm and Lynne’s chameleon-like vocal performance. After a gentle intro come plenty of punchy guitar riffs and pompous arrangements on strings and keyboards. The track is full of unpredictable orchestral twists from energetic to gentler sections, creating an exceptionally dynamic atmosphere. The song completely changes its character several times. With it, ELO created one of their most dynamic pieces ever. The closing epic masterpiece, the 11-plus-minute “Kuiama”, is one of those ELO treats where they edged a bit closer again to what the key symphonic prog rock bands of the time were achieving. After a simple, almost sleepy intro come superb orchestral arrangements on cello and violin, a mighty guitar riff and an excellent vocal performance from Lynne. Through it all, the song keeps hold of its central melodic structure. Even though everything sounds fairly simple and accessible, the individual arrangements are more complex than most people would expect. After the first transition, the composition drifts into a completely different mood. Here come superb melancholic arrangements on guitar, both cellos, violin and keyboards, flowing between the drum passages. To close the album, ELO once again proved themselves masters at combining grandiose orchestral arrangements, dramatic transitions and exceptional subtlety.
“ELO2” was without a doubt one of the best albums in the history of this splendid art rock band, one that made no secret of flirting with some of the best elements of symphonic prog rock. It may even be their most complete record when it comes to placing ELO among the progressive rock bands. As such, it should still thrill both fans of their later, more pop-rock-tinged output and those music gourmets who are always open to all kinds of experimental forms while also appreciating a good melody. Lynne knew well that Wood’s legacy couldn’t just be brushed off quickly and completely, so he kept some of the best ideas from their debut and enriched them with the new additional instrumentalists. The new combination of two cellists and a violinist proved a winner on “ELO 2”, and the band stuck to this central recipe on the following albums too, which usually guaranteed them success with an audience that was as wide as it was demanding.
Lineup
Jeff Lynne – vocals, guitar, moog synthesizer
Mike de Albuquerque – bass guitar, backing vocals
Richard Tandy – moog synthesizer, piano, guitar, harmonium
Bev Bevan – drums
Wilf Gibson – violin
Mike Edwards – cello
Colin Walker – cello
Production
Jeff Lynne
Tracklist
1. In Old England Town (Boogie #2) (6:51)
2. Mama (7:00)
3. Roll Over Beethoven (8:05)
4. From the Sun to the World (Boogie #1) (8:17)
5. Kuiama (11:14)
Album length: 41:37
