Release date: November 17, 2017
Label: Columbia Records
Producer: Jeff Lynne
Length: 98:38
Genre: art rock
Rating: 9.5
“Wembley Or Bust” is the first official live document from the cult British art rock outfit Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It follows Jeff Lynne reviving the band in 2014, to the delight of good-music lovers everywhere, and soon after cutting a very fine studio album, “Alone in the Universe” (2015). “Wembley Or Bust” was recorded during the show at London’s famous Wembley Stadium. Even though Mr. Lynne was the only official ELO member on stage that night (founding keyboardist Richar Tandy sat this one out), that doesn’t dent the high quality of this double live recording one bit.
The backing musicians, led by the string trio, did a truly superb job on the ELO evergreens, and plenty of people could be fooled into thinking Jeff’s old bandmates from the seventies and eighties were up there with him. Prog rock fans will spot the in-demand bassist Lee Pomeroy (It Bites) among the players. Jeff is still in top form on guitar and vocals. The years haven’t touched his singing in the slightest, while Melanie Lewis-McDonald does a great job keeping him company on the backing harmonies. She also sang the operetta intro to the evergreen “Rockaria!” beautifully.
The setlist is a dream for any ELO devotee. Alongside the expected evergreens, led by “Evil Woman”, “All Over the World”, “Showdown”, “Livin’ Thing”, “Do Ya”, “Telephone Line”, “Turn to Stone”, “Mr. Blue Sky” and “Don’t Bring Me Down”, there are a few surprises from the ELO treasure chest of classics. Those include “10538 Overture” from the debut, “Wild West Hero”, one of the lesser-known standards from “Out of the Blue” (1977), the disco-tinged “Discovery” (1979) goodies “Shine a Little Love” and “Last Train to London”, “Handle With Care”, which Jeff recorded as a member of the all-star lineup The Traveling Wilburys, “Twilight” from the often overlooked concept album “Time” (1981), and “Xanadu”, which comes from the album of the same name that ELO made together with Olivia Newton-John way back in 1980.
On the tour that produced “Wembley Or Bust”, Lynne and co. also played the often “forgotten” song “Secret Messages” from the album of the same name, but it was left off this concert. “Alone in the Universe” is represented by just a single song, “When I Was a Boy”, since Mr. Lynne knows full well that the crowd came mainly to hear all the beloved evergreens, even though the newer work from these masters of crossing melodic rock with symphonic sounds doesn’t lag far behind the “golden days”.
“Wembley Or Bust” sounds like it was recorded in 1977, right at the peak of ELO mania, not forty years later. That’s probably the best way to sum up how good this live document is, because at times it sounds like a musical time machine. Luckily for all the music gourmets out there, Jeff Lynne and his ELO will apparently keep delighting us with quality live and studio releases for at least a few more years.
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
CD 1 (48:35)
1. Standin’ In The Rain (4:11)
2. Evil Woman (4:36)
3. All Over The World (4:01)
4. Showdown (4:15)
5. Livin’ Thing (4:10)
6. Do Ya (4:13)
7. When I Was A Boy (3:29)
8. Handle With Care (3:46)
9. Last Train To London (4:24)
10. Xanadu (3:23)
11. Rockaria! (3:21)
12. Can’t Get It Out Of My Head (4:46)
CD 2 (50:03)
1. 10538 Overture (4:49)
2. Twilight (4:45)
3. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle (4:07)
4. Shine A Little Love (3:54)
5. Wild West Hero (4:10)
6. Sweet Talkin’ Woman (3:44)
7. Telephone Line (4:56)
8. Turn To Stone (4:01)
9. Don’t Bring Me Down (4:15)
10. Mr. Blue Sky (5:11)
11. Roll Over Beethoven (6:11)
Jeff Lynne’s ELO:
Jeff Lynne – lead vocals, guitar
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Mike Stevens – musical director, guitar, backing vocals
Milton McDonald – guitar, backing vocals
Iain Hornal – backing vocals, guitar, percussion
Jo Webb – keyboards, backing vocals
Bernie Smith – keyboards, synthesizer
Marcus Byrne – keyboards, vocoder
Rosie Langley – violin
Amy Langley – cello
Jessica Cox – cello
Lee Pomeroy – bass guitar, backing vocals
Donovan Hepburn – drums
Melanie Lewis-McDonald – backing vocals, percussion, operetta vocals (“Rockaria!”)
