|
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra II
This is the album from which Roll Over Beethoven sprang, all eight
minutes of it, and that's not even the best reason to pick this one up. The
most off-putting thing about ELO's second album - and the first without
co-founder Roy Wood, who walked out of the
band after repeated arguments with Jeff Lynne over
who was in charge - is the sheer length of every number. At eight minutes,
Roll Over Beethoven is the third-shortest number on ELO II.
In Old England Town, the hard-rocking opening piece, clocks in at just
under seven minutes, and the longest song, Kuiama, runs a little over
eleven. All of them are worth a listen, though the band's studio technique
still depended on grungy multiple overdubs of two cellos and a violin to achieve
ELO's titular orchestral obligations, and overall Lynne rocks harder on the
first three albums than he does later in the 70s. Highly recommended for the
bittersweet Mama, the boisterous From the Sun to the World, and
the very ambitious musical arrangement - if not the anti-war lyrics - of
Kuiama.
- In Old England Town - Boogie #2 (6:54)
- Mama (7:03)
- Roll Over Beethoven (8:10)
- From the Sun to the World - Boogie #1 (8:22)
- Kuiama (11:19)
Released by: Jet
Release date: 1972
Total running time: 41:48
|
