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Electric Light Orchestra Part 2:
Access All Areas
The original Electric Light Orchestra
is fondly remembered (and sometimes even laughed at) for its laser-laden
1970s light show, replete with dancing cellists and rumors that the band
used pre-recorded backing tracks. When the group broke up after its 1986 album, drummer Bev Bevan rounded
up some other musicians - eventually picking up original ELO alumni Mik
Kaminski (violin), Kelly Groucutt (bass/vocals) and Louis Clark (orchestral
arranger/keyboardist) for the ride. Thus was born ELO Part II, an
oft-misunderstood group which - even after its own disbanding - may be
forever doomed to be regarded as an ELO cover band.
Truth is, however, while ELO Part II didn't add a lot to the recorded
ELO legacy, they did surpass the original group on stage. Access All
Areas is the filmed evidence of the band's excellent live act, recorded
during an Australian tour with - atypically - a full orchestra in tow. This
is the same tour from which the excellent live album One Night: Live In Australia was
compiled, but the DVD is more than just that album with video.
Leading up to the actual concert footage is a series of introductions
to the band, complete with the obligatory snippets of rehearsal footage
(including an awesome unplugged rehearsal of Showdown) and
a fairly good retrospective of ELO's beginnings, going all the way back
to The Move. Bev Bevan serves
as an excellent narrator for the historical stuff, as he truly is the
only member of the group who can claim to have witnessed the entire
pre-Zoom ELO legacy. The
newer members of the band, particularly guitarist/vocalist Phil Bates,
come across as having a realistic view of their place in the band's
history, an even speak of their admiration for the original ELO's guiding
light, Jeff Lynne. It's
interesting and actually quite refreshing.
The concert footage itself is good, even if the sound mastering demands
something a little more cinematic in places. If there's a problem with
the actual footage, it's the frequent mistake (not limited to this video,
by the way) of the director staying on the widest shot possible. Might as
well focus on Phil, or Kelly, or Bev, or Mik, or whoever happens to be
singing or making the biggest spectacle of themselves - with a seven-piece
band and a full orchestra on the stage, you're not going to get the
entire ensemble into a single frame and be able to see anything.
Another bonus treat for the fans is a pair of new songs - Part II's
last original material, as it happens - only one of which was released as
part of the One Night: Live In Australia CD. Ain't Necessarily
So is still an excellent rocker in an early 70s ELO mold, while the
second new song - not heard elsewhere - is an Eric Troyer original, All
Fall Down.
A good pick for fans of either ELO or Part II, especially the latter.
 
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