Electric Light Orchestra: Electric Light Orchestra II (Remastered + Expanded) CD Track Listing

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Electric Light Orchestra Electric Light Orchestra II (Remastered + Expanded) (1973)
Electric Light Orchestra II (Remastered + Expanded)\n\nOriginally Released February 1973.\nCD Edition Released 1990\nRemastered + Expanded CD Edition Released March 28, 2006\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: A middling second album with dull stretches that are almost balanced by the rip-roaring "Roll Over Beethoven." -- Bruce Eder\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Cut during the fall of 1972, Electric Light Orchestra II was where Jeff Lynne started rebuilding the sound of Electric Light Orchestra following the departure of Roy Wood from the original lineup. It was as personal an effort as Lynne had ever made in music, showcasing his work as singer, songwriter, guitarist, sometime synthesizer player, and producer, and it is more focused than its predecessor but also retains some of the earlier album's lean textures. Lynne, drummer Bev Bevan, bassist Mike D'Albuquerque, and keyboardist Richard Tandy comprise the core of the band, with two cellists and a violinist sawing away around them. There were holes in their sound that made the group seem somewhat ragged, as on the pounding "In Old England Town (Boogie #2)"; Lynne's singing would also have to develop, and some of the material also showed the need of an editor. On the other hand, "From the Sun to the World (Boogie #1)" was a succinct progressive rock workout, and "Kuiama" was a decent showcase for the different sides of the group that worked about as well as any 11-minute progressive rock track of the period. But the very fact that the group's cover of "Roll Over Beethoven" was the hit off of this album also showed how far Lynne had to go as a songwriter -- there's nothing else here one-half as good as that as a song, and the fact that the band attacked it like a buzzsaw made it one of the most bracing pieces of progressive rock to make the charts. As a patchwork job, the album holds up well, and it and the single did go a long way toward getting them the beginnings of an audience in America. [In 1999, British EMI reissued ELO 2 (as it is known in England) in an upgraded, remastered version that sounds infinitely better than the extant American CD, with textures so close that you can actually hear the action on the cellos; make out the individual notes in Lynne's high-speed, high-volume guitar solo in the final two minutes of "From the Sun to the Moon"; and hear the action on the bass, guitar, and drums on "Kuiama" (with the violin and grand piano sounding like they're in the room with you), among other delights. Add an extra star to the rating for that version, which is well worth tracking down.] -- Bruce Eder\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nTerrible sound quality!, April 6, 2006\nReviewer: J. Busher (PA USA)\nThe back of the CD case says "newly remastered from the original analog tapes" and "features the full-length version of Roll Over Beethoven" but it's a BALD-FACED LIE! This disc is simply a clone of the heavily noise reduced and badly EQ'd "First Light" remaster that came out in the UK a few years ago. In other words, if you already have that disc, you won't need this one. You will need to hang onto the old US pressing of this album to get the TRUE "Full Length Version" of Roll Over Beethoven, and the best sound quality, as well as the US artwork! Sony, and everybody involved with this reissue, should be ashamed of themselves!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nlet's talk about the merits of the music - and "Roll Over Beethoven", April 16, 2006\nReviewer: J. A. DeSilva (San Jose, CA USA)\nAs I'm not an "audiophile" or a professional sound engineer, I'm not going to discuss the merits of "bad EQ" or the engineering expertise of EMI's Peter Mew. As a long-time ELO fan, I will say that I like what I hear on this CD. For those not fortunate enough to procure the "First Light" 2-disk UK edition of ELO 2, this is the next best thing. This was the transitional album from the original experiment of Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, to the singular vision of Jeff Lynne and what became the "classic" ELO sound in the mid 1970's. Lynne himself said that he created the long pieces on this album because that what he thought he was supposed to do - and some of the tracks do suffer a bit from rambling arrangements. But as Roy Wood was involved in the recording of "in Old England Town" and "From The Sun To The World" and then left to form Wizzard, it may have been that Jeff was trying to carry on in the spirit of his old mate. Where Jeff was left to his own muse ("Mama" and "Kuiama"), the results were spectacular. And the decision to cover "Roll Over Beethoven" was a masterstroke - meld Jeff's beloved Beatles with Beethoven, and really rock the house down. It was the beginning of Lynne's pop music renaissance (from "On The Third Day" to "Out Of The Blue" ELO made some of the 70's most memorable music IMHO). \n\nSo let's talk about the "Roll Over Beethoven" version that is on this CD. I've heard from sources close to Jeff Lynne that it was Jeff's decision to go with the original UK version of "ROB" on this CD, edited from the "full-length" version of the song that came out on the US LP, both on United Artists Records, and reissued on CBS. I must say that I was disappointed that Jeff chose the UK version over the US version, as that's the one I'm most familiar with (and prefer). But what can we do - Jeff's the artist, and apparently it's his decision. At least it's only edited by a few seconds - not the complete butchering of the song that was the single version featured on "Ole ELO" and other countless compilations. My other disappointment was the decision to go with the UK version of the album cover instead of the US version. At the least I think the US version should have been included in the booklet (the original blue/black landscape picture is in the booklet BTW). So these two deficiencies drop this release down to 4 stars for me. \n\nBut overall I think this is a great version of one of my favorite ELO albums. Those of you who are fans of Harvest Records bands from the early to mid 1970's (Pink Floyd, Pretty Things, Edgar Broughton Band, Roy Harper) will like this CD a lot.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nElectric Light Orchestra's underrated sophomore effort, September 29, 2005\nReviewer: Darth Kommissar (Las Vegas, NV (USA))\nElectric Light Orchestra II (1973.) The second Electric Light Orchestra album. \n\nINTRODUCTION: \nThe Electric Light Orchestra evolved from the Move, an earlier progressive/classical fusion rock band Jeff Lynne had played in. Upon recruiting co-frontman Jeff Lynne, the group was complete. Their first album, released in 1971, was all but forgotten with the exception of the minor hit in the band's native England, 10358 Overture. Sadly though, the rest of the album was all but forgotten by most. Having Roy Wood, who had been so instrumental in making the songs on there so great in the first place, left the band to form Wizzard, his own band. He also took some of the band's musicians with him to pursue his own interests, resulting in band formation changes. Jeff Lynne was now the one and only frontman of the group. How would the follow-up album measure up? Keep reading, and you shall see! \n\nOVERVIEW: \nElectric Light Orchestra II was released in March of 1973. The album was produced by Jeff Lynne and featured the following songs: In Old England Town (Boogie Number Two), Mama, Roll Over Beethoven, From The Sun To The Moon (Boogie Number One) and Kuiama. This was the first album not to feature Roy Wood as a member of the band (although he plays uncredited on a few tracks.) \n\nREVIEW: \nA lot of people call Electric Light Orchestra II an identity crisis point for the band. Quite honestly, it's not that hard to see why. Jeff Lynne was suddenly left alone as the group's only frontman - he no longer had Roy Wood to collaborate with, and on this album he was looking for his voice as a leader. That said, this is somewhat of an experimental album. There are only five tracks here, but they're among the band's lengthiest songs. Kicking things off is In Old England Town (Boogie Number Two.) This song starts the album off on a very high note, definitely standing as one of the strongest pieces of music from this era of E.L.O. The Baroque-flavored melodies that kick the song off, and the overall tone of the song are strongly reminiscent of the sound the band featured on their first album. And since I loved the first album, it goes without saying that I hold this track in pretty high regard. The song definitely should have been a bigger hit! The second track is Mama. This song takes the music in a slower, more melodic direction than the opening track did. The overall melodic and haunting tone of this piece brings to mind the orchestral experimentation the Beatles used in their final years before disbanding. But, Lynne's vocals make it distinctly E.L.O. Track number three is the band's first hit on the American pop charts, a cover of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven. But E.L.O. didn't just cover the song and leave it at that - blatant copying is bland, and the group shows it here. To kick things off, for the first minute the band actually performs the first portions of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony's First Movement! Now THAT'S creativity. From there on out, the band combines the classic fast-paced rockabilly feel of the original song with the occasional classical music elements. The end result is a classic, and it's not hard to see why so many people like this song, and why it ended up being their first American hit. The second of two "Boogie" tracks, From The Sun To The Moon (Boogie Number One) comes next (don't ask me why Boogie Two came before Boogie One, I guess that's just one of the mysteries of life.) Starting this song off is an amazing instrumental portion that combines moog synthesizers with the orchestral instrumentation everyone expects from E.L.O. After the minute-long intro, Lynne starts serving up some damn fine vocals, and the song continually evolves and changes all the way through, with plenty of instrumental diversity. But the main draw of this song would have to be the vocals. My favorite E.L.O. songs are the ones that are continually transforming all the way through, catching me off guard - and this song epitomizes that beautifully. The fifth and final track on the album is Kuiama. This is the album's longest track, and quite honestly, the group could not have ended things on a higher note. Essentially, the final song lets every member of the band show off their musical prowess, demonstrating their finesse at their respective musical roles in the band. In the end, despite what some people say, this is an EXCELLENT album, but it's an aquired taste, and not necesarily a good starting point for new fans of the band. \n\nEDITION NOTES: \nThe American edition of this album sucks. It's a bare bones issue with crappy production quality. But this problem has been corrected, in the form of a new foreign issue of the album! The new version has better sound quality, as well as lots of bonus material - so much, in fact, that it's a two-disc package. If you're a big fan, hunt the import version down. It's worth finding. \n\nOVERALL: \nOverall, Electric Light Orchestra's sophomore album is damn good stuff. As a part of Jeff Lynne's early experimentation trying to find his own sound as frontman, the band would NEVER sound this way again. Buy this album, and you'll capture the band in a little-known but still excellent era casual fans may never know. Don't make this your first E.L.O. purchase, though - start with one of the later releases that has more of the pop hits. But if you're a tried and true fan already, BUY THIS ALBUM. Give it some time, and it will grow on you. Just don't make the mistake I made initially and judge it on your first impressions. This release is an aquired taste, but if you get into it, you'll be in the same boat as me, claiming it's an underrated masterpiece of an album. Final verdict? Electric Light Orchestra fans MUST own this album. Five stars. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nTransitional, November 19, 2004\nReviewer: Dr. Emil Shuffhausen (Central Gulf Coast)\nElectric Light Orchestra II was a transitional album for ELO as Roy Wood departed in mid-stream (though he plays uncredited on the two "Boogies.") It's wildly experimental, at times rough and barely listenable, but it is a brilliant and stirring piece of work. (As has been noted, this album is entitled "II" by the ORIGINAL Electric Light Orchestra; it is not the self-titled debut of "The Electric Light Orchestra Part Two.") That settled, we can say that the 1973 album "II" by ELO is a masterpiece, albeit somewhat flawed by later ELO production standards. It was here that ELO truly became Jeff Lynne's band, and he makes the most of it. "Mama" is a lovely pastoral Lynne ballad, with a memorable instrumental break. "From the Sun to the Sun to the World" is an orchestral rave up and showcases new keyboardist Richard Tandy, who rocks his socks off here. Jeff contributes a memorable, smoking guitar solo. "Roll Over Beethoven" is the perfect marriage of orchestra with retro-rock and struck pretty big on the charts. It remains popular today, and is the definitive version of that oft-covered tune. "Kuiama" is a very ambitious prog-rock tune that lumbers along at times, soars celestially, and ultimately breaks your heart. It's unlike anything ELO has done since, and bears repeated listenings. Kudos to Bev Bevan for his perfect drumming on that tune and througout this entire album. Wilf Gibson's violin solo is stunning on "Kuiama." The album's lead-off track, "In Old England Town (Boogie #2)" is somewhat of a mis-step. Instrumentally interesting, it contains one of Jeff's harshest vocals ever. Check out the instrumental version of this song on EARLY ELO, which I greatly prefer. Still, ELO gets points for trying. 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 1973's "II" a spin; it contains some really fine progressive rock. (Also look for the UK import expanded edition THE LOST PLANET which contains two discs with contributions from the Move's Carl Wayne and T. Rex's Marc Bolan.)\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nELO Still Finding Their Way, July 12, 2003\nReviewer: Alan Caylow (USA)\n1973's "Electric Light Orchestra II" was ELO's second album, and their first with singer/songwriter/guitarist Jeff Lynne firmly at the helm (after the departure of Roy Wood). The album is very good but a bit uneven, as it shows Lynne & the band still finding their way musically, with their trademark classical prog-rock still in the development stages, waiting to be fully flowered on their third album, "On The Third Day." Comprising of five long songs, there are three that definitely stick out: "Mama" is a beautiful, luscious tune, one of Jeff Lynne's greatest compositions. Then, of course, there's the band's amazing 8 minute treatment of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven," complete with musical cameos from Beethoven himself. And finally, there's "Kuiama," an impressive 11 1/2 minute piece of melodic prog rock. The other two songs don't fare as well: "In Old England Town" sounds a bit ragged (and so does Jeff's vocals on it), and "From The Sun To The World" has it's bright moments, but doesn't gel too well as a whole. But hey, three out of five ain't bad. ELO still had some musical growth to do, but this album showed beyond a doubt that Jeff Lynne & company had the potential for bigger things, as time would definitely prove. "Electric Light Orchestra II" is not a perfect ELO album, but when it's good, it's darn good, and "Mama" alone is worth the price of admission.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nIt has its moments, July 18, 2002\nReviewer: A music fan\nIn many ways this is the first real ELO record. After NO ANSWER, Roy Wood left the group and Jeff Lynne became the undisputed leader-producer-songwriter-lead singer-etc (although Wood does show up on a couple of tracks--uncredited--on cello). The album consists of 5 long tracks, all of which explore the musical capabilities of the new group. The best of the tracks are "Roll Over Beethoven" which is a lively cover of the Chuck Berry classic and "Kuiama", which contains the album's most stunning musical moment: a lovely violin solo by Wilf Gibson (I think that's his name!). \nThe album suffers by not playing up to Jeff Lynne's main strength, which is writing radio-friendly pop songs. Also, it has not aged well, what with the over-the-top Moog parts. \n\nOver-all, though, this is a pretty good record, nothing at all like the ELO records that would follow. Of course, if you're a big ELO fan, you should have this, but that goes without saying....\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nVisionary, and it would only get better afterwards!!!, May 14, 2001\nReviewer: "zeke_third-shift-rules" (Smyrna, GA United States)\nJust for "Mama" alone - a song with lush, sweeping strings, and a poignant, honest, heart rending vocal from Jeff - this album rates four of five starts. A simply stunning song, is "Mama." But this also has the BEST EVER cover of ANY Chuck Berry song - in fact, ELO's recording of "Roll Over Beethoven" is the best version period of any Chuck song, even counting his own versions of his stuff. "Roll Over Beethoven" on this album is the perfect definition of what rock and roll is, and what it should be. \n"From the sun to the world," "Kiuama," and "Down in old England Town," are all fantastic cuts in their own rights, also. Only 5 songs here, but they average over 8 minutes each in length. \n\nNothing here is similar in style to what would come on FACE THE MUSIC, OUT OF THE BLUE or TIME, but you can difinitely hear the seeds on this record. A great strength of this band is that their sound changed dramatically every two albums. ELO is one of the very few artists EVER (Zeppelin, Floyd, & Hendrix, among others, failed to achieve this) to score BOTH ten Top 40 albums and twenty Top 40 singles on the U. S. charts. From 1974 to 1986, these guys moved largely to their own beat in creating superlative and memorable music. Does ELO stand the test of time? Well, at least eight separate eBay auctions from April, 2001, for the ZOOM album, two months before it's to be released, all ended at over $75.00. 15 years after Jeff docked the space station, fans still have ENORMOUS cravings for ELO's particular & wonderful sound.\n\nThis isn't their first album, or the best, but it is their first of many GREAT albums, and is easily one of the all time top 10 under rated rock albums in history. If you like ELO, this is a great album to get, despite the fact that it didn't produce all the U. S. radio hits the subsequent disks would. Easily rates 5 of 5 stars!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nA weird and unsatisfying, yet compelling, work, June 22, 2000\nReviewer: J. Grey (Back Home Again)\nELO was clearly still finding its way in 1972 when they released this strange, ponderous album. Their attempt to be "progressive" (in the day's vernacular) stood out in its unrestrained use of strings. Strange lyrics and muddy vocals disappoint, but respectable melodies and memorable hooks (notably in "Mama" and "Kuiama") draw the listener in. These bright spots show promise that ELO eventually realized in later works, and in that regard encourage repeated listening.\nBut press the Skip button on "Roll Over Beethoven." This obvious bid for a single doesn't fit the rest of the album, and besides, the world didn't need yet another cover of this song.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nJeff Lynne takes over!, February 5, 2000\nReviewer: Henry R. Kujawa ("The Forbidden Zone" (Camden, NJ))\nWith the departure of co-founder Roy Wood (and back-up musicians Bill Hunt & Steve Woolam) Jeff Lynne recruited 5 new members to bring ELO up to a compliment of 7. ELO II follows much the style and tone of ELO / NO ANSWER, but with more polished playing. Still DEEP in the thrall of "Progressive Rock" (what I like to jokingly call "experimental weird stuff") this album, like its predecessors, mixes off-the-wall complexities with hard-driving rock & roll. "Roll Over Beethoven" follows in the footsteps of "Night Of Fear" and "Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited" when it comes to mixing classical riffs with pop (and after such tunes as "Weekend", "Don't Mess Me Up", "Down On The Bay" and "California Man" we KNOW these guys love 50's rock & roll!). On the "far-out" side, my faves are the lumbering, almost brutal "In Old England Town" (warnings about air pollution and suburban-living commuters) and "From The Sun To The World" (a joyous romp that ironically speaks of the end of civilization-as-we-know-it). Heavy, ominous, bizarre and bouncy all at once! I could have done without the overlong "Kuiama" (a Viet Nam War tragedy/love song) but that's just personal taste.\nFor anyone wanting to check out the other half, see WIZZARD'S BREW from Roy Wood's Wizzard, released only a month later; it ALSO features a 50's-style rocker ("Got A Crush About You"), while the rest of the album is even stranger than THIS!\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW (Original CD Edition)\nFlawed masterpiece, March 27, 1999\nReviewer: A music fan\nNOTE: On this page, we should be discussing an album entitled "II" by the ORIGINAL Electric Light Orchestra, not the self-titled debut of "The Electric Light Orchestra Part Two." That settled, we can say that the 1973 album "II" by ELO is a masterpiece, albeit somewhat flawed by later ELO production standards. It was here that ELO truly became Jeff Lynne's band, and he makes the most of it. "Mama" is a lovely pastoral Lynne ballad, with a memorable instrumental break. "From the Sun to the Sun to the World" is an orchestral rave up and showcases new keyboardist Richard Tandy, who rocks his socks off here. Jeff contributes a memorable, smoking guitar solo. "Roll Over Beethoven" is the perfect marriage of orchestra with retro-rock and struck pretty big on the charts. It remains popular today, and is the definitive version of that oft-covered tune. "Kuiama" is a very ambitious prog-rock tune that lumbers along at times, soars celestially, and ultimately breaks your heart. It's unlike anything ELO has done since, and bears repeated listenings. Kudos to Bev Bevan for his perfect drumming on that tune and througout this entire album. Wilf Gibson's violin solo is stunning on "Kuiama." The album's lead-off track, "In Old England Town (Boogie #2)" is somewhat of a mis-step. Instrumentally interesting, it contains one of Jeff's harshest vocals ever. Check out the instrumental version of this song on EARLY ELO, which I greatly prefer.\nStill, ELO gets points for trying. 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 1973's "II" a spin; it contains some really fine progressive rock.\n\nHalf.com Details \nProducer: Jeff Lynne \n\nAlbum Notes\nElectric Light Orchestra: Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, Moog synthesizer); Richard Tandy (guitar, piano, Moog synthesizer); Wilf Gibson (violin); Mike Edwards, Colin Walker (cello); Mike Alberquerque (bass); Bev Bevan (drums).\n\nRecording information: Philips Studios, London (1972).\n\nIt's an often-forgotten fact that the Electric Light Orchestra was originally conceived as a side project. Following the orchestrated hard rock of the group's final two albums, LOOKING ON and MESSAGE FROM THE COUNTRY, the Move--Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan--decided to further explore this arena with a more classically oriented album under the pseudonym the Electric Light Orchestra. This album was a commercial flop and Wood left to form the more experimental Wizzard. Lynne and Bevan bagged the Move and made ELO their primary endeavor.\nThis is a transitional album not unlike the Move's LOOKING ON. Like that album, ELO II consists of five very lengthy tracks evenly roughly split between Lynne's Beatlesque pop-rock and classically inspired orchestral interludes, featuring a conceptually obvious cover of "Roll Over Beethoven." Lynne would combine the two more effectively in the future, but ELO II is an interesting stepping stone on that more commercially viable path.\n\nIndustry Reviews\n...[Jeff] Lynne opted to make the band more cod-orchestral and proto-prog, but it remained rough-arsed stuff, with rather dank and cramped arrangements....there's plenty of charm and exuberance in these 5 ambitious tracks...\nMojo (10/01/1999)
This rock cd contains 9 tracks and runs 62min 17sec.
Freedb: 770e9709
Buy: from Amazon.com

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