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Afterglow

Electric Light Orchestra - Afterglow Audio CD

A fair review of the Electric Light Orchestra "Afterglow" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Electric Light Orchestra reviews here, or go back to the Electric Light Orchestra tabs.

Band: Electric Light Orchestra
Title: Afterglow
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-06-15
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: 10538 Overture 2: Mr. Radio 3: Kuiama 4: In Old England Town (Boogie, No. 2) 5: Mama 6: Roll Over Beethoven 7: Bluebird Is Dead 8: Ma-Ma-Ma Belle 9: Showdown 10: Can't Get It Out of My Head 11: Boy Blue 12: One Summer Dream 13: Evil Woman 14: Tightrope 15: Strange Magic 16: Do Ya 17: Nightrider 18: Waterfall 19: Rockaria! 20: Telephone Line 21: So Fine 22: Livin' Thing 23: Mr. Blue Sky 24: Sweet Is the Night 25: Turn to Stone 26: Sweet Talkin' Woman 27: Steppin' Out 28: Midnight Blue 29: Don't Bring Me Down 30: Prologue 31: Twilight 32: Julie Don't Live Here 33: Shine a Little Love 34: When Time Stood Still 35: Rain Is Falling 36: Bouncer [#] 37: Hello My Old Friend [#] 38: Hold on Tight 39: Four Little Diamonds 40: Mandalay [#] 41: Buildings Have Eyes [#] 42: So Serious 43: Matter of Fact [#] 44: No Way Out [#] 45: Getting to the Point 46: Destination Unknown [#] 47: Rock & Roll Is King

You can do better than this set
I have Afterglow, and kind of regret having bought it. In my opinion, this box set is too much for someone with just a casual interest in ELO and isn't nearly complete enough to satisfy a more serious fan. The money would've been much better spent buying a few key albums. If you're just a marginal ELO fan or don't know them that well, check out their greatest hits cd instead. If you find that you want more than that, I think you're much much better off buying a few of their best albums (e. g. , Time, A New World Record, Out of the Blue, maybe Eldorado if you like the orchestral sound or Discovery if you prefer the more disco-y style). Honestly, I just don't see a reason to buy this box set. It's not that the songs aren't good; you're just better off picking and choosing the albums that you like.

Essential for ELO fans, but only for 5 exclusive songs

I'm surprised this "Afterglow" set is still in print. This set, released in 1990, has been surpassed by several other more recent ELO compilations, including 2000's 3-CD set "Flashback" (which benefits from vastly improved sound quality, direct input from Jeff Lynne himself, better track selection, and several previously unreleased tracks). "Afterglow", though, is still a must-have for ELO fans because of the inclusion of tracks from the unreleased half of the aborted double album version of 1983's "Secret Messages. " Lynne originally planned that 1983 album as a double album, but it was eventually released as a single album. "Afterglow" presents, by my best count off the top of my head, six of the rejected cuts from that album ("Hello My Old Friend", "Mandalay", "Buildings Have Eyes", "A Matter of Fact", "No Way Out", and "Destination Unknown").

The reason this set is still a must-have is because, for some reason, only one of those above-mentioned cuts ("No Way Out") was included on the 2001 remastered reissue of the "Secret Messages" album. That 2001 reissue included two additional bonus tracks as well ("Endless Lies" and "After All"). In any event, you need the "Afterglow" set for the five tracks that have not been released anywhere else.

I would only recommend "Afterglow" for those tracks, as everything else on the set can be found in better sound quality elsewhere. I'm surprised other reviewers question the track selection for the third disc of this set, as that disc is the only thing that makes the set of any consequence to ELO fans. .

Exceptional collection
All of these criticisms are from people who haven't bothered to listen to ELO from beginning to last and who are too obtuse to realize that Jeff Lynne is a musical genius (and no, I don't use that word lightly). I am sick of ELO being bashed as the poor man's Beatles, as sappy, as "disco-flavored violin trash," and as infantile muzak. Yes, his lyrics are banal, but with this type of music, who on earth cares? The lyrics to "Ob La Di, Ob La Da" are trite too, but with such catchy music, one can overlook the banality of the words.

This set might be the definitive set of the three issued ELO compilations. "Xanudu" is still a limping dog of a song, but there are some remastered gems here. ALl of the first 2 discs are pure magic, including ELO's most underrated (and, I think, best) song, "Nightrider. " And how about "Four Little Diamonds" on disc three, where you can Lynne counting down the intro and sounding exactly like Ozzy Osbourne, in their mutual Birmingham accents.

The sound quality is excellent and the track order is pleasing. There are no omissions and only a few questionable inclusions, and they all appear on disc three.

I bought my first ELO single when I was 10 years old and I never looked back. If you've read this far, you're a fan like me and you will devour this set. Long live this sappy, trite, banal band. . . I still love 'em forever!.

Just enough
But for some reason that to this day I still don't understand, they cut off my very favorite song of all time, "Mr. As someone who didn't "discover" ELO until Balance of Power, this Set gave me most of what I had missed, and for that I am glad. Blue Sky". The song has a "fake" ending, and then goes on a bit before it really ends. They cut it after the first ending.
Other than that, it's a great set.

3 CDs, Many Memories
Lynne is a good songwriter, and as a producer created tasteful mixes - which is quite a feat when you consider how difficult it can be to find the right balance between strings, synths, and drums. I'll never understand why Jeff Lynne doesn't get the same credit that Elton John and Billy Joel do, considering how essential the ELO sound was to 1970s radio. Afterglow is a balanced view of ELO's career, from Lynne's early loud art-rock, to the polished Beatleoid pop most of us think of when we hear ELO's name, to later material that's mostly unfamiliar. I think it's unreasonable to expect a boxed set to be a "complete works collection" and although I would have liked to see a few of my personal favorites in the collection (such as Mr Kingdom), I'm totally satisfied with Afterglow as is. If you enjoy 1970s pop rock, late-period Beatles, or just want to see what can happen when you combine classical textures with rock n' roll, you'll enjoy at least part of this collection.

You can see a complete list of all Electric Light Orchestra discography, or go back to the Electric Light Orchestra tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.