Audio CD review:
Electric Light Orchestra - Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra

Electric Light Orchestra - Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra

Band: Electric Light Orchestra Title: Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra Rating: Release Date: 11 April, 1995 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: 10538 Overture 2: Roll Over Beethoven 3: Showdown 4: Daybreaker 5: Ma-Ma-Ma Belle 6: Can't Get It Out Of My Head 7: Boy Blue 8: Evil Woman 9: Strange Magic 10: Livin' Thing 11: Do Ya 12: Telephone Line 13: Rockaria! 14: Turn To Stone 15: Sweet Talkin' Woman 16: Mr. Blue Sky 17: It's Over 18: Shine A Little Love 19: Don't Bring Me Down 20: Confusion 21: Last Train To London 22: Hold On Tight 23: Twilight 24: Rain Is Falling 25: Rock 'N' Roll Is King 26: Four Little Diamonds 27: Stranger 28: Calling America 29: So Serious

Customer Reviews Great Collection but Where's Fire on High? I like their first 6 albums (all represented on disc 1) the best when they had a little darker sound than the later pure pop sound. I like ELO alot and this is a good compilation for me. The gritty cellos on "10538 Overture" are imo as good a merging of classical and rock instruments one could ask for. And can you have a better opening guitar riff than in "Do Ya?" And what about the pure joy of "Rockaria?" This song is like sneaking a chocolate bar just before going to weight watchers. It's silly, with an opera singer no less, yet completely fun to listen to - a pure escape. I wish they would have included a few more of their early songs on disc 1. At 59 minutes there was easily room for killer songs like "Fire On High" from 1975's Face the Music, or "Mister Kingdom" or "Illusions in G Major" from 1974's Eldorado. But, hey, there are so many good songs on this set that I really can't complain. Great stuff. I'd give it 5 stars if they would have included "Fire On High. " . Groovy... The CD's is a collection of ELO's best songs and I listen to it all the time. Love the music. The Epitome of 70's Music ELO is the 70's, and the 70's are ELO. When I think of 70's music, Electric Light Orchestra immediately comes to mind. This band has a unique, indescribable sound that, in my opinion, defined the music of the early 1970's more than any other rock n' roll band. "Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra" contains all of ELO's hit songs plus some of their less-well-known works, all in their original formats (except that ELO's work from the "Xanadu" soundtrack and the instrumental Fire on High from "Face the Music" are not present). There's no cutting corners here, as some record labels are prone to do. Each song is presented as it was originally recorded. Even without the Xanadu hits, the two-disc set is a good retrospective of ELO's musical evolution. Who else but Jeff Lynne could arrange orchestral instruments in this manner? Perhaps he took his cue from The Moody Blues, Peter Knight and the London Festival Orchestra, but the arrangements worked very well with the more traditional electric guitars, keyboards and drums of rock music. The difference here is in the arranging itself. While The Moody Blues' "Days of Future Passed" used an orchestra mainly for musical interludes, Lynne integrated the orchestral parts with the other instruments for a unique sound that is hard to reproduce correctly. Jeff Lynne was successful in his arrangements of instruments that didn't normally play together, but he might not have known just how much of an innovator he was. His music set the stage for other groups and artists, such as Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, Tangerine Dream, Orchestra X and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, just to name a few, to re-invent the classical rock genre. This collection is a "mostly" best-of collection, as a few songs are indeed missing, but the two-disk set fits well, like an old glove. If you really like the unique sound of 70's classical rock, you can't go wrong with this collection, and you won't mind a missing song here or there. . . You can see a complete list of all Electric Light Orchestra discography, or go back to the Electric Light Orchestra tabs