Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. In Old England Town (Boogie No.2)
2. Momma
3. Roll Over Beethoven
4. From The Sun To The World (Boogie No.1)
5. Kuiama
6. Showdown
7. In Old England Town (Instrumental)
8. Baby I Apologise (Session Outtake 1 June 1973)
9. Auntie (Ma-Ma-Ma Belle Take 1)
10. Auntie (Ma-Ma-Ma Belle Take 2)
11. Mambo (Dreaming Of 4000 Take 1)
12. Everyone's Born To Die
13. Roll Over Beethoven (Take 1) (Session Master 8 September 1972)

Disc 2:

1. Introduction By Brian Matthew
2. From The Sun To The World (Boogie No.1) (BBC Session)
3. Momma (BBC Session)
4. Roll Over Beethoven (Single Version)
5. Showdown (Take 1)
6. Your World
7. Get A Hold Of Myself
8. Mama
9. Wilf's Solo (Instrumental)
10. Roll over Beethoven (BBC Session)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #130043 in Music
• Released on: 2003-03-31
• Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

A Magical Tour-de-force through Classical, Rock and Baroque
This is an amazing album in every aspect that never stood that much in the limelight of outstanding contemporary music, undeservedly so, as this fantastic remastered edition clearly reveals. The clarity of the sound is almost unbelievable. The early 7-piece ELO line-up recorded the songs on this fascinating musical tour-de-force through the centuries live in the studio. The tracks were put on tape, then mixed - and that was it! It's just like being there in the studio at the very moment of playing/recording! And, hell, what could this blokes play! Some highlights among many, many others - the 2CD-set contains 17(!) bonustracks - are the to this day unknown gorgeous Jeff Lynne composition "Everyone's Born To Die" with both Lynne and special guest Marc Bolan on lead-guitar, one early version of "Dreaming Of 4000" titled "Mambo" and Take 1 of one of John Lennon's favourites - "Showdown". Whoever is into real classic, timeless music of real musicianship should not miss this outstanding masterpiece. It's simultaneously amazing, gorgeous, adventurous, threatening, melodic and humorous. A disparate world-class rock-pop brew with strings of one of the most original bands that have ever surfaced on the music scene. As this album sold not more than appr. 50.000 units when originally released in 1973 there must be plenty of music enthusiasts who never listened to this stuff, let alone the bonus stuff that no-one was able to listen to until now! Do yourself a favor - and purchase this milestone now!

Thirty years on
The early Electric Light Orchestra were a very different proposition from the ultra-commercial, slick pop outfit of the early 1980s. In 1973 they were probably at their most experimental, and in its original guise, ELO II consisted of only five lengthy tracks. The single 'Roll Over Beethoven' was by far the most catchy; otherwise, it was classically-influenced prog-rock with the occasional nod to jazz and the likes of Elmer Bernstein. It was an acquired taste, but worth getting into. This remastered reissue includes a second CD of various bonus tracks, including BBC sessions, previously unreleased cuts featuring original Move vocalist Carl Wayne (who had turned down an offer to join ELO in the past), and even one featuring the band's friend Marc Bolan, then at the peak of his success. Fans of the latter-day ELO might find this CD a bit of an oddity, but I'd take this over 'Balance of Power' and 'Secret Messages' any day. The sound quality, booklet notes and packaging (including archive photos and cuttings) are exemplary, and the music itself is rarely less than top-notch.

Jeff Lynne's prog. experiment
The original elo 2 from 1973 was Jeff Lynne's experiment with prog; his idea was to combine elements from rock and classical music to produce something new, a hybrid. However he was soon to move on and it was his ability to write catchy 3 minute singles that informed his future direction, so this album was something of an anachronism. That said, this collection of songs does have a certain charm though overlong and somewhat overblown. The 30th anniversary edition is embellished with a plethora of unreleased material, the most interesting being Lynne's guitar duets with Marc Bolan ("Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" and "Everyone's Born To Die") and the songs Lynne wrote for Carl Wayne ("Your World" and "Get a Hold of Myself"). My favourite track on the original album, "Roll Over Beethoven", gets 4 different versions which is rather gilding the lily!