Track Listing

1. Evil Woman
2. Livin' Thing
3. Can't Get It Out of My Head
4. Showdown
5. Turn to Stone
6. Rockaria!
7. Sweet Talkin' Woman
8. Telephone Line
9. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
10. Strange Magic
11. Mr. Blue Sky

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3228 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 1990-10-25
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
You can't make a meal of bubblegum, but it sure can be a delicious distraction. ELO's Greatest Hits is filled with gooey, chewy delights--sonic kitsch like "I Can't Get It Out of My Head" (Lennon on Lithium), "Telephone Line" (Kool & The Gang with violins), and the irresistible "Turn to Stone" (Wagner in spandex)--cultural guideposts, whether you want to admit it or not. ELO combined classical elements with electronic rock and their influence can still be heard in new Turk bands playing with Moogs--for all their Beatles-in-space trappings, the group was also pretty damn catchy. Early ELO was spotty, with flavorful items like "Strange Magic" popping out of the lab nevertheless. By the late '70s, producer-songwriter-singer Jeff Lynne had his electronic pop chamber-group machine oiled to perfection, and this package contains a heavy dose of those longer-lasting-flavor years, with well-chosen dabs of essential chewing pleasure. --Don Harrison

Customer Reviews

Good songs, but there is a better collection available
I liked Electric Light Orchestra from the very first song I heard on the radio. Putting their music into perspective, I now consider ELO to be Progressive Rock - Light, or heavy pop. Their heavily orchestrated and symphonic works, loaded with electronics and high-pitched vocals, have the trappings of progressive rock, yet were firmly rooted in pop music.

This CD chronicles many of the better known Electric Light Orchestra songs from the 70s, all of which received various amounts of air play. My favorites tend to be the longer compositions, reflecting my enjoyment of progressive rock. "Mr. Blue Sky" starts out like a Beatles song, but progresses quickly into traditional ELO. My all-time favorite ELO song.

"Can't Get It Out of My Head" starts out with wonderfully evocative lyrics:

Midnight on the water.
I saw the ocean's daughter.
Walking on a wave's chicane,
staring as she called my name.

I've never quite understood what this song is about. It mixes surreal images with a section about bank robbery and heroic historic figures that is somewhat confusing to me. I've wondered whether it is just a song about meditating on life and the choices we make, or something else.

"Livin' Thing" starts with an almost Gypsy feeling, then jumps into a pop beat, but then flips back into the Gypsy violin sound. The lyrics again rely on strange imagery versus clearly trying to convey a point.

Enjoying "Strange Magic" is a guilty pleasure. The music is beautiful, and the lyrics are poetic, but the choruses are repetitive and lengthy. The song is easy on the ears, and easy to sing, but there should have been more meat to the lyrics. But the song is still catchy and I enjoy it.

Because of the juxtaposition of lyrics that rely on emotional imagery and flashes of insight barely tasted and music that ranges from near-classical to hard rock, I find it easy to consider that ELO is progressive rock. With the strong pop beat that infuses much of their music, that progressive rock is in a different category from Yes, The Moody Blues, King Crimson and others, but so too are those groups very different from each other. The best way of describing ELO is that they are what might have resulted if The Beatles combined with members of Yes and The Moody Blues. The result can sometimes be a little strange, but for those who enjoy it, this is wonderful music.

If you've heard ELO music somewhere and liked it, you will like this collection of ELO music. It's a great introduction and sampling of the group. It's not comprehensive by any means. For that you will have to look to another collection, such as "Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra", which includes every song in this collection plus another CD's worth. Likely a better buy if you are looking for a more comprehensive collection because that CD is relatively inexpensive.

Ear-candy rock from the '70s
Jeff Lynne is one talented musician and producer. Though I haven't heard many of his non-hit songs, E.L.O.'s "Greatest Hits" is 11 songs of pure tunefulness, with Lynne working as the mastermind behind them. You can tell the guy enjoyed making music for himself and his fans; he sang, produced, wrote the lyrics and played guitar on each of these songs. E.L.O.'s tunes don't exactly boast a big, bad sound, but the band is a tight outfit that incorporates classical snippets of violin, piano and even vocal arias, like in the operatically themed but rugged rocker "Rockaria," where Lynne tips his hat to Wagner, Beethoven, Puccini and Verdi. Truly, what rocker has the stones to do that these days? Further, what rock band nowadays comes remotely close to E.L.O.'s stylish sound and showboat experimentation. For what the band sacrifices in trends and "cool points," it makes up for with genuinely crafty songs that everyone and their grandmother could love. Lynne and the gang in E.L.O. are very talented musicians with great voices. Offhand, Queen (see Queen II), Def Leppard (see X), the Bee Gees (see Their Greatest Hits: The Record) and Supertramp (see Breakfast in America) are the only groups I can think of who put so much emphasis on the backing vocals. I also like the piano on these songs, as well as the various string arrangements in the background. I've also noticed Lynne's meat-and-potatoes penchant for sometimes making the drums sound big and bassy, such as on the song "Don't Bring Me Down," which isn't on this album, unfortunately. It's also cool to hear a retro-sounding '50s doo-wop on the tunes "Telephone Line" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman." Overall, if you love good melody, sweet-sounding vocals and unique song arrangements, E.L.O. are a classic/classical/pop-rock band you should check out.

Early ELO Hits Collection before Discovery
I bought this album back in 1990 when I just bought CD player and rush for major Greatest Hits albums in CD version. This album was great introduction for me to the greatest magic creator on earth Electric Light Orchestra. Although their complete compilation Strange Magic is there, it is still the album to play for me. Some of the tracks such as Showdown and Rockeria become the mainstay of classic rock station thanks to this compilation. Yes, every track deserves the airplay and rebooming will be sure to follow...