Electric Light Orchestra Part II


One Night. Live in Australia

Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are a bit like Iron Butterfly, Cream, and other forgotten bands of the 60s and the 70s. The music produced by these bands has been tremendously, and subtly, influential, but the band names are a distant memory to most people. When labels such as CMC International resurrect these bands (long presumed to be dead by everyone except the most diehard bands), generally there are only glimses of their former brilliance. But such glimses, none the less, account for some of the best music in the 90s.

One Night, Live in Australia was recorded in Sydney during 1995, with the six members that comprise ELO Part II, augmented by a full orchestra. The album showcases everything that is great about ELO: sonic experimentation, haunting keyboards, alluring melodies, and shredding rock. There is so much going on in each song, that it's impossible to get it all in a few listens. The tempo is ever changing, and the music is a fine meld of the past and the present.

The highligts of this album are Evil Woman, Livin' Thing, Ain't Necessarily So, and a great rendition of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven. One Night. Live in Australia takes you on a musical journey like never before, and is a must get if you yearn for the days of classic progressive rock.


Music ram-blings || Ram Samudrala || me@ram.org