Review Summary: Not quite ready for prime (or prog) time, ELO's second release has its moments but is hindered by lackluster playing, writing and production
ELO 2 (or
Electric Light Orchestra II as it was called in the US) can be fairly regarded as ELO's true debut album. The first record had featured a five-member ensemble with two bandleaders -- Roy Wood, formerly of the Move, had delivered half of the band's material and lead vocals -- and was marked by a plethora of woodwinds and brass that slogged alongside Wood's distinctive chugging amateur cello chords. But with Roy Wood's departure from ELO, co-founder/guitarist/vocalist Jeff Lynne rebooted the group for its sophomore effort, assuming complete creative control as he replaced the oboes, bassoons, recorders and French horns with synthesizers and a bona fide string trio, a seven-piece format that ELO would retain as a live act throughout its commercial peak. The band's internal power struggles were now behind it, but the meanderings found on
ELO 2 were an indication that Lynne's quest for a commercially viable musical style was not yet over.
ELO 2 was released during the peak of the progressive rock era and is a reflection of those times, with its obligatory lengthy songs (all are 7-11 minutes each) and extended instrumental breaks. Lynne also attempted with this album to move the band toward harder rock, adding a bit more grit to his vocal while avoiding the Renaissance Faire Gone Wild and music hall diversions of the first record. (Goodbye, Mr. Radio...)
But the music's lack of brevity was not enough to make it complex or progressive, and the lack of virtuosity evident in the performances and compositions is where this edition of ELO falls short. Adding the support of trained string players did not compensate for the deficiencies of the band's core rock quartet, whose modest talents paled in comparison to those of the progressive trailblazers of the day. Jeff Lynne had musical chops that were more closely aligned with the Brit-pop sensibilities of the Kinks and the prog-pop of the Moody Blues than with either Yes or ELP, while his guitar work could not approach anything performed by Robert Fripp, Steve Howe or for that matter, David Gilmour. It would take one more year and another album for Lynne to realize that his band was better suited to more succinct pop hooks and fewer extended rock solos.
ELO 2 also makes some awkward attempts to tackle Really Serious Issues: Modern life is rubbish ("In Old England Town"), being alone in the world without your mother is perhaps worse ("Momma") and being shipped off to war is worst of all ("Kuiama"). But the prose is more banal than profound, for Lynne's writing during this period lacked the kind of eloquence and cleverness that has allowed message-driven albums such as
Dark Side of the Moon and
Quadrophenia to remain vital decades after their release. Lynne would later prove to be far more adept at crafting hummable hits about women who were evil, skies that were blue, and things that were livin', but this record errs on the side of the ponderous.
ELO 2 does offer some hints of what's to come, with the occasional engaging riff and passage when the interplay of the strings adds something special to the rest of the mix. (The violin solo in "Kuiama" stands out as one of this record's finer moments.) This is an album that would have greatly benefited from an outside producer and arranger who could have applied a scalpel to the fat and taken full advantage of the string section's potential. "From the Sun to the World" most closely foreshadows what would eventually comprise ELO's trademark sound, even if "Kuiama" is the track that ends up on all of the compilation albums.
Perhaps the greatest shame of all is that the best known piece on the record is not a Jeff Lynne epic but a Chuck Berry cover song (a bloated albeit sometimes engaging version of "Roll Over Beethoven.") Playing second fiddle to somebody else's tunes is one deficiency that Lynne would overcome on ELO's next album,
On the Third Day.
Recommended tracks: "Kuiama"
Author's note/ shameless plug: This is one part of my ongoing series of reviews of most of ELO's original studio releases, with albums reviewed in chronological order. If you found this commentary to be somewhat informative, interesting, intriguing, intelligent, indefensible, insufferable, infuriating, incoherent, inane, incomprehensible or insulting, or if you just want to take pity on a guy who is masochistic enough to write these things, then please take a look at the other reviews and add your own thoughts. Thanks.
