GREATEST HITS

The first ELO release I bought after hearing half these songs on classic rock radio. I knew someone who thought "Evil Woman" was called "Medieval Woman". Seriously. This collection was released not long after the album Discovery, so the big hit "Don't Bring Me Down" is not included. Nothing from the first two albums is included either. Of course, this focuses on the singles and ignores lots of album tracks. But it is a 'greatest hits' and not a 'best of'.

"Turn To Stone" and "Strange Magic" are the two best songs here, IMO. There aren't any really bad songs, but I never really cared for "Rockaria!" and "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle". This is a great collection of hit singles but it is not necessarily a good starting point for ELO. I think even one of the compilations with much more songs would be a better introduction. At least you get some good album tracks that way.

I have never owned an actual ELO album. I've heard a few but only liked a few songs off of each. Generally, ELO are not too consistent to me, having great songs and mediocre songs mixed together. But the keyboard and string work is very good most of the time. I just think Jeff Lynne is hit or miss as a composer. His production skills are generally really good. This is probably the cheapest and easiest ELO release to find. Good for owning some of the better singles of the 1970s, but absolutely nothing essential for a prog fan. 2 stars.