THE ESSENTIAL ELO

ELO is one of those bands with the dubious distinction of having more greatest hits/compilation albums than some more legitimate progressive band's total output. They have essentially become a product machine with each new compilation repackaging material that shapes the playlist of every FM classic rock station in America. It was interesting to me to note how painful it was listening to this material outside of the context of their full albums. While albums like "Eldorado" and "Out of the Blue" had more distinct personalities and moods to them, all of that is lost here when chopping them apart and placing them next to things like "Hold on Tight" and "Calling America." The fold-out insert does give specific month and year each track was recorded and on what album it first appeared, those kinds of specifics are something I appreciate. There is also a brief band Bio. But I simply can't take these kinds of releases seriously when the context of the material is dissolved for profit-taking, especially coming from progressive pop/rock acts where the context should matter. I'll take the heat for the low score but to me such releases are the reason we have the "for completionists" rating. It is not the music/songs here that I consider "poor" (at least half are reasonably good) but rather the presentation and the effect that has on the listening experience. This is true for most "hits" packages by progressive rock bands and this one is no exception. New fans should be persuaded to jump in and go for the real albums rather than nonsense like this. 3/10