SHOWDOWN / IN OLD ENGLAND TOWN (INSTRUMENTAL)

Showdown / In Old England Town (Instrumental) was an old 45 rpm single released by the Electric LIght Orchestra back in 1973. It features their hit single Showdown on the A side, taken from one of their most progressive albums, On the Third Day. The B side features a short instrumental outtalke of In Old England Town. The original version of that song was released on ELO's previous album, ELO 2.

Showdown was one of ELO's more popular releases. Though it didn't fair well on the US charts, it made it to #12 in the UK. Though the progressiveness of this song might be questioned, and fairly so, it was a unique sound mixing chugging cellos with a rather non-ELO funky beat. It could easily be dismissed as pop rock from the era, but that wouldn't do it the justice it deserves. The song still remains popular to this day and is considered by many as a hallmark of the group's songs.

The B-side contained a shortened instrumental version of In Old England Town. The original was clearly much better, so this is just something to fill out the B-side, a common practice from the time.

This can only be recommended to fans of the group that are interested in collecting old 45s. The song is easily more available by seeking out their On The Third Day album, which contains much more progressive material from the band. I believe the B-side outtake is now available as a bonus track on the current release of ELO 2.

Musically worthy of three stars. Due to the format being primarily for collectors, it warrants two stars.