STRANGE MAGIC: THE BEST OF ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA

If all you're interested in is a collection of the Electric Light Orchestra's hits, than this is probably the best compilation for you to buy as it contains nearly all of them. It runs the whole length of ELO's existence from 1972 to 1986, from the wonderful 10538 Overture to their awful stuff from Balance of Power (Calling America and So Serious). I can't think of a better compilation where a listener can experience a bright and interesting experimental beginning evolve into some of the most atrocious pop songs ever released. Surprisingly, whoever put this together forgot the delightfully mind-numbing stuff from the Xanadu soundtrack.

Joking aside, disc one is the best of the two discs, containing material from Jeff Lynne's better days, covering songs up through A New World Record. Disc two is quite difficult to get through. The only tracks of a progressive nature would be 10538 Overture, Roll Over Beethoven, Daybreaker, and maybe Boy Blue. The rest is firmly footed in the pop rock genre. I would rate disc one as three stars and disc two as one star, which evens out to two stars for the whole collection. Again, this is for only those of you interested in a collection of ELO's top-40 hits. If you want to give their prog rock a try, seek out their first three studio albums.