ON THE THIRD DAY

I've always looked at ELO this way: they are a guilty pleasure band for prog heads, sort of like Styx or Kansas. Unlike Styx however, ELO has more than two great songs, most of them taking up residence on this album. There should be no shame in admitting a healthy love for this album as ELO certainly showcases prog ability (even if it is more radio friendly prog ability). This album is chock-full of 3-5 minute gems that seem like shrunken epics, especially the very intense Dreaming of 4000, showing that you don't need to always stretch an interesting idea past 20+ minutes to be effective. The highlight track of this album, and in my opinion ELO's best song, is the albums center track Showdown. I first heard this song used in the modern classic comedy Kingpin, to great effect, and needed instantly to track down the containing album. Dynamic and engrossing indeed! This is a rapid fire album of enjoyable song after enjoyable song from start to finish really, ending with a nice nod to little recognized composer Edvard Grieg, so don't be worried that you'll be indulging in an ELO album, at least not this one. Do not fear prog heads, just because ELO is known for their radio friendly nature, this collection of songs is legit. An excellent addition.