The Classic Albums Collection [Box set, Limited Edition]

Amazon have used the titles of the LPs as the tack Listing.

This is the track listing.
It's not a review -just an attempt to help people see whats on the CDs.
Often there are some extra tracks and re mastered albums on this type of collection
so it may be worthwhile to you if you dont have these on your older CDs.

Track listing
1. 10538 Overture
2. Look at Me Now
3. Nellie Takes Her Bow
4. The Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd, 1644)
5. 1st Movement
6. Mr. Radio
7. Manhattan Rumble (49th St. Massacre)
8. Queen of the Hours
9. Whisper in the Night
10. The Battle of the Marston Moor (Take1/Alternate Mix/Bonus Track)
11. Nellie Takes Her Bow (Alternate Mix/Bonus Track)
12. Mr. Radio (Take 9/Bonus Track)
13. 10538 Overture (Take 1/Alternate Mix/Bonus Track)

1. In Old England Town (Boogie #2)
2. Mama
3. Roll Over Beethoven
4. From the Sun to the World (Boogie #1)
5. Kuiama
6. In Old England Town (Instrumental/Bonus Track)
7. Baby I Apologize (Session Outtake/Bonus Track)
8. In Old England Town (Take 1/Alternate Mix/Bonus Track)
9. Roll Over Beethoven (Take 1/Alternate Mix/Bonus Track)

1. Ocean Breakup/King of the Universe
2. Bluebird Is Dead
3. Oh No Not Susan
4. New World Rising/Ocean Breakup Reprise
5. Showdown
6. Daybreaker
7. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
8. Dreaming of 4000
9. In the Hall of the Mountain King
10. Auntie (Take 1/Bonus Track)
11. Auntie (Take 2/Bonus Track)
12. Mambo (Dreaming of 4000 ALternate Mix/Bonus Track)
13. Eveyone's Born To Die
14. Interludes

1. Eldorado Overture
2. Can't Get It Out of My Head
3. Boy Blue
4. Laredo Tornado
5. Poor Boy (The Greenwood)
6. Mister Kingdom
7. Nobody's Child
8. Illusions in G Major
9. Eldorado
10. Eldorado Finale
11. Eldorado (Instrumental Medley/Bonus Track)
12. Dark City

1. Fire on High
2. Waterfall
3. Evil Woman
4. Nightrider
5. Poker
6. Strange Magic
7. Down Home Town
8. One Summer Dream
9. Fire on High Intro (Early Alternate Mix/Bonus Track)
10. Evil Woman (Stripped Down Mix/Bonus Track)
11. Strange Magic (U.S. Single Edit/Bonus Track)
12. Waterfall (Instrumental/Bonus Track)

1. Tightrope
2. Telephone Line
3. Rockaria!
4. Mission (A World Record)
5. So Fine
6. Livin' Thing
7. Above the Clouds
8. Do Ya
9. Shangri-La
10. Telephone Line (Different Vocal/Bonus Track)
11. Surrender
12. Tightrope (Instrumental Early Rough Mix/Bonus Track)
13. Above the Clouds (Instrumental Rough Mix/Bonus Track)
14. So Fine (Instrumental Early Rough Mix/Bonus Track)
15. Telephone Line (Instrumental/Bonus Track)

1. Turn to Stone
2. It's Over
3. Sweet Talkin' Woman
4. Across the Border
5. Night in the City
6. Starlight
7. Jungle
8. Believe Me Now
9. Steppin' Out
10. Standin' in the Rain
11. Big Wheels
12. Summer and Lightning
13. Mr. Blue Sky
14. Sweet Is the Night
15. The Whale
16. Birmingham Blues
17. Wild West Hero
18. Wild West Hero (Home Demo/Bonus Track)
19. The Quick and The Daft
20. Latitude 88 North

1. Shine a Little Love
2. Confusion
3. Need Her Love
4. The Diary of Horace Wimp
5. Last Train to London
6. Midnight Blue
7. On the Run
8. Wishing
9. Don't Bring Me Down
10. On the Run (1979 Home Demo/Bonus Track)
11. Second Time Around (1979 Home Demo/Bonus Track)
12. Little Town Flirt

1. Prologue
2. Twilight
3. Yours Truly, 2095
4. Ticket to the Moon
5. The Way Life's Meant To Be
6. Another Heart Breaks
7. Rain Is Falling
8. From the End of the World
9. The Lights Go Down
10. Here Is the News
11. 21st Century Man
12. Hold on Tight
13. Epilogue
14. The Bouncer
15. When Time Stood Still
16. Julie Don't Live Here

1. Secret Messages
2. Loser Gone Wild
3. Bluebird
4. Take Me On and On
5. Time After Time
6. Four Little Diamonds
7. Stranger
8. Danger Ahead
9. Letter from Spain
10. Train of Gold
11. Rock 'n' Roll Is King
12. No Way Out
13. Endless Lies
14. After All

1. Heaven Only Knows
2. So Serious
3. Getting to the Point
4. Secret Lives
5. Is It Alright
6. Sorrow About to Fall
7. Without Someone
8. Calling America
9. Endless Lies
10. Send It
11. Opening
12. Heaven Only Knows (Alternate Version/Bonus Track)
13. In For the Kill
14. Secret Lives (Alternate Take/Bonus Track)
15. Sorrow About To Fall (Alternate Mix/Bonus Track)
16. Caught in a Trap
17. Destination Unknown

This is a boxed collection of all eleven ELO LPs released during their entire career. It does not include the soundtrack album "Xanadu", which included a number of ELO tracks, or the more recent "Zoom" album, which was ELO in name only, being more a Jeff Lynne solo effort.

You are probably familiar with most of the individual albums, so I don't really need to go into much detail here, apart from to remind you that they represent one of the finest bodies of work released throughout the 70s and early 80s. The versions of the albums presented here are the recent excellently remastered versions, and each album comes with a number of bonus tracks, a mixture of alternate takes, non-album b-sides, unreleased tracks, small snippets and a few incomplete tracks. In the main, these bonus tracks are interesting, and some are certainly good enough to have been included on the original albums.

All eleven of the CDs come in card mini-LP sleeves, perfect small versions of the covers your original vinyl LPs would have come in. The bonus tracks are not listed on these mini-covers, so they are exact replicas of the originals. There is a fine booklet included in the box, which includes full track listings, including all the bonus tracks.

If you don't have any ELO on CD, this is an ideal opportunity to get hold of almost everything they released for a bargain price. Even if you have some already, the clear crisp remasters, and the fine bonus tracks, might make this a worthwhile purchase. The only tiny grumble is the absence of the "Xanadu" tracks, but even so, I really would recommend you add this to your collection.

On my wish list for last Christmas were a couple of CD's by The Electric Light Orchestra, to replace those old vinyl LP's now hiding under the stairs. So it was a big surprise when I was presented with the box set of all their eleven albums. And what a superb present this has turned out to be, now that half way through the year I have just listened to the last one.

Not only does each CD come in it's own cover that represents the original album sleeve, but there is a booklet with additional information, photos and a commentary from Jeff Lynne written in 2006. So for a big fan of ELO, the whole compilation is brilliant. What is fascinating, having all the recordings together, is to see how the productions developed with each album.

The first (No Answer) recorded in 1972 is a little strange. The great opening track 10538 Overture is rarely repeated elsewhere on the songs half of which are written by Jeff and half by Roy Wood. Roy had not only become a superb cello player (the only other string instrument is Steve Wollam's violin) but had become a brilliant multi instrumentalist. As Jeff says "if you could blow it, pluck it, strum it or blow it, Roy could play it). And that is what makes it so interesting.

The next two albums, ELO 11 and On The Third Day are very much experimental. After a couple of contributions from Roy Wood, he left the band for good to develop his own group Wizard. So all the new writing is Jeff's. He is still in the learning process regarding how to write songs, so nothing particular stands out. Again the strings are limited to two or three instruments which are double tracked. But the albums show how Jeff is developing a style both as producer and song writer. Bev Bevan was already a fixture on drums, but the latter album saw Richard Tandy (piano) and Mik Kaminski (violin) join the project.

I would say that the next album Elderado from 1974 is the breakthrough album. This was the first time Jeff uses a big orchestra, and for the instrumental version of the title track, a 20 piece choir. And it shows. Louis Clark had arrived to make the arrangements and conduct the orchestra, the first of five albums to which he should make such a huge contribution. Believe it or not, he was only 24 years old and just graduated from Leeds College of Music. I Can't Get It out Of My Head is, I believe, Jeff's best song so far. In all there are four different versions of the terrific title track.

The following year the band were off to Munich with an equally big orchestra to record Face The Music.The album was their biggest success so far and made platinum thanks to songs such as Evil Woman. However, the next album was even better.

A New World Record contained hit after hit. Jeff's songwriting and producing skills had hit a peak, and the band and orchestra responded with some wonderful recordings. When it comes to choosing my favourite ELO song, I have to pick Telephone Line, and not just because it made the top ten in the UK and USA. But there are other great tracks on this album notably Rockaria! where Mary Thomas adds her operatic talents.

Jeff says in his notes of Out Of The Blue " that this "was probably the hardest work I have ever done". He was on a roll as a songwriter and admits "it was the most prolific I have ever been". There were not only a number of terrific individual songs but Concerto For A Rainy Day was the weather inspired side three of the original double LP. It concludes with the genius that is Mr Blue Sky. This was the third successive album recorded in Munich after ditching a posh studio lined up after their previous success.

After releasing an album every year, ELO coasted for two years before recording Discovery, another album I owned on vinyl and one I always have rated very highly. The forty piece string section are still there in Munich, and Kelly Groucott on bass is on his fourth successive album, now with just Bev Bevan and Richard Tandy to make up the band. The songs remain consistently good.

Time was another successful album with the same personnel as the previous release. The songs are still strong, including Hold On Tight and Twilight. Rainer Pietsch had taken over arranging and conducting the strings, which seem less prominent than before.

The following album is not as consistently good as all six previous recordings. Secret Messages still has the odd stand out track, Four Little Diamonds is a real belter of a rock song. Louis Clark is back arranging the strings, but conspicuously only on three tracks. Jeff seems to be looking to get back to a basic electronic sound.

The final album of the set from 1986 is Balance of Power. Having never replaced my vinyl copy, it was great to hear all these songs again. It is still a really good album. Getting To The Point is an absolutely brilliant piece. No strings this time, no orchestra, just the band as the last three albums, plus a saxophone. But Richard Tandy does replicate some string parts on his keyboards.

There are lots of bonus tracks on every album and these are a welcome addition. There are two omissions from the complete works of ELO. The very last album Zoom was released in 2001 but is really a Jeff Lynne solo recording plus the odd guest contribution. It was not well received, and my copy of the CD was found in the bargain bin. ELO also contributed four tracks to the soundtrack of Xanadu. Three of those find their way into the box set. Only The Fall misses out, but it will not be missed. Jeff also released a solo album in 1990 called Armchair Theatre. This should have done better than it did, there are some very good songs and is definitely worth a listen.