The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra, Vol. 2:
Ticket To The Moon

Electric Light Orchestra

The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra, Vol. 2: Ticket To The Moon is the latest in a long line of Electric Light Orchestra compilations. This 20-song ‘career-spanning’ collection is the companion to 2005’s All Over The World: The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra. And like all the preceding Epic/Legacy remasters, this one was compiled and supervised by ELO leader Jeff Lynne.

A good bunch of these tunes will be familiar, even if you’re not the biggest ELO fan. There was no way you could miss these guys on FM radio back in the day. “It’s Over,” “Do Ya,” “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head” and “Last Train To London” were common staples on the airwaves.

Then there’s the songs from the group’s un-celebrated mid-80s period — nine tunes out of the 20 on this disc. I have seen ELO in concert twice. The first time was their infamous Out Of The Blue tour, complete with laser lights and a spaceship that so mesmerized my teenaged sister I’m not sure she has been right since. My second ELO show was for the Time tour, when Lynne had his trusty cello players consigned to keyboards. This ‘downsizing’ continued for the band all throughout the MTV-laden days of the 80s. Unfortunately, the nine songs from that era represent the band’s shift in focus.

Although Lynne’s fascination with the Beatles is evident throughout (check out 1983’s “Little Diamonds”), one can hear the group stretching for MTV “cred” with songs like “Secret Messages” and “So Serious.” By the time the band recorded Balance, an album Lynne admits was done for contractual reasons, the singer/songwriter/guitarist/ and keyboardist Richard Tandy were pretty much running the show. Original ELO drummer Bev Bevan, though credited, hardly plays at all. When you hear songs from this period next to classics like 1975’s “One Summer Dream,” my favorite song here, you can certainly hear how much the band changed.

But all is not lost. Lynne seems to have steered the ship back on course for 2001’s Zoom, with songs like “In My Own Time” and “Moment In Paradise,” both of which appear on this disc. Sure, the strings are at their strongest, but the songwriting is solid and Lynne’s voice sounds good. For my money though, what makes this compilation worth having is the remastered sound on the classics like on “Do Ya,” with its popping slide guitar, or the lush strings one can now hear perfectly on “Can’t Get It Out Of My Head.”

“Latitude 88 North,” “Surrender” and “Destination Unknown,” The three “unreleased” tracks, are pretty harmless. The CD also features liner notes that include Lynne’s commentary on each and every track (as told to band archivist Rob Caiger). Although it features a few bygone tunes the casual listener might not know that well, The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra, Vol. 2: Ticket To The Moon, is a nice companion to other ELO greatest hits packages.

~ Ralph Greco, Jr.

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