Before they became the pop princes of the late 1970s, Electric Light Orchestra
was a rockin’ ensemble, a progressive unit with a violinist, two cellos
players and Jeff Lynne, a burgeoning talent with a yen for sophisticated arrangements
soaked in rock and roll stew. To see live footage of the group predating the
mega record-setting levitating spaceship marathons of the late 70s is to witness
raw talent at its most impervious state. Leave it Eagle Rock to uncover three
rare performances from 1973, 1974 and 1976, and bring them together on DVD as
Live: The Early Years.
What you see in these three performances is the incredible evolution of a great
band that transformed itself into a hit machine. If you’re an ELO fan
through A New World Record or Out Of The Blue,
this DVD may surprise you. And if you knew about the band before that time,
your ship has come in because this is the mother lode. Starting with the gig
in the multipurpose room at London’s Brunel University in 1973, ELO go
long with an epic “King Of The Universe” before rocking out on “Ma-Ma-Ma
Belle,” a song included in all three performances. Amidst all the classical
embellishments, Lynne manages to work in a healthy dose of “Great Balls
Of Fire” to great astonishment.
The 1974 Rockpalast performance captures ELO at their most progressive.
Keyboardust Richard Tandy leads the way with “Daybreaker” before
“Showdown” slogs down a more straightforward beat. But “Orange
Blossom Special” spins the set off its axis and the band goes into a nose
dive. The best of the lot, however, is the Fusion show from 1976. Twelve
songs are played from this run behind the Face The Music tour,
and it’s hard to imagine ELO becoming something bigger and better. Bassist
Kelly Groucutt, who had just joined the group, steps out in front on the vocals,
giving Lynne a nice little layer of sound to crawl over the melody. Groucutt
also takes the lead vocal on “Poor Boy (The Greenwood)” and “10538
Overture.”
“Poker,” “Nightrider,” “Strange Magic”
and “Evil Woman,” all from Face The Music, represent
a more song-oriented approach — something that would develop to even more
popular standards as time went on. The “Eldorado Overture” followed
by “Can’t Get It Out My Head” may be the closest the group
ever came to replicating Beatles-like magic, but a slip into the forthcoming
“Do Ya” points them into another direction altogether. But as the
sun sets, the clock ticks and history pulls us through its own measure of ups
and downs, how can you turn away from the Live: The Early Years
DVD without recognizing what an incredible band Electric Light Orchestra was.
Some things just don’t add up.
~ Shawn Perry
