ELO 2

ELO 2
Standard international artwork
Studio album by The Electric Light Orchestra
Released	January 1973 (See release history)
Recorded	May – October 1972, Air Studios, London
Genre	Symphonic rock progressive rock[1]
Length	41:48
Label	Harvest (UK) United Artists (US)
Producer	Jeff Lynne
The Electric Light Orchestra chronology
The Electric Light Orchestra (1971) ELO 2 (1973) On the Third Day (1973)
Singles from ELO 2
"Roll Over Beethoven" Released: January 1973
US alternate album cover

ELO 2 is the second album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1973. In the US the album was released as Electric Light Orchestra II and is sometimes known as ELO II. It was also the last album to be released by the band under the Harvest label.

Background and recording

The album was originally to be titled The Lost Planet, but that concept was quietly dropped (see below). It was during the initial recording sessions for this album that Roy Wood left the band and formed Wizzard in early 1972.^[2] Although uncredited at the time, Wood performed on two tracks, playing cello and bass on "In Old England Town" and "From the Sun to the World".^[2] Classically trained cellists Colin Walker and Mike Edwards replaced Wood, and Wilfred Gibson played on violin. Richard Tandy made his ELO studio debut, playing keyboards on the album although he had earlier performed live with the original lineup playing bass. Bassist and vocalist Mike de Albuquerque also made his ELO studio debut on the album. All five pieces are longer than standard rock songs, and feature multi-layered orchestral instruments that create a dense, complex sound.

Release

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
Classic Rock	[4]
Robert Christgau	C+[5]

Along with its predecessor it is the least commercial sounding album the band released, although ironically it did reach the British Top 40 album chart, whereas its more concise follow-up, On the Third Day, did not; an edit of "Roll Over Beethoven" was a Top 10 hit in Britain and received radio airplay in America too. In 2006 the album was remastered and expanded in the US, with a slightly different running order to the UK 2003 EMI version,^[2] with both versions sharing the same Hipgnosis album art for the first time.

The British and American sleeves differed, as did the title; in the UK it was released in a gatefold sleeve titled ELO 2 with a painting of a light bulb travelling through space with the wording ELO2 on the base of the bulb, while in the US the cover featured a more ornate light bulb against a night sky and was titled Electric Light Orchestra II. For reasons unknown "Roll Over Beethoven" was slightly edited in length compared with its US counterpart. Track 2 "Momma" was Americanised to "Mama" for the US release. An instrumental version of "In Old England Town", the opening track, became the B-side to the single "Showdown". The album contains the band's longest running song, the anti-war song "Kuiama".

Original track listing

All songs written by Jeff Lynne, unless otherwise indicated.

Side one

1. "In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2)" – 6:56
2. "Momma" – 7:03 (retitled as "Mama" on the US edition)
3. "Roll Over Beethoven" (Chuck Berry) – 8:10, 7:03 (UK edition)

Side two

4. "From the Sun to the World (Boogie No. 1)" – 8:20
5. "Kuiama" – 11:19

US Bonus Tracks (2006 reissue)

6. "In Old England Town (Instrumental)" – 2:43
7. "Baby, I Apologise" – 3:43
8. "In Old England Town (Take 1, Alternate mix)" – 6:56
9. "Roll Over Beethoven (Take 1)" (Berry) – 8:15

ELO 2 (First Light Series)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[6]

ELO 2 (First light Series) is an expanded 30th Anniversary edition of Electric Light Orchestra's second album.

The second in the EMI First Light Series released in 2003 to mark the album's 30th anniversary and features Glam rock superstar Marc Bolan on double lead guitar playing on tracks 10–12. The second disc utilises the original albums working title The Lost Planet and features out takes and rarities including songs recorded with original The Move lead vocalist Carl Wayne. On CD one the first five tracks include the original ELO 2 album.

All songs written by Jeff Lynne except where noted.

CD 1 – ELO 2

1. "In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2)" – 6:56
2. "Momma..." – 7:03
3. "Roll Over Beethoven" (Berry) – 7:03
4. "From the Sun to the World (Boogie No. 1)" – 8:20
5. "Kuiama" – 11:19

Bonus tracks:

6. "Showdown" – 4:11
7. "In Old England Town (Instrumental)" – 2:43
   • B-side of "Showdown" single
8. "Baby I Apologise" – 3:42
   • Session outtake, 1 June 1973
9. "Auntie" (Ma-Ma-Ma Belle Take 1)" – 1:19
10. "Auntie" (Ma-Ma-Ma Belle Take 2)" – 4:03
11. "Mambo" (Dreaming of 4000 Take 1)" – 5:02
12. "Everyone's Born to Die" – 4:40
13. "Roll Over Beethoven (Take 1)" (Berry) – 8:16
    • Tracks 9–13 previously unreleased.

CD 2 – The Lost Planet

1. "Brian Matthew Introduces ELO" – 0:22
2. "From the Sun to the World (Boogie No. 1)" (BBC Session) – 7:25
3. "Momma" (BBC Session) – 6:57
4. "Roll Over Beethoven (Single version)" (Berry) – 4:35
5. "Showdown (Take 1)" – 4:18
6. "Your World (Take 2)" – 4:55
7. "Get a Hold of Myself (Take 2)" – 4:43
8. "Mama (Take 1)" – 4:59
9. "Wilf's Solo (Instrumental)" (Wilfred Gibson) – 3:39
10. "Roll Over Beethoven" (BBC Session) (Berry) – 7:40
    • Lead vocals on tracks 6–8 by Carl Wayne.
    • BBC session material recorded at BBC Langham Studio 1, 1 November 1972.

Personnel

• Jeff Lynne – vocals, guitars, Moog synthesizer
• Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
• Richard Tandy – piano, harmonium, Moog synthesizer, guitar, backing vocals
• Mike de Albuquerque – bass, backing vocals
• Mike Edwards – cello
• Wilfred Gibson – violin
• Colin Walker – cello

Additional personnel

• Marc Bolan – guitar on ELO 2 tracks 10–12
• Roy Wood – bass, cello on ELO 2 tracks 1 and 4
• Carl Wayne – lead vocals on The Lost Planet tracks 6–8

Release history

Chart positions

• UK: number 35 UK Albums Chart^[7]
• US: number 53 CashBox; number 62 Billboard 200^[8]
• CAN: number 17 RPM Albums Chart

References