electric light orchestra - the harvest years 1970 1973
before the band were famous for their radio dominating soft rock, elo were actually a full on mad prog rock band. combining hard riffs and cutting edge production of the day and ever changing moods and styles within their epic songs. right from the start, it was apparent that the bands main men (roy wood and jeff lynne) were in awe of the beatles experiments with rock and classical as opening their debut with the string drenched '10538 overture' has melodies lifted straight out of the lennon/mccartney songbook, still the homage is done with such love that it matters not.so, to help the fans rediscover just where all the fun started, emi are to release a 3cd set which collates the bands first 2 albums with alternative mixes, single edits and even the flavour of the month remix of the debut, in quadrophonic stereo.
as is the case, the original albums are hugely entertaining, with some long lost classics,
the aforementioned 10538 overture, the easy dad friendly rock-n-roll of roll over
beethoven, and showdown proving that the band were indeed onto something. but
whether anyone really needs to hear 3 slight variations of each track is maybe a little excessive, as the quad mixes are messy and
don't really add anything other some muddy sonics to the mix, though if you
still have the required equipment who knows it may sound fantastic ! luckily, the
straight stereo remastering however makes the 'normal' versions crystal clear and totally
relevant.
still for the fans this must be manna from heaven, hearing the tracks being performed in a single take with some studio chat, really brings home the fact that the band were indeed tight musicians and required very little in the way of overdubs.
my how things changed.
track listing :
CD1 - The Electric Light Orchestra (1971)
1. 10538 Overture
2. Look At Me Now
3. Nellie Takes Her Bow
4. The Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644)
5. First Movement (Jumping Biz)
6. Mr Radio
7. Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre)
8. Queen Of The Hours
9. Whisper In The Night
ELO first album sessions (1970-1971)
10. 10538 Overture (Take 1 Recorded 12/7/70)
11. The Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644) (Take 1 Recorded 28/4/71)
12. Whisper In The Night (Take 1/Take 2 Edit Recorded 28/4/71)
13. Mr Radio (Take 9 Recorded 18/11/70)
CD2 - ELO 2 (1973)
1. In Old England Town (Boogie No 2)
2. Momma
3. Roll Over Beethoven
4. From The Sun To The World (Boogie No.1)
5. Kuiama
Harvest Sessions (1972-1973)
6. In Old England Town (Boogie No 2) (Take 1 Quad SQ Mix)
7. Roll Over Beethoven (Take 1) (Session Master 8 September 1972)
8. Mambo (Dreaming Of 4000 Take 1)
9. Wilf's Solo (Instrumental)
10.Baby I Apologise (Session Outtake 1 June 1973)
11.Showdown (Take 1)
CD3 - The Harvest Singles (1972-1973)
1. 10538 Overture (Single Version)
2. Mr Radio (7'' Single Version)
3. Roll Over Beethoven (Single Version)
4. Showdown
5. In Old England Town (Instrumental)
The Electric Light Orchestra Alternate Album Mix
6. 10538 Overture (Quad SQ Mix)
7. Look At Me Now (Quad Mix)
8. Nellie Takes Her Bow (Quad Mix)
9. The Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644) (Quad Mix)
10. First Movement (Jumping Biz) (Quad Mix)
11. Mr Radio (Quad SQ Mix)
12. Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) (Quad Mix)
13. Queen Of The Hours (Quad Mix)
14. Whisper In The Night (Quad Mix)