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(More customer reviews)You know those desert island discs people talk about? Those top 10 lists? This CD is one of those for me.
In 1977, I was a teenager, just graduated from high school, working the lightweight job. ELO's previous album "A New World Record" was in the 8-track deck in the Pinto a lot. I adored everything about that project and like a lot of ELO fans anxiously awaited the next release. When I heard it was going to be a double album I was prepared for the worst. After all, how many double album packages were great? OK, the Beatles white album was pretty good but I was afraid Jeff Lynne would produce a mess like the John Lennon "Number 9" thing at the end of the white album. (OK, you can direct the hate mail to me.)
But I was not prepared when I went to the record store in 1977 and plopped down almost four hours wages at the time to buy the 8 track on the day of release. I didn't open it up then, I went immediately home and relaxed a bit, put on the headphones and listened. Holy moley! I listened again. And again. I remember I listened to it 6 times that night. I couldn't get over the fact that there was nothing wrong with this album. Starting off with the single "Turn To Stone" and ending with the fantasy "Wild West Hero" I couldn't find fault. I instantly thought "Sweet Talkin' Woman" was one of the finest singles ever. "Jungle" a song about ALL the world and its inhabitants having one big party, the four song "concerto", "The Whale" one of the finest songs with whales singing the lead.
Each song evokes a different emotion and strong memories for me. This IS Jeff Lynne's masterpiece. I'd recommend buying a greatest hits package if you want ELO's biggies, but if you want to dig a bit deeper and get a sense of what a great composer and producer Jeff Lynne is (hey, he wasn't a "Traveling Wilbury" for nothing), then this 4 sided record on 1 CD is the to buy. Since that initial 8 track, I bought it on LP and now on CD, where it sounds as bright and crisp as the LP and of course 100 times better than the ol' 8 track. Where is that thing anyway?
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