Jeff Lynne’s ELO – Live At BBC Radio 2 In Concert – November 12, 2015 – BBC Radio 2
ELO (or as they are now known, Jeff Lynne’s ELO) in a concert done for BBC Radio 2 as part of their In Concert series from November 15th of last year.
Having been a fan since their first album, and gradually less so as time and the smooth transition over to Pop/Disco of the late 70s went on, I always appreciated Jeff Lynne’s stellar songwriting abilities and the basic concept of The Electric Light Orchestra. To me, it was a resurrection of The Move and much of the initial eclectic nature of the band had to go to co-founder Roy Wood, who sadly didn’t stick around for very long before going off to form Wizzard. And it was after his departure when the band took a decidedly more commercial turn. But that’s when all their success came along, so you can’t fault them for trying.
They kept the success going until 1986 when they called it a day, leaving Jeff Lynne to forge new trails by way of The Traveling Wilburys and producing a number of memorable sessions throughout the 90s, including The Beatles Free As A Bird.
This incarnation comes by way of various legal entanglements, because of another ELO fronted by former co-founder Bev Bevan, who started ELO Part 2. This version is actually only two members; Lynne and Richard Tandy and is augmented by a band for live gigs.
With word that the first new album to be released in 14 years will be coming out this year, this is a taste and a reacquaintance of a band who were very visible throughout the 70s and into the 1980s, had a huge number of hits and a massive following. With the exception of previewing some new material, it is mostly a look back at an amazing career.
