ELO's Greatest Hits

ELO's Greatest Hits is a compilation by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1979.

ELO's Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by Electric Light Orchestra
Released	November 1979
Recorded	April 1973–August 1977
Length	44:50
Label	Jet CBS
Producer	Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra chronology
Discovery (1979) ELO's Greatest Hits (1979) A Box of Their Best (1980)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
MusicHound	3/5[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[5]
Record Mirror	[6]

The album sleeve art features a letter written by the band's co-founder and leader, Jeff Lynne, describing the '73–'78 period and the recording of each of the songs.

Track listing

All tracks written by Jeff Lynne.

Side one

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Evil Woman" (Single version)	Face the Music, 1975	4:10
2.	"Livin' Thing"	A New World Record, 1976	3:31
3.	"Can't Get It Out of My Head"	Eldorado, 1974	4:22
4.	"Showdown" (U.S. single edit)	On the Third Day (U.S.), 1973; Showdown (UK), 1974	3:51
5.	"Turn to Stone"	Out of the Blue, 1977	3:48
6.	"Rockaria!"	A New World Record	3:12

Side two

No.	Title	Original album	Length
7.	"Sweet Talkin' Woman"	Out of the Blue	3:47
8.	"Telephone Line"	A New World Record	4:37
9.	"Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" (Single edit)	On the Third Day	3:35
10.	"Strange Magic" (UK single version)	Face the Music	4:07
11.	"Mr. Blue Sky"	Out of the Blue	5:05

Personnel

• Jeff Lynne – vocals, guitars
• Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
• Richard Tandy – keyboards
• Mike de Albuquerque – bass (to 1974)
• Kelly Groucutt – bass, vocals (1974 onwards)
• Mik Kaminski – violin
• Mike Edwards – cello (to 1974)
• Melvyn Gale – cello (1975 onwards)
• Hugh McDowell – cello
• Wilfred Gibson – violin on "Showdown" and "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"
• Colin Walker – cello on "Showdown" and "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"
• Marc Bolan – guitar on "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle"

Chart performance

• #1 Australia
• #2 New Zealand
• #6 Canada
• #7 United Kingdom[7]
• #13 Norway
• #17 Austria[8]
• #28 Spain
• #30 United States (CashBox & Billboard 200); RIAA certification: 4x Platinum

References

1. ELO's Greatest Hits at AllMusic
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: E". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 24 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. Larkin, Colin (ed.) (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 916. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
4. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 382. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
5. Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian (eds) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th edn). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 274. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
6. Nicholls, Mike (24 November 1979). ELO: ELO's Greatest Hits. 26. Record Mirror. p. 25.
7. "Electric Light Orchestra". Offfical Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
8. "Discographie Electric Light Orchestra". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 6 March 2013.