ELO 2

ELO 2 is the second studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1973. In the US, the album was released as Electric Light Orchestra II. It was also the last album to be released by the band under the Harvest label, the last where the band used the definite article The on its name and introduced their abbreviated name ELO.

ELO 2
UK cover
Studio album by The Electric Light Orchestra
Released	March 2, 1973
Recorded	May–October 1972
Studio	Air Studios, London
Genre	Progressive rock,[1] symphonic rock
Length	41:48
Label	Harvest, United Artists
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: 12 January 1973
US cover

Background and recording

The album was originally to be titled The Lost Planet, but that concept was quietly dropped (see below). During the initial recording sessions, Roy Wood left the band and formed Wizzard in June 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 cellist Colin Walker replaced Wood and Wilfred Gibson played violin. Richard Tandy made his ELO studio debut on this album, playing keyboards; he had earlier performed live with the original lineup alongside Wood, Lynne, drummer Bev Bevan, Gibson and cellist Mike Edwards, playing bass (and in TV appearances with The Move playing guitar). 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]
Christgau's Record Guide	C+[4]
Classic Rock	[5]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[6]
MusicHound	2.5/5[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
The Daily Vault	A[9]

Along with its predecessor, ELO 2 is the least commercial-sounding album the band released, although it reached 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 also. 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 track, the anti-war song "Kuiama".

Original track listing

All tracks are written by Jeff Lynne, unless otherwise noted.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2)"		6:56
2.	"Momma" (retitled "Mama" on US edition)		7:03
3.	"Roll Over Beethoven" (Chuck Berry cover)	Chuck Berry, Ludwig van Beethoven	7:03

Side two

No.	Title	Length
4.	"From the Sun to the World (Boogie No. 1)"	8:20
5.	"Kuiama"	11:19
Total length:		41:48

US 2006 reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"In Old England Town (Instrumental)" (B-side to the Showdown single)		2:43
7.	"Baby, I Apologise" (session outtake)		3:43
8.	"In Old England Town" (take 1, alternate mix)		6:56
9.	"Roll Over Beethoven" (take1)	Berry	8:15

ELO 2 (First Light Series)

ELO 2 (First Light Series)
Studio album by Electric Light Orchestra
Released	2003
Recorded	1972–73 at Air Studios
Genre	Progressive rock, symphonic rock
Label	Harvest, EMI
Producer	Jeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra chronology
The Electric Light Orchestra (First Light Series) (2001) ELO 2 (First Light Series) (2003) The Essential Electric Light Orchestra (2003)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[10]

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. The first five tracks comprise the original ELO 2 album. After ELO had completed and released ELO 2, the band began recording new material for the third album. Tracks 6-8 on disc two were recorded in February 1973, and features original Move lead singer Carl Wayne. Tracks 9-12 on disc one were recorded in April 1973 and features glam rock superstar Marc Bolan, who was also recording at AIR Studios at that time, on double lead guitar on tracks 10–12. The band re-recorded two of these songs for the third album because of ELO's label change in the UK before it was released. Tracks 6-8 on disc one and track 5 on disc two were recorded in June 1973, with track 6 becoming a hit single in the UK. The second disc utilises the original album's working title The Lost Planet, and features various live recordings, outtakes and rarities, in addition to the songs recorded with Carl Wayne.

All songs written by Jeff Lynne except where noted.

Disc one — ELO 2

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
6.	"Showdown"		4:11
7.	"In Old England Town (Instrumental)" (B-side of "Showndown" single)		2:43
8.	"Baby I Apologise" (session outtake, 1 June 1973)		3:42
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

• Tracks 9-13 previously unreleased.

Disc two — The Lost Planet

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
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)
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

Personnel according to the gatefold.[11]

• Jeff Lynne – lead vocals, guitars, Moog synthesizer
• Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
• Richard Tandy – piano, harmonium, Moog synthesizer, guitar, backing vocals
• Mike de Albuquerque – bass, backing vocals (on tracks 2, 3, and 5)
• Mike Edwards – cello
• Wilf Gibson – violin
• Colin Walker – cello (on tracks 2, 3, and 5)
• Roy Wood – bass, cello (on tracks 1 and 4)

Unconfirmed musicians

• Hugh McDowell – possible cello (on tracks 1 and 4)
• Bill Hunt – French horn (track 4), possible keyboards (track 1)

Additional personnel

• Marc Bolan – guitar on ELO 2 tracks 10–12
• Carl Wayne – lead vocals on The Lost Planet tracks 6–8

Production

• Jeff Lynne – producer
• Marty Evans – photograhpy
• Al Vandenburg – photograhpy
• Mike Salisbury – art direction
• Lloyd Ziff – design

Chart positions

Chart (1973)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12]	17
UK Albums (OCC)[13]	35
US Billboard 200[14]	62
US CashBox[15]	53

Release history

Region	Date	Version
United Kingdom	January 1973	Original vinyl
United States	March 1973	Original vinyl
United Kingdom	January 2003	30th Anniversary edition
United States	28 March 2006	Expanded remaster

References

1. Bruce Eder. "Electric Light Orchestra II - Electric Light Orchestra | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
2. Caiger, Rob. "ELO Remaster Series - ELO 2 - INTRO". Ftmusic.com. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
3. Eder, Bruce. "Electric Light Orchestra Electric Light Orchestra II review". AllMusic. Retrieved 6 December 2011.
4. 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.
5. Hotten, Jon (February 2005). "Electric Light Orchestra 'ELO2'". Classic Rock. 76. London, UK: Future Publishing Ltd. p. 102.
6. Larkin, Colin (ed.) (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 915. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
7. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 383. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
8. 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)
9. E5S16, Eric (2019). "The Daily Vault Music Reviews : ELO II". dailyvault.com. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
10. Eder, Bruce. "Electric Light Orchestra ELO II/The Lost Planet review". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 7 December 2011.
11. ELO 2 (gatefold). Electric Light Orchestra. United Artists. 1973.CS1 maint: others (link)
12. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4869". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
13. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
14. "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved December 25, 2020.
15. "CashBox Top 100 Albums" (PDF). CashBox. Vol. XXXV #7. United States. 4 August 1973. p. 39. Retrieved 25 December 2020.