ELO's Greatest Hits
	Previously released material
	Released on November 1979
	UK CHART POSITION #7 . . . US CHART POSITION #30 . . . PLATINUM RECORD (10/15/80), 4x PLATINUM (7/25/00)
	Find it at GEMM
PZ 36310 cover [high resolution photo]

T he best of the single-disc compilations, this followed the popular Discovery but failed to encompass it, instead opting for a rediscovery of the hits that led them here. In hindsight, one would sandbag the earliest stuff (“Showdown,” “Ma-Ma-Ma Belle”) for “Shine A Little Love” and “Don’t Bring Me Down,” but otherwise I wouldn’t change a thing. Ending with “Mr. Blue Sky” is brilliant; in fact, I think they should end every U.N. session with that song. Yes, the early albums are under- (or un-) represented, but that’s what Ole ELO was for. The songs here are ELO’s GREATEST hits, not simply a chronologically astute chronicle of singles. Like Steve Miller Band’s Greatest Hits 1974-1978, this compilation covers a period in time (1973-1978) regarded as the band’s commercial peak. And as with the SMB package, liner notes are left to the imagination (though Jeff did write a nice letter for the back cover). This was, after all, the late ‘70s, when people were interested in melodies and didn’t much care how the music was made so long as you could dance to it, or rollerblade to it, or drive to it. And yet it proved to be timeless stuff, selling four million copies in the US alone so far (and it will continue to sell so long as they keep it in print). “Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” “Telephone Line” and “Turn To Stone” continue to weave their magic, suggesting what The Beatles might have sounded like if they’d stayed together. Of course, if you already own the original albums, buying ELO’s Greatest Hits can wait. However, if you’re planning a little road trip, you couldn’t ask for a better companion (or a better ending).

PZ 36310 back cover

TRACK LISTING

1. EVIL WOMAN    4:10
2. LIVIN' THING    3:31
3. CAN'T GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD    4:22
4. SHOWDOWN    3:51
5. TURN TO STONE    3:46
6. ROCKARIA!    3:12
7. SWEET TALKIN' WOMAN    3:47
8. TELEPHONE LINE    4:37
9. MA-MA-MA BELLE    3:35
10. STRANGE MAGIC    4:07
11. MR. BLUE SKY    5:05
    
    All songs written by Jeff Lynne

CREDITS

Welden Andersen -- cover photography
Tony Lane A.D. -- cover direction
Fin Costello -- ELO photos

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