ELO's Greatest Hits
	Previously released material
	Released on November 1979
	UK CHART POSITION #7 . . . US CHART POSITION #30 . . . 4x PLATINUM
	Find it at GEMM
PZ 36310 cover [high resolution scan]

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 might 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 or “All You Need Is Love.” 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 rollerskate to it, or drive to it. And yet this collection has proved its mettle by 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” weave magic evergreen, building a bridge through the 70s so that distraught Beatles fans weren’t forced to leap into a chasm of mediocrity. Of course, if you already own the original albums, buying ELO’s Greatest Hits can wait. If you don’t, like the man says, the forecast is blue skies.

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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