The Essential Electric Light Orchestra in Bloomington, MN

There have been many
ELO
collections over the years -- some exhaustive, some not -- so it might initially seem that the 2003 collection
The Essential Electric Light Orchestra
is a little unnecessary, especially since the definitive 1995 double-disc set
Strange Magic
was still in print at the time of this release. This line of reasoning conveniently ignores the simple fact that not everybody needs two discs of
; some may prefer one career-spanning collection with all the big hits on one disc, which is precisely what this is. Given its hits-oriented nature, it's inevitable that some great songs are missing and there are, including such early masterworks as
"10538 Overture"
and
"Showdown,"
as well as fan favorites like
"Boy Blue"
"Four Little Diamonds."
But, if you care enough to care that these songs are missing, you won't hesitate to buy
. If you just want
"Can't Get It Out of My Head,"
"Livin' Thing,"
"Mr. Blue Sky,"
"Don't Bring Me Down"
along with other big hits, this suits the bill almost perfectly (the one quibble being that it would be nicer to have chronological order instead of this jumble, but this is enjoyable all the same). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine