The Electric Light Orchestra
The Electric Light Orchestra I (No Answer)

The year was 1970 when Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood formed the Electric Light Orchestra (from now on, we will simply call it ELO); the group, throughout its career, has always leaned towards an easily listenable symphonic rock, distinguishing itself thanks to a classical sound accompanied by violinists and flutists. Although ELO is famous for unforgettable songs such as Evil Woman, Confusion, Sweet Talking Woman, Livin' Thing, and Last Train to London, their beginnings were far from what ultimately consecrated them as world-renowned rock stars.

"ELO I" (1971, Harvest Records), distributed in the USA under the name "No Answer" due to a prematurely ended phone call, contains everything that lovers of "beat" desired: syncopated rhythms à-la Beatles, light ballads with classical roots, but also a good dose of experimentation. The result is certainly adequate: even though there is a timid attempt to embark on a path towards Prog-Rock (a path fully taken with ELO II, but later abruptly suspended), for most of the album we are faced with a series of poorly arranged songs, also due to the low budget, but rich in ideas. In truth, we can easily separate the ideas that are to be discarded and those to be kept for subsequent albums:

TO BE DISCARDED: Even though it was their first Top Ten hit in the UK, "10538 Overture" is certainly not one of their best songs, as it is poorly sung and even more poorly arranged, and moreover, it lasts too long for its structure; this terrible defect is magnified in ELO II; "Look At Me Now" seems like it came out of a Beatles album, and though quite catchy, it is decidedly below the standards of both the entire ELO discography and the LP we are exploring; the same can be said for "Queen Of The Hours", a song with a usual refrain, but weak and soppy in content; "Whisper In The Night" is a song that slowly progresses without any captivating or at least original rhythmic evolution... here too, one notes an embarrassing parroting of the Beatles, and even some Glam Rock groups of the era, and although it is quite catchy, it fails to shine against the stronger tracks of the LP.

TO BE KEPT: "The Battle Of Marston Moor" is a decent attempt to compose a mini-suite with historical roots, citing the 1644 battle between the parliamentary army and the English royalist army: even though the arrangement is really sparse, the composition is still effective and inspired... with a proper arrangement, it could have been an excellent track; "Nellie Takes Her Bow" is a very good ballad, not very linear but very catchy, and will be the classic model of a song composed by ELO in their golden years; "First Movement" is what I consider the best track on the album: a totally instrumental composition with Spanish rhythms, short, concise, and damn catchy, where all the instruments come into play, including the classical-style guitar, violins, drums, and even a bagpipe midway through... the result is surprising; "Mr. Radio" is another piece in the vein of Nellie Takes Her Bow, which seems to unfold on the usual Verse-Chorus-Verse structure, yet in the end, there is the much-desired change of rhythm in true "Prog-Rock" style, and this track certainly deserved better fortune; "Manhattan Rumble" recalls, in style and arrangements, "The Battle Of Marston Moor", but in its rhythmic advance, it is even darker than its predecessor, resulting in the second fully instrumental track on the album, and the result is really appreciable, with an excellent mix of piano, strings, and cellos.

Summing up, we are facing an excellent debut, which might astonish those accustomed to listening to ELO producing their more famous compositions: in the years to come, Jeff and company will produce a less Beatlesque but also more commercial music, combining the ethereal harmony of violins and strings with basic "verse-chorus-verse" rhythms, transforming from an emerging symphonic progressive rock group into pop-rock superstars, also due to the eventual departure of some band members who participated in the creation of ELO and ELO II.

In conclusion, this is the album that all ELO fans should listen to.