? Electric Light Orchestra II ? Near Mint 1973 United Artists 1st Press Vinyl LP

$

20

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ELO 2 UK cover Studio album by The Electric Light Orchestra Released January 1973 Recorded May–October 1972 Studio Air Studios, London Genre Symphonic rock, progressive rock[1] 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

1. "Roll Over Beethoven"
   Released: 12 January 1973

ELO 2 is the eponymous 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.

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 early 1972. 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". Classically trained cellists Colin Walker replaced Wood and Wilfred Gibson played on 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

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, 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 Americanized 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 written by Jeff Lynne, unless otherwise noted.