Electric Light Orchestra – Wembley or Bust Review

With the benefit of hindsight, we can look at Electric Light Orchestra and not even think to question the risk taken by the band in this performance from Wembley Stadium. Wembley or Bust is an apt title. Jeff Lynne and the band had been burned before, notably with the cancelled Zoom tour, and were not set on repeating such a disastrous tour, or cancelled tour for that matter. A chance to take on Wembley for any artist is a bold move and for Lynne it would be a crowning achievement, capitalising on the revived interest in E.L.O. and their greatest hits, of which there were plenty for a live album. And yet something feels slack about this performance, an experience which can be felt in the greatest hits that got them there.  

Few differences can be heard in the slick live productions and the revamped studio work. For what should be a grand finale on home turf, Wembley or Bust does stray towards the latter, a cracked set of instrumentalists playing, or trying, to play to their highs. Lynne still sounds good, good enough to carry a Wembley setlist along. You would expect nothing but hits and that is exactly what Wembley or Bust is, a rigid setlist which is close to what is toured on the farewell tour at present. The buzz of the crowd is first heard through the opening of Evil Woman and is used more as a crutch for those early moments than anything which affects the performance. Each song lacks the energy of the studio recording but the big occasion feel to them all leads to a series of interesting instrumental changes. They are not strong changes, but they are certainly changes. 

Lynne may not have the strongest voice anymore but it comes to life in the songs that matter. Livin’ Thing is the first real highlight of Wembley or Bust – an album which cannot shake the flaw with its premise. It is better to listen to the studio recordings or, for those lucky few, to attend in person. A live album does not quite work for E.L.O. because the arrangements are all that can be changed. A few shocks can be heard throughout – particularly a cover of The Traveling Wilbury’s Handle With Care. It is great to know one of their songs has been played at Wembley, and deservedly so. But it is mixed in with the flatlining sounds of Xanadu or a lacklustre performance of Last Train to London. The latter can be regarded as one of the best E.L.O. songs, but here it sounds faded from its glory. Not a bad listen by any stretch, but Wembley or Bust constantly reminds of the better studio material. 

Lush noise and charming vocal work from Lynne and the rest of E.L.O. are expected, but they drop the ball a few times here. Twilight sounds vacated of joy and the run of Out of the Blue material feels inevitable, without the shocks of the earlier moments in the setlist, Wembley or Bust runs the expected gauntlet. E.L.O. deserve their wild Wembley moment but this live recording is tame. Attempts at audience involvement on Shine a Little Love sound almost silent on the recording, but surely Lynne and the band mustered more of a noise from the Wembley crowd. It is a gig which should, on paper, be a masterclass in highlighting the lengthy period E.L.O. had at the top, but Wembley or Bust does not have the right feel to it. Its sound is all over the place, its biggest hits are burnt too quickly and there is an underwhelming feeling running through it.