Electric Light Orchestra – Live Review

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Two decades on from the hits-laden performance which replaced a Zoom tour and little has changed. Though it took Jeff Lynne and what remained of Electric Light Orchestra at the time a decade to release a recording of their PBS-hosted performance, we can be glad they did. Longevity is the aim of the game in this industry of sound. Lynne has held onto a voice of consistent quality for decades. Even with the lower octaves heard in this Zoom-era performance, it works. Zoom is oddly snubbed by this compilation though most of the songs were featured in the performance. Therein lies the problem for ELO, and though an end may be in sight for Lynne’s latest version of the band, they have been reluctantly playing the hits for twenty-five years. No contemporary material can change this.  

For better or worse, Lynne has accepted this. His last attempt was marked in 2019 and little came of it. Alone in the Universe before that offered even less. It is best to stick to your guns when contemporary material is not enough to carry you and, as such, Live becomes a greatest hits album. A few odd additions for the dedicated fan in Showdown and Secret Messages but ultimately a setlist of known works. Hearing all those works together provides an insight into why Secret Messages did not work for some. It sounds like a bolder rock offering, a step away from the sci-fi flourishes of those well-layered 1970s offerings. But it is by no means bad and Lynne does well to adapt it to the backing vocalists and heavy percussion heard on Live. Those messages may be travelling across the atmosphere but they are not landing with the audience at hand. A shame, since Secret Messages is a fine song.  

Sandwiching it with a lacklustre Showdown and an infinitely better Livin’ Thing is to damn it, though. Their A New World Record track sounds sensational. Those string sections are delightful and where the backing vocalists are often used sparingly in the Live performance, they do well to support Lynne’s slightly reduced vocal range. Where it does not cause any harm to the song, it highlights a new phase for ELO, where extra momentum from other moving parts changes the form of their sound. Lighter piano strokes and a reliance on other instrumental elements are what make Livin’ Thing, yet it breaks Sweet Talkin’ Woman. Those vocal powers from Lynne trail off on Mr. Blue Sky too. We are here for the legend and to hear these songs is enough to placate many. Accept them for weaker versions but still unchanged in their fundamentals. 

Expecting Lynne to sound as he did when these recordings were first released is a self-imposed tragedy. He sounds softer in tone but holds firm with the flourishing likes of Can’t Get It Out of My Head and Twilight. Those punchier tones are replaced by a shock in hearing these songs still performed. This is the real draw for those still listening to Lynne and what remains of ELO. How he will fare on the Hyde Park stage next year is neither here nor there, ample material from his live performances is available and they show a dedication to fine-tuning the best of his works. Jolly fundamentals from Confusion and the kick of Don’t Bring Me Down are welcome continuations of the spirit found in those original recordings. Therein lies the truth to these ELO performances. Lynne has continued to create a sense of spirit, a charm which extracts the brilliance of the album works to the stage, and that is exactly what Live does in spots.