Electric Light Orchestra – Ticket to the Moon: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2 Review 

Compilation efforts should, at the very least, take some risks. Ticket to the Moon: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2 presents the risk of nodding off halfway through reading the album’s title, but aside from that, holds very little else of surprise. A few moments of spotlighting the rarities from the band, if you can call them that, given how widely they were released, but efforts are made to include them. That’s more than can be said for other efforts in the pile of compilation efforts Jeff Lynne and the band had to deal with. Crucial to The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra Volume 2 is the involvement of Lynne. This is as close as we may get to his personal favourites, handpicking the songs from his iteration of Electric Light Orchestra, keeping away from the Roy Wood days of the band. It doesn’t feel like a malicious choice, just a chance for Lynne to profile his favourite moments.  

Some great choices there are, too. With this being the second volume, there are liberties taken with the tracklist. No Mr. Blue Sky or Evil Woman here, they feature elsewhere. So it’s down to Lynne to convince listeners these so-called deep cuts are worth your time. He manages to bring on some of the hits which should’ve appeared on the first compilation, like Ticket to the Moon, Last Train to London, and Do Ya, but also makes time for some songs which were hardly well-received at the time. You have great efforts like Four Little Diamonds and Secret Messages from the album of the same name, two songs which feature on a record that was never paid its dues. They’re the real gems here. Lynne backs them by including them, as he does with Latitude 88 North and Surrender, two anniversary edition additions which find their way onto the best of compilation. It says more about Lynne’s perception of the band than anything else. That’s at least a very interesting listening experience.  

Lynne has an obviously strong grasp on the real thrills of ELO. It’s easy to hear them as a catchy pop group with an ear for riffs and very plain but powerful messages of love and loss. It’s the fundamentals they get right, and these songs are a nice example of the deeper efforts. Moment in Paradise and Destination Unknown are particularly bold choices, while the likes of It’s Over and The Way Life’s Meant to Be feel more like stock options to win people over. They’re that fine blur of recognisable tracks but not, necessarily, their best-known efforts. Most of the songs included are of the high standard Lynne had for the band during his stewardship, and it’s reflected well by The Very Best of ELO Vol. 2. A lot of love is shown to the albums before and after the hits run of Face the Music to Time. Eldorado is given a nice spot, as is Zoom, a bold move given how poorly it was received on first release. 

But reception means nothing when it comes to an artist piecing together a compilation of their favourite efforts. For those who want an honest appraisal of which deep cuts are worth giving a listen, then they should look no further than this compilation. Those few B-sides and anniversary tracks make it worth it. They’re signs of life in an otherwise repetitive strain of compilation efforts, appealing that may be to those who like to hear the same hits prattled out time after time. Not Lynne, though, his choice of Moment in Paradise and One Summer Dream are both surprising and sincere understandings of his own work, and what may work for audiences not quite registering those lesser-known songs.