A mostly disposable compilation
Scott E. Miller | Fort Collins, CO United States | 01/18/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"The first thing you'll do when you get this 2-CD set is say, "Well, at least I didn't pay too much for it." What you do next with it is totally up to you.This album is rather deceptively packaged as an ELO album. What it is, is really a various artist compilation following Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and various bandmates through about twenty years of recording. Overall, eleven different acts are featured across 29 tracks on 2 CDs. Now, there isn't anything wrong with that in itself, but the final product proves to be less than overwhelming.To begin with, the seven "live" ELO tracks come from at least one of the live shows recently cleared for legal release on CD and are completely disposable. It doesn't bother me so much that they have the sound quality of a middling bootleg as much as the fact that the performances are totally limp and devoid of any life whatsoever, especially the performance of "Livin' Thing," which is so terrible that it earns the dubious distinction of being the worst track on the album. These could have been away with completely and nobody would have noticed.The rest of the tracks are a mixed bag. You get three tracks by Wizzard, Roy Wood's post-ELO group, as well as two solo singles by Wood; this group of songs are pretty much the highlight of the album, and most of them are probably available elsewhere. There's also a couple of decent single tracks by Rick Price, bassist for the Move and Wizzard, two really odd recordings featuring Carl Wayne (lead singer of the Move) and some choral group called "Choral Union," two instrumentals by Move/ELO drummer Bev Bevan which are okay if nothing earth-shattering, two very dull tracks by Denny Laine (ex-Wings) whose claim to being here is that he worked with Move member Trevor Burton, and three tracks apiece by the Move (which are of course fantastic even though they aren't mastered so well) and Tandy/Morgan (a band formed by ELO/Move sideman Richard Tandy; "Morgan" is David Morgan, who wrote two songs for Carl Wayne to sing whilst Wayne was in the Move); the Tandy Morgan tracks are fairly dull, very slick and commercial-sounding and reminiscent of ELO's "Discovery," only even more derivative. To round out the set we have a couple of oddball tracks, one by Violinski (presumably a group of ELO sidemen) on a somewhat entertaining instrumental, "Clog Dance," and a collaboration between Rick Wakeman and Roy Wood, "Custer's Last Stand," from the late '80s which is easily the standout track on this album not by the Move or Roy Wood/Wizzard. Instead of sounding like an aimless Yes track, it's a stomping rocker which really does successfully combine each artist's talents. (Really, after looking at the lineup, this album should have been called "The Move Family And Friends.")The packaging is below standard; you might to expect to see this kind of packaging on bargain bin fillers. No annotation or licensing information, apart from songwriting credits, and no production credits, make trying to figure out the sources for this material a guessing game. The mastering is also a bit dodgy; while some tracks sound fantastic, particularly the later ones, many, especially the Wizzard tracks, were obviously not taken from the best tape sources available.I still consider this album a worthwhile purchase for hardcore Roy Wood fans, who will be happy to have "Custer's Last Stand" if nothing else, and hardcore ELO fans might welcome the smattering of rarities by various ELO members, but casual fans ought to avoid this one. You'll be much happier picking up a copy of "Strange Magic: The Very Best Of ELO" and being done with it."
OH MY THIS CAN'T BE
Stewart Stewson | denmark,ks. | 03/05/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"WHEN I FIRST GOT THIS LAST SUMMER I WAS THINKING THIS COULD BE SOMETHING GOOD! WRONG. BAD ELO LIVE ALBUM CUTS THAT DON'T SOUND VERY GOOD. ONLY ONE VIOLINSKI SONG THE INSTRUMENTAL "CLOG DANCE" THEY HAD BETTER SONGS THAN THAT! THE ONLY SONGS THAT STOOD OUT WERE THE RICK PRICE NUMBERS "TOP TEN RECORD" IS GREAT. BEING A BIG ELO FAN THIS WAS A REAL BUMMER."
Friends And Family (BOX SET)
Karl | Glenview, IL | 01/05/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I found the Album to be good. I especially enjoyed track 4 of the first CD. (Are You Ready To Rock). The live tracks were Ok. I didn't think they were needed. The songs by former group memebers, friends and family sharp and showed a diverse style that the group members had while they performed the in the 70's and 80's. Tracks 6,10 and 11 of the first CD are good too."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1