Electric Light Orchestra, Part Two

Track Listings

1. Hello

2. Honest Men

3. Every Night

4. Once upon a Time

5. Heartbreaker

6. Thousand Eyes

7. For the Love of a Woman

8. Kiss Me Red

9. Heart of Hearts

10. Easy Street

Electric Light Orchestra, Part Two, Music, Electric Light Orchestra Part II, Album Rock, Pop, Pop/Rock, Popular Music, Prog-Rock/Art Rock, Rock

Average customer rating:

Only for the ELO completist.

A Worthy Revisiting.

This is the REAL ELO!

Forget Jeff Lynne when listening...

One Third of the ORIGINAL band!

Electric Light Orchestra Part Two
Electric Light Orchestra Part II
Manufacturer: Volcano
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B00000IMJF
Release Date: 1991-06-11

Tracks:

Hello
Honest Men
Every Night
Once Upon A Time
Heartbreaker
Thousand Eyes
For The Love Of A Woman
Kiss Me Red
Heart Of Hearts
Easy Street

Customer Reviews:

Only for the ELO completist........2007-02-07

Bev Bevan wanted to continue ELO after Jeff Lynne moved on, but how do you replace someone who was the singer/producer/guitarist/sole-songwriter? Bev's answer was to not replace him with just one guy but instead bring in three, and to bring back Louis Clark from the 70's to layer strings over the songs to have them pass for ELO. The 4 songs sung by Eric Troyer are okay, fairly melodic, and in the case of "Honest Men" almost sound like it was made in 1977 (too bad it came out in 1991, and too bad they chose it for the single. It failed to chart in the US.) The trouble is that half the album is given over to two bland singers who sound like they'd be more at home in a Foreigner tribute-band. "Every Night" is a very average rock song that sounded dated in 1991. Add some bad singing, truly awful lyrics, and a load of strings where they shouldn't be, and you have a song best forgotten. "Kiss Me Red" "Heartbreaker" and "Easy Street" aren't much better. ELO were known for using strings, but they didn't need them to make a put out a great song (see "Don't Bring Me Down" or "Secret Messages"). But laying strings over average-at-best tunes dosen't turn a weak album into a good one. You can approach an album like this in two ways: on its own merits, or based on previous work. On both counts, I can't really see recommending this to anyone other than ELO completists. It was a welcome return when Jeff Lynne came back with ZOOM in 2001, showing everyone how it ought to be done!

A Worthy Revisiting........2006-06-05

I remember back in 1991 when ELO Part 2 debuted live on the radio to promote the upcoming new album. They played "Honest Men", and although we all knew it was not Jeff singing, there was a distinctive appeal to it all. When I bought the CD after it finally came out, (cover art was a plus)I found that the sound harkened back to a more lush landscape than what was displayed on ELO's last studio album, Balance Of Power. Jeff's solo CD, Armchair Theatre came out only a summer before, and was similarly "stripped down" in sound (still a strong effort). Yes, it seemed that all of the trademarks of the classic mid-70's ELO sound were in place on many cuts off ELO Part II. Cascading string runs, layered harmony vocal arrangements...many sung in a falsetto, above average chord changes, Humor, songs that were corny in some respects, but we loved them for it! Even a nod to Jeff's "nod" to the Orbison style ("For the Love Of A Woman"'s quasi Spanish setting in the verse). Some may claim that this is simply an album of imitation, and it is true to a degree. However, those millions of musicians who take elements of Beatles Brilliance, distill it into great songs of their own might be just as guilty. In my opinion, I am glad for groups like 10cc, Ambrosia, Cheap Trick (who also love ELO), Badfinger, Raspberries and countless others who took a certain sonic ball and ran with it. There are some weak songs on here: "Every Night" just makes me cringe with the "slam-bam, alakazam" line, but I wouldn't change it because it is that corny element that makes it succeed. Eric Troyer is particularly good on this album. He seems to know how to push the ELO buttons and summon elements of the band's sound compositionally. Pete Haycock, alumni from Climax Blues Band, will sound familiar to anyone who enjoyed his smooth vocals on their hit, "I Love You". Louis Clark added his "strange magic" to the overall sound with his wonderfully dramatic string arrangements. He is to ELO what David Palmer is to Jethro Tull: A brilliant classical musician working in a pop format. Kelly and Mick (vintage era ELO bandmates) later joined as full-time members, with Kelly's voice being a secret weapon for sure! All in all, I would advise the listener to enjoy this collection of sounds and songs for what it is: a knowing nod to a different era and writing style that was a refreshing change for 1990-1991. Well done indeed!

This is the REAL ELO!.......2006-02-14

Just listen to Jeff Lynne's latest...Zoom. A far cry from what the name of the band indicates (referring to the "Orchestra"). Lynne barely knows how to compose and seems trapped in the '70s (as is evident in the Zoom album). I don't recall hearing any strings in any of the songs on Zoom (including those songs that are supposed to have them; I think there was one).

Electric Light Orchestra II is the definitive ELO as they put the "O" in ELO. Real orchestration (and I can't be more emphatic about that), great harmonies in instruments and vocals, and just an all out great composition on every piece of work. Even the not-so-good songs far outdo Jeff Lynne's work.

I'd like to see ELO II put another album out and let Sony see how much better they do than Jeff Lynne with his weak Zoom album.

Forget Jeff Lynne when listening..........2005-06-11

First off, look at all the bad reviews for this album, and band for that matter. What do they ALL have in common? "This band isn't ELO without Jeff Lynne", "ELO without Jeff Lynne is ELO Part nothing" just to quote a few. These guys actually have more right to the name ELO than Jeff did with Zoom. Zoom was Jeff Lynne doing practically everything in an album that doesn't sound like ELO on most of the tracks. The only member of ELO on Zoom besides Jeff was Richard Tandy, on only ONE song. ELO Part II's debut has two members, Bev Bevan, the drummer of ELO who help found the band with Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood in 1971 as a side project of their other band, the Move. Bev was a member of the Move before Jeff was. Louis Clark, who conducted and with Lynne and Tandy arranged the strings of ELO begining with "Eldorado" and ending with "Time". On "Secret Messages", Louis Clark arranges and conducts the strings without Lynne or Tandy. Finally, there was some who used the fact that Jeff Lynne never sued ELO Part II as a point not to buy anything from ELO Part II and this is Bev Bevan simply using the good ELO name to make money. Not true... ...not even close. Before Part II formed, Bev and Jeff had a long legal battle. The result was that Jeff recieved 50% of the profit from ELO Part II's first two albums and that Bev's ELO had to be distinguished from the original. That's why Part II is at the end of the name. If Bev was trying to make money, 50% of all profit going to someone not even in the band is a bad way to make money. Jeff could have sued for royalties when ELO Part II performed his songs live, but he choose not to. There's enough bad blood between him and Bevan now, why make the situation worse for when they finally do reunite.
Now that all of that is out of the way, into the album. The album starts of with "Hello Hello", which is short and infectious. Then the album dives into "Honest Men", probably the best song of the album. Here Eric Troyer songwriting shines as well as Louis Clark's arranging skills as the lush orchestral sound recalls "Eldorado". From there it goes to the catchy "Every Night". The strong vocal harmonies are the highlight of the song. "Once Upon a Time" recalls ELO at their height. Then ELO Part II cranks it up a notch with "Heartbreaker". Its a harder song that reminds me of "Ma-ma-ma Belle". This is probably what ELO would have sounded like if Roy Wood had never left the band. Eric Troyer and Louis Clark shine again with "Thousand Eyes". This song reminds me of the "Eldorado" days of ELO. "For the Love of a Woman", "Kiss Me Red", and "Heart of Hearts" are all infectious with their charms. In my opinion, the weakest song is the last, "Easy Street". But it too has some good qualities.
The bottom line is to forget the bad reviews. If the fact Jeff Lynne is not part of the album and they're using the ELO name, don't thin of Lynne, forget him. This band is much better. In the Jeff Lynne's ELO, there was no teamwork. ELO Part II shines. I also recommend that you pick up "Moment of Truth" as Kelly Groucutt and Mik Kaminski join the band and give it even more right to the ELO name than Lynne with Zoom. I also recommend "One Night-Live in Australia." This may be a good introductory album to anyone unfamiliar with Part II. They perform their own music (some of which is unavailable on any studio albums) and classics from the ELO days. When it comes to the ELO songs like "Do Ya", you don't really miss Jeff Lynne's voice, because Kelly Groucutt's voice was doubled with Jeff's on most songs. And if you buy the Live at Wembley DVD, you will see that Lynne and Groucutt sing most songs together, and when they don't, they alternate the lead vocals verse to verse. So Groucutt would sing those songs even if Jeff was with the band. Just give these guys a chance. I think you'll enjoy them.

One Third of the ORIGINAL band!.......2005-05-31

This one's worth a listen. Don't listen to the JEFF LYNNE fanboys. BEV BEVAN has been in this band since pre-ELO (THE MOVE) days. As another reviewr stated, this is way better than Zoom. At any rate, check the sound samples yourself.

Electric Light Orchestra Part Two 3 Cd Box Set

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Electric Light Orchestra Part Two 3 Cd Box Set
Electiric Light Orchestra
Manufacturer: Charly Licensing APS
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000LFFBVC

Product Description

Triple Treasure 3 CD Box set recorded LIVE without Jeff Lynn. #1 Disc - Strange Magic #2 Disc - Standing in the Rain #3 DIsc - Once Upon A Time all Live recording during tours from 1991.

Average customer rating:

Part Two

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000057AA1
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Album Description

1991 release from Electric Light Orchestra Part Two without Jeff Lynne. Telstar.

Average customer rating:

Electric Light Orchestra Lite
Mostly pleasant...some peaks and valleys
It's ELO with Medium Sauce
Is there life after Jeff Lynne?
Not bad, but is it really ELO?

Electric Light Orchestra Part Two
ELO Part II
Manufacturer: Bmg Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

General | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000000U53
Release Date: 1991-06-11

Tracks:

Hello
Honest Men
Every Night
Once Upon A Time
Heartbreaker
Thousand Eyes
For The Love Of A Woman
Kiss Me Red
Heart Of Hearts
Easy Street

Customer Reviews:

Electric Light Orchestra Lite.......2005-03-25

Electric Light Orchestra traces its history to the 1960s. In the 70s ELO's music and public taste matched, and the group had a string of successful albums. By the end of the 70s public interest in the group began to wane, and it was apparent that ELO's time had passed. Jeff Lynne left the group in 1986. Since Jeff Lynne would not rejoin ELO, the reformed group released "Electric Light Orchestra Part Two" in 1990. Perhaps the group should have called itself "A Group Who Sorta Sounds like ELO, But Not Quite," because while there are similarities in the style, and even a few good songs, ELO this is not.

The opening track seems to be a hello to ELO fans. "Hello" is a relatively trivial song that ends up sounding more like the Beatles or Herman's Hermits than ELO. I could speak further about the lack of depth and inspiration, but instead I will class this song as one of the throwaway songs on this CD.

The second track is perhaps the best song on the entire CD. "Honest Men" is about as close as this CD comes to classic ELO. The highly orchestrated music is well done, and I would classify this song as a very good song, and worthy of being considered an ELO song. The lyrics are admittedly just a tad trite, but I like the science fiction implications of the song. When I read the words I think of "Star Trek" rather than "Star Wars" because of the Earth orientation of the song. Had Jeff Lynne participated in this song, it would have been just a bit better.

The third track is mediocre derivative rock. "Every Night" sounds too much like cookie-cutter big hair rock of the 80s. This song would have been interchangeable with the music of any of a dozen 80s groups that churned out forgettable songs. The music itself is not all that bad, just not very good. The lyrics, on the other hand, are just bad. I think this song was hidden between two much better songs hoping the magic would wear off. Call this one filler.

Another good song is "Once Upon a Time." The music is fair, with several moments of inspiration, but the lyrics are some of the better lyrics on this CD. There are some interesting strings, but the music of this song still comes out only as a bit better than average for ELO.

"Heartbreaker" starts off with a lot of potential, but it ends up sounding too much like big hair band music of the 80s. I really enjoyed the line "Rain (falling from the skies, falling from your eyes)," until it was repeated the sixth, seventh, eighth and then ninth times. Somewhere along the line the line, which is the best part of this song, is abused, and then it becomes tedious. This song can be categorized as the way to not exploit a good lyrical and musical concept.

After the last two songs another good song is welcomed. "Thousand Eyes" has enough flavor and flair of ELO to be listenable multiple times. There are good harmonies in this song that make it enjoyable. The lyrics have some complexity and a touch of fantasy, and while portions of the music reveal 80s roots, there are good songs from every era, and this one is another of the better songs on this CD. Consider also that Eric Troyer, the author of this song, also wrote "Honest Men," which, as noted above, I also consider to be very good.

Yet another good Eric Troyer song is "For the Love of a Woman." Eric has an excellent style and feel for ELO's style. This powerful pop song owes a stylistic singing nod to Roy Orbison. Enough said about this song.

"Kiss Me Red" is just atrocious. Elimination of this cheesy song, which sounds like something sung by a group of wannabes rather than a professional rock group, and "Every Night" might have kicked the quality of this album up another notch. The CD would have been shorter, but shorter good is much better than longer with garbage like this song. Program your CD player to pass this one over.

At first "Heart of Hearts" had a Cars' flavor. Then the song changed into something more reminiscent of Survivor, but again not quite; maybe Survivor with a bit of Alan Parson's influence. While the style is clearly 80s, this song is reasonably good, though this Eric Troyer song is still less than some of the better songs that Eric provided earlier on this CD.

The final song starts off with a lot of promise, and just as quickly fizzles into derivative rock. The pseudo-power of this song is all bark and no bite, and you long to dig your old Kiss records out of the box, or Black Sabbath from the Ozzie years, just to get this noise out of your ears. Forget this song; it belongs with "Kiss Me Red" and "Every Night" as songs that should have remained in the box.

The question I always ask is: Knowing what I know now, would I buy this CD again? What if I were an ELO fan? I would not purchase this CD. There are several good songs, but nothing I consider essential. I would make a higher recommendation to a die-hard ELO fan, because several of these songs are ELO-worthy. There is too much chaff in this wheat. Go back to the earlier ELO albums for much better music.

Mostly pleasant...some peaks and valleys.......2004-11-20

The big question here is whether or not this CD merits an association with the ELO name. As such, the "Part Two" is a warning to those looking for Jeff Lynne but who will not find him here. Frankly, I consider this to be a pretty good Electric Light Orchestra *tribute* album, and on several cuts, they acheive a powerful and pleasing sound. Certainly, the involvement of Sir Louis Clark with orchestral arrangements, along with appearances by Hugh McDowell and Mik Kaminski help with the "ELO connection." Drummer Bev Bevan, one of ELO's founding members, does his usual stellar work bashing the skins, and he has assembled a fairly decent outfit here. Eric Troyer (keyboards and vocals) is perhaps the best of the lot, contributing some strong songs and a definite fondness for the old-school Jeff Lynne sound. Pete Haycock (Climax Blues Band) on guitars and vocals is a fine practitioner of pop/rock, and makes a fine addition. Only guitartist/vocalist Neil Lockwood really sticks out like a sore thumb here...while he is obviously a fairly skilled rocker, he doesn't seem to fit into the ELO ethos at all, sad to say. Producer Jeff Glixman, one of the best guys to have behind the boards, may or may not be well-suited to the ELO sound...the follow-up LIVE WITH THE MOSCOW SYMPHONY album makes better use of Glixman's skills. That said, here are the highlights:

"Honest Men" - Stellar tune with huge orchestral sound, great vocal arrangements

"Thousand Eyes" - Excellent Troyer contribution, melodic and innovative

"Heart of Hearts" - Mid-tempo rocker, well played..."grows on you"

"Once Upon a Time" - Pete Haycock crafts a very pleasant and wistful song of lost love...nice string arrangements here

"For the Love of a Woman" - Another strong Troyer song, with good string and choral arrangements

Beyond those songs, it gets a bit more tepid, though not awful. However, there are two stinkers: The absolute nadir is "Every Night," for which we can thank Mr. Lockwood. It's utterly cheesy and offensive lyrically, a triumph of unimagination. The music grinds and drones on like a bad 80s video game soundtrack. "Kiss Me Red" is pretty lame as well with a very dorky, clumsy arrangement and pitiful lyrics. Roll over Jeff Lynne, and tell Roy Wood the news.

Over all, this is not a bad album...it's just not very good. It should not have been called "Electric Light Orchestra" and the "Part Two" just seems confusing. Why not give it an original name? Ah yes, two words: easy money. I would rate this as 2.5 stars, but my fondness for "Honest Men" makes me round up to a 3. If you don't expect Jeff Lynne, you can probably enjoy most of this CD for what it is.

It's ELO with Medium Sauce.......2003-07-26

I have loved ELO since their inception. Obviously, it's not the same without Jeff Lynne writing the songs and turning the knobs. But, these guys are real pros. "Honest Men" is a great song that I listen to over and over. "Kiss Me Red" has it's own sound that resembles ELO, but stands on it's own with the personalities of the current band lineup. It's a nice song. The rest of the songs are good too. The hooks are there. The string arrangements are there. There a couple of songs on this release that sound like a softer late-80's heavy metal band. Sure, Jeff Lynne was the heart and soul of ELO, but the other band members know their craft. If you like ELO, you'll like this just fine. The ELO flavor is there. It's maybe just a tad different.

Is there life after Jeff Lynne?.......1999-05-10

Well, it depends on what you want. If you're looking for the Beatlesque sound Lynne brought to the original lineup, forget it--he's discovered rockabilly, sometimes with Tom Petty. Likewise forget it if you're seeking the Bee Gees clone sound present in the originals' "Out Of the Blue". This bunch does modern rock'n'roll, as you might expect from there being some younger dudes in the lineup, with fiddle man Mik Kanminsky's familiar string arrangements in there to keep old fans like me interested. The secret is not to expect an H.G. Wells time machine thing--years have a nasty habit of changing things, you know?

Not bad, but is it really ELO?.......1999-04-25

Bev Bevan, the powerful drummer for the original Electric Light Orchestra as well as the Move, launched what was dubbed "The Electric Light Orchestra PART TWO" in 1991. Bev was the only original member in the lineup, though ELO stalwarts Mik Kaminski and Hugh McDowell make appearances and Sir Lou Clark ably handles the rich orchestration. Otherwise, it's really difficult to consider this an "ELO" product. That said, the album has some fine moments. Consider "Honest Men," a lushly arranged and orchestrated song by new member Eric Troyer. This song and Troyer's lovely tune "Thousand Eyes" are definitely worthy of the ELO moniker, and are the highlights on this set.

"Heart of Hearts" is an effective mid-tempo rocker in the Alan Parsons mode and features more fine vocal arrangements. "Once Upon a Time" and "For the Love of a Woman" are very likable and feature some sweet swinging strings. "Heartbreaker" (a tamer "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle") is a fairly well-done rocker, with a good "rain" reference--which, by law, must be mentioned on any ELO album! Mik adds a sizzling violin solo that lifts the song beyond average.

Allow me a moment of negativity..."Every Night" is part of a trilogy (along with "Whiskey Girls" from MOMENT OF TRUTH and "Ain't Necessarily So" from ONE NIGHT LIVE) of the absolute worst songs ever associated with ELO. It's amazing how many lyrical and musical cliches the band was able to fit into three minutes. Absolute putridity. "Kiss Me Red" is almost as bad, at least lyrically. "Easy Street" is pedestrian and a dead end. "Hello" is cute, but is undeveloped and thin...might would have been more appropriate to have Bev take the vocals on that one.

Jeff Glixman is a superb producer...I love his work with Kansas. Here, he does a great job with what he has to work with, though his style is not always compatible with the ELO sound. Lou Clark...what can you say? He saves this project absolutely with his superb orchestral arranging. The strings haven't sounded this good for ELO since 1977. ELO Part Two was a name designed to capitalize on the past, but thank goodness, at least a few cuts here actually make the grade.

Part Two [Japan Import] [1st Press]
Average customer rating:
Part Two [Japan Import] [1st Press]
Electric Light Orchestra , E.L.O. , and ELO
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000LA1TYU

Product Description

Out of print first pressing from Japan, on Alfa records Japan (ALCB-275). 10 tracks in total.

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Extensions

1. Hello
2. Honest Men
3. Every Night
4. Once upon a Time
5. Heartbreaker
6. Thousand Eyes
7. For the Love of a Woman
8. Kiss Me Red
9. Heart of Hearts
10. Easy Street