A bizarre album that slips out from under you again and again, indulging directly in classical and rock influences without quite stirring them into prog proper, leaving parts hanging in suspension. Bombastic strings here, audacious guitar solos there, all summed up pretty well by the 7 minute version of Roll Over Beethoven, complete with actual fifth symphony opening. You don't even have to hear it: just that concept tells you everything you need to know about this record.
It's clear that Jeff Lynne is a music genius of some stripe, but this is a strange straddling, flirting with pop without making a proper woman of it, indulging in various influences without fully assimilating them. The result is a lumpy, mysterious object, songs lurching to and fro without any obvious underlying method, while suggesting a non-obvious underlying method; never making themselves clear nor staking a claim to intending to be difficult. This is a perfect embodiment of why ELO is a band I persistently respect more than I enjoy 3.5/5
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