#993 Electric Light Orchestra - The Night the Light Went on in Long Beach

Reverence for the past is part and parcel of prog, but normally it's all the way to the way back: some grasp at classical music's unassailable legitimacy. This live album's got reverence, but first and foremost for rock's origins, complete with a Jerry Lee Lewis cover, a Beatles cover, and a Chuck Berry cover (the nose-thumbing Roll Over Beethoven). But then, also In the Hall of the Mountain King, Orange Blossom Special, and a full on violin solo. All told, only about half of the album's songs are originals, making for a kaliedescopic musical experience, all expertly performed, all strangely brewed, all in defiance that genre matters all that much, positing that rock raucousness and classical intricacy can stand on equal footing.

The resulting actual listen, mission statement aside, is uneven, disjointed, and reasonably exciting despite it, with the proggy originals providing a squirrelly backbone. You're not sure ELO even really knew what they were doing, but the flailing's a heck of a thing to hear 3.5/5