Electric Light Orchestra - ELO's Greatest Hits (1979)

GREATEST HITS WEEK (JANUARY 17-23, 2011)

My first ELO purchase was 1979's Discovery (or "Disco? Very!", as hardcore fans sometimes refer to it), but I was familiar with most of the songs on this compilation because they were all over the radio during the '70s. I'm disappointed that they chose not to include 1977's single Do Ya (#24, 1977), which is one of the band's better songs.

Album chart peaks:

• US Billboard Top 200: #30
• CashBox: #30
• Rolling Stone: #42

Tracks:

Song	Year	US	UK
Evil Woman	1975	10	10
Livin' Thing	1976	13	4
Can't Get It Out Of My Head	1974	9	52
Showdown	1973	59	12
Turn To Stone	1977	13	18
Rockaria!	1977	-	9
Sweet Talkin' Woman	1978	17	6
Telephone Line	1977	7	8
Ma-Ma-Ma Belle	1974	-	22
Strange Magic	1976	14	38
Mr. Blue Sly	1978	35	6

I was previously unfamiliar with Showdown, Rockaria!, and Ma-Ma-Ma Belle, probably because they weren't playing on my radio, but all the familiar hits are here. I can't explain because I don't feel this way today, but I never liked the song Telephone Line in the '70s, to the point I would change the radio station if it came on (and it came on a lot.) Mr. Blue Sky is probably my favorite ELO song, rivaling even music from the movie Xanadu. ;)

Exclusive CD longbox photo courtesy of
Dirk Digglinator of the Hambonian Archives.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Most songs remind me of dry, hot '70s summers in Odessa, except for Mr. Blue Sky, which always reminds me of a wet, cold high school band bus in Austin for the UIL State Marching Band Contest in November, 1980:

One of my earliest memories of mistaking lyrics (a mondegreen) comes from Evil Woman when I misunderstood the "E-evil woman" of the chorus. I thought they were singing "Medieval woman" which I suppose wouldn't be the stupidest lyric ever, but pretty close.