This album, recorded at Long Beach Auditorium on May 12, 1974, appeared as a limited release in a handful of countries in the mid-1970s, and showed up as a remastered, somewhat improved LP in 1985. But this marks its debut as a compact disc, made from the upgraded 1980s master. The resulting CD is, for starters, really, really loud, a far cry from the muddy sound of the original LP. Additionally, the band -- who had no time even for a soundcheck due to various delays -- is unusually raw and spirited, as though a highly animated show could compensate for any probable defects in the tuning and timing. They needn't have worried, although the resulting performance is ferocious, like little else the band ever delivered. Further, a range of detail in the playing can be heard on this CD that was obscured on the original LP. As for the repertory, it's all rooted in the group's first three albums -- "Daybreaker" (with Bev Bevan's drums sounding like they're practically in your lap, and the rest of the band equivalently close), "Showdown" and "In the Hall of the Mountain King" are juxtaposed with "10538 Overture" and robust covers of "Day Tripper," "Orange Blossom Special" (with a Mik Kaminski solo violin spot) and "Great Balls of Fire," with the band's version of "Roll Over Beethoven" as the finale. This disc predates ELO's emergence as a major international act by perhaps a year, and captures them doing the material upon which their basic sound was formed and cast. Lynne's sinewy guitar playing, in particular, is extraordinary, and the digital master brings it all the way up front, and Bev Bevan's lunatic rolls and fills on "Roll Over Beethoven" might've made even Keith Moon a little dizzy. The band also manages to have fun with their own history, while anticipating their future, integrating a quotation from what was then exclusively a Move song, "Do Ya," into their version of "10538 Overture." It makes the song and the album. ~ Bruce Eder
Reissue of E.L.O.'s 1974 live album for the United Artistslabel, 'The Nights The Lights Went Out In Long Beach'.Features the famous line-up of Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan & co.performing their greatest up to that point, including'Showdown' & '10538 Overture', plus covers of 'Roll OverBeethoven', 'Great Balls Of Fire' and 'Day Tripper'. Seventracks total, all remastered & featuring Super Bit Mapping.Four of the cuts are restored full length versions that wereedited on the original vinyl. The full title is 'The NightThe Light Went On (In Long Beach)'. 1998 Epic release.
Recording information: Long Beach Auditorium (05/12/1974).
Personnel: Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer); Richard Tandy (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer); Michael d'Albuquerque (vocals, bass guitar, background vocals); Bev Bevan (vocals, drums, percussion); Mik Kaminski (violin); Hugh McDowell, Mike Edwards (cello).
(*) MP3 for this song is from a different CD. Listen to the sound sample to be sure this is the version you're looking for.
Night The Lights Went On (In Long Beach) Music Review
Customer Night The Lights Went On (In Long Beach) Reviews
Average Rating: (5 out of 5 stars)
The Night the Lights went out I bought the original vinyl back in the 70's. It was a very difficult album to obtain, but well worth getting. This is a difinitive album for ELO. The new remastering is some of the best that I have ever heard. I still own the original album and I am amazed at some of the edited parts that were removed from the original cut. Roll over Beethoven is a masterfull piece to listen to in this live version from the Hollywood Bowl. Submitted by thewebdancer1 (Forsyth, MO, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 3 of 3 found this helpful.
Great Recording This recording is vastly superior to any other "live" recording from the band. And, I believe that this is the only offical live album release from the group. Great original songs here as well as the covers, the music is enthusiastic throughout, band at their peak, both live and studio. This is a great listen and should be appealing to even the fans of the very pop Discovery and Xanadu albums,a must for the hardcore or early ELO followers. Submitted by rojomusicfan (Mississippi, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 2 of 2 found this helpful.
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