ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA - Koln, Germany 1981

Appreciate all the kind comments, readers! Always good to hear from you and know you're out there digging what we do here...

Been on something of an ELO tear lately, as is my occasional tendency. Thought I'd add to my previously posted Boston '76 and Osaka '78 live boots with this one from the Time tour of 1981-'82. Time is a sorely underrated album, silly sci-fi time-travel "concept" or not, and in my opinion the band's last gasp of greatness. Sure, Jeff Lynne replaced sweeping orchestration with cheezy '80s synths, but the songs are all pretty wonderful and some are flat-out magnificent. This performance nicely represents hits both old and new, with a generous sampling of the best Time tracks. Lynne's way with a memorable melody was as strong as ever on Time; too bad by that time not many still cared, at least among record buyers. But the band was still a major live draw from the sound of things here.

Speaking of sound, I'll come out and admit that the audio on this one isn't quite up to the standards of those prior boots. But for a band as underrepresented by quality live recordings, official or otherwise, as ELO -- damn those studio perfectionists! -- we'll take what we can get, yes?

And those who continue to dismiss Lynne as too much of a slickster should remember that only three producers ever worked with the Beatles: George Martin, Phil Spector, and Jeff Lynne.

ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA
"Twilight"
Sporthalle - Koln, Germany - March 2, 1982 (AUD @320 kbps)
DOWNLOAD 1 / DOWNLOAD 2

Cheers to the great and powerful Viva Les Bootlegs.

Now, one more time...
Go! You Packers GO!