The songs on this record aren't quite the bouncy pop that was to come in later years, but the sound of the band has progressed significantly. You could almost call this the first ELO album. No sooner had I typed this sentence than I read a quote from Jeff in 1974 that said, "Just pretend it's the first one we ever made."
Opening track "Ocean Breakup" is a short instrumental that could fool you into thinking this ELO album was merely a continuation of the self indulgent cello driven prog-rock of old. However, "King of the Universe" rings the changes as not only is it a good song, but the fidelity of the recording is superior to anything that has gone before. In the background there are a number of noises that sound like they were derived from messing about with the tape and I'm not entirely convinced they are intentional.
One of my personal favourites on this record is "Bluebird Is Dead" which is a melancholic song that also succeeds as a catchy pop song. Following a brief introduction by the string section, "Oh no not Susan" progresses into a tale of a woman whose wealth does not satisfy. As we segue into "New World Rising" there's some great synth work by Richard Tandy but the strings still sound a little thin. As this is a UK pressing this track marks the end of side one but the US were treated to the fantastic single "Showdown".
Instrumental "Daybreaker" opens side two but it is a little self indulgent and continues to hark back to prog-rock sensibilities which plague ELO's early work. The cobwebs are blown away with the catchy rock/pop crossover "Ma-ma-ma Belle" which is an obvious choice for a single. "Dreaming of 4000" is a bit ponderous and lacks the hooks and motifs that distinguish Jeff's best work. A rather lacklustre version of Greig's "In The Hall of the Mountain King" is somehow stung out to six and a half minutes and was probably more successful live than it was in recorded form. As the debut of the new ELO this is a promising debut. I'm just glad those cellos have gone. 3/5
