ELO Compilations, Greatest Hits and Best Of
albums issued World Wide in the 1980's
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In association with Patrik Guttenbacher - Face The Music Germany, presented here is a discography of Electric Light Orchestra compilation LPs & CDs issued world wide in the 1980's along with information/description on each release.
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Vinyl LPs plus later released CDs/MDs are listed along with the countries there were issued in, example front covers, LP labels and CDs are also shown. Please see the countries listed on the main menu above for full catalogue numbers/details/issue variants.
Click a album cover below to be taken to the release information and details.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
ELO Greatest Hits Vol 2
1980
CBS
LP - Promo Ecuador
LP - Ecuador
A Side:
Last Train To London
On the Run
Don’t’ Bring Me Down
Wishing
Midnight Blue
B Side:
Tightrope
Do Ya
Shine A Little Love
It’s Over
Confusion
Missing From My Collection
CBS Ecuador do the whole hog. After the November 1979 release of "ELO's Greatest Hits" they go one better in 1980 with "ELO's Greatest Hits Vol. II". The Promotional copies of the 333-0020, Subno. S-6880-CBS 12, featured a "Promotional Disco" endless-lettering on the labels, but the regular Lables are in unicolor orange.
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All songs included in their Albums versions. Only the Intro of Tightrope faded-in circa 15 seconds later, and Shine A Little Love is the Single version without Choir Intro. As a completion to "ELO's Greatest Hits" the album offers seven of the nine tracks from "Discovery" and therefore all four Hit-Singles.
With It's Over and Do Ya two more singles, which don't have found their way to "ELO's Greatest Hits" are subsequent filied, plus Tightrope. The concept of a sequel would have been fulfilled not before 1992 with the regular "ELO's Greatest Hits Volume 2" release.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
Os Melhorses Momentos
1981
Epic Records
LP - Brazil
A Side:
Confusion
Shine A Little Love
Midnight Blue
On The Run
Don't Bring Me Down
B Side:
Last Train To London
So Fine
Livin' Thing
Do Ya
Tightrope
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(Album Versions)
Epic Brazil was unable to licence a release of the American box set "A Box Of Their Best", and decided instead to release "their best" tracks on one single LP. "Os Melhores Momentos", Epic 144.435.A
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With six songs from the "Discovery" album, it was a fine addition to "ELO's Greatest Hits", because apart from Livin' Thing there are no overlapping titles,
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
The Best Of ELO
1981
Telly Disc
LP – UK
A1 Side:
Eldorado Overture
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Livin' Thing
Evil Woman
Steppin' Out
A2 Side:
Turn To Stone
Strange Magic
Shine A Little Love
Do Ya
Mr. Blue Sky
B1 Side:
Tightrope
Wild West Hero
Confusion
Don't Bring Me Down
Shangri-La
B2 Side
Rockaria!
The Diary Of Horace Wimp
Last Train To London
Telephone Line
Sweet Talkin' Woman
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​(Album Versions, except A4, B2 without orchestra intro; B3 without choir intro; B5 without radio tuning intro)
The British record company Telly Disc, was a kind of TV-shopping company, where you could order special compilations of your beloved artists. In 1981 "The Best Of ELO" was released as TELLY 7. It was the first E.L.O. double album compilation!
Nicely compiled by Dennis Knowles in association with Jet Records and released only one and a half years after "ELO's Greatest Hits", the sampler featured all five hit singles from "Discovery" plus another six E.L.O. Songs, which weren't on any UK compilation before.
The liner notes on the inside sleeve mentioned about the success of E.L.O., the biographies of the band members, which noted for the first time Jeff's second daughter. A short review mentioned the spaceship tour and its concert movie from 1978. Worth to notice is that the line up presented the band until mid 1981 with Hugh McDowell and Melvyn Gale!
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
Collection Electric Light Orchestra
1981
Harvest
LP – Europe (diff rear sleeve)
LP – Germany
A Side:
Roll Over Beethoven
Whisper In The Night
Queen Of The Hours
10538 Overture
B Side:
Showdown
From The Sun To The World
In Old England Town
First Movement
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(Album Versions, except B2 UK Album Version 6:56)
Despite the German editions of all the UK Harvest albums, the German EMI / Electrola company started with a solo run in spring 1981, although the last Harvest album was just released two years before. "Collection" 1 C 028-05 698, included the same tracks as the compilation "Showdown", but in a different running order.
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The front sleeve used a picture, taken in Japan "Wonderland" Park, from the 1978 world tour. Apart from the song titles the sleeve backside included some advertisements for other albums of the Collection series.
In 1982 a second edition of "Collection" was released, which was this time stated as an EU pressing (made in EEC), and included on the sleeve back side still more ads for the new artists in that by then now increased Collection series.
Surely a still more unnecessarily Harvest album, as its three predecessors, but back in 1981 "Collection" made a fresh impression in the record shops, and was bought because of the high well knowness of E.L.O. with "Discovery" and "Xanadu"
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
Electric Light Orchestra
1982
Harvest
LP – Belguim
A Side:
Roll Over Beethoven
Whisper In The Night
Queen Of The Hours
10538 Overture
B Side:
Showdown
From The Sun To The World
In Old England Town
First Movement
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(Album Versions, except B2 UK Album Version 6:56)
The Belgium EMI "Music For Pleasure" range released in 1982 the German "Collection", with the misguiding title "Electric Light Orchestra" at Sounds Superb. 4M 036-05698. Compared to German issue, only the sleeve fonts were altered.
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Because of the common EU market, the LP was also available in German for a discount price, lower than "Collection". No one would have assumed the fact, that such a low-price remake it was issued with a different LP mastering, than on "Collection
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
Electric Light Orchestra
1982
Suprahon
LP – Czechoslovakia
A Side:
Livin' Thing
Do Ya
Turn To Stone
Sweet Talkin' Woman
It's Over
Telephone Line
B Side:
Shine A Little Love
Mr. Blue Sky
Don't Bring Me Down
Confusion
Last Train To London
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(Album Versions, except B2 without radio tuning intro) All tracks were included in their album versions.
Supraphon, the state-own label of the by then communistic Czechoslovakia, released a ELO compilation 1982. Entitled just "Electric Light Orchestra", the album 1113 3098 ZN, featured only hits from 1976 to 1979.
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The front sleeve has a photo from the Hold On Tight video sessions, the backside included liner notes featuring the bands career in the Czechoslovakia language and reported about the history of Move and Idle Race included Do Ya, Wizard and E.L.O.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
Electric Light Orchestra - Super Best
1983
Jet/CBS/Sony
Tape Cassette – Japan
A Side:
Twilight
Last Train To London
Don't Bring Me Down
Sweet Talkin' Woman
Telephone Line
Need Her Love
The Diary Of Horace Wimp
Your's Truly, 2095
The Way Life's Meant To Be
Turn To Stone
Rockaria!
B Side:
Shine A Little Love
Hold On Tight
Confusion
Rain Is Falling
Midnight Blue
On The Run
Mr. Blue Sky
Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
Strange Magic
Livin' Thing
Evil Woman
Missing From My Collection
The only E.L.O.-Album which was released only as a Music Cassette, was released in 1983, prior to "Secret Messages" in Japan, entitled: "ELO Super Best" from Jet, CBS/Sony 36KP 955 (JT).
In Japan cassettes did not get not such an neglected treatment, as in the rest of the world. All regular studio-album cassettes got a double fold out insert, which could be wrapped around the plastic housing and included a multiple folded thin paper sheet with the full album-credits and the lyrics, so no information from the LP-Album was missing.
After the outstanding success from "Time" in Japan and in expectation of a new studio-album, Sony released "ELO Super Best", a compilation album with 90:30 minutes playing-time. It was released, like in the format of the early 80’s only in the Cassette-format. The plastic cassette case was wrapped with a full-colour cardboard slipcase, which features a subsequently coloured band-picture from the “Time" photo sessions.
The white MC-case included a cardboard insert with the black & white picture with blue fonts and a fold-out flap with ads. The white cassette itself featured an orange Label with the title-running. A 4-times folded 10“ insert sheet listed the the song titels in English. There were no Japanese Liner-notes or further information about the group.
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The 22 tracks were lifted from the albums "Discovery" (8 Songs – all except Wishing!), 5 songs from "Time", 3 from "A New World Record", 3 from "Out Of The Blue, 2 from "Face The Music", and 1 from "On The Third Day". All songs included in their full album versions. Evil Woman, Strange Magic withouth their orchestral interlude intro’s.
Twilight is faded-out prior the interlude and Ma-Ma-Ma Belle ended at the "ma-ma-ma-ma belle…". The album seems not to be the make the big fuss, and in the mid-80’s the spook of "Cassette only"-releases were yet over.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
Electric Light Orchestra - 18 Greatest Hits
1984
K-Tel
LP – Australia
A Side:
Livin' Thing
Last Train To London
All Over The World
Turn To Stone
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Showdown
Rock N' Roll Is King
Evil Woman
Don't Bring Me Down
B Side:
Rockaria!
Hold On Tight
Telephone Line
Ma-Ma-Ma-Belle
Confusion
Roll Over Beethoven
Mr Blue Sky
Sweet Talkin' Woman
Shine A Little Love
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(Edited shorted Versions see notes, except B1 Album Version)
K-Tel Australia released in 1984. together with Jet Records on their famous blue Jet-Labels "18 Greatest Hits".
The compilation with the simple but impressive sleeve and the catalogue number NA 674 featured the by then most complete collection of E.L.O. songs, because there are songs from every studio album with the exception of the first album. K-Tel could only include 18 tracks on a vinyl record; by shorten the songs, as K-Tel always did, most of it in a very successful way.
Livin' Thing 3:14, with cuts in the last chorus and in the end part. At Last Train To London 3:14 the synthi solo was cut. All Over The World 3:20 missed the third stanza.
At Turn To Stone 3:27 the third chorus was missed, so the song ended as usual with the forth chorus. Can't Get It Out Of My Head 4:07, only has a cut in the solo part. Showdown 3:55 has its in the last few seconds during Jeff's end singing sequence cut.
Rock'n'Roll Is King 2:57, started without the short intro bit, and have its cut in the repeating of the 'ramalama' of the last stanza. It also featured a few seconds of the "Secret Messages" album outro.
Evil Woman 3:45 started with the strings intro of the album and went after the second stanza directly in the 'he-he-hey' chorus. The whole middle part left out. Don't Bring Me Down 3:42, has its cut in the 'shakin' stanza at the 'down' line, direct to do the door slam.
Rockaria! is unedited!!! Hold On Tight 3:00 goes in the last stanza direct into the last 'dream'. Telephone Line 4:20 with complete intro, has its cut in the second chorus, so that the second last 'ah oh telephone line' is left. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle 3:28 goes in the third chorus directly in the end part and included the first tones of the Dreaming Of 4000 intro.
Confusion 3:20 have its cut during the repeat of the end part. Roll Over Beethoven 3:20 goes after the drum whirl directly in the third stanza and after 'stop' in the 'Roll Over Beethoven' end part. This is the shortest version of that song, but it sounds crippled, because it doesn't feature any instrumental solo.
Mr. Blue Sky 3:40 without radio speaker introduction and the loss of the second 'hey there' parts, as well as the concerto outro. Sweet Talkin' Woman 3:28 missed the solo violin after the third chorus. Shine A Little Love 3:40 without choir intro, the first cut after 14 seconds and another in the end after the last chorus.
Most of the cuts you don't notice during the first listening, because K-Tel always tried to use the common original fade-outs of the songs.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
It's Rock 'N Roll By E.L.O
1984
CBS
LP - Brazil
A Side:
Last Train To London
All Over The World
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Do Ya
Living Thing
Eldorado
B Side:
Xanadu
I'm Alive
Evil Woman
Strange Magic
Blue Bird
Laredo Tornado
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(Album Versions, except A6 fade-out; B3, B4 without orchestra intro; B6 with fade in following track)
In Brazil Opus / Columbia released in 1984 as CBS licence product the compilation "It's Rock'n'Roll By E.L.O." So extravagant was the very modern cover design plus it's the track listing.
Most notable is the inclusion of the until then banned "Xanadu" tracks I'm Alive and Xanadu. Note also the high amount of "Eldorado" tracks, and the song Bluebird from the "Secret Messages" album. The tracks are all in their album versions. Of course Evil Woman and Strange Magic are without the string interludes. The Song Eldorado will fade circa 20 seconds prior the end, and Laredo Tornado ended with the intro of Poor Boy (The Greenwood)
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
ELO - Perfect World Of Music
1985
Jet Records
LP + CD – Germany
LP - Spain
CD - Europe
A Side:
Roll Over Beethoven
Confusion
I'm Alive
Shine A Little Light
Twilight
Livin' Thing
Do Ya
All Over The World
B Side:
Hold On Tight
Rockaria
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Mr. Blue Sky
Turn To Stone
Don't Bring Me Down
Telephone Line
Rock And Roll Is King
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(LP edition: Album Versions, except A1, A4, A5, B7, B8 Single versions, A7, A8 short version, B4 US Single Version with fade out)
(MC edition: same as LP edition, except A7 different short version. CD edition: Album Versions, except A1, A4, A5 Single versions)
In February 1985 CBS Germany was the first to release the most comprehensive compilation album of the Electric Light Orchestra on Jet Records in Europe. After all, there were now four new studio albums released since 1979.s “Greatest Hitys”; "Discovery", "Xanadu", "Time" and "Secret Messages" and not a single track of the latter three of it were featured on an E.L.O. compilation album !!
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"A Perfect World Of Music" Jet 24 034 was as usual manufactured in Holland, but only released in Germany for the German market, which was also indicated by the last few words after the title listing on the front sleeve: "und viele mehr..." (which means "and many more"). Additional words saying "Aus der TV & Radio-Werbung" (which mean "as seen on TV and Radio"). TV-spots were not broadcasted, but the radio stations aired six different radio spots. The album featured a post card with a marketing questionnaire from the 'CBS Musik-Barometer'.
To include all the 16 titles on that LP, they used single versions of Roll Over Beethoven 4:30, Shine A Little Love 4:07 without choir intro, Twilight 3:29 with shorter fade in as on the single version, Mr. Blue Sky 4:31 without the radio tuning sounds, concerto outro and an earlier fade out, Telephone Line 4:12 without the dial tone intro and second last chorus line and Rock'n'Roll Is King 3:08 without intro and album outro, which was mistakenly listed with 3:17. Do Ya and All Over The World were additionally cut.
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On Do Ya 3:14 simply the third chorus and the third verse were cut off and the song ended directly in the "... come on now" line. On All Over The World 3:38 the third chorus was left and the song ended with the "all over the world ooh ooh ooh!" repeats. The shorten parts were not conspicuous during listening. The MC edition of "A Perfect World Of Music" included another different cut version of Do Ya, which started 9 seconds later, with the drumbeat and left the first two guitar riffs. The third chorus was still there, so only the drum whirl and the third verse are missing. The third chorus goes straight into the end chorus.
The CD edition was released a year later. It was manufactured in France, included a booklet which was printed in Holland, and released also only for the German market. On the CD edition the tracks Do Ya, All Over The World, Telephone Line and Mr. Blue Sky were featured in its album versions. An insert informed you about the changed playing times, because in the booklet the playing times of the LP edition were printed.
Apart from that, CBS used some of the album artwork elements, like front, and back sleeve clippings from "A New World Record" and the portraits of the musicians from the "Out Of The Blue" poster, to design the booklet pages. They tried to increase the CD sales with those "famous" album artworks.
Confusion, I'm Alive, Shine A Little Love, Twilight, Do Ya, All Over The World, Hold On Tight, Don't Bring Me Down and Rock'n'Roll Is King were for the first time on a Continental Sampler.
I would like to thank and credit Mark Pickering for the Spainish photos.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
ELO The Light Years
1985
CBS Direct
LP + CD – Canada
A Side:
Roll Over Beethoven
Evil Woman
Turn To Stone
Confusion
Ma-Ma-Ma-Belle
Showdown
Twilight
Hold On Tight
B Side:
Do Ya
Don’t Bring Me Down
Livn’ Thing
Telephone Line
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Sweet Talkin’ Woman
Strange Magic
Rock And Roll Is King
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(LP edition: Album Versions, except A1, A5, A7, B8 Single versions, A2, B7 without orchestra intros)
(CD edition: same as LP edition, except A1 US Album version)
In North America, only CBS Canada decided in 1985 to use the same artwork for the release of a new compilation. As the rights for the material from the album "Xanadu" lay still in the hands of MCA, they also decided to use different titles for their album "The Light Years", which was released on the CBS Direct label with the catalogue number DMB1-082.
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The album is subtitled "16 Greatest Hits", and included songs from the albums "Electric Light Orchestra II" to "Secret Messages". With nine songs released six years before, on the album "ELO's Greatest Hits", the overlapping tracks are more than on the album "A Perfect World Of Music" on which only six songs were overlapping.
So in the end, the Canadian edition was not so spectacular as its German counterpart.
The LP edition of "The Light Years" featured Roll Over Beethoven in its single version with 4:30 minutes, while the CD edition featured the album version with 8:02 playing time.
Rock'n'Roll Is King is featured in its single version with 3:08 on both formats despite label and booklet listed 3:38. All other songs included are in their albums versions, of course without the album introduction of Evil Woman, Strange Magic and Ma-Ma-Ma Belle.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
From The Sun To The World
1985
Platinum
LP - Germany
A Side:
In Old England Town
Roll Over Beethoven
B Side:
Mama
From The Sun To The World
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(Album Versions)
In the summer of 1985, a series of albums by over 50 rock performers was released in Germany, entitled "Platinum". The company Astan Music AG/Horw released as PLP 7 / 24019 by E.L.O. the compilation "From The Sun To The World".
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All songs are original full album versions. Why they only used songs from "E.L.O. 2" is much a mystery as the fact that Kuiama is missing. The records were mainly available in department stores and looked quite dubious as it bears not the usual copyright marks of the composers, authors and publishers societies like GEMA, BMI, ASCAP or STEMRA, which are all united in the BIEM umbrella organisation, but the unknown SUISSA on the red Platinum labels.
Tape copies were almost impossible to find. The brilliant cover shot was taken on their 1974 tour through Germany.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
Fantasy World Of E.L.O
1986
CBS
LP - Promo Japan
A Side:
Calling America
Sorrow About To Fall
So Serious
Getting To The Point
Endless Lies
B Side:
Last Train To London
Shine A Little Love
Hold On Tight
Telephone Line
Sweet Talkin' Woman
Confusion
Turn To Stone
Missing From My Collection
Prior to the release of "Balance Of Power" on March 21st 1986 in Japan, a compilation for promotional purposes was released with the title "Fantasy World Of E.L.O.". XDAP 93137 was released on the CBS/Sony Label and informed the press and radio about the upcoming E.L.O. album.
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The A-Side only runs 15 minutes, while the B-Side runs double the time. Except of the single version of Shine A Little Love without choir intro, all songs are represented in their albums versions.
The rear-cover has a short introduction for every song and a track listing and album credits for "Balance Of Power". As an insert, an almost A3-sized yellow artist information sheet printed in Japanese letters only, explains about the new songs in full.
A 6-page green/blue printed band biography was included. A nice tradition in Japan and done with love and care, it supplied us with another interesting compilation album.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
First Movement
1986 CD in 1987
EMI Harvest
CD – Europe
LP – Spain
CD – Japan
LP & CD - UK
A Side:
First Movement (Jumping Biz)
Look At Me Now
10538 Overture (Complete Version)
Queen Of The Hours
The Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd, 1644)
Mr Radio
B Side:
Roll Over Beethoven (Complete Version)
From The Sun To The World (Boogie No.1)
Momma
In Old England Town (Boogie No.2)
Showdown
In the summer of 1986 Harvest / EMI introduced themselves again to the E.L.O. collectors with the compilation-LP "First Movement". It had been already four years since imports of the "Collection" from 1981/82 had been in the shops. Though 1977 and 1979 had seen the previously released Harvest Material being mastered really well, EMI decided to give it another go, when "Balance Of Power" was released. "First Movement" (Harvest EMS 1128) with his new black/silver Harvest Labels was available in all EU-countries.
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The song selection was pretty close to the previous released "Showdown" album, with only Whisper In The Night being exchanged for The Battle Of Marston Moor. Mr. Radio was added for the Roll Over Beethoven Single Version. The sleeve-design was futuristic and the liner-notes of Paul Cox refer heavily on The Move and songs by other artists.
In Spain the album was released in their Fame series, with "Fama" on the front and white frame added to the artwork.
For the EEC market, 1987 saw a CD release of the album as CDP 7 46713 2.
EMI had quickly learned to take advantage of the new CD format, and changed Roll Over Beethoven 7" version for the album version, BUT although the track lists states "Complete Version" on track 8 (Roll Over Beethoven), the disc actually only plays the 7" single edit. The time is also missing on the track list inside the booklet.
Credit to Max Cawthray
Also added was Look At Me Now as track 2, Kuiama as track 7 and Momma as track 10, three songs to the LP running order.
With this release, all songs from "E.L.O. 2" were featured for the first time on one compilation album. In Japan EMI/Toshiba released their own CD of "First Movement" in 1990. As usual with Obi-Strip, a two-paged booklet with the wrong misheard lyrics and the E.L.O. story in Japanese lettering.
Rather strange as CBS had released the first two albums in their entirety in the USA and Japan. "First Movement" was definitely the most unnecessary compilation album by E.L.O. until then, but no one could imagine that it would get even worse….
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
All Over The World
1987
Arcade
LP – Holland / Europe
CD – Holland / Europe
A Side:
Roll Over Beethoven
Confusion
I'm Alive
Shine A Little Love
Twilight
Livin' Thing
Do Ya
All Over The World
B Side:
Hold On Tight
Rockaria
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Mr. Blue Sky
Turn To Stone
Don't Bring Me Down
Telephone Line
Rock And Roll Is King
After the 'rebirth' of E.L.O. with their album "Balance Of Power" and the "Tour '86", it became very quiet around the band in the second half of the year 1986, but still no-one had known, that the first chapter of E.L.O. should be ending…
In 1987 Arcade from The Netherlands issues the compilation album "All Over The World". The first editions of the LP, MC and CD formats showed a misprint in the artwork, although no-one had noticed it before the second edition was in the shops. They printed the word 'wolrd' instead of 'world'. "All Over The Wolrd"
Arcade 01 0246 21, was made with much passion and got a deluxe fold-open sleeve, in a style CBS would have been afraid to do so in such times. The inside sleeve pages shows a picture from E.L.O. at the Montreux Festival in 1986, where they performed lip-sync Calling America. Sadly, Louis Clark and Dave Morgan were missed on that particular picture. Via the common EU market, this Holland release was available in all record shops of the EU.
The album was based on the compilation "A Perfect World Of Music", released in 1985 only in Germany. Instead of using simply the JET 24 034 master lacquers, Arcade let manufacture a new lacquer from CBS with the number 24 077, on which the songs Do Ya and All Over The World were contained in uncut versions. Apart from that Mr. Blue Sky and Telephone Line were included in their full-length album versions. Roll Over Beethoven, Shine A Little Love, Twilight and Rock 'n' Roll Is King were featured in their single versions on that album. Finally it was possible to but 16 songs unedited on one LP.
The manufacturing process tried out new paths, because although the LP were still the No. 1 format in the record industry, they produced at first the CD, from which the LP format were mastered and the MC versions were copied. For all fans that came to E.L.O. during "Balance Of Power", this album came just right in time.
Title
First Issue Date
First Label Issue
Format & Country
Track List
Heroes of Popmusic
1988
Arcade
LP – Holland / Europe
CD – Holland / Europe
A Side:
Roll Over Beethoven
Confusion
I'm Alive
Shine A Little Love
Twilight
Livin' Thing
Do Ya
All Over The World
B Side:
Hold On Tight
Rockaria
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Mr. Blue Sky
Turn To Stone
Don't Bring Me Down
Telephone Line
Rock And Roll Is King
Although Arcade had released the compilation album "All Over The World" in Holland in 1987, they released it in the following year again as "Heroes Of Popmusic E.L.O." Arcade 01 3620 21 had as part of the 'Heroes Of Popmusic'-series, a single sleeve, but sported a brilliant picture from the Hold On Tight Video as cover-shot.
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This was especially nice to look at in the LP format. The record itself used again the CBS licenced 24 077 version with the unedited titles, of the only in Germany released "A Perfect World Of Music", which was been released three years before. An obvious choice as this running order from 1985 had been just perfect and we had been waiting such a long time.
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Looking at the running order, one notices that this release from 1988 is missing E.L.O.'s latest single releases Calling America and So Serious, which would have been a chance to have the ultimate overview of E.L.O.'s work. After all, the release was freed from its more difficult to produce gate fold sleeve, and corrected the orthographic mistake by printing this time the word 'world' instead of 'wolrd'.
So "Heroes Of Popmusic" could enter again the charts. Arcade was honest enough to have the previous title 'All Over The World' printed as subtitle on the sleeve, showing that this was a re-release. No-one knows if Arcade wanted to change the disadvantage of the common EU market into an advantage for them, by re-releasing "Heroes Of Popmusic", but it seemed sure that the 1987 release of "All Over The World" couldn't have done much sales figures in Germany.
So they could place their expensive license product in all the record shops in EU-country for a second time. The LP format and the MC releases were again copied from the CD-format.
Title
The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra
First Issue Date
1989
First Label Issue
Telstar
Format & Country
2 x LP – UK & Eire
2 x CD – UK & Eire
Track List
A Side:
Mr Blue Sky
Sweet Talkin' Woman
Livin' Thing
Evil Woman
The Diary Of Horace Wimp
Telephone Line
B Side:
Shine A Little Love
Turn To Stone
Calling America
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
Here Is The News
Roll Over Beethoven (Live)
C Side:
Rockaria
Rock 'N' Roll Is King
Confusion
All Over The World
Don't Walk Away
Wild West Hero
B Side:
Don't Bring Me Down
I'm Alive
Last Train To London
Hold On Tight
Strange Magic
Ticket To The Moon
Taking the "no-risk-attitude", CBS decided to hand out licenses to release new compilations by other record labels. The small UK-Label "Telstar Records" from the TV-channel Central-TV, which had found an comfortably existence with his "As Seen on TV"-products, released under license of CBS Special Products by the end of 1989 the sampler "The Very Best Of The Electric Light Orchestra" STAR 2370.
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All songs were included in their usual album versions, apart from the missing "door-slamming" at the end of Don't Bring Me Down. Nice to see the "Xanadu"-songs being included on a British release. He UK chart positions are also listed, showing that all Top 40 hits apart from Twilight are featured.
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The songs lifted off the albums "A New World Record", "Out Of The Blue", "Discovery" and "Time" were marked as such along with their current CBS order codes. The inner sleeve shows all of the above-mentioned albums plus "Balance Of Power" and "E.L.O.'s Greatest Hits", thus showing probably all by then available albums in the UK. The Cassette-release was given an oversized double cassette case, unfamiliar to us, while the CD's were housed in a classic, thick double-jewel case. Both formats list Out Of My Head as track B4.
The live-version of Roll Over Beethoven was lifted off the album "The Night The Light Went On (In Long Beach)". Due to massive TV-Ads the album reached number 23 in the UK charts and showed how starved the record buying public was for E.L.O.
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The double LP, CD and Tape issue's have two spelling mistakes, The rear sleeve's/booklet's states Side 2 , Track 4 as "out of my head" (so missing "Can't Get It"...) and the LP Side 1 label lists track 4 as "Civil" Woman rather than Evil Woman. The LPs have scribed on the run out grooves "a porky prime cut", this was cutting engineer George Peckham who started out at Abbey Road Studios and was active until the 90s.
At the end of 1990 the collection was re-released in the UK in with the spelling mistakes corrected and the LPs have an embossed bass clef on the labels, different rim text and printed matrices on the run out grooves.
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The original 1989 issue and the 1990 issue had either a glossy / laminated sleeve or a non-glossy / non-laminated matt sleeve and both can have the "A Seen On TV" white round sticker.
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The 2nd issue CDs also have "The Very Best Of The", Telstar Logo and CD credits in white text.
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Spelling mistakes - credit to Max Cawthray.
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