The Electric Light Orchestra’s debut album arrived on US store shelves in 1972. The record was titled “No Answer” due to an intercontinental communication error between the band’s US and UK record companies. A stateside employee had called the home office in England to learn the title of the innovative new band’s upcoming release and left a note stating that there’d been “no answer.”
Following that initial Monty Python-esque clerical fumble, most everything went right for founding member Jeff Lynne’s group and its music. A string of gold and platinum albums began with 1974’s “Eldorado,” which marks its 50th anniversary this year.
Friday’s concert at United Center by the band, now billed as Jeff Lynne’s ELO, was the first of two nights packed with indelible pop melodies that had multigenerational fans on their feet from the opening notes. The Over and Out Tour is billed as Lynne’s farewell run across concert stages.
The show began appropriately with the celebratory “One More Time” from 2019’s From Out of Nowhere, the only song pulled from any album following 1980’s “Xanadu” soundtrack. Otherwise, the set list drew from ELO’s juggernaut period during the ‘70s. That focus resulted in the conspicuous omission of hits including “Hold on Tight” from 1981’s “Time” and “Rock and Roll is King” from 1983’s “Secret Messages,” but it also meant an emphasis on material that reflected ELO’s original blueprint for a sound fusing the pop and rock sensibilities of the Beatles with classical orchestration.
Jeff Lynne and ELO perform Friday night at the United Center in the first of two concerts planned for the arena this weekend.
Timothy Hiatt/For the Sun-Times
The 20 songs performed were nearly all singalong fare that the audience knew by heart. One surprise was instrumental “Believe Me Now.” As heard on 1977’s “Out of the Blue,” the song led into the wistful wanderlust of “Steppin’ Out.” A rare misstep occurred when Lynne ironically missed the line “I thought I knew the words.” For most of the night, Lynne’s voice proved supple and full of warmth, delivering captivating melodies with grace and ease.
In addition to its core rock and roll engine, Lynne’s lineup of seasoned bandmembers included three keyboardists, two cellists, a violinist, and two singers to help create ELO’s symphonic sound. Violinist Jessie Murphy was featured during the melodramatic opening of “Livin’ Thing.” The accomplished ensemble lashed into the rollicking Chuck Berry-styled rhythm of “Rockaria!,” led by Melanie Lewis-McDonald’s operatic soprano.
“You know it’s the last tour, right?” said Lynne following the lowdown classical-funk hybrid “Showdown,” receiving lamentations from the audience in response. “Cheer up,” he added with a grin. “We’d all like to thank you for sticking with us.”
Background vocalist Iain Hornal coaxed fans to display their cell phone lights during ELO’s daydreaming “Can’t Get it Out of My Head,” transforming the United Center into a sparkling disco ball. A couple of old hippies adhered to vintage practice by producing actual cigarette lighters and holding the flames aloft.
The light show was spectacular, centered upon a screen shaped like ELO’s famous Wurlitzer-styled spaceship. “Evil Woman” was bathed in eerie red light, with a devilish figure looming overhead. A ‘70s-era display of green laser beams flashed throughout “Shine a Little Love.”
Highlights included Lynne’s yearning vocal during “Telephone Line” and the group’s dazzling interplay on rocker “Turn to Stone.” Pianist Marcus Byrne propelled the perfect pop of “Sweet Talkin’ Woman” and sang its familiar vocoder hook in synthesized robotic voice. “Last Train to London” featured bassist Lee Pomeroy as he tackled the song’s galloping rhythm and challenging fills with a radiant smile on his face. The string players’ additions perfected the “very disco” sound of the “Discovery” album single.
The band played “Strange Magic” with hushed intensity, blending thousands of voices from the crowd like a choir into the mix. The audience sang boisterously as the stomping “Don’t Bring Me Down” closed the main set, propelled by drummer Donavan Hepburn’s pile-driving percussion.
Naturally, the evening concluded with the sun-kissed burst of optimism “Mr. Blue Sky.” The age-defying song was as familiar to younger fans through prominent use in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” as it was to septuagenarians who also knew every word of inaugural single “10538 Overture” via their 8-track tape collections. As ELO’s encore selection, “Mr. Blue Sky” was the unbeatable choice to send fans home on a high note.
At age 76, and having earned his reputation as a studio hermit, Lynne is likely being truthful about his retirement plans.
Fans in Chicago have a chance on Saturday to experience the ELO one more time before Lynne switches off the light.
Set List
One More Time
Evil Woman
Do Ya
Showdown
Believe Me Now
Steppin’ Out
Last Train to London
Rockaria!
10538 Overture
Strange Magic
Sweet Talkin’ Woman
Can’t Get It Out of My Head
Fire on High
Livin’ Thing
Telephone Line
All Over the World
Turn to Stone
Shine a Little Love
Don’t Bring Me Down
Encore:
Mr. Blue Sky