This is the album from which “Roll Over Beethoven” sprang, all eight minutes of it, and that’s not even the best reason to pick this one up. The most off-putting thing about ELO’s second album – and the first without co-founder Roy Wood, who walked out of the band after repeated arguments with Jeff Lynne over who was in charge – is the sheer length of every number. At eight minutes, “Roll Over Beethoven” is the third-shortest number on ELO II. “In Old England Town”, the hard-rocking opening piece, clocks in at just under seven minutes, and the longest song, “Kuiama”, runs a little over eleven. All of them are worth a listen, though the band’s studio technique still depended on grungy multiple overdubs of two cellos and a violin to achieve ELO’s titular orchestral 
obligations, and overall Lynne rocks harder on the first three albums than he does later in the 70s. Highly recommended for the bittersweet “Mama”, the boisterous “From The Sun To The World”, and the very ambitious musical arrangement – if not the anti-war lyrics – of “Kuiama”.
- In Old England Town – Boogie #2 (6:54)
- Mama (7:03)
- Roll Over Beethoven (8:10)
- From The Sun To The World – Boogie #1 (8:22)
- Kuiama (11:19)
Released by: Jet
Release date: 1972
Total running time: 41:48
