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ELO / Classic Albums Collection

By Paul Sinclair

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legacyThis post is sponsored by Legacy Recordings.

The Classic Albums Collection – which is available for a limited time at a very special price on Amazon UK – is an impressive eleven CD Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) box set that contains all the group’s studio albums released between the 1971 debut The Electric Light Orchestra (known as No Answer in the US) to The Balance of Power issued in 1986. Inbetween come nine further long-players (the Xanadu soundtrack doesn’t feature) including the classic Out of the Blue from 1977.


Like many other similar collections released by Sony’s Legacy Recordings over the years, this comes packaged in an glossy oversized clamshell-style box with each album packaged in ‘vinyl replica’ card sleeves, with five of the them (The Electric Light Orchestra, ELO II, On The Third Day, Out of the Blue and Discovery) boasting recreations of the original gatefold sleeves.

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The Classic Albums Collection features vinyl replica card sleeves

What’s particularly good about this box is that the albums feature all the bonus tracks from the individual 2006 reissues, including on the 1971 debut, the first ever take of “the first ever ELO song” – 10538 Overture, two additional versions of the excellent Telephone Line (from 1976’s A New World Record) and a ‘stripped down mix’ of Evil Woman from Face The Music (1975). None of these bonus tracks are listed on the actual sleeves (they replicate the original vinyl sleeve, which of course just list the standard album tracks) but thankfully the 28-page booklet included gives us all the details, including notes from frontman Jeff Lynne about each album. The booklet also includes archive photography and images of single and album sleeves.

This set has always been great value, but at the time of writing you can pick this up on Amazon UK for less than £20 which is absurdly good value for expanded versions of all eleven ELO albums issued across a 15 year period.

Albums included are as follows: The Electric Light Orchestra, Electric Light Orchestra II, On The Third Day, Eldorado, Face The Music, A New World Record, Out Of The Blue, Discovery, Time, Secret Messages and Balance Of Power.

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11 albums (including five gatefolds) in a clamshell box with booklet

 

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29 Comments

29 thoughts on “ELO / Classic Albums Collection”

  1. The cut down version of this set – Studio Albums 1973-1977 – (5 albums), is currently (25/6/17) only £6.21 on UK Amazon. If you don’t have these cds that’s a crazy price.

  2. Decided to pick this up as it really is a bargain.
    I was never too sure what I thought about ELO but I’m really enjoying listening to this (I’m up to Out of the Blue so far – never realised Jungle was by ELO. I used to sing that to myself on my way too school!).

    Also I was really struck when I put on Album 1, Track 1 – I instantly thought “Changing Man” by Paul Weller. A quick Google showed that clearly I am not the only one.

  6. I wonder if they have sorted out the cock-up at the end of Secret Messages. The 2000 remaster omitted the “welcome to the show” punchline after Rock ‘n’ Roll Is King.

  7. Seriously uncool, apparently. ELO, Supertramp, Barclay James Harvest, Alan Parsons Project. My favourite bands growing up in the ’70s and to this day. Saw ELO at Hyde Park and actually cried during the first two songs as couldn’t believe Jeff Lynne was right there in front of me. Both APP and ELO sets are excellent value. BJH only have All Is Safely Gathered In from some years ago. Would love to have a Super Deluxe set from Supertramp. Vinyl box sets from them all would be the icing on the cake.

  8. Another happy american. $32 usd shipped. Inexpensive way to experience elo catalog outside of the hits even if the mastering isnt good. Now find me a bargin on the new simon and garfunkel box.

  9. I just bought The Alan Parsons Project box set because of recent SDE Deal Alert. And thanks again, my saving account has been drained a bit more….

    I think the white border sleeve are exactly the same as Alan Parsons’ box.

  10. I noticed this had dropped to £20 and that convinced me to have an early Christmas present… ordered first class on Tuesday and Wednesday… On first look the cardboard sleeves are rigid and the booklet looks quite informative with Jeff Lynne’s sleevenotes. You couldn’t argue that it was a ‘deluxe’ package but it is a very good value one for anyone who may just have a couple of ELO albums in their archive.

  13. Thanks, just got it for about $32 as well. I’d love to do the same with the Alan Parsons box but it seems the bonus tracks aren’t included…

  14. I own out of the blue on cd from the mid 90s. Recently i bought a sony remastered greatest hits cd which sounded awful in comparison. I compared identical tracks and the remaster had a lot of hissing on it compared to the earlier cd. Wonder what the quality is on these, bearing in mind how sony sells cheap tat these days

  15. Thank you for the heads up on this.

    I’ve followed this website for about a year now, it’s excellent and a lot of hard work I’ve no doubt.

    Thank you to all who work to make it what it is.

    Michael

  20. Yes that could be it.
    I think I will buy this anyway at this price. I saw the ELO Hyde Park concert on BBC i player recently and thought it was fantastic, a real surprise as I was never really a fan of the band.

    2. I think that the reason is the -really- low price. The white borbers, make it ‘cheaper’. We must remember that we paid a lot for other more accurate editions, and not only for E.L.O. We have to consider what we give and what we get. So it’s the small detail, that makes the big difference in price. As far as i remember, this this the lowest price of a such an edition that iv’seen, unless E.L.O. aren’t popular enough. As always it’s the law of supply /demand.

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