Afterglow (1990)
Disc One
1. 10538 Overture
2. Mr. Radio
3. Kuiama
4. In Old England Town (Boogie #2)
5. Mama
6. Roll Over Beethoven
7. Bluebird is Dead
8. Ma-Ma-Ma Belle
9. Showdown
10.Can't Get it Out of My Head
11.Boy Blue
12.One Summer Dream
Disc Two
1. Evil Woman
2. Tightrope
3. Strange Magic
4. Do Ya
5. Nightrider
6. Waterfall
7. Rockaria!
8. Telephone Line
9. So Fine
10.Livin' Thing
11.Mr. Blue Sky
12.Sweet is the Night
13.Turn to Stone
14.Sweet Talkin' Woman
15.Steppin' Out
16.Midnight Blue
17.Don't Bring Me Down
Disc Three
1. Prologue
2. Twilight
3. Julie Don't Live Here
4. Shine a Little Love
5. When Time Stood Still
6. Rain is Falling
7. Bouncer
8. Hello My Old Friend
9. Hold on Tight
10.Four Little Diamonds
11.Mandalay
12.Buildings Have Eyes
13.So Serious
14.A Matter of Fact
15.No Way Out
16.Getting to the Point
17.Destination Unknown
18.Rock & Roll is King
In the years following the quiet dissolution of Electric Light Orchestra, a curious thing happened: the band, or more accurately their record label, entered a prolonged period of archival excavation. Best-ofs, greatest hits, and retrospective compilations began appearing with almost alarming regularity — a deluge so relentless it could give even the most devoted fan a case of déjà vu. Precious few of these compilations were “official” in any meaningful sense, and it’s doubtful whether Jeff Lynne or the other remaining members ever bothered to take much notice.
The first effort that bore even a modicum of respectability came in 1990, four years after the band’s formal retirement. Afterglow, a triple-disc box set, was heralded as the definitive ELO retrospective. On initial inspection, however, the decision to stretch the material to three full CDs feels slightly ambitious. A solid two-disc compilation might have offered a concise, punchy summary of the band’s commercial and artistic peaks. A third disc? That was pushing it.
Most of the group’s notable hits are present — with a few conspicuous absences. Neither Last Train to London, Calling America, nor anything from the Xanadu soundtrack appear here, a puzzling decision given their chart presence and, in the case of Xanadu, cultural significance (however kitsch). One suspects either licensing complications or curatorial indifference.
In order to justify the extended runtime, the compilers made some curious editorial choices. ELO II, a record of infamous tedium, is represented by four of its five tracks — roughly 33 uninterrupted minutes of musical driftwood. At the opposite end of the spectrum, material from the band’s classic mid-‘70s period is conspicuously lean on rarities or outtakes. Instead, the bonus selections are heavily weighted toward the group’s late-period output, including a handful of b-sides and unreleased tracks from the Time and Secret Messages sessions. A quick listen reveals why they were unreleased.
Still, judged by the forgiving standards of the box set genre, Afterglow holds up as a competent — if uneven — summation of the band’s career. No artist has ever issued a retrospective that satisfied every stripe of their audience, and to quibble over track selection is ultimately futile. More baffling, however, was the decision to release a second, near-identical three-disc set just a few years later, with modestly improved curation. As a result, Afterglow became instantly obsolete — a collector’s piece more than a musical landmark.
In the end, Afterglow functions less as a celebration of ELO’s legacy and more as a reminder of just how tricky it is to anthologize a band that peaked early, shifted styles midstream, and faded gradually into the synthetic murk of the 1980s. Not without merit, but hardly essential.
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