When Electric Light Orchestra made their Madison Square Garden debut on Feb. 11, 1977, they were near the zenith of their popularity due to a string of hits over the previous couple of years that included “Livin’ Thing,” “Rockaria!,” “Do Ya,” “Strange Magic,” and “Evil Woman.” But most critics were underwhelmed. “A typical ELO tune consists of doggerel affixed to a big, fat melody and repeated over and over again,” New York Times critic John Rockwell observed in his writeup of the show. “It’s all a little boring (to this listener; the crowd loved it) but it’s hardly offensive. And it’s sold a lot of concert tickets, singles and albums.”
Massive popularity at the dawn of the punk era made many bands more than a little suspect back then. But time has been very kind to Jeff Lynne‘s wonderfully unique fusion of prog rock, orchestral music, disco, and pop. And even though it’s been 40 years since they’ve had anything resembling a genuine hit in America, they still have enough of a following to play two nights at Madison Square Garden as part of their Over and Out farewell tour, which kicked off Aug. 24 in Thousand Palms, California, and runs through Oct. 26 at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California. (There’s no word yet on possible 2025 dates.)
This is a very different ELO than the one that played MSG back in 1977. They are now billed as Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra to differentiate themselves from bogus spin-off projects like ELO Part II and the Orchestra. Keyboardist Richard Tandy was the sole remaining member of the original band that Lynne brought back when he revived the ELO name back in 2014, but health problems forced Tandy off the road in 2016, and he died earlier this year. His absence was deeply felt.
This was also a different Jeff Lynne than the one we saw on the last ELO tour in 2019. He shuffled slowly onto the stage, delivered his vocals with less force and clarity than last time around, said very few words to the crowd, and relegated all lead guitar work to others for the first time in ELO history, sticking to rhythm parts that were very hard to make out in the mix. But it was largely noticeable because he barely appeared to age a single day between 1986 and 2019, and he deserves to be cut a lot of slack considering he’s now on the cusp of his 80th birthday.
The excellent band he assembled for this tour, including bassist Lee Pomeroy, guitarists Milton McDonald and Mike Stevens, keyboardist Marcus Byrne, drummer Donavan Hepburn, and a three-piece string section, made up for any deficiencies on Lynne’s part. They recreated the sound of the original ELO records with stunning precision, perfectly nailing every tiny intricacy. They also fleshed out Lynne’s vocals when he needed a little help.
The show began with “One More Time” from 2019’s Out of Nowhere, an appropriate pick considering this is the final ELO run. “We gotta give it some rock & roll,” Lynne sang. “Hey baby, we’re rollin’ on the road again/We gotta give it everything we got/Until the joint is fallin’ apart/Just one more time.”
It was the sole selection of the night from the group’s post-reunion catalog. The rest of the show was a journey through ELO’s most beloved songs from their heyday, beginning with “Evil Woman,” and continuing with “Do Ya,” originally recorded by Lynne’s Sixties band the Move before he made it even bigger with ELO. “Showdown” was a chance for violinist Jessie Murphy and cellists Jess Cox and Joe Webb to show off their chops, and background vocalists Melanie Lewis-McDonald and Iain Hornal to hit the highest of high notes on the “and it’s raining all over the world” segment.
“Can’t Get It Out of My Head” was a reminder that Lynne could write a lovesick piano ballad better than just about any of his peers, and “Last Train to London” proved that few Seventies bands could incorporate disco into their sound with the deftness of ELO. They covered an incredible amount of musical ground during their relatively short career.
Big hits “Livin’ Thing,” “Turn to Stone,” and set closer “Don’t Bring Me Down” got the biggest crowd reaction of the night, but the band also broke out “Shine a Little Love” “Fire on High,” and “Steppin’ Out” for the hardcores. They wrapped up with “Mr. Blue Sky” as the sole encore. It was just one of their many hits back in the Seventies, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie introduced it to a new generation in recent years, and it has become one of their signature tunes.
Lynne had an enormously successful career as a producer once he folded up ELO, but his old band largely faded from memory in the Nineties and early 2000s. When Lynne initially attempted to revive the brand in 2001 for a North American arena tour, it was cancelled due to very low ticket sales before they could play a single public show. “Who is your favorite Traveling Wilbury?” Homer asked Lisa on a 2003 episode of The Simpsons. “Is it Jeff Lynne?”
The joke was that nobody would possibly pick Lynne over Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Roy Orbison despite his enormous role in putting that group together and shaping its sound. But perseverance paid off for Lynne. A successful 2014 comeback show in London’s Hyde Park led to a handful of gigs the following year, and then a series of arena tours between 2016 and 2019 that finally restored ELO’s Seventies luster.
It’s easy to be cynical about a farewell tour, since roughly 90 percent of them are just a ploy to fill seats and jack up ticket prices. But this one feels like the real deal. There are fan grumblings about the length of the show at just 90 minutes, Lynne’s lack of lead guitar work, and the focus on hits over anything the group created over the past decade. But this is a well-deserved victory lap for a true pop genius, and a gift for fans to take a ride on his spaceship one last time.
Jeff Lynne’s Electric Light Orchestra’s set list at Madison Square Garden:
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
Mr. Blue Sky