And much of the rest is very entertaining - "Across the Border" sounds like what would result if the Beatles' "Paperback Writer" and the Beach Boys' Heroes and Villains" had somehow produced an offspring, with some synthesizer digressions and phased drumming typical of mid- to late-'70's progressive rock. "Sweet Talkin' Woman" (which is a worthy successor to the previous album's "Livin' Thing") and "Turn to Stone," are among the best songs in the group's output. And well more than half is very solid, at least as songs, if not necessarily as recordings. The songs were flowing fast and freely from Jeff Lynne at the time, however, and the idea of a double LP was probably tempting as a chance to release an album that was irrefutably substantial. For starters, it was a double LP, a format that has proved daunting to all but a handful of rock artists. The last ELO album to make a major impact on popular music, Out of the Blue was of a piece with its predecessor, A New World Record, as the most lavishly produced album in the group's history, but it's a much more mixed bag as an album, suffering from overkill in several departments.
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