34: This Gallery of Scoundrels

34. "Hello/Honest Men" by Electric Light Orchestra Part Two [Video: Honest Men.]

I rarely shopped at Budget Tapes and Records. It was a tiny little store, not near any other real businesses, tucked away off of 5th Avenue. The few times I did go there, I was usually unimpressed with their inventory. Their selection of tapes and/or records was lacking, both in volume and uniqueness. I didn't go there very often.

And yet, for some reason in 1990 or 1991 while finishing up at Idaho State University, I found myself standing in Budget Tapes and Records. I'm not sure why I was there, but since I was, I did what I always did at record stores. I checked to see if they had anything new or different from my favorite acts. This meant looking in the "J" section for Billy Joel, the "Q" section for Queen, and the "E" section for ELO.

I was very much shocked and surprised when perusing in the "E" area I saw this:

Yes, it was a cassette.

There was a cassette titled "Electric Light Orchestra Part Two." It featured an attractive, nearly nude woman holding a baton over a city at night as a small spaceship with "ELO II" written on it approaches. I had no idea what this album was. The Electric Light Orchestra's second album, which featured "Roll Over Beethoven," was titled "Electric Light Orchestra II," and featured a giant light bulb floating in the sky on the cover. I didn't know if this cassette I just found was a repackaging of that album, or if it was something new. I looked at the song tracks, and saw that I didn't recognize any of the songs. Could this be a new album by ELO?

Of course, I purchased the cassette. When I put it into my stereo and clunked down on the "play" button, I listened in wonder and awe. The first song is a short (only one minute and eighteen seconds) little Beatle-esque ditty called "Hello." It was quickly followed by the incredible sound of a wall of orchestra, and the beginning moments of the second song, "Honest Men."

These two songs completely encapsulated the sound of the Electric Light Orchestra from the 1970s. It was a sound that had been missing from the last three or four ELO albums, and that sound was back! ELO was back!!!

Only, they weren't. The rest of the album was mediocre, at best. (Two more half-decent songs, then the rest was utter crap.)

Someday, I'll get around to explaining the differences between ELO and ELO Part II when I finally finish  A Brief (Ha!) History of the Electric Light Orchestra and the ELO Family Tree of Musical Acts. Until that time, here's the quick lowdown. Drummer Bev Bevan, an ELO founding member, wanted to make more ELO records. Jeff Lynne, who wrote and sang all the ELO songs, did not. Some lawyers got involved, and "Electric Light Orchestra Part Two" was born, with Bev Bevan on the drums.

Is it cheating that I put these two songs together and listed them in one spot on the countdown? Probably. But, "Hello" is such a quick little ditty, and rolls right into "Honest Men" that I've always thought of them as a package deal.

"Honest Men" was written and sung by Eric Troyer, who I mentioned back at song #171 on this list. ("All Fall Down.") They lyrics are a bit hokey, but that doesn't bother me, because I'm a bit of a hokey guy. (I am not, however, a hokey-pokey guy!)

"Throw out the tyrants. The aged fat cats. Outlived their usefulness, they have led us to this mess."

"Call to him, he lives next door, across the street on the upper floor. He's our only hope, we need him now!"

Louis Clark, who arranged a lot of the orchestral work for ELO, arranged the strings on this song. It's got a great sound. (I also like the false ending. False endings can be fun.)

COMING UP NEXT: Two, Two, Two Songs In One!