Jeff Lynne Orchestrates ELO's Success
Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 23 January 1977
MOST ATTEMPTS to combine rock and orchestral formats have led to uncomfortable mergers at best, and more often to utterly pretentious and insignificant music. The exceptions — Procol Harum's live album, the Beatles' middle period and early Moody Blues — share an affinity for the tight, solid song. Most senior rock fans can hum 'Knights in White Satin' or 'Strawberry Fields'. But they would be hard pressed to recall a few bars of Deep Purple With the London Symphony or a 10-minute Keith Emerson solo.
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