Jeff Lynne's ELO: Live in Hyde Park

The name of the band, Jeff Lynne's ELO, indicates that the entire Electric Light Orchestra wasn't present at this 2014 concert, but fans aren't likely to feel too disappointed. Playing before 50,000 people at London's Hyde Park, the frontman is accompanied by Richard Tandy on piano and keyboards (as Lynne notes, the pair have been playing together for 42 years). The rest of the band includes eight hired hands plus the BBC Concert Orchestra, who add the necessary grandeur on symphonic pop songs such as “Telephone Line.” All told, the group serves up 15 tracks from the ELO catalog—including “Strange Magic,” “Can't Get It Out of My Head,” and “Livin' Thing”—as well as one Traveling Wilburys number, the George Harrison-penned “Handle with Care.” Along with the concert, this release also features the documentary Mr. Blue Sky: The Story of Jeff Lynne & ELO, which traces Lynne's career from the 1960s to today. Lynne talks about earlier bands The Move and The Idle Race (the latter would become ELO, although Monty Pythoner Eric Idle jokes here that Lynne should have kept the original name), as well as his efforts as a producer (working with Roy Orbison, Tom Petty, and Harrison). Other speakers include Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr with whom Lynne collaborated on the John Lennon song “Free as a Bird.” Also featuring an interview with Lynne, this is presented in Dolby Digital stereo on DVD, and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray. Recommended. (K. Fennessy)