ELO are a second-tier band for me. I like a lot of their songs, but I only own one album (Out of the Blue).
Talk of them being a continuation of The Beatles is nonsense. This is the sort of line dreamed up by music journalists who do not actually have anything intelligent to say about the act they are rewriting about. So Jeff Lynne listened to The Beatles a lot. So what? So did just about everyone. Tony Banks has said he listened to them a lot and that he was influenced by them, but I don't think anyone would claim that Genesis sounded anything like The Beatles.
If ELO are musically indebted to anyone, I say it would be The Moody Blues. This may be the reason ELO are not higher in my list of top bands. When I want to hear dramatic rock with a semi-classical sound, the Moodies usually scratch that itch for me.
Oh, and I doubt I will ever want to own "A New World Record", because I hate that song "Telephone Line" with a passion.
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