ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA – Hartford 1981 (2CD)

Audience 8.8 – A show new to circulation, it presents a severely under represented period of the band. Not too many tapes have surfaced (and no known videos) so whatever we can get, we appreciate. Here, taper did an admiral job even though he’s clearly immersed in a boisterous audience. There is plenty of audience present, but thankfully what you get most of is a relatively clear and atmospheric ELO on a great night. There is a touch of overcrowding within the mid-range frequency, but nothing that distorts so there’s zero muddiness and maybe less low end that you might prefer. Overall I have to say it fits nicely into my ELO collection right next to the one or two other 1981 shows (like I said, few and far between).