Flashback

Disc 1
1	10538 Overture 5:32
2	Showdown 4:12
3	Ma-Ma-Ma Belle 3:55
4	Mr. Radio 5:03
5	Roll Over Beethoven 7:48
6	Mama New Edit 4:06
7	One Summer Dream 5:21
8	Illusions In G Major 2:41
9	Strange Magic 4:29
10	Eldorado Overture 2:12
11	Can't Get it Out Of My Head 4:24
12	Eldorado 5:18
13	Eldorado Finale 1:29
14	Do Ya previously unreleased / Unedited Alternative Mix, Previously Unreleased 4:09
15	Mister Kingdom 5:08
16	Grieg's Piano Concerto In A Minor previously unreleased 2:58
Disc 2
1	Tightrope 5:23
2	Evil Woman 4:19
3	Livin' Thing 3:33
4	Mr. Blue Sky 5:07
5	Mission (A World Record) previously unreleased / Alternative Mix, Previously Unreleased 4:31
6	Turn To Stone 3:48
7	Telephone Line 4:45
8	Rockaria! 3:15
9	Starlight 4:45
10	It's Over 3:55
11	The Whale 5:07
12	Sweet Talkin' Woman 3:49
13	Big Wheels 5:32
14	Shangri-La 5:36
15	Nightrider 4:24
16	Tears In Your Life previously unreleased 3:05
Disc 3
1	Don't Bring Me Down 4:04
2	The Diary Of Horace Wimp 4:17
3	Twilight 3:43
4	Secret Messages 4:38
5	Take Me On And On 4:58
6	Shine A Little Love 4:11
7	Rock & Roll Is King 3:15
8	Last Train To London 4:31
9	Confusion 3:40
10	Getting To The Point 4:51
11	Hold On Tight 3:07
12	So Serious 2:43
13	Calling America 3:26
14	Four Little Diamonds 4:06
15	Great Balls Of Fire Live 3:06
16	Xanadu previously unreleased / New Version, Previously Unreleased 3:21
17	Indian Queen Demo, Previously Unreleased / Demo Version 0:57
18	Love Changes All Previosly Unreleased 3:28
19	After All First Time On CD 2:24
20	Helpless previously unreleased 3:19
21	Who's That previously unreleased 1:26

Barnes & Noble

Formed by ex-members of British '60s art-rockers the Move (who never scored a hit on U.S. shores), Electric Light Orchestra were a most unlikely '70s hit machine. Bushy-haired guitarist/vocalist Jeff Lynne wasn't much to look at (perhaps that's why ELO opted for spaceships on their album covers), but he sure could write a catchy tune, and his arrangements (mixing cellos and violins with mighty guitar riffs) and polished production skills (which would later come in handy on Tom Petty and Paul McCartney albums) were visionary. The three-CD, 53-track Flashback is the definitive ELO retrospective, complete with hits and rarities, compiled by Lynne himself. In the hits department, newly remastered AM radio staples such as "Evil Woman," "Livin' Thing," "Don't Bring Me Down" (which accentuates the previously subtle R2D2-like bleeps), and "Telephone Line" (which upon further reflection sounds like a lost early Bee Gees classic) stand up 25 years later. And so does the alternate mix of air-guitar hall of famer "Do Ya," which boasts a marching-band-like drum solo. Flashback also features a newly recorded version of "Xanadu" (the forgettable movie's title track that originally featured Olivia Newton John on lead vocals), proving that the band's most embarrassing moment was actually a decent song. As for the rarities, oddities such as the spare 57-second demo version of "Indian Queen" provide rare bare-bones depictions of one of rock's slickest bands. Bill Crandall

All Music Guide

The very fact that Electric Light Orchestra released a second three-disc box set is a tacit admission that, yes, 1987's Afterglow wasn't everything it should be. Happily, 2000's Flashback is. Assembled with the cooperation of Jeff Lynne, Flashback covers all the bases, featuring all the hits, a good selection of album tracks, and seven previously unreleased tracks, two alternate mixes and "After All," previously unavailable on CD. The sequencing is roughly chronological, with each of the three discs spotlighting a different era, then sequenced for maximum listenability within that -- so "10538 Overture" segues to "Showdown" and "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" then doubles back to the first album. It's a gambit that works, since Flashback winds up flowing as gracefully as ELO's best albums. And, make no mistake, this is one of their best albums, a rare box set that satisfies the needs of both casual and mildly dedicated fans, while offering the hardcore not just a bunch of rarities but an enjoyable album with its own character. So, it trumps Afterglow in every possible way, then, and thereby eliminates the need for yet another three-disc ELO box. Stephen Thomas Erlewine

New York Times

...the combination of highbrow and slapstick really has never been repeated, and when it works, it's extremely catchy. Ann Powers