Alone In the Universe (Bonus Track Version)

Fourteen years after the last album to bear its name, Electric Light Orchestra reemerge. Well, sort of. Jeff Lynne—founding and sole remaining member—moves front and centre with a self-written, produced and performed (“except the shaker and the tambourine”) set. Thrillingly, clean ELO DNA courses through its veins. Lynne remains a melodic alchemist at 67; “One Step At a Time” harks back to the glorious ‘70s space jams, “All My Life”’s gorgeous lovelorn chorus earns its mushiness and the title track crystalises the album’s fusion of thoughtful introspection and Lynne’s unshakable, mad scientist ambition.