I'm a fan (and you should be too) because..
Been a fan for over 30 years
First ELO song I ever heard was Roll Over Beethoven back in '73, but it was Tightrope that really won me over. I remember it receiving considerable FM airplay in early 1977 and thinking, "Now that's the way an Electric Light Orchestra should sound!"
Jeff Lynne's lyrics touch me deeply, often describing what I feel, but can't articulate nearly as well. His brilliant use of minor chords and augmented 7ths were innovative for their time and have since influenced countless others.
Having recently added all of The Move as well as the two Idle Race albums Jeff appeared on to my CD collection, I feel as though I have uncovered lost treasure!
Would be a shame if Zoom is not followed up, but how wonderful that we got one more great ELO album and an even better bonus song for the 30th anniversary of OOTB (Latitude 88 North) which also fit nicely on The Very Best of ELO Volume 2, a superb collection of shouldabeens:-)