Jeff Lynne, the Electric Light Orchestra frontman who modelled his songwriting ambitions on The Beatles, has admitted he finds ELO's 1973 cover of Chuck Berry's "Roll Over Beethoven" difficult to listen back to, singling out his own vocal performance as the main problem. The remarks are notable because Lynne is generally regarded as a meticulous perfectionist whose later work, such as "Mr Blue Sky" and "Can't Get It Out of My Head", set a high bar for craftsmanship, making his blunt self-criticism of this earlier effort stand out.

The track appeared on ELO's second album, which Lynne felt suffered somewhat from a "sophomore slump" despite containing ambitious material like the epic "Kuiama". Describing "Roll Over Beethoven" as "painful to listen to", Lynne said "the vocals are horrible" and reflected that he has learned from the mistakes made on the recording. Despite his misgivings, the song became a live favourite for the band and helped establish ELO in their early years, with Lynne suggesting he might one day rework the vocal for a modern version.