Jeff Lynne Working On New ELO Music, Plans U.S. Dates for 2015

I've just posted in another thread about my ongoing project to write a book on the making of Secret Messages, and while I promised no real tantalising spoilers this early, I'm actually going to make an exception because of this comment...

This detail remains unknown to most people, but Bev Bevan actually "left" ELO for a very short period in 1982. I'd rather not give too much away at this point (mostly because I'd have to share vast amounts of my research to provide the sufficient historical context), though I will say that his absence for a large portion of dates on the European leg of the Time Tour wasn't actually due to him suffering from kidney stones - that was just a cover story made up by Jet Records to prevent the media reporting the first of what became many problems within the band, which later became a very public falling out when Kelly Groucutt started legal proceedings, as I discussed before. With no future live shows on the horizon and his role in the studio increasingly reduced to that of an occasional cymbal hitter to accompany programmed drum machine parts, the only reason Bev was convinced to return was because Jeff allowed him to keep his prized 50% share in a new contract with CBS, as Jet by this point was on the verge of going under, having rejected Secret Messages in its original double album form because of the costs needed to press a 2LP set. For a while, Bevan was replaced by Pete King of ELO's touring support act, After The Fire, and he very nearly permanently joined another popular Birmingham group with connections to the Arden family, even briefly playing live with Black Sabbath as Bill Ward's substitute when he was supposedly ill.

Upon his comeback, it was Bevan who organised ELO's return as a stage entity with the star-studded Heart Beat '86 event, which Lynne jumped into only because it meant an opportunity to jam with his then-recent acquaintance, George Harrison. Also, to make the second batch of sessions for the heavily delayed Balance Of Power more tolerable, Jeff arranged for an impromptu live drumming experiment where Bev got to play a snare with brushes, triggering MIDI samples to create a piece initially labelled "Technobilly" on its tape box and completed as the album's final track, Send It. Once he'd decided to focus more on production work for other musicians including George Harrison, Jeff again reached out to Bev - who at this time was again considering a permanent role in Black Sabbath, where his style was more suited - by coming to an agreement where he could keep the ELO name, leading to the formation of Part II. No longer physically up to the demands of metal drumming, in 2000 Bevan first started toying with the idea of reforming The Move and has even performed under this name since, but with Roy Wood now considering him an enemy and Lynne still frosty, he's stuck with only Trevor Burton following the passing of Carl Wayne, whose widow maintains that Bev has his full blessing.

 

If Bev returned for any new ELO tour, I bet there would be a second drummer.

 

Just wondering if the remaining original ELO members reunited for a one-off ala Pink Floyd in the UK, that it would be one of their bigger events ever? Overshadowed by Pink Floyd or Oasis maybe ? Yay or nay?

 

Well, it's evident that you've heard it or possibly have a copy of it from wherever, but as a fan of that time period of E.L.O., I'd like to have it just for completeness. Now, hear me out, as I'm NOT talking about old b-sides or alternate tracks (backing or otherwise) of songs we already knew, but for the "most" part, anything that Jeff has allowed us, that would be considered "previously unreleased", have been pretty mediocre at best, with a few great exceptions, like "Latitude 88 North", "Love Changes All" or "Helpless". As much as I usually enjoy "unreleased material" from a band that I love, I have learned that (again for the "most" part), that Jeff had already given the band's best stuff to us. Talk about cringe inducing, what about "Who's That?"?
I really didn't care at all, for the far too buried in echo "Surrender" and did we really need Jeff's take on Del Shannon's "Little Town Flirt", especially where it didn't fit, on "Discovery"?

 

I keep mentioning this, especially to early E.L.O. fans, but Roy Wood has absolutely NOTHING to do with the later and "famous" version of E.L.O. I'm not discounting what he provided for those first few albums and with "The Move", as it's a great starter to what it all became, but Roy was in E.L.O. so shortly, that it's the same as with Al Kooper and "Blood, Sweat & Tears", where he was in the band long enough to be mentioned, but certainly not a part of their "really successful" years!

I've never said that Jeff wasn't the real "leader" of E.L.O., but for Jeff to say that Richard & Kelly and Bev, once the 50% was off the table, were basically just "hired musicians", is an insult! I have to disagree with the your opinion that "any" drummer could sit were Bev has sat, but I will say that I've always scratched my head wondering where he fits in the world of "Black Sabbath"?

I also should add my thoughts here on that whole "ELO II" thing. I gave them a chance on CD and nothing that they did ever stuck with me and said, "well at least E.L.O. and their "sound", was still somewhat alive". ELO II brought me none of that nostalgia that I believe was what they were going for?

 

I am aware of Wood's tenure length. That was my point. Once he left (during the sessions for the second album) ELO became Jeff's band. Prior to Roy leaving though, ELO was conceived by Roy and Jeff, so I think his importance to ELO's career is a little more than a footnote.

 

The reason Latitude 88 North, Love Changes All and Helpless were (rightly described by yourself as) some of the highlights from the remaster bonus tracks is because all of these started off as ideas long before Jeff became disillusioned with ELO, dating from the 1977, 1980 and 1982 respectively. While many of these "new" songs had been locked away in demo form, usually consisting of a single verse and chorus for Lynne to get a feel for the whole piece, whenever he got around to finishing them, others were more complete back in the day. Incredibly, full versions of Grieg's Piano Concerto In A Minor (or Ballbuster as its tape box reads), Who's That and Tears In Your Life existed as early as the initial Secret Messages sessions.

Frustrated by his inability to come up with a satisfactory arrangement and not happy with such obvious use of vocoder after wearing himself out with this on Time, Jeff shelved Tears In Your Life, reycling the same basic melody for the instrumental After All then later revisiting this again for post-ELO tracks Sirens and Night Calls before coming up with a more natural approach. Despite the finished piece being credited to Lynne alone, the Rototom parts are vintage Bev Bevan performances...

Of the three examples I gave, Tears In Your Life was only restructured in Pro Tools and its vocoder lead mostly replaced with a three-part harmony, with the other two never being intended for the public's ears - both were actually acoustic tests from when Jeff and Richard were trying out potential new studios while on the Time Tour. Originally featuring Richard on piano and Jeff playing drums, "Ballbuster" was then polished in the late '90s by Lynne on his own with the addition of a keyboard doubling Richard's piano along with all the guitar parts.

From my research, I've found out that Who's That was created from an impromptu jam, starting with Jeff complaining to the control room at Wisseloord Studios (circa August '82 during a flying visit - much of Secret Messages would later be recorded there as well) about his headphones not including the reverb he'd requested. According to one of my sources, this was specifically the AMS RMX-16 digital effects rack that he became obsessed with around this period, which was one of the reasons he chose to return to Wisseloord.

The song Danger Ahead is almost a demonstration track for the capabilities of this particular device, but going back to Who's That again, the choral and brass presets heard being played (along with a certain bodily function pitch-shifted using a synthesiser!) were merely tests a five-man line-up launched into an embryonic version of Hello My Old Friend, which prominently features both of these elements and other samples.

For the record, those present were Jeff, Bev, Richard, Kelly Groucutt and Dave Morgan, who provided the repeated "(Di)spatch and Mail!" chant in reference to local Birmingham newspaper street vendors. I've still yet to find out whether Louis Clark was ever at Wisseloord, as previous albums often had string and choral overdubs recorded in different studios from where the core band were situated. An instance of this would be Face The Music, where the basic tracks were cut at Musicland in Munich and the orchestral parts back in London.

Finally, while the uncharacteristic heavy echo definitely isn't of A New World Record era vintage, Surrender itself certainly is, having been written for an as-yet-unidentified film around this period that never went into production. Also, while I agree that a cover sticks out like a sore thumb on Discovery, Jeff did indeed start playing around with Little Town Flirt in '79 for some reason. Enthusiasts will be curious to know that another outtake from this album - Second Time Around, supposedly never taken further than a home demo - had its basic production style recycled for Letter From Spain, or Letter From France as it was provisionally named, being just one of many songs Jeff gave a truly hilarious working title!

 

I've always been quite fond of "Little Town Flirt". For sure it would fit better on Flashback, but Jeff's label will throw bonus tracks anywhere to sell a few more copies, me thinks.

 

The responsibility for this lies solely at the feet of his manager, Craig Fruin. Along with Rob Caiger's glacial pace at putting together archival packages (which are usually rejected in favour of far less interesting alternatives, anyway), it's surprising we have anything "new" from ELO apart from countless greatest hits compilations and the occasional burst of activity from Jeff, often just an excuse to milk die-hard fans by flooding the market with several titles all at once.

 

That's very interesting, cause I once attended the Time-concert in Dortmund with Pete King. And I was amazed how perfectly he played all that stuff - a bit too good for someone who "just stepped in" (which can also be heard on a bootleg "ELO in Köln" which is actually Dortmund)

 

Thanks again for all of this info! When your book finally comes out, it's going to be "amazing", as you write with such great detail! It's also nice to learn so much more than the little tidbits we've all heard, as to when and where many of these "bonus tracks" have come from. To be honest, I probably haven't been that enamored with many of them for just the reasons that you detail above. I find that so many of Jeff's "bonus tracks" just sound so "newly" produced and rarely sounding of the actual time that they were first conceived, even as a demo, that it kind of takes the fun out of them. One more thing, as a firm believer in just how much Bev, Kelly and Richard brought to the band, Jeff's recent re-recordings of the E.L.O. catalog are valid proof, as to just how important those guys really were, as the new versions don't have nearly the same magic, as the originals do!

 

i'd love to see this, with bev, jeff, richard tandy, mik, etc. whether jeff would engage them is another matter. i am not sure whether bev has properly retired or not (and he doesn't need a support drummer! bev is a very good drummer in his own right and has a great sound and touch). tandy has been working with jeff on and off over the years and looks to be a part of whatever will happen - which can only be a good thing. with the death of kelly a replacement bassist is obviously a necessity. mik would be a great addition. ELO is very much jeff's thing and he seems to like hiring in musicians (which he has done really since roy left the band). the recent hyde park gig was nice enough but would be nice to get something like a proper ELO band back together.

the good thing jeff is doing recently is the live strings (rather than the notorious tape background) and this is one of the highlights of the "new" band.

they have such a great catalogue and still have a massive fan base they don't need hangers-on like ed sheerin or whoever - i never know why bands do this? well i do, but i don't like it.

 

All in all though, Roy is basically a footnote and even though after he left, it may have became Jeff's band, the "hits" and real "success", happened when they were "in name", Jeff Lynne, Bev Bevan, Kelly Groucutt and Richard Tandy. If I give out any "5th Beatle" prizes, it would go to Louis Clark and Mack, the German engineer.

 

I may be in the minority here, but I find the 42 second snippet of Second Time Around to be absolutely breathtaking! I am a fan of Letter From Spain .... but would have rather had a fully fleshed out version of Second Time Around.

 

Stop posting in this thread and get on with finishing the book!

Actually, no, do both...

Also: when is the book due?

 

I don't really believe the whole "Fifth Beatle" concept is applicable to ELO, as Lou Clark only adapted and conducted ideas originally arranged by either Jeff or Richard. Also, he wasn't around for Time, which sounds very much like business as usual. Similarly, Bill Bottrell took over from Mack on Secret Messages and the initial Balance Of Power sessions, yet they fit right in with Jeff's overall production approach of the period - just compare his solo track, Sooner Or Later, a b-side that dates from the Electric Dreams soundtrack project (though was not included on this), to what came just two years later.

As I said before, Part II without Richard Tandy rarely compared to the classic era ELO, just as even Jeff's own post-1986 work didn't really. If there was ever a secret weapon, it's Magic Fingers himself. Really, I can't recommend Earth Rise enough to fans of Time, only it's far less compressed with a more universal theme than the basic time travel of Lynne's effort. As a replacement for Kelly Groucutt long before his passing, I'd love to see Dave Morgan join forced with Lynne once again, and this isn't impossible. Unlike virtually every other former member except Richard (and brief '86 bassist, Martin Smith), Dave refused to side with Bev when Jeff decided to go solo.

As for the book, I will be submitting my proposal next month. Failing that, I'll delay the end result (so I can broaden its scope to more widely cover the subject of ELO in the '80s, from reinventing its sound after Xanadu right up through to the formation of Part II and Jeff embarking on his career as producer to the stars), publishing this outside the 33 1/3 series...

P.S. I didn't mention this earlier because of the aforementioned space concerns, but you're absolutely right to question just how well Pete King did sitting in for Bev on the Time Tour. Sure, most of the later ELO songs had Bevan reduced to either a percussionist or human metronome, though you still can't argue that for a last minute substitution, Pete performed brilliantly - maybe too well, even?

 

Your comment didn't surpise me one bit.
Jeff has a problem with the concept of "live music - warts and all". Even after mega-the embarrassing incident in 1978 regarding the use of backing tapes, he still cannot play a 100% "live" performance.

What were you impressions of the Hyde Park concert last summer? The canned background vocals drove me crazy! He went to the bother/expense of having a large chorus onstage but I heard nothing that made me think that any of the background vocals were live.

 

I have not listened to any of the work of ELO 2 or Kelly's solo work. What is Kelly's album called that you mentioned above? I'm interested in looking into that and what about ELO 2 are any of those albums worth collecting, do they capture any of the ELO magic?

 

Here is the first single from Kelly's solo album. The album was decent but far from the greatness of that time period of E.L.O., in my opinion.

 

Hype Park (pun intended)... Where to begin?

First of all, it didn't surprise me one bit that the BBC hastily put out a reworked edit of this concert not long after the original Radio 2 webcast and early broadcast version, which I confess to watching live with tears in my eyes as Jeff opened with All Over The World (honestly, who saw that coming?!), though I was disappointed that he lowered the key - was this a first or at least a very rare occurrence in his performing history? Before I really had a chance to think about this, my attention was drawn to his chewing up the lyrics to the first three or four songs, later identified by the microphones and cameras both pickng him up as being caused by a light shining directly over his prompter. Once this technical gremlin and the nerves settled down, he really put on a masterclass, but I did find the canned background vocals a little concerning. While I can't give specific times, I briefly saw what appeared to be a laptop playing further pre-recorded elements, and considering the "band" in question I wouldn't be shocked if these turned out to include the strings, choral parts and even some of Richard's vocoder parts, since there appeared to be syncronisation issues compared to what he was visually doing. Heck, considering what he did to poor Bev Bevan during the majority of those '80s studio recording sessions, maybe the drums were canned, too? At the very least, click tracks seem likely. Jumping ahead literally a few weeks, and the BBC had an extended alternate source, now their definitive copy for repeats, featuring between song commentary and some of those early tracks mixed in such a way that the backing singers are drowning out most, yet not all of Jeff's mistakes. Have I any final remarks? Just one - what's so different about the new arrangement of Steppin' Out apart from the last section being dropped? I know this was remade and left in the can for a possible follow-up to the Mr. Blue Sky album (along with at least one Xanadu track and hopefully something from Time, Secret Messages or Balance Of Power, if not Zoom as well, plus a few more off Discovery), but it's virtually identical, or could it be that I'm simply not a perfectionist on the level of Mr. Blue Sky himself?

 

Kelly only had the one, self-titled album, while Part II issued three - their own S/T, Moment Of Truth and a live album that was originally called One Night then reissued in countless variations when they sold the rights to this one, spawning quite a few grey area and outright illegal bootlegs in the process as well. In their most recent guise as The Orchestra, they've only released one album, but when it's as fantastic as No Rewind then you really can't complain. For what it's worth, I personally rate the songs Over London Skies, Jewel & Johnny and If Only as equal to Jeff Lynne at his writing peak, though sadly, just like Zoom, the mastering's a little too squashed for my liking. When I compile my favourites from Part II and The Orchestra, I always have to crush the life out of their earlier material for better consistency. Also, for the real completists out there, two further exclusive studio tracks can be found in rather obscure places. First of all, Love For Sale was the b-side to a 1991 single, while the rarest first CD edition of No Rewind has a strange hidden track that had to be removed from later copies because of Jeff Lynne serving the "former members" with an order after they slipped in a brief, possibly unintentional sample of the opening keyboard line of Confusion, which they took from a radio spot for their own group. After this brief clip, you are then treated to dogs barking at bouncing balls over a barnstorming honky tonk piano and blue violin instrumental rendition of the chorus to Jewel & Johnny. If you're a true die-hard, One Night has three live songs not available anywhere else in the form of Ain't Necessarily So, All Fall Down and Witness. However, its true highlight remains the definitive performance of One More Tomorrow, which has Phil Bates in even finer voice than he was on the Moment Of Truth original, the music behind him far stronger, also. Finally for now, as I've said before, the only other significant spin-off you'll ever need is Earth Rise, masterminded by Dave Morgan with more than just a little help from his friend, Richard Tandy, who creates sonic landscapes not a million miles removed from those of Time or Secret Messages, with a far more personal concept than even Jeff's searching tale of being transported to 2095!

 

So is this correct for the albums from ELO Part II

Electric Light Orchestra Part Two (1990)
Moment of Truth (1994)
One Night Live in Australia (1996)

 

Good luck with the book. Your posts here are incredibly enlightening and, at the same time, filled with much love for Jeff's (and ELO's) music.

 

I fear although there were countless musicians on stage - if you take away the laptop there is actually little left to be heard. When I saw that concert it was all too perfect. And then I took out Jeff Lynne's reworkings of the ELO Hits, put all into the computer...and voila - they play in sync and and only offer few differences in sound and obviously vocals. Probably only "Roll over Beethoven" was performed without too much of that "safety net", and there it sounded at some point, that they didn't find their way back into the final chorus. But that's what live music should be like: no risk - no fun!
The use of so much safety net somehow spoiled the fun for me, although all in all I prefer this concert recording to his "solo" ELO hits CD.

 

That's right, but don't forget No Rewind by The Orchestra as well - it's from the same group, only by this point Bev Bevan had sold his 50% stake in ELO back to Jeff Lynne, forcing them to adopt a new name...