Jeff Lynne Anthology

Years and years ago Sean. I'm with the Right woman now Ron

 

I've been meaning to update this for a while. I've decided to replace Alright with Ordinary Dream. I must confess to not liking this song for a long while, but I've been playing it a lot lately and I've grown to love It. That's one reason why I've added it, the other is, as it has strings, it's more representative of the ELO sound than Alright.

I've also added Don't Bring Me Down as there was enough room and this was their (band only) biggest hit!

So, now it looks like this:

Jeff Lynne - Lift Me Up - The Anthology (1967 - 2015)

1. The Skeleton And The Roundabout - Idle Race
2. Days Of The Broken Arrows - Idle Race
3. Imposters Of Life's Magazine - Idle Race
4. A Better Life (The Weatherman Knows) - Idle Race
5. California Man - The Move
6. 10538 Overture - ELO (single edit)
7. Kuiama - ELO
8. Showdown - ELO (single edit)
9. Can't Get You Out Of My Head - ELO
10. Evil Woman - ELO
11. One Summer Dream - ELO
12. Livin' Thing - ELO
13. Do Ya (extended version from Flashback) - ELO
14. Mr. Blue Sky - ELO (single vers)
15. Don't Bring Me Down - ELO
16. Hold On Tight - ELO
17. Let It Run - Electric Dreams OST
18. Rattled - Traveling Wilburys
19. Lift Me Up - Armchair Theatre
20. Ordinary Dream - ELO
21. When I Was A Boy - Jeff Lynne's ELO

This runs at just over 79 and a half minutes.

OK, so what's my thinking behind these choices. Well, with the Idle Race tracks, I went for the (what i consider) most popular singles. 'A Better Life' is a personal choice, I consider it one of Jeff's most beautiful songs.

Why California Man and not Do Ya or Down On The Bay? Well, firstly, Do Ya is already on the album as the ELO version, and secondly, I wanted a single, not a b-side and this song has Jeff on co-vocals.

The ELO stuff is mainly the popular singles, but Kuiama and One Summer Dream are, once again, personal choices. Both are, IMO two of the best songs ever made.

I had to include a song from 'Electric Dreams' as both of Jeff's songs are great and need more exposure. So why didn't I choose the single? Well, I prefer this song. It's an amazing rocker from Jeff, and should be more popular, plus it follows another great rock song?

Rattled is the only 'Traveling Wilburys' song with a complete Jeff vocal.

Why Lift Me Up and not Every Little Thing? A personal choice, I think LMU is a better song. ELT is just to raucous.

Finally, When I Was A Boy. The return of ELO after 14 years was announced by the arrival of this great tune. A nostalgic look back at Jeff's youth.

I think this is the definitive collection of Jeff's songs throughout his career. I would definitely buy it.

I'd like to hear what you think!

 

I like your list! I'm a long-time fan of Jeff's solo work and production, but I've never gotten deeper into ELO than, say, a single-disc "best of." I finally pulled the trigger last week on the Classic Albums Collection, so I have the whole damn thing in one shot. So a couple of questions:

1. How important do you think the Idle Race and Move stuff is to the Jeff Lynne "story"? Important, or more of an introduction to the real thing? I know virtually nothing about his first two bands.

2. What would your SECOND disc of "The Jeff Lynne Anthology" look like? So, leaving out all the obvious hits, what would you say are the essential album cuts?

 

Well firstly, well done on your purchase, I guarantee you'll have hours of listening pleasure!

Secondly, both Jeff's previous bands were mightily important in his history. Firstly, Idle Race was where he began his fascination with production. Watching and learning from both Eddie Offord and Gerald Chevin (Co-producers of Idle Race's first album) gave Jeff the confidence to experiment in the studio to achieve the sounds he wanted, and finally, to produce their second album by himself. Not bad for someone a couple of years previous had never even been in a studio!

Listen to the strings on The Lady Who Said She Could Fly, a proto ELO track if ever there was one, the production effects on Impostors Of Life's Magazine or the beautiful background harmonies on A Better Life (The Weatherman Knows) and you'll see Jeff's growing confidence in the studio.

The Move gave Jeff his first taste of real success, and, as they were already a success before he joined, he and Roy Wood were pretty much left alone in the studio. This freedom gave them the chance to flex their songwriting and production muscles leading to wildly experimental tracks such as Jeff's What?, Roy's Feel Too Good and the whole Message From The Country/Electric Light Orchestra crossover experiment!

Finally, and most importantly, if Roy hadn't been friends with Jeff and asked him to join The Move, there wouldn't have been ELO. And life without ELO just doesn't bare thinking about! Brrrrr!

I've actually been thinking a lot about an ELO version of Queen's Deep Cuts collections, and I think I'd like to give it a go. Leave it with me, I'll get back to you!

 

Hmm. Very difficult choices, but here's my first attempt at disc 2.

Jeff Lynne - On With The Show - The Anthology (1967 - 2015)

CD 2

1. On With The Show - Idle Race
2. Please No More Sad Songs - Idle Race
3. Follow Me Follow - Idle Race
4. Going Home - Idle Race
5 Girl At The Window - Idle Race
6. Down On The Bay - The Move
7. Waterfall - ELO
8. Mission (A World Record)- ELO
9. It's Over - ELO
10. Big Wheels (Edit) - ELO
11. Steppin' Out - ELO
12. Midnight Blue - ELO
13. Rain Is Falling - ELO
14. Julie Don't Live Here - ELO
15. Hello, My Old Friend - ELO
16. Video - Jeff Lynne
17. Runaway - Traveling Wilburys
18. Blown Away - Jeff Lynne
19. Save Me Now - Jeff Lynne
20. State Of Mind - ELO
21. The Sun Will Shine On You - Jeff Lynne's ELO

There we go, 21 more tracks culled from Jeff's extensive career. IMO these tracks (along with the first CD) represent an excellent overview of Jeff's entire output!

Feel free to disagree!

 

This certainly seems like a better project than some cash grab of yet another best of.

 

Here's the 2CD I came up with. First CD mainly singles and hits, most of those songs chose themselves. Every ELO album is represented by one track, except the big "Out of the Blue" which has two. Second CD contains deep cuts, some of my personal favourites.

CD 1:
Impostors of Life's Magazine - The Idle Race - 1967
The Skeleton And The Roundabout - The Idle Race - 1968
Message From The Country - The Move - 1971
10538 Overture - Electric Light Orchestra - 1971
Momma - Electric Light Orchestra - 1973
Showdown - Electric Light Orchestra - 1973
Eldorado - Electric Light Orchestra - 1974
Strange Magic - Electric Light Orchestra - 1975
Livin' Thing - Electric Light Orchestra - 1976
Turn To Stone - Electric Light Orchestra - 1977
Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra - 1977
Confusion - Electric Light Orchestra - 1979
All Over The World - Electric Light Orchestra - 1980
Here Is The News - Electric Light Orchestra - 1981
Rock 'N' Roll Is King - Electric Light Orchestra - 1983
Calling America - Electric Light Orchestra - 1986
Every Little Thing - Jeff Lynne - 1990
Alright - Electric Light Orchestra - 2001
When I Was a Boy - Electric Light Orchestra - 2015

CD 2:
The Lady Who Said She Could Fly - The Idle Race - 1968
Please No More Sad Songs - The Idle Race - 1969
What? - The Move - 1970
Daybreaker - Electric Light Orchestra - 1973
Mission (A World Record) - Electric Light Orchestra - 1976
Believe Me Now - Electric Light Orchestra - 1977
Summer And Lightning - Electric Light Orchestra - 1977
Midnight Blue - Electric Light Orchestra - 1979
Julie Don't Live Here - Electric Light Orchestra - 1981
Twilight - Electric Light Orchestra - 1981
Secret Messages - Electric Light Orchestra - 1983
Hello My Old Friend - Electric Light Orchestra - 1983
Let It Run - Jeff Lynne - 1984
So Serious - Electric Light Orchestra - 1986
Now You're Gone - Jeff Lynne - 1990
Borderline - Jeff Lynne - 1990
Wild Times - Jeff Lynne - 1991
It Really Doesn't Matter - Electric Light Orchestra - 2001
Ordinary Dream - Electric Light Orchestra - 2001
Forecast - Jeff Lynne - 2013

 

1. Blue
2. Bluebird
3. Bluebird Is Dead
4. Boy Blue
5. Midnight Blue

What's your favourite colour, Jeff?

 

In the event that Sony doesn't reissue the ELO/Jeff Lynne solo Frontiers titles, make sure to buy those while you still can as supplies seem to be dwindling.

 

Don't forget about Birmingham Blues, the penultimate track on Out Of The Blue!

 

I've heard from several people on here that the Frontiers remastering isn't all that good. I think I may try to find the original discs!

 

Definitely. The main selling point on those reissues were the bonus tracks, but keep the original "Armchair Theatre" and "Zoom" discs. That reminds me, will we ever see an official CD release of the complete Bungalow Palace concert? The live CD on Frontiers mostly contained tracks from the Zoom live DVD, but the Bungalow Palace show was an incredible performance.

 

And don't forget the "solo" version of Xanadu!

 

Great version!

 

@ShardEnder Do you think it's likely we'll ever see a compilation containing Jeff's unreleased solo material and b-sides from the 1980s-present? One collection which comes to mind is the "Down The Lane And Far Away" promo from 2012. It contained some enjoyable recordings which still haven't been officially released as of 2017.

 

If you read his quotes about The Beatles Anthology and Free As a Bird, Real Love and the other two cuts, he gets it. It registers to him as a fan.

He may his reasons but lack of empathy with fans just isn’t one of them. It is not in the language.

 

A bit off topic


Anyone familiar with Mark Knopler’s “Our Shangri La”?

It’s when a husband and wife create this beautiful invisible place of love, safety and isolation.

Then, listen to Jeff Lynn’s harrowing anguished cries in “ Shangri La.”

The heart wrenching vocal of “return” is tough to listen to without getting testy.

Neither the singer nor the audience believes it. It’s that desperate hope of recovery.

People have committed suicide over shock infidelity (it’s not as impactful when the infidelity comes during a bad marriage).

They call it the atomic bomb of life and wipes out all happy memories of the relationship.

The loss is deep and often changes the person.

This is a powerful song. I’m surprised it’s not as popular as others. I put it with:

Dylan’s New York sessions of Blood on the tracks” and Mark Knopfler’s “Where we used to live.”

 

First of all, I must apologise for my delay in replying to your question - I didn't even notice this thread had continued until just now!

While it would indeed be great to have a compilation of all Jeff's odds and ends, I don't believe such a thing will ever happen officially, since doing so would devalue all the original releases featuring such rarities as bonus tracks, which only came to exist at the suggestion of his manager, Craig Fruin (who we can also thank for the singles from ELO's three 1980s albums having exclusive b-sides rather than further recycled older songs, as was the case when the group's catalogue was under greater control from Jet Records).

As for Down The Lane And Far Away, that promo dates back to before Jeff chose to release only half of the material he'd completed for what became Long Wave. My understanding is that he planned to include the remaining outtakes on a follow-up that would also coincide with a "sequel" to Mr. Blue Sky, but instead he shelved all except his cover of Jody, included on the Japanese edition of Long Wave. Similarly, his remakes of Ma-Ma-Ma Belle and Rockaria! can only be found on the iTunes deluxe edition of Mr. Blue Sky.

Jeff has also mentioned that he recorded new solo versions of I'm Alive and Steppin' Out, though only the latter has been performed in its reworked state, despite barely sounding any different to my ears. On top of these, I suspect his recent live arrangements for All Over The World, Twilight, Secret Messages and Rock 'N' Roll Is King are based on similarly revisited forms that may never see the light of day, especially now he's back with Sony again, depriving him of a key motivation for the Mr. Blue Sky concept.

 

Well, that was depressing. Thanks!

 

I’ll wager a cup of tea that Jeff reads this thread.

 

as extra bonus tracks Hello My Old Friend and Beatles Forever !

 

Does anyone know if these tracks were co-written with Elton or just produced by Jeff?

I wonder why they were never released. I read years ago they dif nearly an albums worth of material. Jeff and Elton were both arguably at or near their creative peaks at this time so it would be expected that the fruit of their labours would have been quite sweet. Having said that sometimes the end product is less than the sum of its parts.

Unless I'm mistaken I believe that Jeff did some work with Annie Lennox in the 1980s. That potentially could have been quite interesting.

 

I'm actually writing this reply with a giant mug of tea perched on the corner of my laptop (which is a risky move, I know), and I'll wager that if anyone officially connected to Jeff is reading this thread, it's either going to be archivist Rob Caiger - who has an account here - or nobody at all.

There definitely wasn't anything close to an album of material, with my understanding being that Elton dropped in following a nearby BBC television appearance to simply play piano on two tracks Jeff had been recording (which are believed to be titled Fireball and The Loop). I've seen claims that Jeff also mixed these songs, but wasn't able to find them or doesn't know how they could be released... They certainly wouldn't fit on an ELO project, that's for sure!

Information regarding this possible collaboration is almost entirely non-existent, which has been quite frustrating as someone who has spent a considerable amount of time researching the period they were supposed to have worked together.

 

In the meantime, there is a very nice fan-made Idle Race release that collects the mono LP and BBC sessions in quality that is probably better than what we would get officially anyway. They snooze, they lose.