Produced by Jeff Lynne

Hello,

I was just listening to "Time Takes Time" (Ringo Starr) and a couple of the numbers are produced by Jeff Lynne.

"Don't Go Where The Road Don't Go" is obviously a "Jeff Lynne Production" from the moment it starts up.

How does he achieve such an instantly recognisable "signature sound"?

TIA,
Stephen

 

Lots of snare drum?

 

The use of Backing vocals also...

 

Yeah, that's the thing that stands out to my ears.

There always seems to be a sort of "chugging" guitar / bass line as well - as per "Hold On Tight".

 

He keeps some things completely dry and EQ'd while having other things exagerated (usually snare drum).

Personally, I love the sound of his productions.

Not really a true representation of how the artist may really sound (unless it's ELO), but still an awesome sound.

 

So do I - Jeff is amazing!

When do you think his sound first emerged in all it's glory? "Mr Blue Sky" has that driving "Dum-Dum-Dum-Dum" backing track I was thinking of ...

People probably noticed it more when he began producing (massively successful) albums by other artists.

Stephen

 

I agree..love his stuff!

 

Jeff Lynne: the Sixth Beatle.

 

contrarian opinion:

IMO (not knocking anyone else's) everything JL has touched as a producer has been ruined. Wilburys, Petty, etc. (OK, I can almost take Orbison). The producer's ego outweighs the song and the performance. I can hear it in a second, and I turn it off.

JMNSHO

 

I really dislike his production style, too, although the recent HIGHWAY COMPANION was relatively restrained.

But when he was producing all those albums there for awhile I grew impatient with his signature sound. They all sounded like the same album.

 

Any time you ask your self..."Gee..I do not remember this ELO song" You know its one of Jeff's.

 

While things did get too formulaic to me by around the time of 'Into The Great Wide Open', I don't think it was too bad on some of the records of the time - Harrison, Orbison, Petty...In the UK at the time there were hardly any records in the pop charts with guitars in at all, and suddenly these 'relics' were up there and appreciated again.
Just one listen to Dylan's 'Empire Burlesque' or 'Knocked out Loaded' reminds me of the depths which 80's production sank, so I can never be too hard on JL.

 

Well, it really comes down to the snare sound, and compressed background vocals, I'd say.

As a drummer, I'm both put-off, and yet fascinated with this approach. After all, it's done to bring the snare up in the mix. But, yes, it does call attention to itself.

This is why I was so very rankled by the Rolling Stone 'review' of the Wilbury's re-release. It focused exclusively on the production while ignoring the splendid songwriting and performances. I mean, how do you review this and not even mention Roy Orbison?

 

I love that Jeff Lynne-produced sound. Works well for me.

 

I was going to start a thread on this subject myself. What does Jeff Lynne do to get the Jeff Lynne sound?

He must have a favorite vocal mic and compressor that he constantly uses. The mic kind of always sounds like an AKG 414 to me- with the distance from singer to mic being the critical JL factor. Anybody know anything about it really?

And I don't know how he gets that snare sound but when we opened for them, I was standing at the side of the stage during their soundcheck and I noticed that the sanre drum sounded extremely Lynne-ish. So it's not a exclusively studio technique. Bev Bevan borrowed our drummer's floor tom. I should have thought to ask him.

Personally I think JL's post 70s work is a yawn but his ELO productions are amazing.

Peace Love and Wilburied
Marky

 

A mass of acoustic guitars playing the same rhythm along with the beat is one of his tricks. The little descending and ascending lines (played on guitar usually) weaving through songs was something he did from 87-91. I like his sound. I wouldn't like it on every single song in the world, but in general I think his production is pretty cool. He's like Phil Spector in a way. There is no mistaking who did the record and it is what it is, take it or leave it.

 

Unless it's L.E.O. - absolutely LOVE that album!

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=56550700

Jeff

 

During an interview for "Rockline" back in 2001, somebody called in to the show and asked Jeff how he got his drum sound. Jeff's answer was obviously not very high on technical details, but I recall that Jeff said something like "I mic the drums from further away than you would think". So it sounds quite like what SH just mentioned.

Also, somewhat related, I've heard in several interviews that Jeff says he doesn't fill too many tracks with drums. So if he's working with, say, 48 tracks, he doesn't fill like 24 of them with drum tracks.

I can understand how some drummers would not like Lynne's approach. I've heard stories of the Heartbreakers' Stan Lynch not particularly liking Lynne's approach, but that has more to do with the style of what Lynne likes as opposed to the sound. A lot of stuff Lynne produces is very straightforward 4/4. So I can understand how drummers might not like either the approach to the style of drumming or the resulting sound.

I think also that there is some nuance or at least variance to Lynne's sound, because his post-1986 drum sound is in some ways quite different to some of the drums sounds he got back in the ELO heyday, and there is even some difference among his latterday productions. On something like "Cloud Nine", you get that really thick yet sharp sound with just a touch of reverb, while the drums on something like "Dirty World" off the Wilburys album is like bone dry, almost like a marching band snare sound but with a lot more bottom end.

I love Lynne's drum sound. I wouldn't want to hear every artist use it on every song, but I love it. I like how he gets the snare to sound deep, thick, with a bit of a thud while at the same time keeping it snappy and sharp.

Strangely, the work he did on the Ringo tracks in 1992 as well as the two tracks the same year on the posthumous Orbison album "King of Hearts" has a somewhat weaker drum sound. These are the only Lynne tracks where I really don't like the drum sound as much. The Ringo tracks have rather thin-sounding drums, sounding a bit like a drum machine (which is even more prevalent of a sound on the Orbison "King of Hearts" tracks, which may well have actually been a drum machine while Ringo's drum tracks were actual drums at least.)

 

LOL! I know that's right. It's on everything he touches...and, in my opinion, it has gotten quite old. Time to move on...

Ed

 

This is what my ears always pick up on the most. The guitars are used as much for percussion as for chords.

I've never been a fan of any of it, and I can't believe Lynne was/is so enamored of this approach that he never moved away from it. It's definitely ruined some songs for me.

 

I love his style - works so well for The Wilburys, Petty, Harrison, "You Got It", and of course, himself - man, I love it.

But what he did to "Free as a Bird" is unforgivable. Just not The Beatles - The Beatles are produced by George Martin. Anything less than the George Martin sound is puke-worthy.

Jeff

 

I quite like the "Threetles" tracks, and that was the "sound" they all wanted at that time. Even McCartney, who has the most misgivings about having Lynne on board, ended up liking Lynne so much that he used Lynne on his next solo album.

But I certainly understand why many wanted Martin on board. The strange thing is, Martin initially seemed to have misgivings about the whole idea behind doing the tracks. I've read some interviews where he said he didn't like the whole Natalie Cole video reunion that had been done and things of that nature. I also remember reading how Martin said that while he had misgivings about the idea at the beginning, he ended up liking how the songs turned out and he said he wished he had worked on them.

But I also remember one interview Martin gave at some point after the songs came out (might have been several years after, I'm not sure), and while I hate to be so vague, while I can't remember specifically what Martin said in the interview, he proceeded to describe how he would have produced the "Threetles" songs and I remember reading that and actually being glad that he didn't produce them, at least the way he was describing. I'll have to dig that interview out if I have it. It may have been in one of those yearly "Goldmine" Beatles special issues, but I'm not sure.

 

Goerge Martin being nearly deaf may have been a factor
in him not wanting to produce the Beatles reunion.

I always thought that Lynne used a sweet sounding compressor on the bass.
He also seems to noise-gate the rhythm guitar on occasion.

 

Please find that!

Again, I love Jeff Lynne. But I'll never forgive him for making sure he put his Lynneprint on The Beatles instead of making The Beatles sounds like... The Beatles.

I think Paul himself would have done a better job (he "produced" drum sounds on The White Album, right?).

But with Martin, I envisioned light strings, a little added piano... sharper more "live" sound in general.

The fact that "Free as a Bird" started with the two Lynne shotgun blasts was not cool. VERY Un-Beatles.

If Paul could tear off Phil Spector's work on The Beatles, I hope someone does that to Lynne someday and gives us a better mix at least!

Jeff