Jeff Lynne's ELO - From Out Of Nowhere

It is different work and 'Best' means nothing! it all amounts to what any person thinks is or isn't.

As Genesis, once wrote 'I Know What I Like' or perhaps they might not have done lol

You get the point.

 

But the difference between Don't Let Me Down and all the recent JL&ELO stuff is that DLMD has movement. There are embellishments all over the place throughout the song. There's the acapella verse, there is a bass line that moves around, the chorus is sung a bit differently when it comes around again. It's an interesting song that doesn't reveal every single one of its charms in the first verse and chorus. Maybe Jeff and Richard did everything on that song...but if they did, they managed to add enough color to it to keep it interesting--something missing on the recent stuff.

 

Nonsense...

 

There's a lot of theories of Jeff doing everything himself because he's cheap, likes to control things etc...

Personally, I think the answer is quite simple and obvious. He's in his 70s and likes to noodle in his home studio til he's decided he's done. He's got no record company pressuring him with deadlines, so he just records whenever inspiration strikes him. If he were to use his live band (who I'm guessing don't live in LA like he does) he would have to hold actual recording sessions, and that's not the way he operates anymore. At this point he's really just doing it for his own fun, and I'm guessing he gets a kick out of playing everything.

 

The original concept was for ELO to be a LIGHT ORCHESTRA, with all string parts played by band members. Consequently the use of big orchestras in the mid-Seventies was not true to the original concept at all.

On the other hand, the project name was also a pun, alluding to some traditional British light orchestras of that era.

Don't get me wrong I love the ELO strings but from the beginning it wasn't the only thing that ELO was about. What originally drew me to ELO was its grandeur, plus the studio and keyboard wizardry, in combination with Jeff's voice and sense of melody. There are many examples in pop history to prove that the use of the word "orchestra" is not always meant to be taken literally. On the other hand Lynne hasn't completely given up on this characteristic feature of his classic sound: BOP features prominent synth strings, Zoom uses cellos and little string sections, and even the new album might include a couple of tracks with electronic string arrangements.

 

109% agreed. Time is my favorite ELO album. It's a funhouse of sci fi sounds, imagery and energy. In his own reissue liner notes, he made mention of how crazy Twilight was as a recording.

But dude abandoned his bag of tricks in the late 1980s, and has lived within that stripped down, Wilbury sound for 30 years now. It's a bit of a shame because of how inventive ELO could be. Up until Balance of Power, whatever track you were listening to, the next track would be totttalllyyy different.

I just figure, he's in his 70s now. He ain't gonna change, so I either take it on its own terms, or not. So yeah - it gets same-y. If the songs are good, it can still work - like Zoom. But it's not as imaginative.

 

Okay, it may not be the ELO sound that YOU like, but tastes differ. It's just your personal opinion. I can honestly say that I love both ELO's mid-Seventies imperial phase and the later works.

 

How is it 'Nonsense'?

You people should stop assuming we all like the same thing and just because you think that MBS and the 1971-1986 is 'BEST' well, that's your opinion.

'Best' isn't universally agreed by all as in OOTB

Same goes for 'Worst' as in 'Flaming Pie' By McCartney

In future people should perhaps say " Well, in my opinion his best/worst work was before or after 1986.

"In my opinion I like all the JL work, and cannot see any problem with his skill on any instrument and those recent records are very nice, if somewhat different in style"

Best and Worst, isn't Absolute! It is only YOUR or My Opinion.

 

Yeah, I started in the middle - Discovery, Xanadu, Greatest Hits and Time. Kept listening through the 80s/90s with admittedly decreasing interest, and in the late 90s went back to check out ELO 1 and 2, plus On the Third Day. Great albums, which I now rate up there with the mid-70s 'imperial' phase.

But Time is the shiz, y'all.

(Armchair Theatre is pretty great too.)

 

It's a great album, in my opinion and the start of a busy 32 years of writing, producing and session work. Yo can hear the other musicians and style on Cloud Nine, Co Produced and mostly written by GH.

 

It gets same-y, critics have been saying this since the mid-Seventies, but I couldn't disagree more.

Jeff has released three studio albums under the moniker ELO/Jeff Lynne's ELO after 1986, and to me, Zoom is a radical departure from BOP. In the same way, the dreamy Long Wave inspired AITU is totally different from the more edgy guitar-driven Zoom. Judging by the title track the latest album will also be a further development of the AITU sound, rather than just copying it.

 

Actually, I think there IS a fairly strong consensus that Jeff's "best" work is far behind him...those who think he's just as creative as ever are the outliers. The vast majority of the post AT work is formulaic, musically repetitive, and sadly NOT his best. Yeah it's my opinion, but it's also a widely held view.

Like many here, I work in a creative industry, and I don't pay guys to just show up, or create "different" work...I expect their best, each and every time; after all, it is MY money going to reward their efforts. And I'm going to call it out when it doesn't measure up. It doesn't mean that I don't respect the artist/contributor/employee...it's actually a sign of respect to demand better when you know the capacity is there.

However, it's pointless to argue with someone who simply accepts whatever gets spit out...that's also your right.

 

Well, I mean same-y in a different way than 70s critics. They was wrong! I mean when a song is built up of patterns that repeat, do not vary, and repeat until the song ends. A great example of that is the Armchair Theatre track What Would It Take. It's nice, but its production doesn't distinguish itself from its surrounding songs, and it's very basic. Not bad, but cookie-cutter.

And if an album features several tracks fitting that description with instrumentation that doesn't vary much, that too can be monotonous, except in small doses.

Totally, that's a fair point.

 

Alone In The Universe was the first one, for me, that I felt to be assembled from a bin labeled 'ELO Spare Parts'. Makes me slightly wary of buying this new one ...

 

Drip, drip...

Is that a leak I hear?

 

I don't disagree. But this is the norm for any oldies act - not being able to conjure up the brilliance of past glories. (But either way, screw consensus. It's pretty meaningless.)

Musical inspiration tends to fade. I'm always surprised when it returns. Every time Paul McCartney comes up with a new good melody, I think - God that's gotta be the last really good one. Cuz how many can one person conjure? Outside of writers like Mozart, or Beethoven.

 

Ok - if the album has been leaked, then I'm out of here until after Nov 1st. I want to hear the album with an open mind. See y'all later.

 

In my opinion, you have a personal opinion, same as mine and no more or less valid. Opinions are like Noses, we all have one. Your opinion is Your opinion only and you own, you can't make silly sweeping statements, even though you have .

 

Very selfish people, leak others work.

 

For me, leaks have never been that much of an issue. While I'd prefer for an album's contents to be fresh when I first get my hands on the eventual physical product, no early file can replace that feeling of holding the fruits of a favourite artist's labour - I'll really miss the days when new entertainment doesn't ship on some tangible storage format in the kind of packaging that shows love and care was put into it.

 

I didn’t compare his post 1983 work to his prime (n the 70’s but I would point out that working with other musicians would give him the interaction that might make the material a little bit better than it is. Clearly it’s well written but there’s a lack,of energy to me that was in his best 70’s work.

 

Yes their good albums but the quality does dip and I think that having a band interaction is missed. It might have made just enough difference.

 

The Beatles are so pervasive on this forum they get credit for other artists material Need to find out how DC5 recorded Because years before Abbey Road was released

 

That would not fly in the 1970s. A one man band? I don't think so.

JL should have done what Paul McCartney did with the last iteration of Wings - it was his group, but he encouraged a band mindset and encouraged the guys to get their faces out there, do interviews, etc. Seems like Jeff forget about that concept by 1980 - maybe fed by Don Arden's encouragement.

 

You cannot compare the two bands. It's like comparing Led Zep, to Quo.