blackleatherbookshelf | Entries tagged with electric light orchestra

Putt Putt Putt
3 Out Of 5 Stars

An Electric Light Orchestra album in name only, 2001's "Zoom" actually sounds better via this remaster than it did on initial release. If there's one thing Jeff Lynne really comprehends, it's sound. Which means what you're really buying here is a fantastically mastered Jeff Lynne solo album. Factor in that Lynne basically arrested his musical development at The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour," and you'll get a much greater understanding of what "Zoom" is all about.

After all, classic ELO was a band. Only Richard Tandy is on board from the old hands and he is a guest on two of the songs. Ringo Starr shows up just as often as Tandy does. Sadly, some of George Harrison's final work is found on "A Long Time Gone" and "All She Wanted." Harrison gave his Traveling Wilbury buddy some tasty work to go out on, which adds to "Zoom's" charm. And yes, "Zoom" is a charming album. You'll hear a lot of Beatles touchstones, maybe even more than you'll reflect on actual ELO albums. Because after sound, the second thing Lynne understands is his way around a decent pop song.

That's what you'll find scattered around "Zoom." "Easy Money" is Lynne's typical take on rockabilly, while "Just For Love" at least brings in the string section to accompany the Beatles/ELO sound. The leadoff single from 2001, "All Right," is an OK guitar rocker (but it's no "Do Ya"). There's also the lovely "Melting In The Sun," which does sound like latter day ELO. What kind of undermines "Zoom" is the bonus inclusion of a live "Turn To Stone." When you listen to that particular song, it reminds you of what is missing from "Zoom." Lynne used to be able to knock off an entire album of sugary hookfests like that 1977 gem, with a band to make them sound like magic, and there isn't anything on "Zoom" that comes close. Which, again, is what determined my thoughts in the first part of the review. Call "Zoom" an extension of the Wilburys. Call it a decent Jeff Lynne solo project. Just remember that, despite the labeling, this isn't really an ELO album.

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Crashing the Starship
1 Out Of 5 Stars

I don't know which makes me feel worse; that Jeff Lynne decided he needed to do note-for-note recreations of some of ELO's best known songs or that I was sucker enough to drop my hard earned cash on this doggy-doo. I first heard that Lynne wanted to make "Mr Blue Sky" because he wanted to make the songs sound like they did in his head, and with modern technology. OKAY, I'm intrigued. My imagination gets an expectation that maybe Lynne's going to revisit these songs and do some major overhauls, like different orchestrations of arrangements. Silly me.

Like Kiss, Foreigner, Journey and a handful of other classic rock bands, Lynne pulls a George Lucas on us and decides the real thing would be so much cooler if he just made them a second time, without any help from the rest of those pesky original Electric Light Orchestra bandmates. Which should give everyone a terrific lesson in what is commonly referred to as "Band Chemistry." As technically proficient as he is, and as much as he was the driving force behind ELO's multiple line-ups (except for the awful ELO II from the late 80's/early 90's), he alone does not an ELO make.

So you end up with some various minor changes, like the much dryer version of "Do Ya" or the less disco-fied version of "Turning to Stone." For the most part though, this is like chocolate pudding when you could have chocolate mousse. They have some similarities, but they just aren't the same thing. Jeff Lynne has every right in the world to remake his own songs in whatever format he desires. I also have the right to call them doody. Don't make the same mistake I did. Stick to your copies of All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra (Original Recording Remastered). Key word here? Original.