Jeff Lynne (not dead!)

Emp_Fab

What a lovely guy.  What a songwriter.  There are very few like him.

Zoolooter

One is definitely enough.

Kebabkid

Still delivering and great songwriter and very self-effacing live.

 I've enjoyed the 2 ELO shows I've seen over the last few years and his backing band, the actual Take That band minus the singers, have been an excellent fit. I love that he includes a non-ELO song, 'Handle with Care', in his set

Whitecat

He's got his own "sound" too that he imparts onto others as a producer... you can hear a Jeff Lynne production from a mile off, and that's not a bad thing. Wilburys, Tom Petty, others have it in spades. I like that he's got a signature 'sound' that way and it works.

axisus

An amazing and enduring career. Out of the blue was the first album I ever bought, I still love it. It was a great time when all those amazing singles were hitting the charts, and ELO in particular had a unique sound as well.

octatonic

I thought this was going to be an RIP thread.

RandallFlagg

Whitecat said:

He's got his own "sound" too that he imparts onto others as a producer... you can hear a Jeff Lynne production from a mile off, and that's not a bad thing. Wilburys, Tom Petty, others have it in spades. I like that he's got a signature 'sound' that way and it works.

He has and I don't like it on all songs. It's typically layers of "DI" sounding electric guitars mixed with acoustic guitars and some slide playing over the top and some big roomy sounding drums.

It has it's place but on every song, I think he ruined the Beatles "new" songs Free As a Bird and Real Love from the Anthology series, they sounded like ELO songs.

EricTheWeary

One of our Tesco delivery guys is a bit of a Jeff Lynne lookalike. 

RandallFlagg said:

Whitecat said:

He's got his own "sound" too that he imparts onto others as a producer... you can hear a Jeff Lynne production from a mile off, and that's not a bad thing. Wilburys, Tom Petty, others have it in spades. I like that he's got a signature 'sound' that way and it works.

He has and I don't like it on all songs. It's typically layers of "DI" sounding electric guitars mixed with acoustic guitars and some slide playing over the top and some big roomy sounding drums.

It has it's place but on every song, I think he ruined the Beatles "new" songs Free As a Bird and Real Love from the Anthology series, they sounded like ELO songs.

Enormously talented guy but sometimes you want to say enough is enough, it's like wow this is great chilli sauce but I didn't want it on my ice cream as well. 

ICBM

He does have an extremely distinctive sound, both production/arrangement and as a songwriter - he does tend to sound a bit the same on everything, perhaps a bit more than I’d want him to. That said he’s responsible for some of my favourite music from my childhood, and one album that (to me at least) is still absolutely astonishing even today... but not Out Of The Blue, although it’s very good.

Time.

In my opinion possibly the greatest concept album ever made, and amazingly un-dated given that it was made forty years ago and is about the future.

I’m also quite sure that an important part of Blade Runner 2049 is based on it...

Whitecat

RandallFlagg said:

Whitecat said:

He's got his own "sound" too that he imparts onto others as a producer... you can hear a Jeff Lynne production from a mile off, and that's not a bad thing. Wilburys, Tom Petty, others have it in spades. I like that he's got a signature 'sound' that way and it works.

He has and I don't like it on all songs. It's typically layers of "DI" sounding electric guitars mixed with acoustic guitars and some slide playing over the top and some big roomy sounding drums.

It has it's place but on every song, I think he ruined the Beatles "new" songs Free As a Bird and Real Love from the Anthology series, they sounded like ELO songs.

Ahhh yes I agree with you there - almost forgotten that he had done those, and they definitely were not as good as they could have been. But the examples I mentioned above I really like.

Redlester

He’s alright. Written some good pop stuff.  I have two problems with him, though. 

1. He still looks like it’s 1976. Brings to mind Red Robbo, Morris Marinas, Double Diamond, Crossroads, denim flares worn with leather blazers, and the occasional shop sign still referring to prices in ‘new pence’.

2. The ‘slack’ drum sound on his post 80s work, which to me sound like a too long elastic band looped over an empty show box. 

scrumhalf

RandallFlagg said:

It has it's place but on every song, I think he ruined the Beatles "new" songs Free As a Bird and Real Love from the Anthology series, they sounded like ELO songs.

Spot on, he relegated the Fab Four to being his backing musicians.

Never liked ELO, far too overblown. The Idle Race, however, were one of the great "undiscovered" bands of the sixties.

Philly_Q

RandallFlagg said:

Whitecat said:

He's got his own "sound" too that he imparts onto others as a producer... you can hear a Jeff Lynne production from a mile off, and that's not a bad thing. Wilburys, Tom Petty, others have it in spades. I like that he's got a signature 'sound' that way and it works.

He has and I don't like it on all songs. It's typically layers of "DI" sounding electric guitars mixed with acoustic guitars and some slide playing over the top and some big roomy sounding drums.

It has it's place but on every song, I think he ruined the Beatles "new" songs Free As a Bird and Real Love from the Anthology series, they sounded like ELO songs.

It's interesting that he was obviously very influenced by the Beatles, but when he got to (sort of) work with them, and with Harrison, he made them sound like ELO.

I was a big ELO fan for a few years, they were the first band I really got into before discovering heavier rock music.  But I went off them when Discovery came out and I learned that all the cellists etc weren't actually on the record, it was all synthesisers.

He's a talented chap though, undoubtedly.

springhead

I wasn't with the outcome of the Beatles production, sounded way too ELO. 

I've seen clips of his recent gigs.  Very impressive that he and his band are able to sound so close to the record.  However for me it made it a bit dull, it was kind too sterile.  Each to his own.  I've still got the ELO greatest hits LP I bought as a lad.