{"id":692,"date":"2016-07-30T11:50:27","date_gmt":"2016-07-30T11:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=692"},"modified":"2016-07-30T11:53:34","modified_gmt":"2016-07-30T11:53:34","slug":"from-the-vaults-elo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=692","title":{"rendered":"From the Vaults: ELO"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Lennon loved ELO. \u00a0In 1974, he proclaimed that they were the \u201cnatural heirs to the Fab Four\u201d which more or less fulfilled Jeff Lynne\u2019s teenage fantasies generated as a Beatles fan during his formative years in Birmingham. \u00a0America also loved ELO. \u00a0England? \u00a0Not so much. \u00a0Sharon Osbourne? \u00a0More on her later. \u00a0Even Phil Lynne, Jeff\u2019s father, told him, \u201cThe trouble with your tunes, son, is they\u2019ve got no tunes.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0ELO overcame a rough apprenticeship to become a big deal on both sides of the pond, if not all over the world, but it ended for Lynne in 1986. \u00a0Lynne loved working in the studio more than touring so he shelved the band in favor of working as a producer and songwriter for others. \u00a0\u00a0The music he produced with George Harrison, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Joe Walsh (to name but a few) is a fair testament that he does know his way around the production business. \u00a0He had an inkling of this career direction from the time he attended his first live gig (Del Shannon best known for his first big hit <\/span>Runaway<\/span><\/i>). \u00a0He disliked the fact that \u00a0live sound of the drums was not the same sound he had heard on Shannon\u2019s records. \u00a0He left school at age 15 and joined his first professional band, The Idle Race, but his musical education was just beginning. \u00a0Lynne has spent his lifetime picking apart the music of his idols (Orbison and the Beatles among them) because he says, \u201cIt\u2019s the way they built \u2018em (the songs) that intrigues me.\u201d \u00a0His work with Petty, Orbison, and Harrison on various projects spawned The Traveling Wilburys. \u00a0The Wilburys produced hit music largely directed by Lynne more or less for the love of it. \u00a0Who else could have dragged Bob Dylan into the project when Dylan really didn\u2019t need collaborators to work with?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0With ELO on hold and a busy dance card, Lynne didn\u2019t give his old band much thought until 2014 when he revived ELO for a sold out show at London\u2019s Hyde Park. \u00a0Surprise by the crowd reaction, Lynne procured a new record contract with Columbia records. \u00a0The resulting album (<\/span>Alone in the Universe) <\/span><\/i>that came out in November of 2015 was ELO\u2019s first new music in 15 years. \u00a0That is where Jeff Lynne\u2019s ELO stands today, \u00a0but how did the Electric Light Orchestra see the light of day to begin with? <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It began with the psychedelic British band The Move whose biggest hit came at the peak of their fame in 1967 (<\/span>Flowers in the Rain<\/span><\/i>). \u00a0Lynn joined The Move in 1970 and according to him, \u201cBy the time I joined The Move, they were moving into cabaret, and I didn\u2019t want to do that.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0Lynne, The Move\u2019s \u00a0frontman, Roy Wood, and drummer, Bev Bevan, began experimenting with what they described as a \u201ca ten piece mini-orchestra that would carry on where the Beatles <\/span>I am the Walrus<\/span><\/i> left off.\u201d \u00a0While their self titled first album produced a moderate hit in the U.K. (<\/span>10538 Overture<\/span><\/i>) Lynne recalled the album as being \u201ca self-indulgent non-event.\u201d \u00a0Both Wood and Lynne had a difficult time working together (\u201clike having two bosses in the band\u201d was Lynne\u2019s assessment) and Wood solved the problem by walking out during the recording of <\/span>ELO2<\/span><\/i> to form Roy Wood\u2019s Wizzard.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0America first took notice of ELO when their version of Chuck Berry\u2019s <\/span>Roll Over Beethoven <\/span><\/i>hit the airwaves. \u00a0\u00a0Having a hit on the radio was fine, but the band was having some difficulty producing their live sound effectively. \u00a0Beven describes this period\u2019s live sound as rather chaotic: \u00a0\u201cThere were about four years of whistling, belching, and groaning sounds\u201d that resulted from the difficulties they encountered mixing the violin and cello sound with the rest of the band. \u00a0Lynne admits that he may not have been the best at communicating to the rest of the band how the sounds in his head would translate to the music they were recording. \u00a0As musicians came and went from the early band, \u00a0their sound evolved and their live performance improved. \u00a0\u00a0Lynne was somewhat empowered when Lennon anointed ELO \u201cthe son of Beatles\u201d, a sentiment that somewhat tempered his own father\u2019s \u201cyour tunes got no tunes\u201d statement (which had spurred Lynne forward with thoughts of, \u201cOkay, I\u2019ll show ya.\u201d). <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The first five albums released between 1971 and 1975 (<\/span>Electric Light Orchestra (1971), ELO 2 (1973), On the Third Day (1973), Eldorado (1974), and Face the Music (1975)<\/span><\/i>) saw the band developing a sound that was not at first universally embraced. \u00a0They really didn\u2019t get up to speed, so to speak, until 1976\u2019s <\/span>A New World Record <\/span><\/i>but they began charting some singles beginning with <\/span>Eldorado. \u00a0Eldorado <\/span><\/i>produced their first number one single in the US (<\/span>Can\u2019t get it out of my head<\/span><\/i>) and <\/span>Face the Music <\/span><\/i>was propelled by two more hit singles (<\/span>Evil Woman <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Strange Magic<\/span><\/i>). \u00a0ELO appeared on the popular US concert series <\/span>The Midnight Special <\/span><\/i>a record four times (1973, 1975, 1976 and 1977), more than any other band. \u00a0As they became bigger and bigger in the states, their profile began to rise in England and they eventually charted 27 top 40 singles between the two.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0By the time they started the <\/span>Eldorado <\/span><\/i>sessions<\/span>,<\/span><\/i> Lynne had tired of overdubbing strings so he decided to try using a full orchestra of session players. \u00a0Using \u00a0Musician Union members, there were some conflicts that developed over their time on the clock, some of which spilled over and were caught on the recordings. \u00a0At one juncture, string players could be heard on tape angrily slamming their instruments away while the band was still recording. \u00a0Enter ELO manager Don Arden \u00a0who had a reputation for being one tough cookie. \u00a0Arden convinced the president of the MU to come to the studio along with the revolting session players. \u00a0Arden convinced the union president to fix the problem (the MU president was no pushover and sported the nickname \u2018Dr. Death\u2019) and he did . \u00a0\u00a0Dr. Death \u00a0insisted that the session be completed and the union picked up the tab for their services that day. \u00a0Jeff Lynne had a sound in his head and even cranky musicians weren\u2019t going to prevent him from getting it down on tape.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Arden\u2019s next move was to send his daughter, the future Mrs. Ozzy Osbourne, Sharon Arden on tour with the band. \u00a0They weren\u2019t exactly a wild bunch as the bored Sharon reported: \u201cTouring with ELO was like running an old-age pensioners\u2019 club. \u00a0All they wanted to do was sit in their rooms doing their knitting.\u201d \u00a0None-the-less, Don Arden was surprised when the tour generated an American Express bill of over 150,000 Pounds for clothes, jewelry and booze. \u00a0It turned out to be from Sharon and not ELO. \u00a0To jazz up their stage presence, they had a special cello built that would explode on cue (\u2018explode\u2019 is a bit too dramatic – it would fall apart in a puff of smoke when a button was pushed. \u00a0It was then re-assembled for the next show). \u00a0Eventually they invested in a laser show that was so dazzling, the first use in Los Angeles gave planes landing at LAX problems. \u00a0Then came the $100,000 stage that resembled a space ship. \u00a0Through it all, Lynne liked the mothership, but not enough for him to want to keep \u00a0touring. \u00a0Lynn let Bev Bevan continue touring under the ELO name through 1986 but eventually bought out Bevan\u2019s share of the band\u2019s name. \u00a0\u00a0This leaves him sole owner of the ELO\u2019s legacy. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jeff Lynne\u2019s ELO played a short promotional tour in support of the new album including a full concert for \u00a0BBC Radio 2 and the first two live dates in the US in thirty years. \u00a0Performing on the round of the usual US talk shows and a ten date 2016 European tour prove Jeff Lynne isn\u2019t allergic to being on stage. \u00a0One of my favorite albums from the last two years found Lynne producing tracks for Joe Walsh\u2019s album <\/span>Analog Man.<\/span><\/i> \u00a0\u00a0When the CD was released, \u00a0Lynne was there on stage at The Troubadour playing a few tracks with his old friend offering more proof that Lynn isn\u2019t just a studio recluse. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Still, I have no doubt \u00a0history will repeat itself and Lynne will \u00a0hunker back down to his first love when the new Jeff Lynn\u2019s ELO tour is done. \u00a0\u00a0As far as who he will be working with next, my crystal ball isn\u2019t clear. \u00a0\u00a0It is a sure bet that he will be sitting in a studio somewhere, writing songs and running the board. \u00a0With his trademark shades and headphones on and faders under his fingers, he will be thinking,\u201cThis is the life for me.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The top piece video of\u00a0Mr Blue Sky<\/em> is from the 2014 Hyde Park concert that inspired him to make Jeff Lynn’s ELO a recording and touring band again.<\/p>\n