Jeff Lynne Working On New ELO Music, Will Play US Dates

[TrekkiELO]

http://www.billboard.com/articles/ne...irection=false

Billboard
Jeff Lynne Working On New ELO Music, Will Play US Dates
By Steve Baltin
November 05, 2014

At Tuesday night's (Nov. 4) Classic Rock Honours
in Los Angeles, ELO mastermind Jeff Lynne was
feted with the very deserving Outstanding
Contribution to Music award.

"I think it's because I've done a lot of stuff,"
Lynne joked to Billboard after the ceremony.

Lynne, who revived the ELO name and revisited
such classic '70s and '80s hits as "Telephone
Line," "Mr. Blue Sky," "Livin' Thing," "Showdown"
and so many more at London's Hyde Park, confirmed
to Billboard he will be bringing ELO to the
States.

"I had so much in Hyde Park with 50,000 people,
where I just played in September, first time I've
played in 28 years it was fantastic and I loved
every minute, so I'm definitely gonna come here
and play."

As for when he says, "Not too long." His manager then added it will be in 2015.

It won't just be a greatest hits celebration, as
Lynne said he is working on new music under the
ELO banner. "I'm working on a new album and
that'll be involved in the new times when we
play."

Of course even the old stuff is somewhat new to
Lynne, as the songs have evolved and he has
different appreciations for those seminal ELO
hits nearly three decades after he last played
them as ELO.

"They always take on new meanings and some of
them I wrote 40 years ago, some of them I wrote
35 years ago and some of them 30 years ago, they
all become something slightly different as the
years go by," he said. "Some that I thought are
very straight forward aren't at all. I sing them
now and I realize what they're about and it's
usually about grim stuff like relationships and
crap relationships," he added.

So are there any now that he really understands
better than he did during the first ELO run?
"Yeah, I wrote it before I met my second wife,
but 'Evil Woman' turned out to be a prophecy in
me own lunch time."

Copyright © 2014 Billboard

[3LockBox]

Zoom (2001) wasn't that bad of an effort, but it missed that old ELO panache being that it was sort of an basic rock approach with very little synths, no "orchestra" and none of the trademark vocal harmonies.

[BarryLI]

Pretty certain his last US tour was cancelled, I had tix at MSG at the time.

[Fracktured]

Zoom (2001) wasn't that bad of an effort, but it missed that old ELO panache being that it was sort of an basic rock approach with very little synths, no "orchestra" and none of the trademark vocal harmonies.

I never bothered with Zoom, but the way you describe it makes it sound like the ELO album "Time" which wasn't a bad record at all.

[bRETT]

I never bothered with Zoom, but the way you describe it makes it sound like the ELO album "Time" which wasn't a bad record at all.

Difference was that Zoom was guitar rather than keyboard oriented, harking back a bit to Lynne's rock & roll roots. I liked it a lot.

[dleone]

Wouldn't classify myself as an ELO fan per se, but I like Zoom. Very Beatley, and though it does kind of come off as a Jeff Lynne solo album, I was relieved it was a fairly basic recording, which some very pretty songs.

[Rufus]

No Louis Clarke, no Mik Kaminski, no Hugh McDowell, no Bev Bevan=No ELO

[Sean]

Jeff's gonna win anyway. Make a note of it in your little book....

[JJ88]

The tunes were still there on 'Zoom' (the single 'Alright' wasn't that inspired but there's some really nice songs elsewhere) but the production sounded like everything he's done since, I don't know, The Travelling Wilburys? He's developed this sort of meat-and-potatoes sound that doesn't change, especially with the drums.

That Hyde Park show got better and better as it went along. When you hear all those songs together you realise what a remarkable run of hits they had.

[Sean]

Wasn't Harrison on ZOOM playing some slide? All the more Wilbury.

[chalkpie]

This thread has me crankin' Out of the Blue for me pop! He used to CRANK this when we were growing up.

[Gruno]

Pretty certain his last US tour was cancelled, I had tix at MSG at the time.

You are correct. Ticket sales were horrible, so the tour was cancelled.

I am a 'hits only' ELO fan, but I did record Lynne's appearance on KLOS in Los Angeles when he was there to promote Zoom. I recorded it for a friend who is a major ELO/Lynne fan. Shortly after, I heard about the cancelled tour. I believe they were shooting for arenas when they should have been attempting smaller theaters.

[thedunno]

ELO is one of the very few pure pop bands I still play for pleasure now and then (along with XTC and Crowded House)
Not sure I will be interested in the new album but I hope for an European Tour!

[BravadoNJ]

Zoom was alot like Jeff's solo album.

[jlneudorf]

Armchair Theater is a decent album. Haven't heard Zoom.

Regards,
Jon

[Obscured]

ELO will be performing on this Sunday's Grammy Awards.

[Polska]

On a related note - I could have sworn I saw an ELO (or maybe it was him on his own) special on PBS, done live but mostly acoustic that was pretty good. Can't seem to remember the name of it, or if there is a CD or DVD of the show. This would have been within say the last 10 years at most. Had a couple women playing cello....

Ring a bell with anyone??

[gilawi]

On a related note - I could have sworn I saw an ELO (or maybe it was him on his own) special on PBS, done live but mostly acoustic that was pretty good. Can't seem to remember the name of it, or if there is a CD or DVD of the show. This would have been within say the last 10 years at most. Had a couple women playing cello....

Ring a bell with anyone??

This could be the DVD Zoom Live. It was broadcasted on PBS. This one has a very good set list.

[GuitarGeek]

I never bothered with Zoom, but the way you describe it makes it sound like the ELO album "Time" which wasn't a bad record at all.

I'm not sure how you reckon Time had "very little synths, no orchestra and none of the vocal harmonies". There's vocal harmonies, synths and strings all over that record. It was pretty much my introduction to ELO and remains my favorite album from them.

[bRETT]

I'm not sure how you reckon Time had "very little synths, no orchestra and none of the vocal harmonies". There's vocal harmonies, synths and strings all over that record. It was pretty much my introduction to ELO and remains my favorite album from them.

Lots of synths and harmonies, but it seems pretty light on the strings. I don't believe ELO had a string section after Out of the Blue.

Even weirder is that the string section on the Zoom DVD was two cellos, no violin.

[Polska]

Watching "Zoom" live on YouTube. Low-def quality but a really fantastic concert. Everytime I hear ELO I ask myself why the hell I'm not listening to them more!

[GuitarGeek]

Lots of synths and harmonies, but it seems pretty light on the strings. I don't believe ELO had a string section after Out of the Blue..

Well, on Disco?Very! and Time, the band is officially billed as a quartet (ie Kaminski, McDowell, and Gale are listed in the credits), and I suppose you do have a point in that there are more songs on those records with no strings. I think maybe Jeff's musical ideas were evolving away from the "orchestra" thing. I think like a lot of people during that era, Jeff probably got one of each of the synths as they came out, and found himself preferring the "orchestral" sound he got out of the CS-80 (which apparently is all over both of those albums) than the real thing. Maybe he was another guy who thought he was making "music of the future" but pushing the CS-80 and Polymoog up in the mix and de-emphasizing the acoustic instruments.

[malgeo]

My first concert was ELO (Time tour, Philadelphia, 1981). I have a vague memory that, at the time, the "Electric Light Orchestra" had officially changed its name to "ELO."

[TrekkiELO]

Well, on Disco?Very! and Time, the band is officially billed as a quartet (ie Kaminski, McDowell, and Gale are listed in the credits), and I suppose you do have a point in that there are more songs on those records with no strings. I think maybe Jeff's musical ideas were evolving away from the "orchestra" thing. I think like a lot of people during that era, Jeff probably got one of each of the synths as they came out, and found himself preferring the "orchestral" sound he got out of the CS-80 (which apparently is all over both of those albums) than the real thing. Maybe he was another guy who thought he was making "music of the future" but pushing the CS-80 and Polymoog up in the mix and de-emphasizing the acoustic instruments.

Indeed, "This is music for the future", from my YouTube page!

[BravadoNJ]

loved ELO! but Balance Of Power & Zoom lacked that ELO production and drama. they sounded more like Jeff's solo album Armchair Theater.
if Jeff records a new ELO album it will have to be phenomenal! his last comeback tour in 2001 was canceled because of low ticket sales.