Monday, October 8, 2012

JEFF LYNNE: "Long Wave"

Rating: N/A
Label: Frontiers 2012
Review by: Urban "Wally" Wallstrom

Jeff Lynne's "Long Wave" (Goodbye?) his first new solo album in ages and a tribute slash homage to the songs that at first inspired him as the Birmingham kid infront of the radio and eventually also formed him as an songwriter. It's the laid-back cover album consisting of eleven songs originally performed by various crooners and ultra soft pre-rockers of the 1950's and early 60's.

It's stripped down melancholia and I couldn't stand listening to these sort of melodies in the past... but now I find some of them to be strangely decent? It's certainly not my first choice as the fun party album. I'd rather like to think of this as your well deserved pause from the alarming as well as constant noise/sounds which surround us on daily bases.

I definitely perfer the true-blue crooner music of "She" (Charles Aznavour), "If I Loved You", (Rodgers and Hammerstein), "Running Scared" (Roy Orbison), "Beyond the Sea" (Bobby Darin), the superb, "So Sad", etc. The old and very basic rock of, "Let It Rock", doesn't rock at all to be frank. The Rolling Stones cover of "Mercy Mercy" and Charlie Chaplin's "Smile", are okay but hardly favorite tracks. Etta James' "At Last" is however excellent but ever so wimpy and the same goes for "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing".

Lynne on lead vocals, background vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, piano, bass, drums, keyboards, vibes, production, and the whole she-bang. It's less than 30 minutes of music as well as the perfect gift to grandpa/ma?
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