The return of Mr. Blue Sky

Hold on tight!

This week sees the return of a man who is definitely a musical genius with a capital G. Don’t walk away – it isn’t strange magic... Jeff Lynne is back!

Yes, the be-afro-ed one with the shades who bestrode the 70’s with orchestral rock of the highest calibre did apparently not turn to stone, or purchase a ticket to the moon, for this week sees the release of not one, but two albums, all over the world.

Considering it’s 22 years since the ELO frontman/writer/guitarist/everything else too’s last solo outing, it’s true that this could cause some confusion.

For a man heading into the twilight of his career, it’s an ambitious outing – “Long Wave” is an album of covers of songs from his youth, whilst “Mr Blue Sky” is a best-of... but re-recorded entirely by his Jeffness as - get this! – he wasn’t happy with the original versions. Don’t bring me down, Jeff – they were awesome. But I guess that’s the way life’s meant to be. If he wants the world to know “I’m alive”, it’s up to him what he does.

So, where’s he been all this time? Well, he produced George Harrison’s comeback album “Cloud 9”, of course. And Tom Petty’s “Full Moon Fever”. And music by Roy Orbison. And Paul McCartney. And then there was his pivotal role in the Travelling Wilburys. Oh, and being the man the surviving Beatles turned to when they wanted to use John Lennon tapes to create some new Beatles songs for the “Anthology” series. And numerous other production credits to boot.

Perhaps, then, we can forgive him for a being a stranger on a quiet street - since 2001 in fact, when the last album under the Electric Light Orchestra name, “Zoom” came out.

With recent appearances on Radio 2, Jools Holland’s show, the One Show, a fantastic new video for Mr. Blue Sky and an evening of BBC4 programmes, it looks like he’s heading for a Showdown with the modern music polluting the charts. Rock’n’Roll is king in some people’s eyes, but is it getting to the point where’s it’s too late to revive his career, even if any album he touches has a minimum of four little diamonds on it? Are we saying it’s over?

In a world where it’s the image that seems to matter, and not the brilliance of the song, Jeff is ready to shine a little love on the world again, and about time too. Maybe that’s the way life’s meant to be, but I can’t get it out of my head that we need more of his kind of music in the world.

So next time you’re a nightrider on the last train to London, maybe you should pop your ipod on, dial up Jeff and head across the border and into musical Eldorado. It’s time to face the music...

Have a Rockaria! of a weekend.

If you can.

This post first appeared in my 'Thank grumpy it's Friday' column in the North West Evening Mail on Friday 12th October 2012. This is the unedited version - you can view the printed/online version here I thought my original column title was pretty good, but they went with 'Musical genius is back in spotlight' which is pretty darm right as well.

83 words went AWOL in the edit this week, including the final paragraph. You've got all of them here. I had a LOT of fun shoehorning ELO song titles in to this one! Can you figure out how many there are (not including album titles)?!

I dedicate this post to the Showdown Mailing List - a fantastic email-based community with a passion for all things ELO and Jeff related, curated by the brilliant (and remarkably tolerant) Lynn Hoskins. It's also dedicated to my Dad, who died 17 years ago this week - he didn't approve of my musical taste much, but I think he may just have been ELO-curious...

And if you need cheering up, you really, really, REALLY, need to watch this...

(Currently playing... The Move's "Message From The Country". I don't care if your legs start achin'...)

A fisful of change at the shops

A recent day out reminded me how much the retail experience has altered during my lifetime – and it’s not all good. I could stop typing this, and buy a fridge, in a matter of seconds. The shops are shut and it’s 9pm, but I could still place the order and arrange delivery. I haven’t got to wander round a white-goods retail emporium trying to work out which slightly different version of something that keeps my cider cold is better. It’ll be cheaper, too. But in amongst the convenience, endless choice and bargains, we’ve lost some of the personal, human, touches that used to make a trip to the shops something more than just a daily chore. Last weekend, we visited a local coastal town. Amongst the shops selling over-priced imported home accessories (who doesn’t need another roughly-hewn wooden heart, poorly painted and a bargain at £10?) was one that looked different. It’s window allowed you to see in, rather than being plastered with stick-on graphics and special offers calling ...

Malaysian Grand Prix - Vettel hot, but not bothered

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"It's all gone quiet..." said Roobarb

If, like me, you grew up (and I’m aware of the irony in that) in the ‘70s, February was a tough month, with the sad news that Richard Briers and Bob Godfrey had died. Briers had a distinguished acting career and is, quite rightly, fondly remembered most for his character in ‘The Good Life’. Amongst his many roles, both serious and comedic, he also lent his voice to a startling bit of animation that burst it’s wobbly way on to our wooden-box-surrounded screens in 1974. The 1970s seemed to be largely hued in varying shades of beige, with hints of mustard yellow and burnt orange, and colour TV was a relatively new experience still, so the animated adventures of a daft dog and caustic cat who were the shades of dayglo green and pink normally reserved for highlighter pens, must have been a bit of a shock to the eyes at the time. It caused mine to open very wide indeed. Roobarb was written by Grange Calveley, and brought vividly into life by Godfrey, whose strange, shaky-looking sty...

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