One of two Jeff Lynne projects for 2012 (the other being a selection of re-recorded hits from Electric Light Orchestra), ‘Long Wave’ finds the sunglassed, curly haired Brummie paying tribute to those songs he heard on his fuzzy long-wave radio during his younger years.  Despite the age of the chosen songs and the home demo feel to the album, Lynne’s choice of material comes delivered exactly as you’d expect: multi-tracked and then topped off with that compressed drum sound (a la Traveling Wilburys), a sound that makes so much of his work so distinctive.

Lynne’s rummage through the catalogues of a pre-Beatle world results in somewhat of a mixed bag, but he really comes alive on ‘At Last’ – a much covered tune, but most famous in a version recorded by Etta James.  Synthesised string sounds (which surprisingly, do not sound too bad here) meet a stabbing piano in a way that only the period could muster, and even with Lynne’s more modern shine – and the fact that he’s not quite as gifted vocally as some who’ve tackled this tune previously – the power of the song comes through in spades.  Lynne’s noodling, jazzy guitar tones are also a nice touch, of which, perhaps more could have been made.  Against the odds, ‘Beyond The Sea’ also comes out rather well, with sharp, multi-tracked electric guitars replacing the strings to great effect.  Those guitars are a gentle reminder of just one of the many things that made ELO’s best work so enjoyable.  To be honest, ‘Long Wave’ could have used a few more of them… Likewise, the album’s lead single, ‘Mercy, Mercy’, while not presenting anything out of the ordinary for Jeff, comes across with sparkle and it’s obvious he loves this song.  In fact, with its gated snare drum and spirited vocal, it wouldn’t have been out of place on his ‘Armchair Theatre’ disc.

On the surface, Roy Orbison’s ‘Running Scared’ gets a respectful reworking, with Jeff’s vocal still allowing the listener to imagine The Big O crooning his way distinctively through each line.  While Lynne’s voice is perfectly good and stabbed piano and acoustic guitars evoke Orbison’s favoured musical arrangement, a closer listen uncovers something of a disappointment – it’s a pity Lynne didn’t splash out on a full string section as warranted.  His choice of synthesised strings (on this track and a couple of others) just pushes things too far into the realms of “polished home demo”.   Many would suspect that Chuck Berry’s ‘Let It Rock’ would be one of ‘Long Wave’s highlights – and in many ways they’re not wrong, since Lynne’s rock ‘n’ roll influenced numbers were always decent in the past.  As good as his take on Chuck is, though, there’s a sense of the over-familiar and as a result, it lacks the overall enjoyment of Lynne’s own works within that field, whether that be The Wilburys’ ‘Rattled’ or ELO’s ‘Hold On Tight’ et al.

Much more unfortunate, a take on the Richard Rogers tune ‘If I Loved You’ is slow, a tad laboured and so ultimately uninteresting that even Jeff’s lead vocal drags in places.  With an over-reliance of blanket keyboards to replace the string section it begs for, it’s all a bit dirgy.  The only bright spark is a huge guitar chord appearing just once, only then to vanish under the dragging mire of droning keys.  The old crooner within tries his hardest on ‘Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered’, but the end result is ordinary at best, while ‘Love Is a Many Splendored Thing’ (from the 1955 movie of the same name) turns out a little better.  The rumpty-tumpty way the tune lumbers along suits Lynne’s trademark drum sounds, his guitar adds a few nice jazzy flourishes and – lurking in the back – a piano fleshes everything out.  Most importantly, occasional wordless vocals hint at Lynne’s own musical past with ELO – although, thankfully, he forgoes any use of vocoder!  Despite some okay elements, though, it is not something many would consider a classic Jeff Lynne performance.

Elsewhere, you’ll find reasonable renditions of ‘Smile’ (the Charlie Chaplin penned standard) and The Everly Brothers’ ‘So Sad’ alongside Charles Aznavour’s ‘She’ (a commendable effort which incorporates just enough of Lynne’s own style, but ultimately isn’t a patch on Elvis Costello’s version).   After hearing, it is obvious why each one has been chosen, but the resulting performances are predictable.  As with much of ‘Long Wave’, instead of insisting on playing absolutely everything himself, perhaps Jeff should have hired a few extra musicians to give these performances a little more dimension?

Listen to Lynne collaborating with Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and George Harrison on ‘Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1’ and the spark of various geniuses colliding results in something that sounded like it was fun to be a part.  Similarly, Lynne’s studio expertise on Harrison’s ‘Cloud Nine’ and Petty’s ‘Full Moon Fever’ appears to lift those works to new, sparky levels.  Looking beyond ‘Long Wave’s home-recorded roots, it is full of multi-tracked wonderment from a technical level, but the lack of other musicians means that, in places, it’s lacking a sense of fun – something that no amount of studio understanding could ever replace.

‘Long Wave’ worth hearing for ‘Let It Rock’, ‘Mercy, Mercy’ and a couple of others, but it’s all rather more a labour of love than a musical masterpiece.  Although the more devoted fans will love Jeff Lynne no matter what, since ‘Long Wave’ comes over two decades since Lynne’s last solo effort – and some eleven years since the last completely new work from ELO – the fans deserve much better than they essentially get here.

October 2012

Most of this second EP from Connecticut-based singer-songwriter Liz Wood moves away from the adult pop style that provided the basis of her debut release.  It’s darker tone was inspired by the end of a five-year relationship and finds Wood looking inside herself, moving through the various emotions associated with such a shake-up.  As if to resemble a sense of rebuilding, two of its four songs have a very stripped down feel.

‘Ruin’ is sharp and a little bitter. Backed by a simple acoustic riff, Wood rings emotion from every line, exploring a relationship where someone else “called the shots”.  As the song progresses, slightly discordant electric guitars round out the sound while mechanical rhythms add a real edge.  The tension is wound throughout, but essentially at the heart of the piece is Wood’s anger and insistence that she is not at fault; her delivery of the feeling that “you fucked up not me” providing the track’s main hook and central point.  She could not have picked any less a subtle jumping off point, but it’s a very strong opening statement.

‘Hanging On’ and ‘Can’t Hide’ are very intimate, featuring just Wood’s voice and piano. The former has a lovely light tune, reminiscent of Tori Amos and so many other chanteuse pianists.  Although less spiteful, a fantastic vocal, fuelled by another deeply personal lyric, makes it, perhaps, Wood’s best number this time out.  Whereas ‘Hanging On’ has a questioning tone, ‘Can’t Hide’ finds Wood in a position of strength, emotionally, vocally and musically.  Again, the piano arrangement is smooth, lending a great backdrop to Wood’s innermost thoughts with great results.

‘Fall Again’ provides a sharp contrast to the other three tracks, presenting Wood fronting a whole band and in a more optimistic frame of mind.  The drums have a real presence throughout, but they never completely overshadow Wood’s guitar lines which keep the tune motoring.  Wood’s vocal, meanwhile, is the strongest element here; her wordy performance straddles a fine line between strength and that previous vulnerability, showing a strong influence from the wonderful Lisa Loeb – something particularly obvious in her wordy delivery.  In terms of overall feel, this has far more in common with Wood’s previous self-titled EP. “Let me fall for you again and I will sink under your skin”, she sings, “no regrets”.

Given the strong feelings that rise to the fore within relationships (both during and in their aftermath), Liz Wood could have likely blessed the world with a full album’s worth of emotional outpourings.  As it is, the EP format is very effective: the shorter running time never makes it feel like she is labouring her point lyrically, while musically, its three distinctly different styles present a broad range of the artist’s talents.   While not the most uplifting of listens – understandable, given those circumstances in which the songs were born – this is a terrific release.

August 2012

Although billed as an EP, with near half an hour’s playing time, this eight song release from Canadian singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Erin Passmore is almost as long as some early/mid 60s albums (and an equal length to an countless number of punk discs). Mixing elements of adult rock/pop and a few jazzier overtones, on her solo debut, the sometime member of Rah Rah presents a slow burner of a disc that has an almost epic feel in places.

The eight tracks cover a full range of sounds, between upbeat rock tunes and more understated vocal led pieces.  The lead track ‘Downtown’ is tough yet very tuneful, placing Passmore neatly into a radio-friendly rock pigeonhole.  Lead guitars add a fair amount of fuzziness to a punchy arrangement over which the vocals are strong and very assured.  In some ways, this is a very accessible entry point into this EP, but Erin Passmore offers other far more interesting musical arrangements and ideas.    With her lead vocal soaring above a selection of instrumental brilliance, ‘Into The Woods’ is one such number.  Beyond those vocals, the drums lay down a laid-back beat, the guitars add a retro twang, undercut by occasional piano and a bottom layer of subtle brass.  It really is a kitchen-sink type arrangement that takes a fair number of spins before you’ve discovered all of its best qualities…but it’s absolutely worth investing time in.

In contrast, ‘Sad Song’ is rather bleak: a drum heartbeat and a feedback drone pave the way for bursts of electric piano, over which Erin offers a personal and rather biting lyric. Chopping between full band sections and moments of sparseness, as her vocal teeters against a spasmodic drum line, this track’s striking nature makes it one of the EP’s choice cuts, even though it could also be considered the release’s most challenging. ‘Fall’ also sounds like it’ll explore Passmore’s softer side at first, as her voice first appears accompanied by a simply struck piano chord.  And then, the tune takes a brilliant and unexpected turn: with the addition of busyish drums and a distorted guitar, it becomes a rather dark and aggressive piece.  While it is musically strong, it’s often the heartfelt lead vocal which makes the track great.  The mismatched nature between music and voice provides an unsettling tone, resulting in something unexpectedly cool. [If you really get into this, then checking out Erin Passmore’s label-mate Rebekah Higgs is also time well spent. While they are not always stylistically that similar, Higgs’s ‘Odd Fellowship’ also occasionally sets out to catch the listener off-guard with a combination of strong vocals and interesting musical arrangements.]

On the similarly introspective (but much smoother) ‘Married’, Passmore really excels.  The sparingly used guitars are atmospheric, allowing a tinkling piano to lead the way on a light-sounding tune.  Passmore’s lead vocal style – moving, as it does, between a low register and (gently) passionate delivery – sounds just lovely, especially on the chorus section where her repeated line of “hold me close, I’m tired darling” emerges from the speakers with an almost lullaby/nursery rhyme quality.  The gentle mood continues through ‘Rock The Boat’, a beautifully arranged track which pitches another very enjoyable lead vocal performance against a gentle choir of backing vocals. While Passmore’s very natural tones sit upfront, the warmth of the whole arrangement shouldn’t be overlooked: gentle jazz drum fills and a strong backing vocal arrangement really flesh out the complete picture.  As Passmore’s lead voice builds to a climax, the piece ends abruptly and unexpectedly.

The title cut aside, the ‘Downtown’ EP often teases the listener by working its magic slowly; but once it’s got you, that’s it.  Between the cinematic soundscapes and Passmore’s natural delivery, it’s a release with plenty of charm.

July 2012