The shiny pop bubblegum of E.L.O. has always been a guilty pleasure for me. I'll crank it when no else is around to witness high-fructose corn on parade. Now it turns out I may not have been the only one...Some guy calling himself "Bleu" out of Boston has teamed with other afficiandos Mike Viola, Matt Mahaffey, members of Chicago and.... [whispering] Hanson [/whispering] to record an homage to the '70s FM Beatles-meet-Phil Spector sound of Electric Light Orchestra. The word on the street is that Producer Of The Gods Rick Rubin acted as go-between, speaking directly to Jeff Lynne, then passing along specific ideas that would mimic Lynne's idiosyncratic recording techniques from back in the day.Jeff Lynne's trademark tones are all over this little slice of synthesized licorice pizza... the drum beat heavy on the twos and fours, the robo-voices, the orchestral faux-grandeur, graceful George Harrison-ish slide guitar, the undeniable hooks that lodge themselves deep in the cranium like a Jujyfruit on a dental crown. Added just for kicks are beguiling, smirking lyrics like:"Come on, you gotta lotta life to liveYou gotta lotta love to giveEven if it's just a bunch of New Age junk"Sample the whole album at the label's official site "here":http://www.cheaplullaby.com/ - and check the iTunes Music Store for two extra tracks, including a semi-_a capella_ fruity rendition of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down".Just be sure to brush and floss when you're done listening.
fairportfan says
First wife Susan and i bought the *Romantics* first album on the strength of a comparison by a reviewer we trusted to the early Kinks - to the point of covering some of their music.
Never regretted it.
Always liked ELO, too - particularly liked a video of theirs. Song called, quite likely, Rock 'n' Roll is King...
And then there's *Roy Wood*...
*Current National
Terror Alert Level*
dermahrk says
Get beyond the guilt! Jeff Lynne, ELO and Bleu are some of the most fantastic musicians ever to grace my CD shelves. I was lucky enough to see Bleu in a coffee bar in Ardmore, PA two days ago. I have NEVER heard anyone who can sing like this guy! What a set of pipes.
Go ahead, indulge that sweet tooth. I strongly recommend Bleu's first two albums, "Redhead" and "Headroom". There are some unreleased tracks on his MySpace page as well.
As to Jeff Lynne, check out his one solo CD for some killer tracks, and DEFINITELY buy ZOOM, the latest CD released under the moniker ELO. I honestly think it's the best of all of the ELO releases.
Thrilled that you got "Alpacas Orgling" on MOG before I could !
The Time Machine says
Dave,
Totally agree with you. This album has been a fave of ours on the airwaves for several months! It makes our job as radio programmers very easy. This album is pure pop bliss!
Aloha from Hawaii!
The shiny pop bubblegum of E.L.O. has always been a guilty pleasure for me. I'll crank it when no else is around to witness high-fructose corn on parade. Now it turns out I may not have been the only one...Some guy calling himself "Bleu" out of Boston has teamed with other afficiandos Mike Viola, Matt Mahaffey, members of Chicago and.... [whispering] Hanson [/whispering] to record an homage to the '70s FM Beatles-meet-Phil Spector sound of Electric Light Orchestra. The word on the street is that Producer Of The Gods Rick Rubin acted as go-between, speaking directly to Jeff Lynne, then passing along specific ideas that would mimic Lynne's idiosyncratic recording techniques from back in the day.Jeff Lynne's trademark tones are all over this little slice of synthesized licorice pizza... the drum beat heavy on the twos and fours, the robo-voices, the orchestral faux-grandeur, graceful George Harrison-ish slide guitar, the undeniable hooks that lodge themselves deep in the cranium like a Jujyfruit on a dental crown. Added just for kicks are beguiling, smirking lyrics like:"Come on, you gotta lotta life to liveYou gotta lotta love to giveEven if it's just a bunch of New Age junk"Sample the whole album at the label's official site "here":http://www.cheaplullaby.com/ - and check the iTunes Music Store for two extra tracks, including a semi-_a capella_ fruity rendition of ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down".Just be sure to brush and floss when you're done listening.
Locating MOG account...
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