“Jeff has incredible studio I.Q. Ask anyone who makes music: he’s one of the great record producers, period.” So says Tom Petty, and if anyone should know, it’s him, having worked with Jeff Lynne as a producer on sonic blockbusters like his own Full Moon Fever and the Traveling Wilburys’ Volume 1. “In the period where a lot of us were in garage bands, he was home with a multitrack recorder,” observes Petty. “That’s always been his real love, more than performing. He’s interested in records, and how to make them.”
Lynne, 65, a melodically driven multi-instrumentalist and songwriter, shepherded Electric Light Orchestra’s mighty run in the 1970s and ’80s, and now he’s back with two albums: 1) complete re-recordings done by himself of a dozen ELO classics on Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra, and 2) reimagined takes of 11 standards he grew up listening to on Long Wave (both on Frontiers). Why re-record your own material for Mr. Blue Sky? His ears told him to: “I wanted to get it the same,” Lynne acknowledges, “but just make it sound better.” Ah, now the light bulb goes off...
Mike, after reading your interview with Mr. Lynn I'm a little surprised that you didn't ask him if he had any intentions of releasing any of his catalog in Hi Rez. His music would be perfect for a 5.1 mix and put on Blu-Ray, or a 24 bit FLAC file, or at least a 180 gram vinyl remaster.
With his passion for recording and mixing I'm a little surprised that he hasn't gone in this direction.
So the big question is, was it brought up?
JR
Hey JR,
Thanks for your comments. I did indeed ask Jeff those questions, but there aren't any "answers" per se. Keep in mind that Jeff does not own/control the bulk of his/ELO's storied catalog, so any decision to remaster/reissue any of the prime '70s and '80s material in any form — 5.1, FLAC, 180g, etc. — would have to be greenlit by others. That is but one of the reasons he decided to re-record some of that era's most memorable ELO songs for Mr. Blue Sky. (BTW, Jeff did tell me that there are enough songs leftover for a likely sequel.)
That said, Jeff has been able to remaster some of his latter-era work — ELO's Zoom (2001) and his solo effort Armchair Theatre (1990) — to be reissued on the Frontiers label on April 23 (April 19 overseas). Electric Light Orchestra Live, a 2001 ELO performance from Los Angeles that was initially released on DVD only, will also be issued that day.
I can tell you that a number of us — including our favorite 5.1 mixmaster/guru, Steven Wilson — would love to see Out of the Blue reissued in surround sound. Feelers have been put out to certain powers that be about that one specifically, so we'll see if that leads anywhere.
Mike Mettler, S&V EIC