JEFF LYNNE – Armchair Theatre

Label: Frontiers Records

Release Date: April 23, 2013

Rating: 9.5/10

Reviewed by: ToddStar

The reissue of the first solo disc from ELO ringmaster Jeff Lynne really took his music in a different direction from where his origins with ELO started.  The layered vocals and catchy choruses are intact, but these songs had a more rock-a-billy feel to them, eluding to his collaboration with other rockers as The Traveling Wilburys.  This disc featured Wilburys members George Harrison on guitar and a song co-write for Tom Petty.  I really dug this disc back in 1990 when it first came out (I remember purchasing this on cassette), although it didn’t chart well, despite having two singles.  The songs seems different from track to track, but create a cohesive disc from beginning to end, including two bonus tracks.  “Lift Me Up” and “Stormy Weather” are two of my favorites on the disc, but I don’t think it really has a weak point.  In the middle of the disc there are three tracks (“Now You’re Gone,” “Don’t Say Goodbye,” and “What Would It Take”) that smack of ELO, but they work, as they seem to fit the groove of the disc.  If you like 80’s/90’s Americana rock, pick up this one.

Tracklisting: Every Little Thing – Don’t Let Go – Lift Me Up – Nobody Home – September Song – Now You’re Gone – Don’t Say Goodbye – What Would It Take – Stormy Weather – Blown Away – Save Me Now – BONUS TRACKS: Borderline (previously released as non-album track from 1989) – Forecast (previously unreleased from 1989)

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Category: CD Reviews