Jeff Lynne And ELO Fever… I Can’t Shake It Free.
JOE WALSH – Admittedly, I had no clue Joe Walsh was releasing a new studio album until the day I walked into the CD aisle at my local Super Walmart. Sounds odd, huh? Not really that odd to me, for 90% of the press releases, PR people and bands I deal with are Metal affiliated; therefore the bulk of music news I take in on a daily basis is… Metal. Even when I surf the internet, I’m not going to stumble upon every album release from every genre that’s on the horizon. I’m not that cool.
It was a neat feeling though, finding Analog Man on its release day. If I could have, I would’ve skipped all the way to the check-out with my new Joe Walsh CD in-hand. Only thing is, the way things happen for Stone, I probably would have been gang tackled down to the ground by store security for acting like a weirdo. I bought Analog Man without hearing or sampling one song on it. The Rock ‘N Roll of Joe Walsh doesn’t need to be sampled by Stone to justify a purchase. No way, man.
Step in… Jeff Lynne:
When I returned to my car in the Super Walmart parking lot, I immediately took the plastic wrap off Analog Man and slapped that plastic disc into the CD player. As the title track began to play, I was reading the liner notes and scouring the track listing. It was simultaneous how this happened… I heard Jeff Lynne tones and felt Jeff Lynne vibes as Analog Man played. Within a hiccup, I noticed this sentence printed on the back cover of the CD digipak: “Produced By Jeff Lynne And Joe Walsh”. I guess my ears and vibes were correct!
Any longtime visitor to Metal Odyssey knows by now, that I am a HUGE fan of Electric Light Orchestra. Always have been. Hell, I was an ELO fan before I was really introduced to Heavy Metal; with KISS being the only exception. Yes, it was (gulp) decades ago and not just two years ago. As years went by, I dove right into The Traveling Wilburys and couldn’t get enough of ’em. Did I have Jeff Lynne fever? Even the Jeff Lynne (co-produced) Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Into The Great Wide Open, and George Harrison’s Cloud Nine both have that certain extra charm to my senses. Maybe it has always been ELO on my brain.
Throughout this entire Analog Man album, the musical imprint of Jeff Lynne is heard. Don’t get me wrong, Joe Walsh has his legendary Rockin’ imprint here too; this is a Joe Walsh album after all! Joe’s legendary vocals and signature guitar tones are clear-cut, dynamite and out-of-sight! (Whoa… that sounded kinda ’70’s didn’t it?). The ELO vibe and feel that is essentially Jeff Lynne comes sonically through on drums, percussions, guitars, bass, keyboards and backing vocals. Once again, this is still a bonafide Joe Walsh album of songs and not an ELO album. I’m only pointing out what I truly hear and absorb. Plus, I’m not complaining one micro bit.
After so many listens to Analog Man, I’ve come to the conclusion that Joe Walsh surely could have been a member of The Traveling Wilburys. Joe would have fit right in! Back in the day, I would have never connected the Rock ‘N Roll sound of Joe Walsh to Jeff Lynne’s (eventual) musical direction. Now that these two Rockin’ gentlemen have teamed up on Analog Man, I get it! As I reflect on the discography of Joe Walsh, the one song that keeps popping into my brain (that comes across with a healthy sliver of what Jeff Lynne creates) is All Of A Sudden from the 1991 album Ordinary Average Guy.
Joe Walsh – Ordinary Average Guy (1991 – Epic)
Thanks for visiting and reading Part Three of my fun & random thoughts on Analog Man. If you’ve missed out on Part One and/or Two, don’t panic! Just click on the two links below to read ’em! Metal be thy name.
JOE WALSH “Analog Man” – Some Fun & Random Thoughts From Stone (Part One)
JOE WALSH “Analog Man” – Some Fun & Random Thoughts From Stone (Part Two)
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* For more info on JOE WALSH, click on the link below!
http://joewalsh.com/
LONG LIVE JOE WALSH.
LONG LIVE JEFF LYNNE.
Stone.
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