A new album from ELO was not unexpected, given the positive reaction to their Children In Need TV appearance and massive Hyde Park show last year. Never fashionable (they had their biggest successes when punk raged), but always irresistible, Jeff Lynne is a master arranger/ composer/producer, with an ear for a classic pop melody and gorgeously intricate rhythms.
In truth, this is a Jeff Lynne solo album – he plays virtually everything, including drums and piano. And while there’s nothing with the sheer immediate catchiness of his best known hits, such as ‘Mr Blue Sky’, ‘Telephone Line’ and ‘Last Train To London’, there are more than a few potential earworms.
‘When I Was A Boy’, the already familiar single and opening track, is a languid ballad with one of Lynne’s typically Beatles-esque piano vamps (reminiscent of ‘Fool On The Hill’). Featuring an autobiographical lyric full of nostalgic yearning and youthful dreams of rock stardom (“Don’t wanna work on the milk or the bread, just wanna play my guitar instead”), it’s destined to become a radio staple.
Parts of the verse of ‘Love & Rain’ sound remarkably like their earlier hit, ‘Showdown’, though it soon morphs into a chorus of lush minor chords and gorgeous strings. Elsewhere, the fast- paced ‘Ain’t It A Drag’ is a catchy rocker in the vein of ELO’s ’81 hit ‘Hold On Tight’, ‘Dirty To The Bone’ boasts some beautiful harmonies, and ‘All My Life’ is sumptuous and dreamy.
Another slow-burner, ‘I’m Leaving You’, could well have been written with Lynne’s old Travelling Wilburys bandmate Roy Orbison in mind, while the reggae-tinged ‘When The Night Comes’ possesses one of his most memorable choruses. The title-track finds the singer sounding lost and vulnerable, atop an immaculately crafted soundscape that pretty much defines his half- century in music. Overall, though the sound on Alone On The Universe can be a bit mushy and compressed at times, this is nonetheless a very worthy addition to the ELO canon. Bring on the Dublin shows next year!