ELO
Biography
Press Release, May 16, 2001
Quote Sheet
Press Release, February 15, 2001
ELO
Written, produced and performed by LYNNE, the album mixes many classic widescreen ELO elements-the layered harmonies, ringing guitars, melodic rushes, string arrangements and rootsy rock stylings-with the shimmering sonic touches he brought to other projects as a producer (George Harrison's Cloud Nine; Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever, Petty and The Heartbreakers' Into The Great Wide Open; Roy Orbison's hit "You Got It") and as a member of the Traveling Wilburys, with Harrison, Bob Dylan, Orbison and Petty, on their two albums (1988's Volume 1 and 1991's Volume 3). LYNNE also worked with the remaining Beatles on Anthology, producing the tracks "Free As A Bird" and "Real Love." After that, he co-produced eight tracks on Paul McCartney's Flaming Pie CD.
"The general body of work of ELO actually goes all the way back from a couple of cellos and a violin to a 40-piece orchestra and a 30-piece choir at its biggest and most expansive," reflects LYNNE. But the strings on Zoom, he points out, "are just little string quartets and little violin sections."
Throughout Zoom, LYNNE handles lead vocals, backing vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, cello, piano, keyboards, bass and drums. He's joined at various points on Zoom by such guests as George Harrison (slide guitar on "A Long Time Gone," "All She Wanted") and Ringo Starr (drums on "Easy Money," "Moment in Paradise") as well as vocalist Rosie Vela and cellist Suzie Katayama. Other standout tracks like "Melting In The Sun," "Really Doesn't Matter At All" and "Stranger On A Quiet Street" feature LYNNE's signature, layered vocals, while "In My Own Time," "Lonesome Lullabye" and "Ordinary Dream" showcase the more orchestral ELO sound.
Zoom's 13 songs were recorded over the period of two and a half years at the British artist's Los Angeles home recording studio and in various rooms throughout the house, utilizing the built-in dramatic acoustics. "It's interesting in that respect," says LYNNE. "You actually get different sounds than you probably would in a studio. I prefer natural-sounding wood and the echo of different rooms." LYNNE adds, with a laugh, "Sometimes in the bathroom I've got an acoustic guitar."
The songs on Zoom draw on life's "ups and downs, you know," LYNNE explains. "Some of them are about just trying to do as good as you can when things don't work out. Sometimes there are loose ends that you can never tidy up," adds LYNNE about relationships that falter. "But it's also about trying to learn to trust your instincts and do what you feel is right." LYNNE reveals that "these words actually came to me much faster than they used to in the old days because I was basing them more on things that have happened to me. These lyrics are more heartfelt than ones in the past."
While waiting for the release of Zoom, ELO fans have been luxuriating in the newly issued Flashback, a three-CD box set compiled by LYNNE that spans ELO's entire career from 1970 to 1986. Between 1974 and 1981, the multi-million-selling ELO enjoyed a remarkable 17 Top 40 hits--among them "Evil Woman," "Strange Magic," "Telephone Line," "Can't Get It Out Of My Head," "Don't Bring Me Down," "Shine A Little Love," "Hold On Tight" and "Livin' Thing"--and became a major arena and stadium draw. The group's shows were sonic and visual spectacles, including massive flying saucers and vibrant light shows.
The 53-track (Epic/Legacy) collection includes seven previously unreleased tracks, plus alternative mixes and rare demos plus liner notes by Rolling Stone's David Wild and track-by track comments from LYNNE. The set encompasses the group's 21 U.S. and U.K. chart singles, ranging in time from the seminal "10538 Overture" ("the very birth of the realization of the sound," says LYNNE, recorded in 1970 with Roy Wood when they were still in the Move) and "Roll Over Beethoven" (the song that brought ELO to the American top 40 for the first time in 1973), all the way to "Calling America" (ELO's final top 20 hit of 1986). The final ELO album was 1986's Balance of Power. In 1990 LYNNE released a solo album, Armchair Theatre.
"I think the long-distance gap of 15 years gave me a very good perspective of what I did earlier," says LYNNE, reflecting about Zoom. "I've learned a lot during that time."