{"id":291,"date":"2007-02-18T14:21:44","date_gmt":"2007-02-18T19:21:44","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2008-12-15T12:58:43","modified_gmt":"2008-12-15T12:58:43","slug":"jeff-lynne-master-craftsman-or-just-a-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/jeff-lynne-master-craftsman-or-just-a-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeff Lynne:  Master Craftsman or Just a Tool?"},"content":{"rendered":"<iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/a7mUb6_vr7I?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>Folks:  it&#8217;s with a somewhat heavy heart that I have to open up a dialog on a topic of some internal conflict for me, namely:  how much do I really like Jeff Lynne?<\/p>\n<p>The truth is, I&#8217;ve always been deeply conflicted about this guy.  On the one hand, he wrote, arranged, performed and produced some of the most pleasing ear candy to emerge from the 70s &#8212; an era when radio competition was particularly fierce.  For a while there, the guy was unstoppable, and *prolific* to boot.  And those songs!  Pure pop perfection!<\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/O0mYVP4zR5s?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>Even his lesser numbers &#8212; like the material he tossed off for the godawful Olivia Neutron Bomb vehicle &#8220;Xanadu&#8221; &#8212; kicked ass.  What pop tunesmith wouldn&#8217;t give his right arm to be able to write something like &#8220;I&#8217;m Alive,&#8221; or the title track from that movie?<\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/wk_Jvj0pKzQ?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>And it&#8217;s not like Mr. Lynne doesn&#8217;t also have an impeccable pop\/rock pedigree, to boot.  Lesser rock nerds will of course know that he was a critically important member of the underappreciated late-phase Move, along with Mod fave Roy Wood.  Serious Prock aficionados will even have heard a track or two from his admirable early efforts with the Idle Race.  And &#8212; Lord knows &#8212; he keeps all the &#8220;right company&#8221; *these* days.<\/p>\n<p>So what is it about this guy that keeps him rattling around in the same box where I keep my Jellyfishes, Ringo solo albums, Badfinger singles and such?  More than any artist, I want to say &#8212; at the same time &#8212; &#8220;he&#8217;s awesome!&#8221; and &#8220;he&#8217;s a hack!&#8221;  I mean, I don&#8217;t feel this way about Hall &amp; Oates, fercrissake!<\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yoNkToIcogo?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>Is it the signature, unmistakable production?  The have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too attitude towards wanting to be &#8220;orchestral&#8221; and candy-coated at the same time?  The awful Look?  Just plain jealousy?  What is it?<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m hoping that hearing what the rest of you think about Mr. Lynne will help me come to grips with my feelings on the man.  <\/p><iframe class='youtube-player youtuber' type='text\/html' width='425' height='355' src='http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bsrdydUvLOE?rel=0&amp;fs=1&amp;ap=%252526fmt%253D18' webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen frameborder='0'><\/iframe><p>I look forward to your responses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Folks: it&#8217;s with a somewhat heavy heart that I have to open up a dialog on a topic of some internal conflict for me, namely: how much do I really like Jeff Lynne? The truth is, I&#8217;ve always been deeply conflicted about this guy. On the one hand, he wrote, arranged, performed and produced some <a href='https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/jeff-lynne-master-craftsman-or-just-a-to\/' class='excerpt-more'>[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[342],"tags":[46,66],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rocktownhall.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}