Real Love vs. Free as a Bird

winston · Post by **winston** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 5:53 pm

Electric Light Orchestra = ELO

glass_onion · Post by **glass_onion** » Sun Aug 13, 2006 10:37 pm

George Harrison liked the black crows?

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:10 am

George seemed to like a lot of things that we never knew until the later years - like his fondness for ukeleles.

And I don't think there was anything wrong with ELO. Their later stuff did tend to be almost a parody of itself, but a lot of their earlier material was great.

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:55 am

ELO is definitely one band where you either love them or hate them.

I don't know anyone who's in between on 'em.

Any missed called on FAAB, etc., though are also the Fabs fault. They were there, too.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 6:15 am

Though I like both, FAAB seems dirge like, and a bit depressing. Maybe cause it came out first, and the John from the Grave thing was a bit shocking to me.

expomick · Post by **expomick** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 7:36 am

I'm moved to go listen to some old ELO...kiddies?

(my sincere apologies for that last line)

lennonon · Post by **lennonon** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:23 pm

I was having a laugh y'know. I (unfortuntely) know who ELO is. Good point about the remaining three being just as responsible for these tracks. Even better point about the mistakes the former fabs made in choosing producers after 1970. I mean, if you listen only to John Lennon's back catalogue you would think Phil Specter was some neophyte producer who didn't have a clue.

John makes repeated references to working with someone who "loved" him on Plastic Ono Band, about how Phil and Yoko enabled him to reach such depths of despair and passion. If so, to me, that's the best thing Specter ever did in his career. His "production" of Plastic Ono band works only because it's quite clearly LENNON'S vision at work on this album - Specter is just executing that "stripped down" "minimalist" "urgent" sound that JL so prized.

In fact, most of - or all - of SPecters work with John is a sonic mess. I think it speaks volumes about a producer when the RAW tracks (the R-N-R trackes on the Lennon box) are SOOOOOO much better than the finished product. One listens to the raw tracks for John's rendition of Rip It Up/Ready teddy and you wonder - how could anyone muck this up? He sounds so raw and so fired up...the album version is a "piece of ice cream cake" as John once said (referrring to the blue album mix of Revolution).

I know Lennon did most of the production himself on R-N-R after Specter flipped, but clearly he had completely lost his vision on what a good rock-n-roll record should sound like. Probably picked up some nastly habits from Specter.

Maybe they should have had Phil produce FAAB...?

cowboy_joe · Post by **cowboy_joe** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:39 pm

As much as I love John Lennon as an artist, at times I do not love his production, or his choice of producers.

I think Spector's early stuff was outstanding, To Know Him is to Love Him and such, are great. And then we get The Long and Winding Road, and you wonder what happened. Then again, Lennon was the sole producer for the Mind Games album, and that doesn't sound especially good either, so who knows.

Back to FAAB, I would have liked to have heard what Nick Lowe could do on it--I like everything he's worked on.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 2:41 pm

I so agree...John Lennon's demos sound better to me than the finished versions.

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 3:16 pm

Speaking of which, where's Spector now? I've heard little of the trial save a photo of his and his outrageous hairstyle in court (someone I know remarked "he should get life without parole for that hair alone!)

Spector's talent was his initial success; selecting and sometimes writing tunes, recruiting performers, and holding the sessions.

His mixes, on the other hand, were unfortunately highly influential by the mid 60s (love that Capitol added reverb on Fabs tracks, not to mention Pet Sounds?)

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 4:32 pm

Glenn wrote:
"Speaking of which, where's Spector now?"

Probably trying to figure out who to kill next.

studiotwosession · Post by **studiotwosession** » Mon Aug 14, 2006 4:43 pm

He had a pretty tragic childhood. In that sense, it's kind of ironic that he and Lennon are locked into history.

I wonder if he'd have been any less weird had he not been in show biz.