(Credits: Far Out / Jeff Lynne)
Wed 19 November 2025 16:30, UK
The symphonies Jeff Lynne made were far from the easiest things to put together.
He was used to making some of the most extravagant music ever made, and even if there were basic chords underneath it all, how the hell was anyone else supposed to arrange violins and cellos to play with the same vigour as Jimi Hendrix did in his prime? The fact that half of ELO’s discography ended up sounding as good as it did is practically a miracle, but Lynne knew that there were other tunes that were too difficult for him to touch.
Then again, Lynne has done the impossible more than a few times throughout his career. The idea of bringing together a supergroup like The Traveling Wilburys was already a strange miracle to put together, but when he was called on to help The Beatles bring a demo back to life for The Anthology, the fact that it managed to sound as good as it did is really a testament to how much he was willing to push himself out of his comfort zone.
But even with all that talent, Lynne never liked to be the centre of attention whenever he played. He liked the idea of being in a band the same way his buddy George Harrison did, and a lot of the best moments of his career came when he was helping out his friends, whether that was being the ringleader of ELO or adding the perfect harmony to a Tom Petty song that tied every other piece together.
He did have a small bit of time for himself, though, and records like Armchair Theatre were proof that he could make great songs on his own. But for the longest time, it felt like Lynne was ready to distance himself from ELO and the touring life altogether. He felt that he worked much better in the producer’s chair, and while that’s not exactly wrong, hearing him come back with the album Long Wave was exactly the change of pace everyone was looking for.
Making an album full of old standards wasn’t anything new, looking at his peers. Everyone from Paul McCartney to Rod Stewart had dabbled in making “easy listening” albums from time to time, but since Lynne was pulling double duty, he started to realise how much work it took to make some of these laid-back tunes look easy.
Even though the songs were a great challenge, Lynne thought that getting the album finished would have been a pipe dream if he thought about doing it a few years before, saying, “I never thought in a million years I would record these. I used to hate them as a kid, but I have come to love them now. The arrangements were too complicated, too flowery, and frankly, had put me off from learning them. It’s only been in the last few years that I have recorded these songs. I just dove in and learned the basic song and tried to understand them and see if I could make it work.”
But given how soft his voice is, it works shockingly well over many of these tracks. No one was picturing someone like Joe Walsh doing an album of standards, but listening to Lynne tear through tunes like ‘Beyond the Sea’, the arrangement is so good behind his voice that you’d think that the song was written specifically with him in mind.
Although Long Wave could easily fall into the realm of vanity projects, it actually deserves a spot next to McCartney’s Kisses on the Bottom as a perfect example of how a pop artist can make the transition into traditional music. It’s not exactly the first album to show anyone who’s interested in Lynne’s music, but for those nights inside cosying up next to the fire, there aren’t too many rockstars that could provide a better soundtrack than this.
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