Jeff Lynne's ELO - Alone In The Universe (2015)

At age 67, Lynne proved he can still give ELO fans what they want. The name has slightly changed, but the spaceship logo and music haven't. At first listen, I thought "meh - this is just more of the same." Then I slapped myself as I realized that more of the same is exactly what I wanted - I'm back in the late '70s again and lovin' it. Lynne returns to his familiar melodic tropes to the point where I could hum along to melodies I'd never heard before. Lyrically, too - it wouldn't be an ELO album unless song titles included words like "sun" "rain" and "night". My only complaints would be the lack of variety (we're treated to a lot of midtempo stuff), and the length; even with two bonus tracks, the album is over and done in 38 minutes. Metacritic has this album rated at 75, which seems about right to me.

Bonus points for the lenticular 3-D album cover (which, sadly, doesn't translate well to digital images).

I completely understand the name change: 1) Lynne needed to distance himself from Bev Bevan, who uses the name ELO Part II, and 2) just check the credits:

I prefer my ELO in the spring and summer, so I'll be putting this on the shelf for a few months before adding it to my CD rotation.

Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: #23

Tracks: My picks are When I Was A Boy, When The Night Comes, All My Life, and One Step At A Time. Lately, I've been skipping the title track. The two bonus tracks are both good, one a rockabilly romp, the other recalls Roy Orbison.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None

Previously revisited for the blog:
Zoom (2001)
Time (1981)
Xanadu Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (1980)
Discovery (1979)
ELO's Greatest Hits (1979)
A New World Record (1976)