Friday, September 2, 2011

FULL STREAM AHEAD...


RollingStone.com is now streaming the entire Listen To Me: Buddy Holly collection... Enjoy and feel free to post your thoughts on Words of Love...

19 comments:

Chippachris said...

Nice take on Words of Love. Jeff's voice sounds strong, as does his guitar playing.

But someone needs to change the title of Stevie Nicks' song from Let's Fade Away to Not Fade Away.

Anonymous said...

A nice effort by Jeff...

I would have liked the drums to sound a bit more "realistic" though.

Apart from that... cool.

Anonymous said...

Disappointing - another boring and uninspired cover. Listen to Patti Smith's take on the song on the other tribute album (Rave on Buddy Holly)

C-Eling said...

yep gotta agree with the post above me,Jeff sounds tired and lacking soul,thanks Jer for posting the link,now where's that new album at? :)

Jerry said...

I get a kick out of people who are still hung up on the drum sound.

Anonymous said...

Hung up on the drum sound ?

Maybe Jeff Lynne not producing this track would have given it an unpredictable edge.

Love Jeff's voice ... nothing new or fresh on this effort though.

Kick this tired drum sound into touch Jeff...

Hire a real / proper drummer !

Anonymous said...

I agree - the drum sound is too polished, too pre-programmed.
A one take LIVE take would have been LOVELY.
Damn you Jeff for being an insular perfectionist.

Jerry said...

I mean, I get why some people find his drum sound odd, this has been a long standing argument. But I've always treated his drum sounds as another element to the song and not just a backbeat. Every sound on these records seem to get equal opportunity. This is partly why I think his drums sound the way they do. I tend to find other parts to latch on to... that way, the drums make better sense and blend with everything else.

I'm not going to put too much stock in this one. It's a two minute hit'n'run piece.

Anonymous said...

Open the windows in your recording studio Jeff - and let some fresh air in... you sound like you need it.

swarlock said...

You can't please everyone apparently.

I like it regardlessly.

Anonymous said...

Words Of Love - Plod Plod Plod.
Yawn.

Anonymous said...

VERY NICE GUITARS, Jeff! I love your version- too bad there's no
extended version with more instrumental and voice parts (like
the Wilburys' End Of The Line Extended) but hey, it's a Buddy Holly-coverversion... it's VERY OK
like that! :)
MR BLUE SKY: Please release your new records!!

Anonymous said...

Some of the words I read regarding this cover are interesting.
I think they are all from the heart - why else would these words find a home on here ?

The last Jeff Lynne production I truly enjoyed was "Genius Next Door".
That track had a lot of elements to it that made me hunger for the new material that Jeff has been working on for what seems like an eternity.
The driving piano, the heavenly backing vocals etc... fine tuned to perfection, with Jeff Lynne's footprints all over it.
Absolutely loved it.

"Words Of Love" ?

I was looking forward to this recording too, hoping there would be another guide as to where things stood with the new recordings...
To me this is a Jeff Lynne "cheap and cheerful" production.
All very familiar and basic with no surprises, get in the studio, backing track, guitar, drums, sing, throw ingredients into mixer, stir it a bit, job done.
Maybe because of other commitments it had to be this way ?.
I must admit, I don't like the drum sound either.

Jeff Lynne has a great big musical cookbook entitled 'Jeff's Secret Ingredients' at his disposal.
The last truly great multi-layered musical cake he mustered up was "Secret Messages", the work of a true genius.
Absolutely loved it.

I'm hoping "Words Of Love" is just a nice cup of tea.
Joe Walsh will provide us with a great starter.
Jeff Lynne will then serve up a full Sunday Roast, complete with all the trimmings.

I haven't felt this hungry for a while....
Looking forward to Jeff's Sunday Roast the most.

Russ said...

This is still a nice track by Jeff with great guitar work, & with his most recent work in mind, it's turned out exactly as I imagined it would.

A version recorded in Secret Messages style would have been more interesting for sure...but it wasn't likely he'd return to that great sound just for this one cover version...or even for the long awaited new material probably.

The drums don't really sound that programmed - more like horses hoofs, or coconuts being clapped together & someone banging a washboard with a soup ladle. The Regina Spektor tracks had very similar percussion.

Is this a hint at the sound & type of production we can expect for the new album? Until we hear a few samples to prove otherwise, I'd say that's most likely to be a yes.

Chippachris said...

This is a cover song on a tribute album. What new and groundbreaking methods do you want Jeff To utilize? In fact, the majority of songs here are played pretty straight, with no frills. I think it sounds just fine.

BTW, why do I believe that most of the "bashers" on here are the same person? Anonymous, indeed.

Jerry said...

I'm enjoying it a bit...

Anonymous said...

Why is everyone criticizing Jeff's production? This was produced by Pter Asher, not Jeff Lynne.

Jerry said...

No, Peter Asher produced most of the songs on the CD, but not Words of Love. Jeff played everything and produced it. Brian Wilson produced his own, and oddly enough, Ringo produced his.

Anonymous said...

The sad thing is, anyone unfamiliar with Buddy Holly who buys "Listen To Me" and then seeks out Buddy's original records, will most likely end up with the hideous versions that the Picks vocal group overdubbed in 1985. These syrupy versions have saturated the market.

On the subject of Jeff Lynne, I discoverd him back in the '70s. I was listening to WNEW FM, and John Lennon was a guest in the studio, reading commercials and spinning his favorite records. The DJ asked Lennon who he liked, and Lennon replied Electric Light Orchestra. "People criticize them as 'son of the Beatles', but they're great." I'd never heard of them, so I went out and bought their records, and became a big fan and admirer of Jeff Lynne's songwriting skills.