"Well, I do both, really. I've got the analogue desk, and then there's various miking techniques I w

Interview: Jeff Lynne talks recording standards and rerecording classic ELO songs | MusicRadar Mobile Version Guitarist Guitar Techniques Total Guitar Computer Music Future Music Rhythm A Future Site Music Radar . com
One thing you have to say about Jeff Lynne: the man doesn't back down from a challenge. Two of them, in fact. On a pair of just-released central california travel new albums, the creative central california travel force behind the Electric Light Orchestra, central california travel former Traveling central california travel Wilburys member and the man the Washington Times called the fourth greatest record producer in history, treads confidently on what many music fans would consider to be sacred ground.
Long Wave sees the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist paying tribute to some of the songs that first filled his senses as a child, covering standards central california travel such as Smile, Beyond The Sea, Running Scared, At Last, and Mercy, Mercy.
Lynne played every instrument on Long Wave, which he also does on Mr. Blue Sky The Very Best Of Electric Light Orchestra, a fascinating, deeply entertaining reworking of his own hits. Evil Woman, Don't Bring Me Down, Telephone Line, Livin' Thing they're all here and more. Lynne doesn't maim his ELO legacy so much as puts a fresh spin on some of the greatest pop-rock songs to flood the radio waves during the '70s and early '80s.
Lynne sat down with MusicRadar to discuss the origins behind both albums, the guitars he used, how he felt tackling songs associated with the likes of Bobby Darin, Nat King Cole and Etta James, and whether it was strange trying to one-up himself.
"Because you know what? That's what I really love to do I love to play all the instruments. central california travel To me, the one-man band thing is when I'm the happiest and most fulfilled. It's so much fun. Like on Long Wave, for each song, I would take the old record and play it a hundred times. central california travel I'd learn the guitar central california travel part, the bass part, the drum part, the piano part, learn all the chords and it was great! Then I'd play it myself in my own style.
"I was very true to each song musically. I used all the proper chords, but I changed central california travel the arrangements a bit. Really, I just simplified them, because central california travel a lot of those songs have so many things going on flutes, clarinets, some other things. It was interesting. I've loved these songs for so long, from before I learned central california travel to play the guitar, but I've always been scared of them. You go, 'What the hell's going on here?', you know? [Laughs] There's so much in these arrangements.
"A pretty good one, actually. I've got a 40-channel analogue desk. And then I've got the Pro Tools rig and all the latest gear. I can still keep the analogue distortion going and make everything sound warm and great, but I've also got the modern facilities of the digital environment. I use plug-ins sometimes, and they work really well."
central california travel "I guess so. I was just looking for something that would fulfill me, and I started looking at all of these old tunes. I was listening to iTunes and buying all of these old records, all the ones I used to hear as a kid, at home in my mom and dad's house in Birmingham. The thought of trying to re-create those things was such a great pull I just couldn't resist it.
"It just came to me about three years ago. Concurrently with the Mr. Blue Sky album, that's when I started this record. I tried one first, the song She it's not that old, but I liked it. Obviously, I couldn't sing it like Charles Aznavour, so I sang it like me. I tried the harmony route on that; every verse was filled with three-part harmony.
"Then I played it for Paul McCartney, and he loved it. But he said, 'Why don't you leave that first verse a little empty so you can build up?' Because it was so full that there was nowhere to go. I thought that was a great idea, so I tried it, did a remix on it, and that's how it came out. All thanks central california travel to Paul."
"Well, I do both, really. I've got the analogue desk, and then there's various miking central california travel techniques I was miking things a little bit further away to get that vintage sound. Back then, there weren't all of these close mics. All the outboard gear is mainly analogue, except for things like the AMS, which is the first great digital echo machine. I class that as a vintage piece, as well."
"Oh, I was a big fan. What's interesting is, he'd actually transposed his music to 20 years earlier, that big band arrangement. It sounded old when Bobby did it. So it really works now 'cause it sounds so old! [Laughs] What I marveled at was the drum sound on that. It's such a sound, like a madman running around the studio bashing things central california travel with sticks. It sounded brilliant to me as a kid.
"That was the hardest one of the lot, really, because the bass part is furious. It was like, 'How am I going to keep up with this?' [Laughs] It was moving so fast. I practiced it for probably central california travel three or four days, just the bass part. It was really hard to do, but that's why I loved it it was a big challenge."
"He'd actually transposed his music to 20 years earlier, that big band arrangement," Lynne says of Bobby Darin (above), whose song Beyond The Sea is covered on Long Wave. Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS
"No, it's not a phaser. It's EQ, actually. I've got a couple of modules from my old desk, and what I do is, I pick a frequency like around 800 or so, and I sweep around it like it's a wah-wah pedal. It gives it an effect like it's a double central california travel tracked. The guitar I imagine it was a Telecaster , the one I've had since 1966."
"Not really, because I'm doing it completely different central california travel from what he did. If I could do what I wanted to do with it, I wasn't going to worry about who sang it before. The arrangements on that original were big and fluffy and flowery not that that was a bad thing, especially in those days. But I couldn't do it like that. So again, I had to get the chords down and just simplify it, more like a pop song than a big epic."
"Well, thanks very much. I loved doing that one. It's such a great bluesy song. I don't do a lot of that jazzy, bluesy central california travel stuff. I never have. So that one was great for leading me into it. I found it to be a lot of fun. Maybe I'll do more bluesy stuff one day."
"Over the years, I've played some of the albums from time to time, and I would go, 'Hmm I don't know.' And then I'd hear some of the songs on the radio and I'd say, 'That doesn't sound like I thought it did.' So I thought, Maybe I should have another go at these. The first one I tried out was Mr. Blue Sky, just to have the experience, to see if I could do it again. I mean, I have a studio why not have a go at it?
"I did an A/B with the two versions. On the older one, I sound like I'm about 12 years old! [Laughs] And on the new one, I'm 64! [Laughs] central california travel But that's why I did it, just to see what it'd be like. I played central california travel it for lots of people, and they said, 'Well, central california travel you should have a go at another one.' That's when I did Evil Woman and Strange Magic then I was hooked. I had to do more."
[Laughs] "Yeah, I'm chuffed by my list. I never imagined I'd have so many of those. Because, you know, when you write the songs and we're talking 35 years ago you just think, Oh, I hope it gets in the charts. Or I wonder if this could be a hit. You don't expect to be talking about it, or having central california travel it on the radio and being in the air around the world, all these years later. It amazes me."
"Well, central california travel you know what? That's the mix in the new recordings. That's why I like to record it all separate and all on my own. You've really got control over it, and I can have any balance that I want, as opposed to recording piano, bass, guitars and drums together central california travel on one track, which is what we used to do all those years ago. We had to we didn't have clicks or drum machines or anything. central california travel So you had to keep in time by just looking at one another and playing it.
"This way, I was able to have the balance, the complete separation of the hi-hat, snare, bass drum, all that. Like the rhythm guitars you pointed out, on the first mix I did they weren't loud enough, so I turned 'em up. They sound so much better with the rhythm up loud."
"Oh, yeah. I use maybe half a dozen electrics. Occasionally, I'll venture out if I want a really central california travel weird sound. I've got a really nice 335, and then I've got the Tom Petty Rickenbacker 12-string, which I always use. My favorite guitar is a '58 Strat and the Tele, which is really an Esquire converted central california travel to a Tele. This Epiphone I've had for about three years is just fantastic. central california travel It's an old Epiphone central california travel I don't even know what the number is. It's an archtop with one cutaway. Ahh you can't beat it!"
Lynne celebrates the release central california travel of Long Wave and Mr. Blue Sky at the Grammy Museum, Los Angeles, 9 September 2012, along with (from left) Joe Walsh, the Grammy Museum's Scott Goldman, and Tom Petty. Kevin Estrada
"No, it was recorded as a one-off about four years ago. I just never had anything to use it for. I remixed it for this album as a bonus track. I really like the song. It's got an excitement to it, the chord shapes and all."
[Laughs] "I haven't heard of them, but I'm sure they're good if you recommend them. [Laughs] But that's good that you thought that, because I was trying to make it fit in with the rest of them. That's the way to mix it, to stamp that particular period on it."
[Laughs] "Actually, there weren't any surprises, because I've had so much practice since I stopped doing it in '85. I've had so much practice as a producer 27 years since then. I've learned central california travel so much in that time. Experience really is a great thing." You might like: Interview: Stephen Stills talks guitars, CSN, classic songs, Jimi Hendrix Cool and classic basses: Fender Standard Precision Fretless VIDEO: Jeff Beck talks through his guitar central california travel collection Around the web: Comment on Facebook Also related to this article Interview: Stephen Stills talks guitars, CSN, classic songs, Jimi Hendrix Cool and classic basses: Fender Standard Precision Fretless VIDEO: Jeff Beck talks through his guitar collection Cool and classic basses: Alembic Stanley Clarke 'Small Standard' Bass Interview: Don Felder on The Eagles' classic