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View Full Version : Jeff Lynne Song Database - an amazing piece of information


FPSHOT
Aug 17, 2006, 09:53 PM
I found an incredible website which lists the songs Jeff Lynne has been involved in in his carreer.

http://www.jefflynnesongs.com/jlworks0.htm

I put this here at Crackerbox Palace because there is a lot of information on the work he did with George.

Information on recording details but the best to me is that there is also with most of the songs - all those which are coloured blue - a collection of comments from the press and from people involved with the songs.

Like, you will find comments from Dhani, Jeff ofcourse, Jim Keltner, Tom Petty and so on...

Some of those comments you will have seen before, but there is quite some stuf which will be new to each one of you.

It has Cloud 9, Brainwashed, the Wilbury albums, the Beatles project, and the albums Jeff worked on like from the fellow Wilbury members, Del Shannon and many more.

It is a treasure and I have already spent a few hours reading.

This is how it works....

The information available is at those songs which have a blue print at "song title" or "details". Click there and the info will show up.

A few examples;

Traveling Wilburys - Run That Body Down
"Harrison did tap Lynne, however, to help with a Traveling Wilburys anthology, tentatively titled Maximum Traveling, according to one report. The compilation allegedly includes a cover of Paul Simon's Run That Body Down and three tracks featuring the late Del Shannon as the fifth Wilbury."

"Well, um, the inspiration was really, sort of... [cough] ... it was sort of... Me mother died, and then Roy Orbison died, and Del Shannon died... Y'know, but it was Roy Orbison that actually [unintelligible] and died just then. But it was a real emotional kind of song, Now You're Gone. It's also like a song about love, which it is. And it's also a song about loss, y'know. And, the reason I used Indian, uh, people, who are brilliant. They're all classical Indian musicians and they're fantastic. Just to watch 'em perform is brilliant. Uh, Because I went to a concert in England, an opera by Ravi Shankar and I heard these singers and... On the one part of the song, I thought 'This is... I gotta have a solo here, like a piano or a guitar.' And I thought, 'No, I want something really special.' And I heard these singers and I said 'That's it. That's what I want.' And they came and they sang on it. They just sang a raga across the ending, which to me was really beautiful. Gave me, um, a big thrill."
Jeff Lynne (June 23, 1990 - Rockline)

Traveling Wilburys - Winged Victory
"Roy offered to those wanting to know who wrote the songs on Vol. 1 [sic] was his statement that the lead singer on each cut wrote that particular song. While Bob Dylan had four songs, Roy had only one, because his solo, Winged Victory, based upon William Blake's The Sick Rose, was thrown out"
Ellis Amburn (1990 Dark Star: The Roy Orbison Story)

"The other one that makes me cry every time I hear it, and probably always will, is Stuck Inside A Cloud. That's one of his older one's that he used to play for me all the time. It had a magical, misty, very English sort of quality to it. We would be sitting in the studio late at night before shutting everything down, and I'd say, 'Hey, George, play Cloud for me,' and he would put it on and sing along with it. It didn't have drums on it for many years, just these cheesy little keyboard samples from his E2 sampler, but for some reason it just takes me right to Friar Park every time I hear it."
Jim Keltner (December, 2002 - moderndrummer.com)

Beatles - Now And Then/Miss You
The song was attempted, with Jeff Lynne doing some clean up of the original John Lennon demo, and the remaining Beatles doing some basic work on the track, but the work was eventually aborted. There remains some confusion as to the actual name of the song, because the title isn't apparent based upon the chorus alone and this has caused it to be referred to by different names.

"[This song] goes by the working titles of both Missing You and Now And Then, based on the fundamental lyrics of the song ('Now and then, I miss you.'). 'You can tell he's written it to Yoko,' notes [Marc] Mann, 'but it sort of fit right in with this whole reunion thing. Almost like sometimes he misses the other guys, and sometimes they miss him.' ......(Much more there)

darkhorse
Aug 18, 2006, 12:52 PM
Impressive. I'll be back later when I finish reading. :cool1:

THANKS!

instant karla
Aug 18, 2006, 04:59 PM
impressive, comprehensive, massive! kudos to robert porter!

ABCKO
Aug 18, 2006, 05:12 PM
Appart from the fact that there is an un-released Roy/Wilbury track and one from the "Mystery Girl" sessions...

... I also see that the previouly rumoured Tom Petty (with Jeff) album had already been released... and unless I missed it, never a word here about it having been released ?

FPSHOT
Aug 19, 2006, 10:10 PM
... I also see that the previouly rumoured Tom Petty (with Jeff) album had already been released... and unless I missed it, never a word here about it having been released ?
Which album would that be? I do think we have talked about the ones he did with Tom.

FPSHOT
Aug 19, 2006, 10:41 PM
Some more highlights;

"I used to call him 'jay-rad' instead of 'George,' so I made the whole composure [of Arpan] on that 'jay-rad ha-ree-san'-- George Harrison. 'Jay-rad ha-ree-san-ah pre-fet-kiya.' That means 'jay-rad loved Krishna'. 'Hari...' [unintelligible] Krishna. And [more Indian language which sounds nothing like 'George Harrison'] which means, 'He gave the world so many beautiful songs. That great soul we are remembering today and that great soul we are paying our homage to."
Ravi Shankar (November 29, 2002 - Concert For George movie interview)

"The first half of the show was Ravi Shankar's composition, a musical offering named Arpan, conducted by Anoushka Shankar. Each movement is about George, either in mood or in the homage paid to him. The orchestra consisted of musicians, some who were George's friends, playing George's favourite instruments. There is no one but the Maestro Ravi Shankar who could compose, arrange and perform in a place like this. I don't think we will see anything like it for a long time, if ever."
Olivia Harrison (July 31, 2003 - Message From Olivia Harrison posted on www.georgeharrison.com)

This also makes me want to watch the Concert For George DVD again, because this website refers to some things I did not know or remember.

Lynne, Jeff and Andy Fairweather Low - Handle With Care (Concert For George Rehearsal Version)
In a unique version, Jeff Lynne sings the lead vocals, while Andy Fairweather Low sings the middle Roy Orbison parts. Sadly, the song, which is currently only available on the rehearsals section of the Concert For George DVD, is only of the first verse and chorus before the song is interrupted by a Jeff Lynne interview and faded down.

"For You Blue" by Andy Fairweather Low during the rehearsals.

"All Things Must Pass" by Eric Clapton.

Holland, Jools and Sam Brown - Horse To The Water (Movie Version)
The movie version of Horse To The Water edits out the second verse and chorus.

ABCKO
Aug 21, 2006, 03:54 AM
Which album would that be? I do think we have talked about the ones he did with Tom.

The new one, "Highway companion", which came out July 25th... *

* I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who missed the news that it had come out !

We'd talked about some months ago, when it was announced that Jeff would be again working with Tom.

Anyhow... I gave the songs a listen on a web site... a few good ones, but I didn't find them quite as good as those from earlier Tom/Jeff collaborations.

Some of the songs feature some VERY Harrison-esque work by Mike Campbell.

FPSHOT
Aug 21, 2006, 07:55 AM
The new one, "Highway companion", which came out July 25th... *

* I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who missed the news that it had come out !

We'd talked about some months ago, when it was announced that Jeff would be again working with Tom.

Anyhow... I gave the songs a listen on a web site... a few good ones, but I didn't find them quite as good as those from earlier Tom/Jeff collaborations.

Some of the songs feature some VERY Harrison-esque work by Mike Campbell.

LOL...oh I see...you mean the album mentioned, announced and discussed here

http://www.beatlelinks.net/forums/showthread.php?t=27222

I am still preparing a written review of it.

There is also another Tom Petty thread in Not Ony A Northern Song and also one about ELO where you can read for instance that Jeff is currently writing additional songs for a theatre version of Xanadu.

ABCKO
Aug 22, 2006, 01:10 AM
LOL...oh I see...you mean the album mentioned, announced and discussed here



...maybe some people have the time to look-up all twenty two forums on this site on a regular basis... I don't...

Besides, as many other Wilbury related items have been discussed here, as was this very album (5 or 6 months prior to it's release) I assumed that here is where it would be brought up whenever it was released.

ABCKO
Aug 22, 2006, 01:17 AM
By the way, there's also an extra song (''It'll All Work Out'') from those same sessions which can only be fond on the soundtrack CD for ''Elizabethtown''.

By the way, I see Tom plays drums on all the tracks of ''Highway Companion''

... I'd never heard that he played drums before...

FPSHOT
Aug 22, 2006, 02:31 AM
...maybe some people have the time to look-up all twenty two forums on this site on a regular basis... I don't...

Besides, as many other Wilbury related items have been discussed here, as was this very album (5 or 6 months prior to it's release) I assumed that here is where it would be brought up whenever it was released.

"To assume or not no assume" Shake Spear said.

Yes it does happen that items regarding one of the Wilbury members other than George are discussed at Not Only A Northern Song, like there is quite an active thread about Bob.

So my advise would be to check there, or look at "Today's Posts". I don't think any new album will be discussed in Mind Games, Monthly Contest, Act Naturally and quite some other forums. For the Wilbury members the alternative besides the Palace is only Not Only A Northern Song.

By the way, in the Not Only A Northern Song forum there are actually two threads about Roy from not so long ago, and one about Tom, started by yourself :smile1:

ABCKO
Aug 22, 2006, 04:44 AM
As a famous Canadian comedy series once put it...

Youmust never a-s-s-u-m-e anything, because you then make an A-- out YOU and ME (i.e. ass/u/me).

I don't even recall starting any threads there, I'll go have a look...

P.S: I still can't quite imagine/visualise Tom playing drums... though I imagine that he must be pretty good on the Tom-Tom's...

FPSHOT
Aug 22, 2006, 05:43 AM
Tom on drums, yeah quite interesting indeed.

Here is another few stories from Jeff's site

"Another George-Jeff song, This Is Love started life as primarily a Jeff Lynne tune. Bits and pieces of the music were put together from Jeff's demo cassettes, but then the two composed the words together. Parts of This Is Love (in particular George's guitar solo) were recorded at Jeff Lynne's house, which contained 'a little studio in one bedroom', according to George"

Duane Eddy was at Friar Park (on January 30 and February 5, 1987). He recorded The Trembler and Theme For Something Really Important for his forthcoming eponymous Capitol LP with George and Jeff during the January session."

"According to Eddy and Jeff Lynne, [George] Harrison (though not credited) helped Lynne produce Theme For Something Really Important and The Trembler. The Trembler had the unusual co-authorship of Shankar/Eddy. In an interview in the November 1987 issue of Guitar Player magazine, Harrison recounted that Ravi Shankar had made a tape of the basic melody some years earlier. Harrison played the tape for Lynne and the two decided to simplify the song before Eddy added his part. Eddy remembers Harrison humming the melody to him and then writing the bridge creating the Shankar/Eddy collaboration that he says pleased Harrison immensely."

FPSHOT
Aug 22, 2006, 05:50 AM
This is really a very nice story

"Tom Petty: 'The next few weeks, I think we were all kind of... Y'know, that was kind of the social scene. It was the Christmas holidays and we were just hanging around playing guitars. And Jeff brought in Roy Orbison. The day we met, the three of us sat down and wrote that song,um, You Got It. [Sings the line: 'Anything you want.'] Jeff Lynne: 'I was playing a Casio, like a little plastic keyboard when we wrote You Got It. And Roy was playing an acoustic. And Tom was playing an acoustic on the floor over to the side. We'd just got this chord sequence, this little bit that goes: Anything you want, you got it. Come out with that bit and he started playing like... We'd worked backwards. We got the chorus first and worked our way out. And then he starts singing it, just softly, never... never loud. And it sounds like a hit. It really does. It's like well then you go: Wow, this is a hit. And Roy thinks so too. I remember recording it. Roy goes up to the mike and he mumbles a little bit, y'know, when we'd got the backing track finished. [Sings very softly: Anything you want.] I go, I thought it'd be louder than that. Y'know, so we don't realize what's going to happen. And, uh... So he says, Okay, I'm ready now. I'm ready to try a take. So, hit record. Off we go and he sings and this... The whole thing, it goes BLAAA! The whole thing blows up, y'know, the needle all it bends and it's... He sung at about, like, a thousand dB more than when he was practicing. So we put all these pads in and repair all the windows and stuff. Not really, but, y'know we... we'd sort of got the mike under control now, and we know how loud he's going to be. And he sings the song, just like... heavenly. And, he gets it in like three takes, he's got it. And there it is, You Got It. And it's like, Wow! That still sounds like a hit. And it's Roy Orbison singing it. I think everyone was rooting for him and having so much interest in him. And realizing that, y'know, we all still love him just as much as ever. He hadn't had the other people around him to encourage him enough. Maybe that's all it was. But his voice just suddenly came alive and it was back to the real Roy Orbison with a passion.'"