Jeff Lynne-Produced Albums of the Late 1980s

It is fairly obvious the Wilburys will win this, so I'll vote for George Harrison's best solo album (yes, better than "All Things Must Pass" instead. They are fairly equal in quality.

(thread inspired by hearing "cloud nine" and "traveling wilburys 1" again and again as an 8 year old, and listening to randy's "dixie flyer" again and again as a 30 year old)

this lineup makes me think how much funnier the Wilburys could've been with Brian Wilson and/or Randy Newman in the mix

write in for The Beatles:
"Free as a Bird" & "Real Love".

Randy Newman would have made a great Wilbury ... cameo. Brian Wilson, not so much. Sad to think Petty was angling to give Del Shannon a shot as a Wilbury, until it was too late.

Good poll. But you omitted Into the Great White Open.

the Petty albums, the Wilburys, and Harrison's are really the same album with different players. Putting aside how every one of these artists was in a songwriting and performing peak, it's funny how Lynne's sound -- multitracked acoustic strumming and harmonies -- was exactly what they all needed. Cloud Nine is my favorite Harrison solo record.

^^not 80s (same goes for the Beatles) xpost

Petty was OTM discussing ITGWO in the Bogdanovich documentary and the Paul Zollo book: bringing the Heartbreakers into a Lynne production was an "experiment" fraught with peril but ultimately a successful one. Although Petty recorded lots of filler, the tension between the Heartbreakers' raunch and Lynne's neurotic tendencies produced really interesting music.

all these albums sound like the most deluxe acoustic demos ever recorded -- in the best sense.

i kind of like the sound of these records but it's depressing how dull and pedestrian they sound compared to ELO's bright, vivid 70s stuff, like what the hell happened to Lynne

well yeah as Lynne projects they're toothless but as a vocalist so was he.

I actually own Armchair Theatre, the solo album he cut in 1990; it's no different than the other albums on this list, without the frisson Petty, Harrison, or, of course, Orbison would have provided.

Love this synthabilly ELO tune from '86, so just before this production period:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ssqtyzqluo

Jeff Lynne's production has always irked me a bit - he certainly has a way with rich, dense backings using an orchestra's palette of instruments, but it always seems to come out sounding synthetic and thin - an odd mix. It was a reasonably good fit for ELO, but grates on his post-ELO production for others.

I'll vote for the first Wilburys disc which his production is at least tolerable, and the songs are amongst the best any of those involved were doing at the time. Orbison's "Not Alone Anymore" and (mostly) Harrison's "Handle With Care" eclipse anything from their own albums from that time, and the same case could be made for Dylan's loose-but-fun songs he wrote for this project. This is probably the super-est "supergroup" ever, but they don't take themselves too seriously and the album is all the better for it.

Not sure I'd include Brian Wilson's solo debut on this list. There were alot of cooks in the producer's kitchen on this one, including Russ Titelman, Lenny Waronker, Andy Paley, and Wilson himself; even Lindsey Buckingham and Gary Usher had small parts. Jeff Lynne was actually one of the less prominent, although his production ethic hangs over the whole album (unfortunately - the thin, synthetic production seriously harms the reasonably good songs and excellent arrangements), although Brian's voice not being in top shape doesn't help either.

i kind of like the sound of these records but it's depressing how dull and pedestrian they sound compared to ELO's bright, vivid 70s stuff, like what the hell happened to Lynne

― some dude, Friday, August 26, 2011 6:37 PM (Yesterday)

um duh... you're the tool who left ELO off the 2xLP 70s poll dawglez.

The Wilburys album is great, but I threw a vote to "Mystery Girl".

um duh... you're the tool who left ELO off the 2xLP 70s poll dawglez.

― Puff Daddy, whoever the fuck you are. I am dissapoint. (Steve Shasta), Saturday, August 27, 2011 3:01 AM (4 hours ago) Bookmark

that was about ELO not being as big as the Stones, not about whether they were good

i kind of like the sound of these records but it's depressing how dull and pedestrian they sound compared to ELO's bright, vivid 70s stuff, like what the hell happened to Lynne

He got rid of Richard Tandy and suddenly started hating synths.

I ended up voting for Petty. He's annoying but I like this record.

Full Moon Fevahhhhh

Second not including Brian Wilson's debut in this. In addition to it being a terribly produced record, Lynne is only involved in a song or two IIRC.

I had no idea he produced Randy Newman. Has anyone heard it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSjB3XmW30w

Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord
Ford Timelord

For Randy Newman, he only produced one song: "Falling in Love"
For Brian Wilson, only "Let It Shine" & the b-side "He Couldn't Get His Poor Old Body To Move"

In the '80s and '90s he also produced one or more tracks for:

Dave Edmunds (Several tracks on Information and Riff Raff)
Ringo Starr (3 tracks on Time Takes Time)
Paul McCartney (Several tracks on Flaming Pie)
Tom Jones (1 track)
Julianna Raye (full album Something Peculiar)
Del Shannon (Several tracks on a posthumous album)
Duane Eddy (1 or 2 tracks)
Agnetha Faltskog (1 track)
Joe Cocker (1 track)
Hank Marvin (Several tracks)

...among others.

Seems like the poll choices kinda suck, then...

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

There we are.

good poll, Ford Timelord, don't listen to the whiners

not sure if I voted but if I had it woulda been for Mystery Girl.

good poll, Ford Timelord, don't listen to the whiners

Full Moon Fever slightly over Cloud Nine