Defend the indefensible: Cloud Nine

When I was eight, this was my favorite album. In fact, after a flurry of Duran Duran and Starship singles my dad dutifully purchased for me, this was probably the first LP I owned that wasn't handed down from an older relative.

I recently found a copy of Cloud Nine at Half Price Books for the irresistible price of a quarter. Listening for the first time in years - WOOF. If ever there was an album to provide testimony for Jeff Lynne as the worst producer in rock and roll history, it is this one; the first Wilburys album and Full Moon Fever are at least somewhat listenable despite Lynne's best efforts (and will anyone rep for the Orbison album he produced around this time?), but this one is garbage.

The tragic thing is, there are some decent songs hiding in here (and I say this as someone who generally dislikes George Harrison solo albums - Somewhere in England is another stone cold turkey) just annihilated by the abominable production.

Can anyone say anything good about this record?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWi5jdgTUJs

Title track is great, as are the ballads for the most part ("Just For Today" and "Breath Away From Heaven"), although the latter's production is just horrible, with the faux-orientalism. "Wreck of the Hesperus" is a pretty by-the-numbers rocker, although George puts a lot of energy into it, and how many songs name-check Big Bill Broonzy? Never understood the love for "When We Was Fab," which to me is one of the worst offenders in the class of "Shit Of Which People Usually Accuse Paul."

otm re: Fab. "Just For Today" is what I was thinking of when I wrote of the decent songs hiding in here. Someone should cover that one. Ditto "Someplace Else."

also lol at Weird Al. Of course, the Harrison song is a cover.

haha, yeah, but it was in the wake of harrison's version, right?
i dunno, i have a weird thing with lynne's production. for a long time i thought it was terrible, but i have some kind of positive nostalgic reaction to it these days.

Lynne has exactly two moves: shake (stacked chorus vocals) and bake (dropping turds on 400 snare drums simultaneously).

That said, I found "Long Black Road" to be shockingly good and un-ELO-like.

Never understood the love for "When We Was Fab," which to me is one of the worst offenders in the class of "Shit Of Which People Usually Accuse Paul."

― Ian from Etobicoke (Phil D.), Wednesday, January 15, 2014 12:04 PM (43 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I kind of have a soft spot for this, mainly because it's the sole public instance of Harrison talking about the Beatles that isn't about how much he hated being in the Beatles.