Electric Light Orchestra

Out of the Blue

Sony/ Legacy

originally published March 14, 2007

Two mainstream pop albums that were everywhere punks weren’t during the late 1970s; two albums that will populate flea markets and garage sale bins for years to come; two albums that made great strides in lending much-needed masculinity to the high, white falsetto. Initially released within a year of one another, Electric Light Orchestra’s Out of the Blue and Boz Scaggs’ Silk Degrees fulfilled all of the above.

Recorded at the peak of E.L.O.-mania, Out of the Blue arguably remains one of the Jeff Lynne-commanded ensemble’s finest hours. Light years away from the original E.L.O. model, this version was masterfully adept at churning out three-to-four-minute anthems that incorporated everything from tropical hand-clapping rhythms (“Jungle”) to outer-space synths (almost everything else). Lynne’s prowess as both a pop songwriter and composer is on full display, not only with singles like “Turn To Stone,” but also with the wedged-in concept piece “Concerto For a Rainy Day.” E.L.O. topped the mainstream heap when the album was first released. Thirty years later, much of it somehow escapes the ‘70s kitsch factor and sounds more like a blueprint for later bands that would incorporate Lynne’s love for orchestral string arrangements set against a hooky rock-and-roll backdrop. The 30th anniversary edition of Out of the Blue also contains a trio of bonus tracks (including the doo-wop inspired “Latitude 88 North”) and a wealth of rare photos from the era.

Michael Andrews

Boz Scaggs

Silk Degrees

Columbia/ Legacy

originally published March 14, 2007

1976’s Silk Degrees was the album that made bluesy Texan crooner Boz Scaggs’downbeat love songs into the soundtrack for singles bars the world over. If you’re now between the ages of 30 and 33, it’s a fair chance the folks may have conceived you to its ultra-California lite brand of poppy R&B.

The lush cover photography and impressive string of singles created a new, mysterious image for Scaggs and several of its more familiar tracks like “Lido Shuffle” and “Lowdown” still carry weight. Some of Silk Degrees ’quieter moments get lost in its heavily lacquered production, but even the done-to-death pop ballad “We’re All Alone” remains a most well-arranged guilty pleasure. A pair of live bonus tracks present a more rambunctious, less reserved Scaggs belting ‘em out behind the piano.

Producers and record execs saw a grand excursion to the bank with Scaggs’pinnacle album and they greatly succeeded. The same can be said for Scaggs, himself, but like E.L.O.’s Out of the Blue , Silk Degrees turned out to be a peak performance he’d never top.

Michael Andrews

Chip Taylor

This Side of the Big River

Collector’s Choice

originally published March 14, 2007

Singer-songwriter Chip Taylor’s 1975 solo release was pretty far removed from what remains his most acknowledged claim to fame (other than being the brother of actor Jon Voight) - penning the perennial garage band chestnut “Wild Thing.” This Side of the Big River is, instead, an easygoing, unhurried slice of country-rock that focuses on the tender side of the Southern-sounding New York native.

“Holding Me Together” is a weepy honky tonk waltz/ wobble, while “Getting Older, Lookin’Back” is a folky remembrance in the CSNY vein. The relaxed, dusty backdrop of this album doesn’t especially mirror the longhaired California country-rock of its day. Instead, the album plays more like a lost companion piece to Peter Bogdonavich’s Last Picture Show - lonesome and looking for change, but not in much of a hurry to do anything about it.

Michael Andrews

Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane

Rough Mix

Hip-O

originally published March 14, 2007

Rough Mix is an oft-forgotten entry in the solo canon of The Who’s Pete Townshend. In retrospect, the album, which pairs Townshend with former Faces and Small Faces bassist-vocalist Ronnie Lane, delivers almost precisely what its title implies: 10 songs, most of which find Townshend taking the lead, with little connecting or thematic elements linking them together.

Most of Lane’s contributions are quieter, folky numbers like “Annie” and the sprightly “Nowhere To Run,” while Townshend shoulders the more rocking side of the album with sharp shots of energy like “My Baby Gives It Away” and the cinematic “Street in the City.” The reissue attaches three bonus tracks - two of Lane’s, one of Townshend’s - to an album that had no conceptual design, marketing strategy or other big idea behind it in the first place. It’s just two wily Brits easing into their 30s with a great stack of rarely heard material to keep them company.

Michael Andrews

Stan Getz & Antonio Carlos Jobim

Their Greatest Hits

Verve

originally published March 14, 2007

The sultry, shaking sounds of bossa nova rarely had a more proficient ally than Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, and bespectacled cool cat Stan Getz is remembered as one of the great jazz sax men. What happened when the two came together for a string of lush atmospheric jazz in the early ‘60s? Well, it’s the audio equivalent a hip truckload of chocolate crashing into a righteous tidal wave of peanut butter (though far more relaxing).

Getz and Jobim’s on-again-off-again partnership gets the once over with this hits package, though the opening “Girl from Ipanema” will most likely be the only recognizable "hit" to anyone outside the boundaries of this particular type of music. Add to the already distinguished mix the input of terminally laid-back Brazilian performers João and Astrud Gilberto, and this 10-track collection becomes a brief but informative compilation of sunny-day soundtracks best enjoyed with clear skies overhead and a refreshing something at close reach and on the rocks.

Michael Andrews