One of the benefits of shedding the fancy rock’n’roll persona is that you’re never too old to pull it off.
On Saturday night at Inglewood’s Kia Forum, 76-year-old Jeff Lynne, who fronted the band formerly known as the Electric Light Orchestra, looked and sounded much the same as he has for the past half-century. dark pants and jacket. With his unkempt hair and beard and eyes hidden behind aviator shades, he still sang delicately sculpted melodies in a charming voice.
There was nothing about the 90-minute concert to suggest that Lin couldn’t continue this for years if he wanted, but there was nothing to suggest Lin’s desire to continue.
Indeed, despite the persistence of that vibe, Lynn announced last March that the current tour would be the last for the group, recently billed as Jeff Lynne’s ELO. A gig scheduled for next summer in London’s Hyde Park, where ELO returned to the stage in 2014 after a decades-long hiatus, is being touted as his grand farewell.
Why hang it? Age definitely has something to do with it. Elton John was 76 years old when he finished his long Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. So was Don Henley at the beginning of the Eagles’ latest farewell outing. As you know, they are continuing to extend their run at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
Then again, when I visited Lin at his home in Beverly Hills in 2015, he told me that he hated touring even when he was young. “I wake up at 9am, eat a bad hot dog at the airport for breakfast, and then take three flights to get to my destination,” he says. “As soon as I could stop, I said, ‘I’m done.'”
It seemed more likely at Saturday’s show, the second of two in Inglewood, that Lin would say the rock star accolades he gets on the street are of no use to him. I realized that there was no such thing. Lin, who stood center stage as ELO’s music director introduced the band’s dozen or so members, looked genuinely uncomfortable when the man finally called his name, and found himself in the audience. I found myself receiving enthusiastic applause – again.
Jeff Lynne had over a dozen players join the forum.
(Timothy Norris/Kia Forum)
What’s interesting about Lin’s almost thoroughly understated presence is how raw his music is. As a singles act in the 70s, ELO were alongside Elton, ABBA and Paul McCartney’s Wings. “Evil Woman,” “Strange Magic,” “Livin’ Thing,” “Turn to Stone,” “Mr. Blue Sky,” and “Shine a Little Love” are songs by Lin, who blends rock and classical music. related to their stated goals, and each has its own distinct flavor. A little folky, a little more disco, a little harder. It’s edgy and a little more R&B.
Many of the band’s songs have been streamed hundreds of millions of times on Spotify. In fact, ELO has more monthly listeners than Tom Petty, George Harrison, and Roy Orbison. These are three of the four rock legends that Lynn teamed up with to form the Traveling Wilburys in the late ’80s. (Bob Dylan, the supergroup’s fifth member, has even more monthly listeners.) And from a generation obsessed with indie rock studios like Tame Impala, Phoenix, and Vampire Weekend, ELO You can find echoes of his broad yet very detailed approach.
That’s not to say there’s anyone out there who sounds like ELO. At the Forum, where the band performed under a giant prop spaceship, Lin and his accompanist were somehow refreshing, rich, funky, and poignant at the same time. I often wonder how a riff I’ve heard so many times still has so much energy, like the intimidating “Don’t Bring Me Down.”
Lin said little during the evening, except that this concert may be the last he will perform in his adopted hometown. At the end of the night, he guided the band through pop and psychedelic twists and turns. Blue Sky,” he sings, bows, and slowly walks off stage, suggesting that his life will remain largely unchanged.
