Post by ShardEnder on Jul 10, 2014 19:22:26 GMT
As someone who's recently been giving the three Part II/Orchestra albums (well, four if you also count One Night and its many variations) well-deserved reappraisals, I've found that each of its songwriters has tracks I'd easily rate up their with Jeff Lynne's work. Sure, in a song-for-song comparison the post-Lynne output is far less consistent, but as a democracy it's amazing just how much of their material holds up to repeated listening. Who is your preferred writer?
I'm giving Eric Troyer my vote for his sheer variety and overall quality, plus it helps that I'm a massive fan of his solo work, not to mention guest appearances as a session vocalist for countless other artists. Indeed, you could easily compile an album of just his compositions alone, and the resulting collection wouldn't exactly be what you could ever consider a grab bag of second rate leftovers. At the moment, I'm especially partial to Honest Men, Don't Wanna and If Only.
In second place, I'd have to give the edge to Parthenon Huxley, purely because his Jewel & Johnny and Over London Skies were absolute highlights of No Rewind for me. Again, his music outside of The Orchestra is also definitely worth checking out, too. Last but certainly not least, Phil Bates penned Breakin' Down The Walls, live favourite Whiskey Girls and stole the show with his vocal tour-de-force, One More Tomorrow, which I find superior in its live recorded version.
Of course, being more of a creatively open band than they ever were under Jeff's leadership, others were responsible for a small selection of tracks as well. Even the drumming powerhouse that is Bev "Bullfrog" Bevan received a rare writer's credit, though I'm not certain whether this was to share royalties or due to a serious contribution, as he was given a few mentions later in The Move supposedly to ensure he gained equal financial status as the group evolved into ELO.
Let battle commence!
I'm giving Eric Troyer my vote for his sheer variety and overall quality, plus it helps that I'm a massive fan of his solo work, not to mention guest appearances as a session vocalist for countless other artists. Indeed, you could easily compile an album of just his compositions alone, and the resulting collection wouldn't exactly be what you could ever consider a grab bag of second rate leftovers. At the moment, I'm especially partial to Honest Men, Don't Wanna and If Only.
In second place, I'd have to give the edge to Parthenon Huxley, purely because his Jewel & Johnny and Over London Skies were absolute highlights of No Rewind for me. Again, his music outside of The Orchestra is also definitely worth checking out, too. Last but certainly not least, Phil Bates penned Breakin' Down The Walls, live favourite Whiskey Girls and stole the show with his vocal tour-de-force, One More Tomorrow, which I find superior in its live recorded version.
Of course, being more of a creatively open band than they ever were under Jeff's leadership, others were responsible for a small selection of tracks as well. Even the drumming powerhouse that is Bev "Bullfrog" Bevan received a rare writer's credit, though I'm not certain whether this was to share royalties or due to a serious contribution, as he was given a few mentions later in The Move supposedly to ensure he gained equal financial status as the group evolved into ELO.
Let battle commence!