Another Outstanding Cover: ELO's Can't Get It Out of My Head, by The286 and Mr. Jack

 

This one's a real beauty from August 2020: a combination of the U.K. group The286 and the Argentinian group Mr. Jack doing a spot-on rendition of one of my all-time favorite songs by one of my all-time favorite groups: "Can't Get It Out of My Head" by the Electric Light Orchestra.

They even get "wave chicane" right -- that is, I think so, because, just like in Jeff Lynne's voicing, it almost, very nearly sounds like "wave she came".  

My only regret is you don't see the head that goes with the fingers with the light turquoise fingernails that play that synthesizer so well.   But, hey, Spencer Hannabuss as lead sounds like he's close to getting tongue-tied in the "William Tell" sequence, just like Jeff Lynne, and Madeleine Sugden sure evokes Stevie Nicks, so enjoy.

Anne Reburn and Her Clones

No, this is not a review of a new science movie I just caught on Netflix, though it could have been, a few years ago, before the explosion in video technology and savvy which has created on whole new genre of music video now lighting up YouTube.  Covers have been a staple of YouTube since it came into our lives in 2006, but now they're being done, of Beatles and Beachboy songs and records by slightly lesser known artists, by just one person, singing all the parts and sometimes even playing all the instruments.  They're all always fun to see and listen to, but Anne Reburn's, with what she refers to as her "clones," are in a class by themselves.  The handful that I've seen so far are just fabulous, on all kinds of levels.

Reburn has a nice voice and a keen sense of harmony.  But she and her clones (i.e., different takes of her) invest the videos with an infectious sensual energy, a sense of humor ranging from cute to delightful, and a series of facial expressions which are irresistible.  More than that, the different versions of herself, singing different parts, show off these expressions at different and just the right times in the performance.  In addition, she makes sure that she is always connected to the audience.  In her cover (which already has well over a million views) at the top of this post of Roy Orbison's final hit, "You Got It," Anne or one of her clones -- whatever the others may be doing -- always manages, sweetly and seductively, to look at the camera, i.e, the audience.  No wonder you can't take your eyes off the screen.  

Years ago, my first published article in a scholarly journal, Toy, Mirror, and Art: The Metamorphosis of Technological Culture in 1977, observed that as a given technology develops, it moves from being a toy (people like to play with it, just for the kick of seeing what the new technology does) to being a mirror (reflecting some art or whatever already out there), to creating art in itself.  YouTube has long been in the mirror phase -- a great place to watch and listen to your favorite recording artists.  Anne Reburn's work -- and props are due to Luke Manning, who produced the brilliant video of Anne's ELO cover, "Don't Bring Me Down," which you can watch right after this text -- is a joyous proclamation that YouTube has ascended to the art level, in singers and musicians covering other artists.

Anne already has more than sixty covers up on YouTube, and I'm looking forward to watching all of them.  She's also starting to post some good original material on Spotify.  I expect we'll be seeing and hearing a lot more of her exuberant, angelic work in the future.

Jeff Lynne's ELO at the Prudential Center

There are few groups who are almost as good as The Beatles (none are as good as them).  Jeff Lynne's ELO (Electric Light Orchestra) is one of those few. (I'm reminded of what John Lennon said about ELO in his 1974 interview by Dennis Elsas: "Son of Beatles"). Their string of hits through the 1970s into 1981 - "Can't Get It Out of My Head," "Evil Woman," "Strange Magic," "Livin' Thing," "Telephone Line," "Turn to Stone," "Sweet Talkin' Woman," "Don't Bring Me Down," and "Hold On Tight" are my favorites - are every bit as a good as part of the Beatles output (e.g., "Golden Slumbers," "You Never Give Your Money," etc), and this puts ELO in the rarefied company of the Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones.

But Lynne after he left ELO also went on to do some extraordinary work.  He was a member of the Traveling Willburys supergroup with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty.  He produced and co-wrote (along with Petty) Orbison's "You Got It" (last record before his death).  He did the same for Petty's huge hits "I Won't Back Down" and "Free Falling".  And just to top it off, he produced Lennon's posthumous beauties with the Beatles, "Free as a Bird" and "Real Love" (hey, here's the beginning of a reading I did at Readercon just this past Sunday of a new story I wrote about that song that's an alternate history Beatles tale).

Indeed, there was always something science fictional about ELO, with their other-worldly sounds, which is another reason I love their music.   Add to that Lynne's integration of media-theory themes into his lyrics - in "Telephone Line" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman" ("insufficient data coming through") - and how could I not be crazy their music?  It connects to my three greatest interests in popular culture - the Beatles, science fiction, and the impact of media.

I was really looking forward to Lynne's ELO concert last night, and my wife and I were not disappointed.  They played everyone of my favorite songs except "Strange Magic" and "Hold On Tight," and that's a pretty good hit list.  Lynne's still in fine voice - indeed, better than ever in "Can't Get It Out of My Head" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman" - and the performances and arrangements were top-notch.  "Sweet Talkin' Woman" (yeah, I've always especially loved that song) was replete with a cool electronically modulated "sweet talkin' woman" interspersed throughout the song, and Dhani Harrison (who did a good nine song opening set) singing his father's lead part in "Handle With Care," and Ian Hornal doing a fine rendition of the Orbison part.  (I did miss Rosie Vela, though, who was good in those year 2000 concerts.)

Few of the greats of the 60s, 70s, and even the 80s can put on a show like this any more.  Paul McCartney is a remarkable and unsurprising exception.  I would say that Jeff Lynne, in terms of the great songs he wrote, produced, and still performs in fine voice, is a very close second.  Right up where he belongs.   Catch him if you can.

Just for fun - recommended for Obama campaign theme song

Barack Obama's going to be the next President of the United States. But the road to getting there is never easy, and this great song captures an emotion that I hope all of Obama's supporters are feeling and will be feeling in the months ahead...

The lyrics are not 100% apt - Obama is hardly down - but, hey, they've been working great for a car commercial...



Thanks to the Electric Light Orchestra - ELO - for this song and video. The song was released in 1981. Jeff Lynne's writing and singing are right up there with the Beatles.

And the video itself is an excellent piece of work - with an uplifting message at the end about dreams merging into reality...