Armchair Theatre (1990)

In the ‘70s, I must say I liked Fleetwood Mac a lot more than the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO for those with no time for the syllables). But playing through Armchair Theatre lately, ELO principal Jeff Lynne’s first solo album, I kept thinking of the parallels with Lindsey Buckingham I never noticed before: Lynne is a natural pop tunesmith, with a fearlessness about going for open-hearted and unabashed heartstring sentiments, and actually a pretty good guitar-player too. He was also good in the studio, responsible for most of the ELO product and collaborating with the Move, Dave Edmunds, and others. But the Traveling Wilburys in the late ‘80s and all that followed—including this album—were a certain zenith. I’m not sure this work has ever got its full due. Not only did Lynne have a hand in producing that exquisite first Wilburys album, The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, but in the aftermath he also worked with Roy Orbison on Orbison’s much-lauded comeback album (Mystery Girl) and with Tom Petty on Petty’s best album (Full Moon Fever), plus Armchair Theatre. I thus declare Jeff Lynne, aka Otis Wilbury (or Clayton Wilbury?!), to be the most underrated Traveling Wilbury of them all. (I also know who’s the most overrated, but I won’t say.) Exhibit A is this album, which followed two years on from the frisson of that first Wilburys album. It’s a solid set and better than you probably think. The sound is fat and saturated, sweet and sauntering, with thrilling musical effects. Every track has the goods. I pulled it out of an office slush pile in 1990 and listened to it a lot, thinking it couldn’t possibly be so good. Couldn’t get anyone to bite on a review anyway. (Now that I think of it I had a lot of luck with office slush piles in that period: Full Moon Fever, Green, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814, The Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Taste, The Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra, Tokyo Rose, etc.) Those inclined to complain may note that three of the 11 tracks on Armchair Theatre are covers: “Don’t Let Go,” a rock ‘n’ roll standard first recorded by Roy Hamilton in 1958, Kurt Weill’s “September Song,” and the Tin Pan Alley standard “Stormy Weather.” But all three are worthy additions to much-covered material. Armchair Theatre is an essential part of any Wilburys collection.