Electric Light Orchestra lives or dies on the inclusion of Jeff Lynne. Many would agree, and those who would not likely haven’t heard the horrors tucked away in Moment of Truth. What changes had struck the Orchestra and its frontman between Zoom and Alone in the Universe? Very little. Soppier writing and a vacant instrumental style lend themselves as an excuse to tour rather than proud offerings. Insightful expectations from open-hearted pieces which see the rise of a rocker, Alone in the Universe charts the early years of Lynne as a man with a dream. When I Was a Boy hits out at this with as obvious a charm as possible, and therein lies the joy. It is a clear theme to take but it provides some heartfelt bits, and slices of the sound which made E.L.O. so exciting in their heyday. It all comes together for Alone in the Universe.
For those who hoped Lynne would use his time in the shadow of Bob Dylan and The Traveling Wilburys to his advantage, they had to wait until Alone in the Universe to hear it. Love and Rain is a great chance to hear E.L.O. enlist help from backing vocalists and a firmer, darker groove. It hits well and provides one of their better, latter-day tracks. And yet for all its pedestrian charm it is hard to consider Alone in the Universe anything more than a decent solo effort from Lynne. He is with the Orchestra more for the name value, his understated hand in music history still not paid its dues and so the moniker is there, the sound flogged into obscurity and unfortunate consequences. Dirty to the Bone is a slight and obnoxious riff on Evil Woman, benefitting neither as a continuation of the theme or an instrumental exploit.
Stock guitar noise from Lynne and the new musicians who parade through this, and rightly so. They anticipate little uproar should the smaller cogs of the original E.L.O. machine be replaced. Lynne is the one-man band able to stencil his name on before the main draw, and for an album like Alone in the Universe, as fine as it is, it suffers from being held to the same lofty standards as the band which gave the world Out of the Blue. Passive numbers like When the Night Comes feel unfinished or rushed to their end despite dependable instrumentals. Alone in the Universe is more about extending the familiar links with those creatures beyond the stars, yet no track feels out there enough to do anything. Lynne’s work here is nothing more than a footnote in the reformation of E.L.O. as a band of public interest.
Alone in the Universe is relatively tame but it did kindle the fires of a return to touring for Lynne after the disastrous ticket sales post-Zoom. Glastonbury and Wembley would have been impossible without Alone in the Universe and yet completely achievable without the songs. It is the momentum that this album created that is more important than the miserably straight likes of The Sun Will Shine On. Those blinded by a love for Lynne will apply deeper meanings of their own to half the songs in this one, and the other half are decent instrumental sections paired with a reflective Lynne performance. Ain’t it a Drag. Yes, it is.
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