Alone the Universe [LP] in Bloomington, MN

Alone in the Universe
isn't the first
Jeff Lynne
album of the 21st century, nor is it the first
Electric Light Orchestra
of the 21st century. That honor belongs to
Zoom
, a 2001 comeback that faded quickly into history books, its lack of success blamed in some quarters on
Lynne
's reluctance to tour. If
Jeff
didn't want to hit the road, his old bandmate
Bev Bevan
had no problem constituting a lineup and touring under the name
ELO Part II
, whose presence somewhat explains why
is credited to the somewhat convoluted
Jeff Lynne's ELO
-- a truncation of the band's full name that also assigns credit where it's due, as most listeners associate this majestic post-Abbey Road pop with
alone. Certainly,
is recognizably the work of
: harmonies so sweet they'd induce cavities, stately midtempo marches that just avoid the appearance of pomp, a devotion to both
McCartney
-esque melody and
Martin
-esque production, spiked by an ode to
George Harrison
's slide guitar. At 32 minutes,
is remarkably devoid of excess -- notably, it's just five minutes longer than his breezy 2012 covers album
Long Wave
-- but it doesn't feel shrugged off, nor does it feel especially attached to its time.
abandons some of the clean-cut sharp edges of his early-'90s productions so he can happily live in the late '70s -- there are echoes of disco on "One Step at a Time" and the entire enterprise carries a sci-fi aura, even if it never is fantastical or prog -- and there's an appeal to his long looks back because he's not pandering to nostalgia: he's simply embracing who he is. If he hasn't written a knockout single -- a high bar for a craftsman of 67 to clear -- he's nevertheless sculpted ten strong songs, each one containing a sturdy melodic foundation and dressed in the handsomest threads of 1978. For many longtime followers of
and
ELO
, that will be all they need from
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine