Jeff Lynne on the most “beautiful” guitar sound ever
Jeff Lynne could be considered a mad scientist behind the board when it comes to producing rock and roll. While he may have been able to make brilliant masterpieces when working as the frontman of ELO, Lynne’s prowess in creating sonic works of art has led to him working with some of the best in the business, from working alongside Brian Wilson to Tom Petty. Though Lynne may not be a snob about which instruments should be used on a song, he said one guitarist extracted pure beauty from his instrument.
For any aspiring producer, though, Lynne’s productions tend to feel like a rock and roll symphony. In the case of ELO, Lynne would employ a string section to help fill out the sound of the guitars, which led to melodic lines that could have been played by Jimi Hendrix coming from cellos rather than guitar amplifiers.
As the band started to see more success, though, Lynne seemed to drop pieces of rock and roll from his repertoire, writing songs that could work just as well as classical pieces like ‘Mr Blue Sky’. While the fans were happy to listen to whatever sonic adventure Lynne had in store next, he started to feel more accustomed to the studio than the stage.
Not wanting to sacrifice the song’s integrity, Lynne would often stay away from the touring life, electing to spend most of his time in the studio making as much incredible music as he could. Although he may have been confined to the producer’s chair, that didn’t stop the big names from calling.
After befriending George Harrison, Lynne would become a central figure in The Traveling Wilburys, putting together a supergroup with Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty alongside the former Beatle. While Lynne would continue working with Petty for a handful of solo albums, he would get the opportunity of a lifetime when he got the call to oversee The Beatles Anthology.
Helping restore two unfinished John Lennon songs, Lynne was tasked with putting together some of The Beatles’ final tracks like ‘Free As a Bird’ and ‘Real Love’. Although Lynne had a great love of everything Fab, he always preferred listening to Harrison’s slide guitar more than anything else.
When talking about his production work, Lynne would talk about how much beauty was behind Harrison’s playing, saying, “George Harrison’s guitar playing is second to none. He’s got a velvet touch. He can play, and it’s just so soulful and beautiful, and yet tuneful and melodic. I’ve never heard anything quite as beautiful as how he can do it”.
Then again, Harrison took years to refine his touch on the slide guitar. Instead of finetuning his abilities behind Eastern instruments like the sitar, Harrison’s devotion to the slide has led to him emoting through his instrument in a way few other artists can muster, delivering solos that could make the listener weep on tracks like ‘My Sweet Lord’ and ‘I’d Have You Anytime’. Harrison may have been one of the most reluctant guitar heroes, but his legacy as a musical craftsman has left its mark on legions of aspiring guitar players.
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