Juliana Hatfield Continues Tribute Series with Vibrant ‘Sings ELO’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Photo credit: David Doobinin

It admittedly started as a novelty, or so it seemed. In 2018, Juliana Hatfield – one of the coolest understated musicians to come out of alternative rock (when that term still meant something) put out Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John. Gen X has a storied tradition of covering ironic music (we made cover albums of School House Rock and Saturday Morning Cartoon theme songs) and this just seemed to play into both nostalgia and irony. But the album, made up of more than a dozen Newton-John songs, was actually great, and given the care that went into these songs, it was clear that Hatfield was a genuine fan. The next year she followed up with Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police; surprisingly, an even better covers album than the one before. So, Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO seems not only logical but expected given Hatfield’s love for pure unadulterated melodic pop songs.  

And yes, it’s as good as you’d imagine. From the very first song “Sweet Is the Night,” definitely not the first big ELO hit that comes to mind but given Hatfield’s indie rock arrangements and trademark husky voice, it sounds like something that could have come off of one of her early 1990s records. The brilliance of choosing to cover a band like ELO, familiar to millions across generations, is that simply by taking out the synthesizers, an instrument synonymous with the band, and replicating those parts with guitars and bass (with a little piano added in here and there), the sound is still vaguely familiar but redefined for another genre. The result is impressive.

She covers many of their biggest hits here including “Strange Magic,” “Showdown” and “Telephone Line,” but chooses to skip out on the obvious ones. There has been a slew of different takes on “Mr. Blue Sky” and “Sweet Talkin’ Woman” over the decades, so it just seemed unnecessary to add another cover to the pile, but that doesn’t mean she shied away from all the big singles. Her take on “Don’t Bring Me Down,” while not a huge departure from the original, is a fun undertaking. The big guitars are there, just a little more muted than on the ELO version and the big choruses are just as big with this version, but Hatfield’s voice coming in when you are so used to hearing Jeff Lynne’s distinct pop vocals make for a slightly jarring but ultimately satisfying remake. She’s faithful enough to the originals but adds her own unique style to the songs. 

The track choice is a solid mix of classic rock radio staples and deep cuts. The only real odd choice here is “From The End Of The World,” off one of ELO’s most uninspired records (1981’s Time). Even Hatfield can’t make much out of this song, but the collection ends nicely on the charmingly wistful “Ordinary Dream,” a slow burn that gets better each time you come back to it. 

Like The Police and Newton-John records before it, Hatfield continues to pay tribute to the bands that helped influence her sound without making a single apology for their massive global appeal (usually a big no-no for the cool kids). These albums come off like a genuine fan letter from a teenage Hatfield to her musical heroes. We can only hope she has more fan letters that need to be put out into the world. 

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