User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info

Long Wave
by
Long Wave Image
Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

  • Summary: The ELO frontman releases a covers album of songs that inspired him, including Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea," Fain & Webster's "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing," Etta James' "At Last," Rodgers and Hammerstein's "If I Loved You," Rodgers & Hart's "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," and theThe ELO frontman releases a covers album of songs that inspired him, including Bobby Darin's "Beyond the Sea," Fain & Webster's "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing," Etta James' "At Last," Rodgers and Hammerstein's "If I Loved You," Rodgers & Hart's "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," and the Rolling Stones' "Mercy, Mercy."… Expand
Buy Now
Buy on

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Mojo
    Oct 22, 2012
    80
    Easy on the ear yet never sugary, full and layered yet never stodgy, intricately assembled yet never fussy, pulsing with a Ringo beat yet never monotonous. [Nov 2012, p.91]
    All this publication's reviews
  2. AllMusic
    Oct 9, 2012
    80
    When these sweet reinterpretations are combined with the straight-ahead rockers, Long Wave adds up to a blueprint in reverse for Lynne; by going to back to his beginnings, he winds up figuring out why he went in the direction he did.
  3. The A.V. Club
    Oct 9, 2012
    75
    Long Wave is actually pretty delightful, perhaps because it's just such a pleasure to hear that telltale Lynne sound again, after it's been absent from the airwaves for so long.
  4. BBC Music
    Oct 9, 2012
    70
    Lynne doesn't try to break any moulds here, but respectfully doffs a cap at those that shaped him.
  5. Uncut
    Oct 10, 2012
    70
    All in all, an interesting exercise, far less arch and shamateurish than Kisses On The Bottom. [Nov 2012, p.74]
    All this publication's reviews
  6. Slant Magazine
    Oct 9, 2012
    60
    Love songs and brazen nostalgia are the album's bread and butter, and it's hard not to be drawn in by the comfort of Lynne's layer upon layer of pleasant melodic attention.
  7. Q Magazine
    Nov 21, 2012
    40
    Long Wave seems like great fun for Jeff Lynne, less so for the rest of us. [Dec 2012, p.111]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 10 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. rookster
    Oct 12, 2012
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a Jeff Lynne masterpiece. I am on my third run through non stop and it is pure genius, a delight to sing along to real classics with that ELO lilt. I have not listened to an cd for so long that I want to play again and again. At last ive found a new one. thx Jeff… Expand
  2. bHabs
    Oct 12, 2012
    8
    Jeff Lynne is back, and is sounding better than ever. Any doubts I had about this cover album went away when I heard it. These classic tunesJeff Lynne is back, and is sounding better than ever. Any doubts I had about this cover album went away when I heard it. These classic tunes have really been given that Jeff Lynne spin, from the Beatle-esque harmonies of She to the bright guitars of Beyond The Sea. The album is a tad short (at only 27 minutes) and really leaves the listener wanting to hear more from Jeff. Nonetheless, this is a welcomed return from this master of pop.… Collapse
  4. Jesseneuro
    Nov 25, 2012
    8
    It's "only" a covers album, but the song choices are great; and the harmonies, are, well...perfect: ELO harmonic mesmerism is unique. TheIt's "only" a covers album, but the song choices are great; and the harmonies, are, well...perfect: ELO harmonic mesmerism is unique. The songs are both understated and overstated, which turns this album into both an homage and a Lynnesque escapade of bliss. The album is too brief; my personal rule is 35 minutes, but quality trumps quantity, and it's not damaged by filler.… Expand