Eternal

Jeff Lynne released two albums this month.  One is a cover of old standards that greatly influenced his own music.  It's called 'Long Wave,' and I'm still waiting on Amazon to send it to me.  The other one is called 'Mr. Blue Sky,' and it's a collection of some of ELO's greatest hits, re-recorded by Jeff.  I've listened to it every day since it arrived from Amazon.

Jeff Lynne never fails to amaze and humble me.  When I hear his music, I am transported back to the magickal time when I was thirteen and hopelessly in love with this mysterious man.  He taught me to sing.  He taught me to harmonise.  He inspired me to write.  He gave me a kind of hope that things can and will get better.

Of course, I grew up and began to drift away from Jeff Lynne's gentle hold on my spirit.  I needed a soundtrack to the life I was entering, something to tell the story of my soul.  I found that in Shriekback, who are about as disparate from ELO as any band could be.

Over the years, though, I would revisit ELO and grieve for all the things I lost, that I had cherished to be the foundations of my future.  Those were happier days.  The presence of Jeff Lynne in my life was like an old blanket that is so comfortable, I could not imagine being without it.

So Jeff has returned, after an eleven year absence.  I find myself cradled once again in his sonic arms, comforted and safe.  I want to stay there forever.  I want the message Jeff spoke to me to stir with life once more. 

I'm not certain I can recapture that.  One thing is for certain, though.  Of all my mentors and muses throughout the years, Jeff Lynne is the one who will always dwell in the center of the flame that flickers in my heart.

Jeff Lynne is eternal.