Music / ↳ New Blue Moon

New Blue Moon

Written by: Jeff Lynne (primary) Lead vocals: Jeff Lynne Length: 3:20 to 3:21 Album: Vol. 3, track 9

"New Blue Moon" isn't a lyrically dense song, and it doesn't pretend to be. What it is, instead, is a showcase for exactly the kind of production Jeff Lynne had spent two decades perfecting with Electric Light Orchestra: layered, warm, and immediately pleasant to sit inside, even when the words themselves are doing relatively little work. Critics reviewing the album have singled it out as sonically interesting and genuinely fun almost in spite of its slight lyrical content.

Lynne takes the lead vocal here, which is fitting given how much of the track's appeal comes from the arrangement rather than the melody line itself. It's the sound of a producer confident enough in his own instincts to let atmosphere carry a song most of the way, trusting that a good enough sonic bed doesn't need much decoration on top of it.

It's a minor deep cut in the catalog, but a pleasant one, and a useful reminder of exactly what Lynne brought to this band beyond songwriting: a genuine ear for making four acoustic guitars and a handful of overdubs sound like considerably more than the sum of their parts.

Previous track: Cool Dry Place. Next track: You Took My Breath Away. Or see the full Vol. 3 tracklist.