Out Of The Blue

i liked the music but the album was too long

Do I know anything from this group? I have heard that first track. The album has a very distorted sound to it. kinda interesting. Mr. Blue Sky was pretty cool. I'll give this 3 stars.

Songs with a retro feel that will still resonate with people

This record was better than I expected it to be! My dad was right about ELO all along. An inventive collision of futuristic synthesizers and classical strings that works more often than not. I love the vocal production, as well; there is such a cool wall of sound effect on this album. It sounds like Abbey Road in space. That said, I don't foresee putting this album on very much after this listen, as most of the songs are a little too long and grandiose to feature in my daily rotation. But I'm glad that I finally gave ELO the time they deserve. Dad would be proud.

i like them but the regret lives on

really mid

I liked sweet talking woman and jungle, and did not like it’s over. i was reminded of the beatles towards the beginning. Not my usual kind of music but some fun stuff happening.

Wanted to like this more, and so much to admire, but really too too much and it became a chore.

Was exactly what o thought it was. Love Mr blue and the songs all felt similar. Can't fault it but dont think it made me a fan

An hour and a quarter ! Remember this album vividly. Background to teenage parties and afternoon Radio listening with David Hamilton . Ended up playing this on the Sonos rather than the sound bar as I thought it deserved the better sound quality . Enjoyed it . Not enough to buy but would listen again . Almost a 4 . Top of 3 as some of it is a bit samey .

Well I dunno what to say. It was all kinda OK to listen to in the background, but I am thoroughly unimpressed. Nothing really stood out to me. Some of the songs were perhaps a bit more evocative with their tones and atmosphere, but as a whole I found it boring. Barely found the strength to not click away to something else. D:

Jamais écouté avant. Tout le talent beatlesque pour la mélodie pop de Jeff Lynne, mais aussi tout son penchant pour les productions boursouflées, option section orchestrale, vocoder et disco kitsch. Quelques pépites, mais ça reste indigeste. Top : Turn to Stone Flop : Jungle

Þrususkemmtileg en dálítið einhæft

Rosa skemmtilegt sánd. Mér finnst platan samt ekki alveg nógu sterk fyrir fjórar stjörnur, en fær samt þrjár komma eitthvað.

i like the overall vibe. most of the songs i didn't remember well but the good ones are really satisfying to listen to

1. Okay here we go, this album has 17 songs, idk if i'll bother getting to all of them, we'll see. This first one's okay. Catchy, OH I'VE HEARD THIS BEFORE SOMEWHERE. I don't love it. It's just catchy that's it. 2. Okay, all of this is obviously very disco, and I live for disco, but it's not really getting out of the catchy level, it's not reaching further. I don't love this one. 3. Okay this one's pretty catchy, pretty 60s. 4. bored 5.Very catchy, much better than the last one, but im getting bored of the album GOD HELP ME maybe im just not a music fan in general. But i'm gonna give this one a few more chances. 6. okay im bored with this one im skipping it. 7. meh. 13. Okay i skipped straight to mr. blue sky which is a classic and could wake me up from the grave. I've loved this song for maybe 8 years. So beautiful, so much energy, beautiful melody, inspiring but also a tiny bit meloncholic in the bridge with the guitar solo, WHAT A FUCKING INCREDIBLE SOLO, an incredible piece of music that lives in my heart i think about it all the time. That tiny little note that goes up ( i dont know how to explain it) lives with me till the day i die, so earnest, like someone getting down on their hands in knees and putting your hands in theirs and begging you for love but instead of rejecting them you love them too, or maybe you're the one begging, all of this coinciding perfectly with such a danceable melody and beat. It's incredible, the whole lame album is worth that tiny guitar solo. Life changing. One of the pieces of music that stands out above literally everything else i've ever heard in my whole life. The whole album isn't really worth the 3 but those six seconds make it worthy I think.

Not impressive.

ELO released albums throughout my high school years and were incredibly popular but just about everyone. There were some that liked hard rock and some that liked soft rock and maybe disco but everyone listened to ELO. This is not, however, the best album and I’m not quite sure why it’s on the list. I think it could be whittled down to 10 songs which would make a much stronger album. Listen to A New World Record, their masterpiece.

Not bad at all, but listening for the first time in 2026, I can't help to hear queen, beatles, floyd, etc.

Solide. Toller Sound, Classic Rock. Blieb aber nicht im Ohr.

They were great in the early days with Roy Wood. This is a formulaic mish mash of pop.

3.5/5

Easy and pretty light listening with some early psychedelic rock elements. Very beatles sounding with more flashiness. Would give it another go.

Pretty good. I like plenty of the songs, but I still prefer Time. Need to listen to this again later.

Bra vibe Skönt gung Ablosut värt att lyssna Favorit: turn to stone

It’s fine. Great 70s rock.

It’s a good pop album with lots of filler. I mean lots of songs are on here. Sure they are decent but they kind of fade into the background. I can understand why people like it. The hits were big. Mr Blue Sky is great. I like that song. I have heard it often. But the rest is kind of just like good pop rock. I enjoyed it.

Love the album. A strange mix of emotion though. A 3,8 for me.

Seeing that this album was released a year before the game, I’m going to go ahead and say the creators of Simon were big fans of this album.

A sweeping melodious epic of an album. Probably could've made it a bit shorter but overall a really good effort. Favorite track: Mr. Blue Sky

Not bad. Easy going melodies

An easy listen, a few good tracks

Crazy instrumentals

Like warm bathwater. Absolutely fine.

Some absolute bangers on here, but also some filler.

Udemærket album

Most songs sound the same

Entirely as expected from ELO.

I never really got into ELO - they always reminded me of a more orchestral, more synth-heavy, lower-energy, slightly cheesier version of Queen, and this album did nothing to change that opinion. Great harmonies, great production, but the whole thing kind of leaves me cold. There are some clever moments (like the strings quoting "Rhapsody in Blue" in "Birmingham Blues"). And someone clearly got a brand new vocoder and is eager to play with it. But overall, it's...fine. Favorite track: "Turn to Stone"

I understand why it’s important, but not my favorite.

Mr. Blue Sky is great, the rest of the album is okay

It never gets going. All a bit samey and slightly dreary feeling.

Enjoyed this. Knew mr blue eyes but felt like there were other strong tracks. Probably will listen again.

Genuinely so happy to finally hear a full ELO album. Sweet Talkin’ Woman was a highlight, but really there are several absolute bangers. Overall they make more sense as singles, though, and I can echo what others have said about the length and sameness as an album. It’s somewhere between 3.5-4 for me.

This album grew on me, they were like the groovy Beatles. In a good way!

Some of these songs are almost irresistible. Yet Jeff Lynne really overproduces and can overwhelm.

Need this in a coming of age movie. Some songs felt repetitive so i think it would work best in a playlist, 3/5

Sounds like a musical, like bunch of 80's high astronautes travelling randomly around funky space

I keep listening to it, but nothing from it really sticks. Has some real musical/acapella vibes that aren’t my favorite. Otherwise, some fun pop writing. I would guess Beatles-influenced.

Fun and funky

It suffered overall from being too long, a few of those songs could have been cut. A few of them sounded like The Beatles had stayed together into the 70s and had gotten better at their instruments. Nice production, I liked the vocoder, pretty cool. Almost Daft Punky at times with the vocoder. Cool vocoder. Jeff Lynne is more famous to me for never being in the same room as Mick Foley/Mankind than being a musician, but it was ok. Probably the 4th best Wilbury, but I'm not going to say who is lower on the ranking. Anyho... Wow, what an album. Cool vocoder though.

För lång.

You ever see that scene in Big Lebowski where the dude is in the taxi and says "I hate the fuckin' eales, man"? Well I hate fuckin' ELO, man. Ok now that that's out of my system.... What a strong collection of pop. At times it can feel a bit much. By the second track I feel bombarded by strings, bass and vocal harmonies. This continues for over an hour. I would classify this album as a "Fever Dream" album. Not necessarily a bad Fever Dream, but certainly not something that my subconscious would produce in a sober state. It's an unhealthy conglomerate of The Beatles, Moody Blues and Beach Boys with synth and sound effects poured in excess like syrup on a Denny's Super Slam Breakfast. 2.5 rounded up because I used the word "Strong collection". I will give them that, the album is strong (especially the second half) and the group is talented...for what it's worth...

I get it, but nothing is blowing my mind/that different from its time.

No lo termine jaja.

Chill out Jeff. I like ELO. I like Jeff Lynn's optimistic embrace of the studio-as-an-instrument. I love an artist with a detailed vision and the self-organization to execute it. I've had this album for a long time, and while I respect what it represents, despite it's wins, I can't really stand to listen to the whole thing. It is wriggly and precocious. I'm worried that Jeff Lynn, despite looking squeaky clean, is secretly wiping boogers behind my stereo. Later albums, such as "Discovery" and "Time" show maturity with age, and Jeff Lynn finally finding restraint. "Out of the Blue" shoots out of the ether like an high schooler who's just tried recreational Adderall for the first time, and has discovered a newfound energy to realize all of their dreams within a single rattled afternoon. They've also basically just discovered meth. Jeff Lynn wrote all this material in three weeks and it shows. At best, Out of the Blue is highly cohesive. It demonstrates Jeff Lynn's artistic bazooka-like focus on working his Paul McCartney and 50s sock-hop Rock and Roll inspirations into futuristic studio-gauze hyperlayered caffeine trips. Every song is brimming with neon-bright vocal overdubs. The pulse is always energetic. The music is absolutely humming with electric energy. It is exhausting. "Turn to Stone" and "Mr. Blue Sky" are wonderful, catchy, and exuberant songs that I don't get of hearing. Even when many of the songs on the two LP album carry the same cleverness, sharpness of hooks, and studio tricks (I love vocoder!) I hit a solid drop-in-interest about half way through. I think it would happen earlier, but I'm gonna wait out until "Mr. Blue Sky" hits, no matter what. This has been a repetitive theme for me with this album since high school. On yesterday's listen, I did find a new joy in "The Whale". I had certainly only glossed over it in numerous past listens, out of fatigue, or a mind that can only wander after 1:30 of space-Cetacea ambient jamming. The following instrumental has an easy groove, with the only real dynamic movement being a turnaround built on a simple ascending chord modulation. The rising-energy theme of the rest of the album is rhymed here in a very tasteful way. I noticed in the Wikipedia for this album that a critic noted it as one of the worst moments on the album. I loved it. Jeff clears his blowhole while I catch my breath.

having one generational song doesn't mean I need to listen to the whole album which mostly sounds like beta versions of that same song. the album was better for the last stretch after mr. blue sky but the entire long middle section was quite boring

Standouts: - Night in the City - woah experimentation The first song is exactly what I worry about with this album. I don't dislike it but it feels clean and textureless. There was actually a bit with some texture near the end but it was on the fade out?? He's got quite a nice voice so I don't understand why most of the time we are hearing this reverbed and overly clean version. It's by far the worst part of the album Overall it's fine. I wish it had some more experimentation with it's instruments, there are a few times where they actually did and I had to check I was on the same album because of how unbelievably safe this album plays. I need another coffee after over an hour of this though. I think the album art is actually a good representation of this album. Intentionally bright and tacky for no real purpose. 3 maybe a 2 for being too long - This isn't why I listen to music.

This was like if Liberace and Trent Reznor collabed on a prog rock album, but also did some homages to The Beatles. There’s a LOT of styles and musical choices to unpack in this album: classic rock, 60s groovy sounds, electronica, heavy synth, some nice vocal harmonies, orchestral elements, and some 80s Hall & Oates-esque soft rock thrown in there too. Quite an interesting (and at times fun) listen, but it wasn’t focused enough for me to warrant more than a 3/5

Okay art rock / experimental

2 70s double albums in a row (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road was yesterdays, and quite superior to this). I dunno what it is, but I can’t show much love for this. Maybe it’s the endless falsetto, the overly intricate arrangements, or the orchestral flourishes that put me off, or the fact that it is 70-odd minutes long. Mr Blue Sky was undoubtedly a hit but the rest just doesn’t hit for me, aside from fleeting moments when a great tune cuts through.

Enjoyable for prog rock. Still a bit expressive and languishing but better than a lot of other bits.

I couldn’t listen to it in one sitting. The album is still good — it’s not just “Mr. Blue Sky”. “Sweet Is the Night” stood out the most.

Didn't enjoy this album as much as I thought I would but still has some solid tracks. Another band with a very distinct sound and some absolute classics

3.5

I have a strange childhood memory of some guy on rollerskates playing an electric cello? Anyway - big debt to the Beatles, but not as good of course

Favourite Songs: Starlight Jungle The Whale

Jeff Lynn is the 4th best Wilbury. 3.5 Stars.

They were alright. I hadnt heard some of these songs. They are fine for background music

I like it, but it's long and somewhat repetitive in sound. Almost feels like a musical at times! 3,5.

I listened to this an awful lot when my mate had the double album on sky blue vinyl back in the day and honestly, it hasn’t held up as much as I thought it would. The singles are the stand outs, but honestly I can take or leave it now.

3/5 Instrumentação e produção interessantes. Porém, como outros álbuns da lista, possui umas duas músicas realmente memoráveis.

Already listened. Weak 7/10

this is some classic shit

Not awful- I put off listening to this for a month, mainly because of the album cover but it was actually not bad. I think in my head o confused these guys with Emerson lake and Palmer. Might actually listen again one day.

burring

Bo Nix's injury after the Broncos/Bills game.

Sounded pretty cool

First listen; 3.5; This is an interesting album. Sounds very much like the Beatles in many songs. (Mr. Blue Sky has nearly the same piano riff as the second half of "A Day In The Life," and even has a little panting bit.) Also reminds me of the Beach Boys and even Pink Floyd in parts but with a much shinier sound. There's lots of catchy hooks here, but the songs do drag on. Aside from these catchy parts, some of the songs are just so schmaltzy. Favorite Tracks: Mr. Blue Eyes, The Whale

Hmm, ikkje dumt

Decent but nothing really memorable ? Aside from Mr. Blue Sky which is an eternal banger lol.

Decent exposure

Not my favorite from ELO , but still bangs.

Good album! Like more of their other works but this is good!

eh its fvine im not a big fan idk what else to say sorry

The hits were hits for good reason! Incredibly well crafted. I will always be grateful to Lynne for his contributions to Full Moon Fever, Into the Great Wide Open, and the Wilburys (glad he reused the opening Summer and Lightning acoustic part to start End of the Line). And...he had much better songwriters to produce in those cases.

medio q la primera canción m sorprendió ?!?!?!?! pense q x el nombre iba a ser algún tema de Musica Contemporánea De la Época Victoriana (capaz q lo dije mal) PERO NO?? les doy mis kudos al primer tema turn of stone 10/10 !!! las otras canciones todavía no las escuché pero cuando m consiga auris las escucho

This album is like in every soundtrack in the eighties. It’s not bad but I don’t want to listen to an entire album of it.

It was fine. Nothing ear catchingly good, nothing that made me skip tracks, forgotten an hour after finishing.

Pretty solid! Saved a few to my liked songs.

صراحة استمتعت و انا اسمعه😄 (توقعت يكون اسوء)، ممكن ما رح اسمع هالنوع من الاغاني بالعادة بس استانست عليه، بس الشيء الوحيد الي ازعجني اني كنت امل منه بسرعه )): اخذ مني وقت طويلللل يبي لي اتعود على الوضع

Love the first song!

The first half of the album was setting up the story, though I didn’t find it to be remarkable. I’ve never been a huge fan of the layered vocals ELO uses. Once the song ‘Jungle’ comes in, the tone of the album complete changed. The instruments become more layered and the songs become heavier. I believe it was standin’ in the rain that made me question whether this album came out before or after The Wall. I can really see where the inspiration came from. It’s also very much Tommy by The Who in the way there’s almost back and forth conversations occurring whilst the song is being sung. It was a good album, but a slow pace to start. 3.5/5

pretty good!

Out of the Blue is undeniably well made. The melodies are big, the harmonies are stacked just right, and Jeff Lynne’s studio craft is on full display. It’s polished, confident, and easy to enjoy in the moment. I get why this album was such a hit. But it never quite feels like a game changer to me. A lot of what ELO does here feels adjacent to things the Beatles and Beach Boys were already doing, and often with more emotional weirdness or harmonic bite. Even “Mr. Blue Sky,” as fun as it is, lands as Beatles-lite rather than something truly singular. I respect the ambition and the execution, and Lynne gets some goodwill for his broader musical legacy, but not enough to push this into top-tier territory for me. This is a solid, pleasant listen, not a destination record. Good to know, glad I heard it, but probably not something I’ll return to. A high three feels right: competent, enjoyable, and well crafted, but stopping short of essential.

Mr Blue Sky always makes me want to cry cause of that one soul music episode

En realidad me gustaría ponerle 3.5 estrellas en un album muy bueno, me agrada esta combinación de las música electrónica con los sonidos tipicos de la época, la primera canción del albúm es mi favorita y definitivamente es un album que volvería a escuchar de vez en cuando aún si no tiendo a escuchar mucho este tipo de género.

fav: across the border, sweet talking woman, mr blue sky

Got bored with it

3.5+

5/10

No me lo he terminado pero tiene potencial

Fun and pretty! I like the dreamy melodies and the catchy songs and the sweet lyrics.

Out of the Blue begon voor mij met lichte scepsis, maar verraste me positief door de sterke melodieën, grooves en elektronische accenten. De uptempo nummers voelen energiek en speels, met af en toe een bijna disco-achtige drive, terwijl de meer theatrale en bombastische momenten wisselend voor mij werkten. Het is een lang en veelzijdig album dat soms wat veel wordt, maar met duidelijke hoogtepunten en een mooi gekozen, verhalende afsluiter. Geen album dat ik actief blijf opzetten, maar wel één dat onverwacht nostalgische gevoelens opriep en goed paste bij een reflectieve oudejaarsdag.

So good and iconic but not really my taste as an entire album

This was so easy to listen to - I will definitely put it in the rotation from now on! I was also surprised how many of the songs were actually familiar.

gute Laune Album

Very uneven album. Some excellent songs (Sweet talkin' woman), some dreadful ones (Stepping Out) and too many that start off strong but then drift away into jazzy, pre-electronica nothingness.

Some good moments on this album and very good production - they clearly got a 72 track mixer for xmas.

Some good tracks. Some self-indulgent ones. A bit too long, but better than some albums here!

Varios temazos

Took two listens but I ended up really enjoying this one. 3.5

It's a great example of good use of the recording studio techniques available back then. Then the cowbell in "Night in the City" brings us back to Earth. I like the synthesizer sounds, too.

Fun, but in small doses. Favorite songs: Big Wheels, Mr. Blue Sky, Turn to Stone

This album was released exactly ten years before Caroline was born! Forgot how good “Turn to Stone” and “Mr. Blue Sky are”. Liked some of the other songs too but the album felt a little long.

ELO is definitely one of a kind, sounding like nothing else and never replicated so far as I know. Thick production, almost like intentionally overproduced or something. I don't know how motherfuckers in the 70s did all the shit they did. I like ELO. They're fun.

Jeff Lynne’s magnum opus. Great songwriting, instrumentation, production and mixing/mastering. It’s also enough ELO for me for the next year or two.

Good. Would listen to while cleaning.

spoko spoko Mr. Blue Sky miałam już polubione

You know it was ok, but I'm not going to remember a single song off it

Before listening i am slightly familiar with this album, Mr. blue sky comes to mind and i enjoy that song from time to time and the album art is familiar. Initial reaction is that it feels similar in energy to Mr. blue sky, an otherworldly, explorative, explosion. It does give off the vibes that it belongs in the background of a movie maybe because it is hard to hear what they are saying. It knows what it is though and i appreciate that. 1/4 in- I'm a little bored sorry. Starlight is cool. Believe me now feels like the climax of the movie lol. Standin' in the rain is a vibe. Mr. blue sky is still great. (Generally i need to listen to music more than once to enjoy it fully so i will be bias towards songs I've heard before.) I'm getting bored towards the end. It definitely feels ahead of its time probably 20-30 years, not really for me though. 6/10 this is a personal rating, i know its objectively better than a 6. i don't know if other people see these so just in case lol. (I have bad taste and get bored quickly)

I like it but man it’s A LOT.

It was fun enough but I found nothing extremely exciting about it to be honest. It was pretty ok.

This album sounds like the glee club discovered a vocoder and decided to crash orchestra rehearsal. Admirably high energy levels. Also indulgent and overly long. I would classify this album with other albums where the hit single was sufficient and I didn't benefit from listening to the rest.

Liking the album so far.

i like it, probs not my cup of tea exactly faves: sweet talkin' woman and mr. blue sky

Not bad.

Rozumiem wpływ, jaki ta muzyka wywarła na późniejszych twórców. To pomost między progr rockiem lat 70, a bardziej popowo i elektronicznie nastawioną muzykę lat 80. Czuję, że mieli bardzo duży wpływ chociażby na Queen. Druha część otwarcia "Standin' In the Rain" brzmiało jak skrzyżowania otwarcia "Flasha Gordona" i jeszcze jednego utworu, chyba "One Vision". Ale jakoś nie wciągnęła mnie ta muzyka. To dobra rzecz, ale przechodzi przez moją świadomość bez śladu. Takie 3,5.

2.75 little too long

This was an long album of okay and then Mr. Blue Sky.

To some extent all these songs do sound like Mr. Blue Sky and Don't Bring Me Down, neither of which are on this album, but everything is listenable and cheerful. It sort of reminds me of painters who would paint the same painting again and again. Not high art, but enjoyable, although the songs and album are a bit too long.

This album is like the friendly gentleman who lives next door in a movie. He always his his own life in perfect order, he maintains a friendly and positive demeanour at all times, and he is always there to lend an ear to the main characters problems. What a guy.

Pretty good

Some bangers in there, great album

It's between a 3 and a 4. More a 3.

Felicific

You know what, I don't dislike it. By the half of it, I wasn't paying that much attention, it all seemed to blend together. However, it was interestingly written, but too overproduced for my taste. I guess Jeff Lynne is/was a better writer than producer.

Epic, operatic, probably better than i have rated it. Favorite track was big sky

if daft punk and the beattles had a baby

Some very Beatles-inspired (maybe a little too much) pop that's pleasant to listen to if not necessarily revelatory. I like all of the individual elements of it--the vocals, the instrumentation, the melodies, etc., but the big thing that kept me from enjoying it fully is a mushy sound, one I have to blame on a patchy recording, because even the 30th anniversary remaster isn't much of an improvement, and it's the sort of music that really could use a polished presentation to really make it shine.

I do like some ELO, but this is a lot of ELO. A sameness runs through the double album. Still though, very pleasant and slightly less indulgent than your average double album. Maybe. The last 2 songs are particularly bad. 3.5 rounded down Heard before? Some Owned: No: 34/133 (25%) Will I get? No

Cutchogue. What was going on.

Not too great and not too bad all around. Mr. Blue Sky is a fun one.

This started out very hokey and boring but grew and grew on me as it went on. Absolutely a banger by the end. Way, way too long, but the peaks are undeniable. The Whale is a standout.

Listening to this feels like when I want nothing more than a hot fudge sundae for dessert and instead have to make do with a partially frozen slice of lemon meringue pie.

Hey look it's the Disco Space Beatles throwing everything at the wall and having a real good time - even if over half the ideas are hitting the floor with a big poopy splat. That's still a 50% chance of a good time though.

Out of the Light Orchestra by Blue Light. Ja aso das isch nüd speziells gsi, aso überhaupt nöd out of the blue cho. Es Orchester hani au nöd ghört und Liechter sind mir au nöd erschiene. Aber klassische isch es gsi (scho länger num vorho, es ziitli fast immer) aber würki es 60/70er standard album darum au 3 standard light

bouncy!

3.5

Pretty fun softish rock album, with some great Jeff Lynne songwriting Highlights: "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Birmingham Blues"

Love turn to stone and blue sky. The others not into

I had quite high hopes for this, because I like ELO, but find myself a bit disappointed. Aside from being far too long, it’s disjointed, yet still manages to keep that ELO sound all the way through. It was quite nice to have on in the background, but nothing really caught me except for the two songs that I expected: “Sweet Talkin’ Woman” is so great and I defy anyone to dislike “Mr Blue Sky”. Nothing else came close to rivalling those two.

ELO: a band my Mum loves so much, she regularly goes to see an ELO tribute band. I'm certainly not going to go those extremes but I did enjoy this. There are some interesting instrumental choices, with really different changes of direction at random points in songs. I love the multilayer vocals.and the piano. The strings/guitar on Night In The City sound almost exactly like the Orchestra version of Pinball Wizard at one part, which I found a bit distracting (parts of Standing In The Rain also reminded me of Tommy). It's too long (though I'm sure that if I were an ELO fan I'd be wishing it was triple album). I'm a fan of a lot of weird, goofy, theatrical artists (TMBG, Barenaked Ladies, Will Wood, Bear Ghost) and I'd be genuinely amazed if they weren't all big ELO fans. I was wavering between a 3 and a 4 throughout this listen, but I'm settling on a 3 as I don't like the more plodding ballardy tracks anywhere near as much as the upbeat ones. It was so close though. 3/5

This album went on and on and on. I don't know man. I want to give this 4 stars because I enjoy and admire the intricacy and onslaught of it all in one way, but the fact it took me four days to get through this and it all just kind of blended together by the end makes me feel like I should not do that.

Standouts Turn to Stone Night in the City Mr. Blue Sky The Whale

It’s ok, I liked it

I loved the opening tune, I just wished the whole album was that good. I think they could have reduced the number of tracks and made this a single LP and it would have been great. As it is there are too many forgettable tunes. I did love Turn to Stone, Jungle and of course Mr Blue Sky.

Not my style, it's not bad but I couldn't listen to more than 3 songs

Is quite a long album. Contains some absolutely amazing tracks, but also a lot of forgetable ones.

6.5 / 10

Good but boring.

Side 1 is great, side 2 is bad, side 3 has "Mr Blue Sky", side 4 is ok. Verdict: could've just been a normal-length album.

Some of this is a lot of light-hearted fun. But over time it just doesn't build on itself and overstays its welcome. I found this mostly just ok.

I had only heard the major singles and was not really looking forward to it as I don’t enjoy the songs , mr Blue sky,etc for me to much use of electronic voicing and don’t like the composition, however I can appreciate the structure of the songs we’re and musicianship but not for me and won’t listen again

Albümün başlarında Queen ı ilk dinlediğim zaman geldi aklıma.Çok iyi başladı zaman zaman düşüşler olsa da genel olarak dinlemesi keyifli bir albümdü.

Fun album.

Same energy the whole album.

Good but a lot. If this was half the length I suspect I would rate it higher.

Pleasant. Didn’t grab us hugely.

I really know this is a good album, but I have a lot of bee's in my brain right now so the amount happening on this album is just overwhelming to me. Someone once said that music is the space between notes. There is no space between notes here. There is no room on this album. It is the musical equivalent to being at a crowded party. It is sensory overload the soundtrack.

Not the Beatles or Pink Floyd. But listening to it.

Straddling the line between hella catchy and hella cheesy

Few Highlights and very musical-like.

Expected to hate this. Was better than I thought. A bit repetitive

It is not bad, all songs are nice, easy to listen to. Pop rock, psychedelia, happy tunes. Wouldn't mind listen to it again, although probably not on purpose. 3/5.

I'm a bit surprised by the consensus positive rating on this one. As much as I wanted to like a band from my hometown, this album didn't do much for me.

I like some singles by Electric Light Orchestra. But I was never inspired to listen to their albums. I realize that Jeff Lynne is just doing his thing, and more power to him. However, a double album's worth of Lynne's maximalist production on Out Of The Blue left me overwhelmed.

This album feels like a compilation of other bands that were their contemporaries. The lyrics are simple. The sounds are nice but nothing really blew my mind.

Sometimes on Saturdays it’s fun to go on a drive and just kind of blow into wherever looks interesting. On the best days you walk into a bar and grill with $3 coors light. You sit down and order some snacks. You see a band setting up. They start playing around the time your second beer arrives. Most of the tunes are new to you but quite a few other folks in the bar seem to know the jams. You end up ordering a third beer and some dinner to spend some extra time til you’re ready to drive. The band takes a break for their second set and it lines up with your time to go. You exchange pleasantries with the dudes on your way out and go home. It was a great band and the playlist to a great afternoon. But gun to my head and I had to name the band or a single song they played, then my brains all painting the side walk. That’s what this album is like. I really wanted it to end sooner. With that being said, this seems like they’d put on one of the greatest concert experiences ever.

This was really fun! Definitely reminded me of The Beatles. Listened to on the way back from Kinosaki to Osaka.

Why does everything have cowbell?!?! Really good otherwise and only mine 20 seconds of it.

Listens: 2 Standout tracks: Jungle, Mr. Blue Sky This album didn't really leave too much of an impression on me, save for the two most popular tracks on the album. It was fine.sort of reminded me of the Beatles crossed with Boston or Rush or maybe Journey.

10/1001 I thought the greatest hits was all the ELO I needed but damn if this hasn’t growing on me in just a day.

I was hoping to give this a four as it seems like my sort of thing, but by the end too many of the songs had similar melodies and rhythms. For this genre, I need songs to be more distinct. It's all good, but not enough songs stand out.

Fun, agreeable, creative, well-arranged. A monster of an album for it's time. I'm not super familiar with ELO's discography other than their singles. I like Out of the Blue overall but its one of those albums that could have a few songs cut off. It goes on a little too long to the point that it's hard to remember the stand out tracks. Despite that, it's still a very agreeable album that you can put on in the background and no one will complain.

Serious highs and lows.

this one is interesting. a little too prog for my tastes but i appreciate the ambition

Hadnt listened to much ELO before. Enjoyed the album even tho I am thoroughly burned out on classic rock.

It's okay, but it's a bit boring and a bit long. Fine for background music, though.

I love the electric music on this album, it's very fun. Interesting

interesting poppy, rocky, electronic, good music. 3.3 outta 5.

Ok aber nicht so meins. Würde ich wahrscheinlich nicht mehr anhören. Hab ein Lied geliked.

Helt ok, men... Fattigmanns Queen? Beatles som prøver å spille Pink Floyd?

3/6

Flikker de Bee Gees, de Beatles en Queen in een slowcooker en na een uurtje of 4 heb je dit denk ik. Ik kan niet helemaal beoordelen hoe geavanceerd dit was in 1977, maar raak er nu niet per se ondersteboven van. Het is niet onaardig hoor, het is met vlagen ook wel geinig zelfs (met name 'Mr. Blue Sky', wat we allemaal kennen van Guardians of the Galaxy deeltje 2), maar het is ook wat lang en niet overdreven spannend. Een soort musical of rock opera waarin niet heel veel gebeurt. Ik geef 3 sterren hiervoor, maar dan heb ik zelfs nog het gevoel dat ik ze een beetje mats.

Not bad. But a little too much electric light in the orchestra for my tastes.

This one was just fine. It was a bit longer than I wanted it to be and there were fewer words than I wanted there to be.

I don’t know. ELO have kind of an interesting sound and there is nothing wrong with this album but it all just seems rather empty and forgettable. Haven’t thought about them since I finished the Blum 20 minutes ago.

Good vibes

Strong 3. Very enjoyable album, over long

Great singles, and side 3 works as a series of linked tracks. Overall too long.

I particularly enjoyed the high energy opening track Turn to Stone which has an gorgeous pairing of basic, bubbly electronics with neat pop rock instrumentation and fun, flirty vocals. The following track It's Over also stands out in a dreamy, sophisticated and nostalgic kind of way. I'd love to be able to say that there is a track which usurps Mr. Blue Sky, but it stands head and shoulders above the rest - truly iconic. Its a strong album which is a touch too long. You could happily lose 10 minutes collectively from sides B and D.

Mr Blue Sky is pretty good and there’s some other half-decent tracks on here, but not enough to justify the length

I came in with high hopes, some good bits. If I hadn’t heard a lot of their influences this would have blown me away but I have so at times it felt like a weak imitation.

Too rock opera for me. It all feels like a soundtrack to a movie, but the soundtrack is trying to take over.

Yeah. Its elo. Beatles without any social awareness. I can definitely hear how most of the British bands co-opted a lot of these sounds too. Its good but too long and too overproduced, but that's kinda the point?

too long

didn’t really hit hard for me, but still a great album

These guys, more so than Rush, are the MCR of 70s rock. Theater Kids on drugs (presumably). You could see how this album influenced Roger Waters to make The Wall a few years later… only Roger Waters does it better imo. As confusing and as long as this listen was, it will never be as bad as KISS’s monumental failure from 1998, “Psycho Circus”. If given the choice between the two, I would pick this album every time. Even if I only half listen to it most of the way through.

Big fan of ELO’s “hits” Album was good but too many songs for an album IMO

Pretty good.

Pretty good album on first listen. Evokes a wide variety of emotions. Singing and orchestral arrangements were exceptional. Not too out there (and not my preferred style), but much better than expected.

2025-09-19: The orchestra-like arrangements produced full music, the tunes seemed varied in nature … However, for some reason I didn't get quite hooked to the album. The voices felt muffled at times, others I I felt saturated by the music … Whatever the reason, though I think I am somehow doing this work a disservice by not giving it at least a 4, I have to leave it a step lower this time.

Not a single track over 5 and a half minutes, i'm embarassed to admit that if the spotify description hadn't specifically name checked the beatles I probably would have heard it but not made the connection. This is like if the paul clone they grew in the vat popped off in 73. 3/5

Almost meh for me and way too long! Only just because of the well-known "Turn To Stone", "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and "Mr. Blue Sky" I give it the weak three stars. 2,5

Eh this was a cool album but not really my taste. 3/5

Decent pop album, really catchy and happy. Pretty good. Standout Songs: Turn to Stone Sweet Talkin’ Woman Jungle Standin’ in the Rain Summer and Lightning Birmingham Blues

Not sure why they chose to do a double album. There are some good songs but several are skippable.

Turn to Stone and Mr Bluesky I like. The rest is closer to filler.

Good

It's a cool idea to discofy Beatles harmonies. I remember how this sounded when I was 9. Somehow more dated than disco itself.

Hat mir gefallen.

Classic 70s Pop, performed at a very high level, but not exciting at all. Kind of a solid listen but in this given context, it's more on the disappointing side. Edit: after 90 albums, this is at least average in the given context

Este disco estaba en vinilo en mi casa, era de mi hermano mayor y la portada me hipnotizaba. Ha sido un gustazo volver a escuchar este disco. Me guardo: "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Starlight" y por supuesto "Mr. Blue Sky".

I almost finished this one, got a few more to listen to. It’s a bit too bloated, I think if I listened to one disk then the other it woudl have been better. Best song is Mr Blue Sky for sure, but I enjoyed Birmingham Blues and Turn to Stone. It would be good in the background. I think if it was shorter I woudl have bumped it to four stars.

There is some fun to be had listening to this but I find it cheesy and Mr Blue Sky is difficult to listen to after hearing it so much. Reminded me of Crime of the Century at times. 2.5

One outstanding track that everyone knows but the rest just sounds like a poor man’s Beatles to me but without the memorable tunes and added weird spacey bits. Maybe it needs a few listens. Ironically the line “soo long” in Mr Blue Sky sums up my feelings of this album. Father in law went to school with Jeff Lynne and raves about ELO. Maybe you had to be there at the time. Not bad compared to some but wouldn’t listen again.

Ah ELO. A good throwback to my youth, getting picked up by a friend's mother and listening to the greatest hits album on CD. Mr Blue Sky was a particular favourite. Brings me right back. Overall a fun poppy "rock" album, good vibes, easy and interesting listen. Not quite a 4* for me but may return eventually.

ELO’s Out of the Blue is a pop-oriented symphonic rock album. It generally lacks the raw rock energy I prefer, though they were probably a band that helped shape their era.

There's a perfect 40 minute album in this 70 minute behemoth somewhere.

Psychedelic pop music. Fun to listen to but I wouldn't return to it often.

Electric Light Orchestra's definitive album. Almost every other song is a classic rock radio staple, and ELO's pop-infused rock makes no secret as to why. Fantastic vocal performances and harmonies galore, disco-esque danceable beats and strings, as well electronic experiments are the ingredients for a very listenable album. Highlights: "Mr. Blue Sky", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Turn to Stone"

Mr blue sky was great. Rest is ok

p376. 1977. 3 stars. A 70s double album, so points immediately deducted, and the falsetto vocals don't help. I've always thought there is something vaguely artificial and passionless about Jeff Lynne - he so desperately wants to be The Beatles, this album is almost a parody. Having said that, there are some fabulous pop songs on here - it just outstays its welcome.

- bem teatral, tenta se manter interessante com mudanças de ritmo e estrutura - muito moderno, algumas músicas que poderiam ser lançadas hoje - achei um pouco genérico pra rock progressivo

2.88

It sounds like a continuation of the same song. By the time it gets to Mr. Blue Sky, it makes an otherwise good song sound repetitive. It’s better than some of the twos I’ve rated though.

The best songs are the hits. Coincidentally, the hits are the best impressions of Paul McCartney songs. The harmonies and melodies pop, but somehow, the songs are lacking in personality. Nonetheless, this was a breezy listen.

huzzah!

Interesting sound, but not favor the melody

I was excited when this popped up today. This was an album I loved when I was young, staring at the cover art for ages and listening to all four sides of the record. Since that time I’ve enjoyed a handful of ELO songs I’d hear now and then, but none were from this album. I’d considered seeing them live the past few years but never pulled the trigger on getting tickets. Upon listening today, disappointment set in. This was not as much fun as I recalled, and I was mostly feeling bored and looking to see how many more songs were left. I don’t think it’s bad. It’s just one of those things that was better when I was younger but has lost its luster as I’ve aged and my tastes have changed. Interestingly, this is my second album in a row from 1977 where my opinions have changed dramatically from when I listened back then to now. Apparently 14 year old me is quite different than 62 year old me. Who knew?

its okay i guess i wasnt able to listen very intently, closer was good

Pink twats

De início subestimei, mas achei bem agradável, eu ouviria de novo.

3 out of 5. This album felt like an upbeat space rock opera.

decent bground. only 1 banger

Has a couple fun songs at the beggining, but ends up being way too long and most songs in the 2nd half are a bit generic. Also not usually a fan of bands adding orchestral elements to their songs to make them sound more epic, and they do that a bit here.

Väldigt höga toppar (Turn to Stone, Mr Blue Sky), men resten rätt slätstruket (dock absolut inte dåligt)

Decent.

I was surprised that I didnt enjoy it as much as I did. The hits were amazing, but there is a lot of filler songs that were a little sappy for my taste. Overall- good, but a little cheesy

A tad too long

Ok operatic 70s rock.

If you've ever thought, "gosh, I wish I could listen to Mr. Blue Sky 17 times but on 16 out of those 17 times it was a bit less good," then boy have I got an album for you! I think there's definitely an element of the one single being so typical of this group, and being so fucking great that it ruins the rest of the record, because there's good stuff here but ELO just very much have a certain style.

Couple of solid tracks, talented artists, but I'm not a giant fan.

This is a wild album. It's fun as hell but I have a limited experience with ELO so I'm not sure if it's a concept album or if they just go for it on every song.

Me gustó un montón, esta banda siempre me levanta el ánimo, no sé qué tienen sus temas pero me atrae.

This is too much. There were no bad ideas in the studio. They threw everything at the wall and everything stuck. I love maximalist pop. Pet Sounds is my favorite album of all time. But ELO needed an editor. Or someone to say no.

Some great songs, some really great production. Each individual song is good to great, but it overstays its welcome and feels a bit too "Samey" after a while.

Much better than I festes. Great production, fantastic arrangements, a lot of good songs, but there really is no heart. I don’t feel the songs, I just hear them

Have wanted to hear more of this band after hardly knowing much of their work. Pink Floyd meets Slade with a sprinkling of The Beatles and not sure what I think about that. 80 mins. Okay, let’s go. Pretty standard above vibe but like the switch of ‘Night In The City’, a welcome change and brings a bit more rizz. And ‘Starlight’ following in the same direction. More electronics and psychedelia. And of course the classic ‘Mr Blue Sky’ which pretty much sums up their sound. Kinda got the memo from early on and felt similar feel throughout, mostly. Similar to yesterday, it’s pretty good at what it does, but just doesn’t wow me. (3.5)

Okeeee

Would probably give 3.5 stars is possible.

sounds cool

this was very fun!! reminded me of a mix of Abba with Queen. don't know how I haven't heard of them before

Over the top sound! Huge production and instrumentation on this double album. Lots of Beatles influence seeps through. Was familiar with ELO but never took the deep dive on this one.

21/07/2025 I couldn't give it any more than 3 stars, I just didn't like the album.

Son agradables, me han gustado también me recuerdan a queen

3.5

I have a confession. I had a vapid hate for this band until about 10 years ago. Jeff Lynne is a genius though, effortless singer, amazing writer. Tastes change, opinions shift. Sometimes you gotta admit you were wrong. Love Sweet Talkin' Woman and of course, Mr. Blue Sky.

I had never heard this album in its entirety before today. I've heard "Blue Sky" and remember seeing this LP as a kid because the cover looks like a board game/toy that was popular when I was a kid. Just as the name of the toy escapes me so too will this album. There are 3 or 4 really great songs but the rest are kind of everything all at once and so they don't really stand out.

Some sparkle but its length ultimately defeats it as it rambles a bit at times.

Love me some ELO, but I think I'm more of a "enjoy when a song comes up in a playlist" ELO fan than a "listen to an entire double album start-to-finish" ELO fan. It sounded almost like the soundtrack to a movie I've never seen. Looking at the cover and title, shouldn't the ship be EXITING the station? "Birmingham Blues" was a refreshing return to structure after that "Whale" nonsense.

I love Mr Blue Sky. So good. Overall it’s not an album all play a ton but it’s a 3.5 for me…

I really enjoyed this album but I found that I was checking how many songs were left multiple times.

So big, so many strings, so many choirs… they can write a melody but damn dude, chill a little. Best song: Mr. Blue Sky

So I'm a huge ELO fan, BUT . . . I don't think this is one of their best albums. The curse of the double album--too much weaker material watering down the good stuff. "Turn to Stone" is a great opener, and "Sweet Is the Night" is probably the best ELO song that never became a hit, and there are some other good moments, but the two albums preceding this one--El Dorado and A New World Record--are both better front to back. I hope El Dorado is also included in "1001 Albums," because if it ain't it should be.

I’m a big fan of what I consider ELO’s signature sound. It’s so Beatlesque (Kinks, Beach Boys) but also so forward looking. I do think this album needed an edit; it felt a little baggy.

Rating: 2.8 There were a lot of good ideas here, but the execution just comes off feeling like “more is more.” The first few songs were absolutely flawless and then it just devolved into vocoder nonsense and drawn out, indulgent fiddling. I will admit I enjoyed it as a spectacle though.

Catchy stuff

3,5

Got some cool tracks. Mr Blue Sky probably the best and most recognisable

Pretty good pop rock album Has some bangers

This album still sounds great, it's full of nice, layered harmonies and lush strings. When this album is at its best it is excellent but it's too long, which ultimately detracts from the listening experience. This is a five star single album struggling to get out of a three star double album. Three stars. Would I listen again? - Only the hits. Would I buy this album? Yes, I did, on a whim. Side one 1 "Turn to Stone" - Nice fade in. Lush melodies and strings. Great chorus. Excellent. - 5 Stars. 2 "It's Over" - 3 Stars. 3 "Sweet Talkin' Woman" - Brilliant. Fantastic chorus. - 5 Stars. 4 "Across the Border" - Faster paced. Again, this has all of the elements that ELO are famous for. The Mexican sounding horns are a nice touch. Some of the keyboards sound a little dated. - 4 Stars. Side two 5 "Night in the City" - Nice opening to the song. - 3 Stars. 6 "Starlight" - 3 Stars. 7 "Jungle" - This is interesting and a little different to what has gone before. - 4 Stars. 8 "Believe Me Now" (instrumental) - Pointless? - 3 Stars. 9 "Steppin' Out" - I found this dull.- 2 Stars. Side three (Concerto for a Rainy Day) 1 "Standin' in the Rain" - 4 Stars. 2 "Big Wheels" - 3 Stars. 3 "Summer and Lightning" - 3 Stars. 4 "Mr. Blue Sky" - A brilliant slice of pop. 5 Stars. Side 4 5 "Sweet Is the Night" - 3 Stars. 6 "The Whale" (instrumental) - This just drags on. - 2 Stars. 7 "Birmingham Blues" - 3 Stars. 8 "Wild West Hero" - 4 Stars. Total 59 Average 3.50

Iconic 70s sound. Most songs sound the same though. "Mr Blue Sky" is a classic.

Some fun melodies and a few bangers. Enjoy the ELO vibe, but so many songs on the album and not enough highs/differentiation overall. 2.5 if I could.

This is a fun album to listen to, although I don't think I would ever play it again all the way through. Maybe if I was cleaning the house or cooking or something on the weekend when I could have something playing in the background that I don't really need to pay attention to. It's great for that. Some interesting parts here and there and the whole thing is pretty atmospheric. Although a little cheesy and dated sounding now, I can appreciate that this was a brand new kind of music in 1977 so there is something to be said for that. 3/5

It was a fun listen while me and the boys had a board game day. 7/10

I like the hit singles I’ve heard off of the previous and subsequent albums better than the ones here. Still, the album has plenty to offer in its deeper cuts. Not sure it needed to be this long, but I could see myself getting into this more with more listens.

A strong album with several solid hits. A soundtrack to a good portion of my 70s childhood. The only problem is that it all sounds like ELO - as, on one hand, it should. But this isn’t necessarily what you want. Some great tracks, excellent production, but the musical ideas are - in the end - repetitive.

Quality boomer vibes - would’ve given it 2.5 stars if an option - I got really tired of it and wanted it to end a little over halfway through though. Double LPs shouldn’t exist

If this album had been half the length it would be an easy 5. There's a lot to love here, and every track is passable at worst, but there's just so much of everything.

Very theatrical. It was a fun listen and I could see putting this on, but it's still not really my thing. Wish I could rate it 3.5.

This is fun. Smooth and funky vibes. The Beatles doing ABBA. A bit of Pink Floyd abs Bowie, too. The track Jungle is great. And one of those ‘Oh, it’s them!” moments with Mr Blue Sky. Sweet is the Night also great.

Kyllä tän läpi kuunteli, mutta ei nyt ihan oma suosikki.

It already gets a bonus star for having a spaceship on the cover. The hits off of this one are the hits for good reasons. But...70 minutes...that's a lot of ELO in one serving. I feel this would have been stronger as a single album. Granted, I seem to say that more often than not so maybe that says more about me than the artist.

It was ok but a bit boring

Better than I thought it would be

I’d forgotten how many great tunes were on this album 👍

Catchy, kind of fun, enjoyably poppy, but starts to grate after four sides. If you’re looking for some disco classical prog-pop, this is probably the band for you. But I’m not really looking for that. Still, this album did not make my day worse.

Some decent tunes, crap band names