Out Of The Blue

20 songs of pure delight! Bits of Beatles and Zeppelin and shades of Queen. Almost every track was upbeat, even when it’s talking about heartbreak. They seemed to really enjoy making music. You can really hear it. As far as when my first time sitting down, listening to an entire ELO album and I get the love fans have. Groovy!

I like what they’re doing

A very solid pop album of its time. It’s the first time vocoder’s were used regularly but it compliments the vocals well. It’s impressive that this entire album was written in the space of a few weeks. Only thing is that it’s slightly too long. 1. MR. BLUE SKY 2. TURN TO STONE 3. SWEET TALKIN’ WOMAN 4. BIG WHEELS 5. IT’S OVER 6. SWEET IS THE NIGHT 7. STANDIN’ IN THE RAIN 8. SUMMER AND LIGHTNING 9. WILD WEST HERO 10. STEPPIN’ OUT 11. ACROSS THE BORDER 12. NIGHT IN THE CITY 13. STARLIGHT 14. THE WHALE 15. JUNGLE 16. BIRMINGHAM BLUES 17. BELIEVE ME NOW

Obožavanje!!! Često ih slušam i volim jako. Doduše, imaju mi boljih albuma, ali i ovaj mi je drag. Baš mi paše taj orkestralni zvuk, pogotovo u ovom žanru 🫶🏻 4/5, 8.5/10

a little long but very little filler

7/10 A really fun album that doesn’t make it to great. Fantastic composition, music, arrangements. More pop than rock but stil rock. You can very much hear the Beatles and Beach Boys in here, and I can hear this in later period Super Furry Animals But it is too long and self indulgent and, most importantly, doesn’t really feel like it means it or has a heart. Best: Big Wheels

The Good: I’ve got Electric Light! The Bad: Missing Second Sight… The Ugly: There go my amazing powers of observation… Did you get that one? Just thought I’d throw that curve ball out there. Did I enjoy the Out Of the Blue? Yes I did. Is it the next best thing after sliced bread? No it’s not. Will I listen to the album again? Hell yeah. So what do you give an album like this, one where it at times feels like a chore to get through, yet when the last tune is done playing you kind of start missing out on all the fun that this album seems to embody. I can’t in good conscience give this album a 5* rating… so the next best thing!

🩵

A classic. Every song could’ve been a radio hit

ELO is one of those classic 1970s bands that I never really got into outside of their big singles. I always thought the saying that they would what the beatles would be if they had continued into the 70s to be quite a superficial one, as their music always felt more of a sonic homage to the beatles rather than continuing with the experimentation and sonic diversity that characterised most of their late 60s work. I was pleasantly surprised - the album neither proved nor disproved the above saying, but did show that ELO was a good band in their own right. Turn to Stone is a really catchy opener, and most of the album holds up to the standard it sets. If I were to compare to the Beatles, it would be the end of Abbey Road, the three track punch of Golden Slumbers, Carry That Weight and The End. The main issue is that the album goes on for too long. Around the tenth track, the album starts running out of tricks and it starts feeling like a bit of a chore.

good synthpop

Fuck I almost forgot to rate this one. Highly enjoyable. Think it'll grow on me more, too.

7/10 sickeningly sweet at points and asking a lot for 70 minutes, but it sure is sweet

Favorite Track: Mr. Blue Sky

Yeah

Very unique album, feels like a theater kid's dream. If listened to in parts it's very distinct and enjoyable, especially act 1 and mr Blue Sky stood out to me. But it you listen to it in 1 full go, the songs start to blend together into eachother and the album starts feeling very long

Undeniable sound and genius from Jeff Lynne. Production is impeccable. Pretty solid record front to back, but there is some filler inside. 'Summer and Lightning' is one of the best ELO tracks I've never heard.

Took a little while to get into, but enjoyed it. Beatles influence is very evident. Especially liked Sweet is the Night, listened to it multiple times.

Good

Nice upbeat stuff. 4/5

There was some cool stuff here, but I really wasn’t feeling most of the songs and lyrics. “Turn to Stone”, “Standin’ in the Rain”, and “Wild West Hero” were standouts for me. Wish I could give it a 3.5, but 3 seems way too harsh, so a reluctant 4 it is…

ELO, a band I like, but don't love. Some really fun songs on here. While listening with my headphones on, I took a peak at some of the reviews. Some complained that all the songs sounded alike. Maybe, except "jungle" which, to me felt out of place. Or I just didn't like it. This album is a 3 all day. Except for one thing. Mr. Blue Sky is on it. Mr. Blue Sky is a plus one all on its own. So 4 it is!

One of the most unique sounding rock bands in history. Three big hits are on this album (Turn to Stone, Sweet Talkin' Woman, Mr. Blue Sky), all good ones, and some not very memorable filler on a long album. Best track I hadn't heard before: Steppin' Out (I think that was the one). I might explore some of their other stuff later.

This stuff is right up my alley. Beatlesque with a hint of old time rock n' roll.

So many good ones

Kyllähän mää Elosta tykkään. Aikansa musaa.

"Turn to Stone" and "Mr. Blue Sky" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman" are lines of pure dopamine on the mirror tray of the late Seventies. The rest of the album feels good like a massage or a fancy candle, inarguably pleasurable but doesn't linger. I used to hate ELO so much I received a merit badge for it, but I heard a Cajun band do "Hold On Tight To You Dreams" and my mind lit up like a jukebox bubble light.

It's rare that a double LP of the pre-cd era isn't at least 25% filler. This one has almost no throwaway songs and has great pop hooks. It was cool to hate on this band during the postpunk period but I really adore them.

Great for background music, enjoyable but not super ear catching to me

In a rush rn, amazing album. Very epic, over the top in a dope way. Sounds kinda 👽4/5 better than beach boys I’d say gotta go GRIDAY 13 RAH 2 day till bully

Like if the grand finale of a fireworks show lasted for and hour and ten minutes. Which is as cool and, at times, as boring as you'd think it would be. The playing on the album and the quality of the recording are there to fall back when times get tough.

Feels a bit campy but I like a lot of the songs here. Its like Queen but a bit less flamboyant, which leads to higher lows and lower highs, though I do think Turn to Stone and Mr Blue Sky are just great pop songs. Fave Tracks: Turn to Stone, Mr Blue Sky, The Whale 3.8/5

Happy Dad memories

• 4/5 • wonderfully crafted, if overwrought, prog-pop • acknowledging that it doesn’t really live up to its grand pretensions (Jungle … really?), the album is so full of great pop hooks (even on the lesser songs) and the singles are so great that it earns a bump up from 3

Heeel goed

Mr. Blue Sky, Sweet Talkin Women, and many other good songs.

nice!

4/5

Love it!

I'm biased. I've listened to all of side C ("Concerto For a Rainy Day") countless times. Still, I'd put it up with the other two albums I've listened to so far as being very solid, including its singles, but not every song is excellent enough to pull it through to a perfect score. If I did, I feel like it'd be a disservice to Nevermind.

When I saw this was my album I was alittle disappointed cause I already knew I’d give it a 5. But then I decided I should listen to it again from front to back before I do that. And sadly that affected my opinion alittle. It’s a nearly perfect album. It’s great, and I adore this album but it is bloated. It’s alittle long and there’s a few skips, but that’s good problems to have. Ultimately I think this is as close to 5 as you can possibly get. Go listen to this album but maybe make sure you have a roadtrip or something cause it’s pretty long.

Fun album. There are a lot of good tracks on this one. Turn To Stone, Sweet Talkin Woman, and Mr Blue Sky are all classics. I really like the style of this too, it’s like movie scene music.

8/10.

Got to listen to this while delivering some bird seed. Love Lynn’s voice and had forgotten as a kid how much I enjoyed this album.

Oh! I didn't know this was the Mr. Blue Sky people. Love this song, as does most of the rest of the planet. I did enjoy listening to the rest of this album.

A dazzling 70s party

Beautiful instrumentals, mellow lyrics. Includes the infamous "Turn to Stone" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman." Very enjoyable all the way through.

Pleasantly surprised by this !! I of course knew Mr. Blue Sky and thought that the rest of the album was probably going to be bad in comparison but it didn’t let me down. I really liked the sound ! And I think the songs have potential to grow on me even more with future listens and looking into the lyrics more. It was a very long album though and a lot of the songs were kind of the same vibe so unsure if I would listen to it again start to finish but you never know ! I feel like I’m being maybe too harsh with the scoring but it’s possibly because I know there are so many more albums to go and I haven’t had any song so far that I’ve wanted to add to my ‘Songs I wish I wrote’ playlist yet 72/100

Ethereal jams that I can get behind.

This ELO album is 70 minutes long? Hello? They were doing Beatles pastiche decades before Oasis. I must say that most of it absolutely slaps. Maximalist, glittering, nostalgic pop-rock. The orchestral swells add welcome lushness without veering into corniness, a real danger of adding strings to rock music.

3.5

Yeah this was a cool listen. The review that describes it as a bedazzled Pink Floyd kind of nails it.

Full of hits including Mr. Blue Sky

Lovely

I was only really familiar with Mr. Blue Sky before, but this whole album was a lot of fun.

vibes

dobre momenty – solicka a tak

Great album, love his voice!

9/10

Every song on this record is incredibly well crafted and orchestrated. Jeff Lynne’s genius is incomparable. A great listen, but not my “thing”.

Even though this was probably after the whole Beatles concept for ELO went out the window, there are some good ideas here. I do think there are some that don’t quite work. Jeff Lynne tried to be both Lennon and McCartney, which just shows he really could have used a collaborator. I do enjoy the “Mr. Blue Sky” motif. That being said, this was a lot better than I initially thought it would be.

Was für ein Album 🥹 abwechslungsreich, musikalisch top und ein Ohrwurm nach dem anderen

Prologue: This was selected as my first album out of 1001, although I have the book and have done some random picking / listening / discovering before. I totally understand people who love this album. I totally understand people who hate this album. I'm not sure to which group I belong to though. Elo is not so familiar to me (not even blue sky, I am sure I've heard it...vaguely), overproduced aor (i wouldn't call this progressive rock) isn't my beef. But damn the production is magnificent. Too magnificent perhaps? I can hear the influences, but also can here ELO in so many things that have come later, from Daft Punk to Divine Comedy to Quincy Jones productions and hoards of indie and electronic musicians of today. I don't care so much about the more or less traditional, basic rock songs which have been over-ornamented, but there are beautiful melodies and interesting song structures, some of which almost get hidden under the production, some of which would probably sound lame without the production. As someone mentioned here, the Concerto as a sort of minialbum in the middle is a masterpiece, have to agree on that. Epilogue: In the end, would I buy it? Probably in a good enough condition from a discount bin. How often would I listen to it? Maybe once in 10 years. From the year 1977 I'd choose 10-20 punk records over this one. But it remains still quite an amazing gesamstkunstwerk. So I'll settle in a 4.

never really listened to ELO but i’m loving this, the dissonant harmonies are delicious, proper 70’s omg to die for. the harmonies are so giving queen, only issue is the repetitiveness but like it’s fine

Really good - not quite 5 stars though, some songs just kind of drift into the background.

This album sounds very much like an indie album from the 2000s. I enjoyed the sound a lot.

ELO sounds like no one else. I enjoyed this one overall, but it's a bit sprawling. 3.5/5 Album 53/1001

Hell yeah

I would say this was a lovely little album, but there was nothing “little” about it. This thing was jam packed with jams. I did listen to the wrong ELO album at first because I’m a moron who can’t read properly. If you’re curious to see how I feel about A New World Record, see below: Another one of these I own a physical copy of. Such a lovely little album that’s always worth a listen, but I can’t hear Telephone Line without thinking of Steve Buscemi in Billy Maddison 💄

Fun listen...a lot of groovy songs. Feel like ELO is slightly underrated because they weren't totally prevelant on the classic rock stations growing up. 4.5 stars, only because I didn't totally want to hit play again when it was over.

this shit slap, kinda wanna dance after

au début je pensais que c'était juste de la pop trop vieille pour moi mais finalement je me suis mis à sérieusement kiffer l'album avant que la track super connue arrive et ça m'a fait décrocher

Hell yeah I love ELO!!

ELO is a huge blind spot and I thoroughly enjoyed this.

really good axtyallt my dad likes the band and i think it was quite good

so good i listened while studying and it lowk helped the interludes were def not my favorite did give very orchestra but overall very good will be adding a few to my playlist!!

the beginning was pretty good and then there were a handful of songs that were pretty mid but i fw jeff lynne’s voice and all of the synths and future like vibe. and there were a few songs after mr blue sky that were good. decent album 4 big booms

Fun! I like ELO’s hits quite a bit and I’ll never really tire of “Mr. Blue Sky” so hearing the album it spawned from was a treat.

super fire

Wanted to give it a 5, but I think it was just a tad too long. It’s really cool to hear something take bits of all different genres and meld them together into something sonically pleasing and also unique. 4.4/5 Fav song: Mr Blue Sky (duh)

Very fun album with great melodies and intricate instrumentation. A little bit too long though.

One of the greatest pop rock albums of all time!

One of the best ELO to me. This album is a wonderful ride of feelgood magic and space drifting pop. In the 70s, Jeff Lynne gave it all.

Nice one, we have this one on vinyl

Godt album, gode vibes og gode sangs

This was fun an easy listening. It gave Beatles vibes and Boston vibes.

A blast.

i always thought it was a missed opportunity for Mr Blue Sky to not have been used in the Breaking Bad soundtrack. anyway i really like this album. i just do. it's just fun. last night olivia and i got wasted at babe's and i listened to the first half when we got home and it was great. i don't have a lot more to say than that. 4/5 real queer summer hours

Great album. Don’t have time for a full review. Would recommend. Cool. 4/5

Perfectly pleasant in every way. Probably a 3.5. Could have benefitted from being tighter though.

I think I liked this more than I thought I would!

Sounds so modern

нормалек.

Nice

Stared very strong but grew old. Still tons of fantastic layering and instrumental varieties that I feel are still underutilized even today. I knew a few of these going in but never knew the outro to Mr Blue Sky was tied into the entire album as a motif

At it's best, this album is pure sunshine, but with so many songs it's hard to keep the energy. Still pretty solid listen.

I know it's true to say that a lot (indeed most) bands are pretty recognisable whichever of their songs you are listening to. But I don't think there are any bands MORE recognisable than ELO. Out Of The Blue is another so-called 'classic' album that I've never listened to in full before (even though my wife has it in her vinyl collection). Although it was hugely commercially and critically successful I think the reason it passed me (and a lot of people) by is its timing - being relased just at the start of Punk - when such bands and overblown albums were having the piss taken out of them relentlessly. Nonetheless I loved it. It's a great listen and a 4+

9/17. В целом, понравилось

This is the perfect album for a Spring day - outside doing yard work, or cleaning the house with all the windows open. Neither of which I did while listening to this, but it would be perfect for that. I can definitely hear some Beatles influence, and Queen at times. I love their vocals and harmonies.

4.5

Good

Really 3.5 stars but it gets a bit of a bump up because of the GOTG influence from Mr. Blue Sky. Pretty pathetic to be nostalgic for a movie less than 10 years old, but there was at least still some hope for humanity and the future back then. Did listen to it twice.

Some childhood nostalgia in here to be sure as it was one of a few records my mother owned growing up. I remember as a young lad being drawn in by the cover art to try out the album I was pleasantly surprised by how well this held up for me despite not having heard it in decades. This is more a 3.5 than a 4 for me as it can get a little tedious by the end of the album and some songs do seem to bleed together but otherwise a fun orchestral rock journey.

Fun stuff! Thought of Sparks and Bee Gees and Beatles and Elton John. Favourite tracks were Sweet Talkin Woman, Across the Border, Night in the City and of course the classic Mr Blue Sky. Also one of the sickest album covers out there.

I was always going to love this album because it has the greatest feel good hit of all time - Mr Blue Sky. But actually this album is full of great hits - Night in the City and Turn to Stone were particular favourites.

Really fun album

Loved this album! Such a cool sound. I think I'm a prog rock girly and never knew it :)

This one was just fun and enjoyable. It didn't take its self too seriously. They leaned into the 80s musical rock opera feeling and did it well and fun. Its over the top, but not so much that it was cheesy.

🎧ELO’s greatest hits happens to be the CD in my car for the past few weeks. 3 songs from that are on here. This is overstuffed but ambitious and pretty marvelous at times. Wild West Hero is a new favorite.

This was fun =)

I Love ELO but this is a lot at once. Maybe if this was a single album instead of a double-album.... anyways still good. 4/5

Am I becoming ELO-pilled as I progress through my late 30s?

It's a big album, and many of the songs on here are absolutely phenomenal. However, it does feel a little long by the end of it, which stops it from getting 5 stars.

Albums with 20 tracks typically don't keep my interest. However, this one did. The energy, the experimental elements. Quite good overall. Highlights: Turn to Stone Across The Border Mr. Blue Sky

Cheesy, but in a pretty fun and cool way.

hell yeah

da waren doch mal ein paar gute Sachen dabei

Gewoon keihard Soms weet je dat iets gewoon goed is zegmaar. Zonnetje? Regen? Buiten? Binnen? Maakt niet uit Kan altijd Alleen niet op een feestje maar ewaja

A few songs are total cheese, but overall there are enough hits and just plain fun songs to make this album really enjoyable.

Very operatic. The varying styles exhibitted on this along with the vocal harmonies make this a great listen.

Catchy. This was a great album to listen to.

Lovely

Cross genre multi instrument powerhouse of a double album.

Me gusta la mezcla de elementos que maneja ELO. Tiene algo super beatles/beach boys pero con sonoridades un poco más modernas (imagino que por ser late 70s). Mucha épica, buenos arreglos de instrumentación e increíbles ruiditos, buenos delays en voces y muchos sextos descendidos para más placer. Jeff Lynne está loco. Si me encargaran destruir la estrella de la muerte lo haría con esto de fondo. 8/10 sofis

Feels like being mean to a kind-hearted animal to rag on this, but for a group whos production style could be described as 'a bit much', stretching that out to an hour and 20 minutes can really feel like it takes that to too much. Feels like it would be appreciated more in smaller chunks rather than raw dogging the whole thing but the more laid back instrumentals towards the latter half were a nice 'coming down' of sorts.

Not a lot to say, good album, liked a lot of the songs, backloaded as fuck. 7/10

I really loved this. Will definitely be in rotation through the summer

I really dig the happy egg vibe that ELO creates in this album. Love songs, heartbreak and finding happiness. Technically I like the orchestral arrangements blended in rock. I bought the album in my youth because of Mr. Blue Sky and i wore it out.

Good rock with various styles, ranging from classic to prog, and some really good instrumental songs.

Pretty solid didn’t know what to expect

This probably could've had a shot at a 5 if it wasn't so freaking long. But it is so it should be happy it's getting a 4. They sound great, love the harmonies, production is great. Songs were nice and varied. Overall sounded really nice just so long.

great harmonies, BIG sound, love the blend of orchestral instruments, lots of variety in tempos.....but it is long. 3.5 stars

Great fun.

A wonderful blend of the Beatles and possibly Queen, with more synthesizer and big post production. I loved it

Super enjoyable pop rock

Fun album with great energy.

A bop and a half

Other than being too long, it's pretty excellent. I struggle to cut anything to make it shorter, but it could have been split into two albums. The rain medley is absolutely brilliant and should have been the end of the album. It feels a bit dusty after that. Strangely, the breakdown during Summer and Lightning is my favorite part of the whole album, but it feels like it's almost just lifted from Steve Miller's The Joker. Jeff Lynne on the whole is absolutely brilliant and underrated by John Q Public. Losing a star for length, but this is an all time great album.

Solid dad rock. It's got riffs, it's got singing, it's got tone, it's got soul. Just drags on a bit too much for my liking, so it starts to get old.

I do love ELO. Some great songs even though I feel it strays a bit from the original band concept to a more smooth sick pop sound. The pop sound is fine but the album is entirely too long.

This double record sprint out of the gate with some great tunes then stumbles bit here and there before popping out a few more big songs that are absolute classics. The production is super slick and tight and full. But why a double? Pick the best and leave the rest for b-sides. Still a 4 because of the bangers that have stood the test of time.

Kind of a poppy classic rock album. A little long.

Fun! 3.8.

4.1/5

Solid batch of songs. I don't go out of the way to listen to ELO, but I enjoy it when I hear it.

85/100 very nice little album. cool production, but the first half is considerably weaker than the first.

Orchestral. Fun. Wendy's favorite. Mr. Blue Sky

Classic

Catchy and enjoyable, despite its length.

Just perfectly silly and pleasant to listen through, with several big hits. 3.9/5

british beach boys ver good very nice vvery good very niicceee

An hour of fun and frolics

Liked quite a few songs on this but the production sounded a bit muffled? Still a pretty solid album though

# Album Name: Out of The Blue # Artist: ELO # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: This album is big, bold and beautiful. Admittedly it is bloody long. Too long in fact. Another long album added to the book. However, its a good listen. Theres times when it gets a bit too dramatic. But overall theres some good tunes on this bad boy. Very enjoyable but doesnt quite hit a 5 for me. I think the length let it down. # Top Tunes: Turn to stone / Its over / Sweet talkin woman / jungle / steppin out / Standing in the rain / Mr blue sky. # Would I listen to it again? Yes

Defying all odds I really liked this album. It has all the theatrical, over-saturated elements of the ones I really didn’t care for — Elton John, Queen, XTC — but for some reason it really worked in this context and I can’t figure out why…but I had fun. I found a lot of the songs insanely catchy and the hint of electronic elements in the little flourishes on some of the songs really worked for me. It’s a little too long still but Mr. Blue Sky falling towards the end of the album revived my interest. *Fav tracks: It’s Over, Sweet Talkin’ Woman, Mr. Blue Sky*

Oeh, Mr. Bluesky :-)

this is the closest I will get in my late twenties to going to church. jeff lynne is not unlike a god to me.

Who would knew there was more where Mr. Blue Sky came from?

Good rock n roll

OVERALL: I like this style of super grand and theatrical rock music in moderation, but this is a bit much. I do like a lot of the stuff here, but I struggle to remember what some of the songs sound like (I rate as I'm listening). Regardless, there are some notable standouts. Turn To Stone, Sweet Talkin' Woman, and Mr. Blue Sky are all pretty good, catchy songs. Big Wheels, Summer And Lightning, and most of Wild West Hero are very beautiful with fantastic instrumentation.The Whale is an excellent instrumental, feeling very dreamy and trippy. Almost everything else I cannot remember most of the song. I do remember Jungle, and I am so unbelievably confused with whatever is going on with that song. It's very charming, but someone needs to put it down. SONG AVG: 8.7/10 PERSONAL RATING: 8/10 Turn To Stone: Very fun and catchy, especially for a song about a break up. Very good production and vocal performance. The strings are kinda goofy but in a good way. It does do the fade out outro though. 9/10 It's Over: Pretty good vocals and strings. I'm pretty surprised that this isn't a more popular standalone song. 9/10 Sweet Talkin' Woman: Very upbeat and catchy, great strings. Surprisingly groovy. So far, the album is very consistent in both sound and quality. 9/10 Across The Border: Now it starts to sound different. I love the strings and the intro, and it continues to be fun and catchy with pretty good vocals. Very energetic and a pretty interesting melody. 9.25/10 Night In The City: Feels more intense while keeping many of the fun and catchy aspects of earlier songs. They definitely did more different stuff in this song than the ones before it, and I love it. I can kinda hear the gummy bear song in the "I'll get you" part, which stops this from being a 9.5. 9/10 Starlight: Very dreamy, with great production and smooth vocals. Although it sounds pretty good, it drags on a bit and does a fade out outro. 8.5/10 Jungle: What is that cursed intro. This is really charming because it's really stupid. It has some pretty good percussion, but what the fuck is chooka chooka hoo la ley supposed to mean. It has lots of detail, but I don't think I like all of it. It also kinda has a fade out outro. 5.5/10 Believe Me Now: Why is this as dramatic as it is? It's mostly instrumental, and it probably should've stayed like that since the autotune(?) orgasms (that I forgot to mention earlier) are not that good. The instrumental is pretty good though. 6.5/10 Steppin' Out: Very nice string arrangements, and the vocals are not that bad either. The transitions into the choruses are the best parts of the song, and the instrumental during the chorus is actually really good. Not that much autotune orgasm in this one. Also, no fade out outro! 9.75/10 Standin' In The Rain: Very energetic. I think I like this? Some things here are pretty weird, but not that bad. I can see arguments for liking this and hating this. Pretty good atmosphere and is an extremely good song after like a minute but the intro is really bad. Also the screams near the beginning are corny and there are some pretty weird details. I'm leaning towards liking this, but it could definitely be rated higher or much lower. 8/10 Big Wheels: Love this. No weird details, no weird intro, no fade out outro. Fantastic instrumentation, really good vocals, and a pretty good meaning. My only complaint is the short autotune orgasm section, but it's pretty easy to ignore it. 9.85/10 Summer And Lightning: I can give this the same review that I gave Big Wheels. Very beautiful and they do their style very well. This is a bit better because of the lack of autotune orgasm. 10/10 Mr. Blue Sky: mister blue sky :DDDDDD Did some research, apparently this and the last three songs are a 4 part concerto. Pretty cool ig. Anyways, we all know this song. I have always thought that the autotune orgasm was weird, but loved everything else about it. Obviously it has gotten a bit old, but that doesn't mean it isn't good. 9/10 Sweet Is The Night: Very romantic and dreamy. Pretty good overall, great melodies, instrumentation, writing, and vocals. I guess it might be a bit boring? Idk man, I'm really tired. Good song. 9.25/10 The Whale: Very nice and atmospheric. I love the strings and synths here, this is a great representation of a song without vocals. The theme is very well executed, and sounds very trippy. 9.75/10 Birmingham Blues: A bit messy, but not bad at all. It's above average, but compared to the other songs, it isn't anything too special and kinda forgettable. 7.5/10 Wild West Hero: That guitar feels so unbelievably out of place. It's an incredible outro and a fantastic, beautiful song outside of that, but that guitar should have been strings. It would've been so much better, but the guitar's existence makes the song worse. Still a great song though. 9/10

4/5

the better end of the prog rock block. It can be a little grandiose, but most of this is solid 70s pop music at heart.

Fantastic, one of a kind experience, however had some rougher moments that didn’t make it 5, overall cause of the uniqueness and vibe I let it slide for the weirder moments

Great experience

70s rock is objectively better. More interesting melodies, better chord progressions, wild cover art, varied instruments. Some of the arrangements, especially those with a choral element, are very Handel-esque. Top track was Jungle. It's going on my Summer Certified Bangers playlist.

Never knew I knew this album so well. Every song is used in the background of life

9.5/10. What a treat of an album!!! This is so fun!!!!! :)

This is deserving of an overly wordy review, but it's 4:30 am here. It's good. I will listen to it again.

oh yes this is a fun one. longer than i expected but that’s not a bad thing with a solid theme and consistently good tracks.

Kan godt lide Across the border er god Jungle er god Mr blue sky Birmingham blues Night in the city Standing in the rain Genre Jeg troede det var orchestral rock Det var progressive rock and symphonic rock blandet med pop Rock og art rock

Wonderful! Some part of me thinks the Beatles would have made music like this if they had kept going. So much variety and so many layers, it's truly lush.

Out of The Blue was a fun upbeat album that you could tell was heavily influenced by The Beatles. You could hear it in their melodies, and in the way they sprinkled in some strange high pitched spooky riffs out of nowhere. I liked listening to this one and added some songs to my oldies playlist :)

Sounds good, some of it reminds me of Pink Floyd, some is more like the Beatles. But similar to those two bands, it's nothing I'd listen to very frequently. "Sweet Is The Night" was my favorite, I think because I'm biased towards catchy songs.

I've heard singles from the Electric Light Orchestra, a progressive pop-rock outfit, here and there and generally enjoyed them, including three singles from this album, Out of the Blue. I likewise enjoyed the album overall, but there is a threshold to that sentiment. Let's make this clear—this is a double album that clocks in at 70 minutes, and the length was certainly felt by the time I got to side four. I remember getting the most kicks out of side three referred to as Concerto for a Rainy Day, where all the tracks were weather-related and culminated in "Mr. Blue Sky" which has become the most well-known hit. At that point, I would have figured closing out on that track would have been genius, but the album kept going and ending on the slightly inferior "Wild West Hero". To be fair, there's not a bad track throughout, and I certainly don't mind the well-apparent Beatles influence on this album. It's clear from Jeff Lynne's vocals and songwriting that he wanted to continue down the experimental pop rabbit hole that the Beatles went through a decade prior. But I can't deny that this album would have done better in under an hour. I still enjoyed Out of the Blue and am glad it's included here. I'd recommend splitting your listening experience into two halves for this one.

If you don’t fuck with Mr. Blue Sky, I don’t fuck with you. Aside from that absolutely legendary track, though, I thought this was weaker than some of ELO’s other albums (Discovery and Time are really good). It’s a 3.5 but I’m rounding to 4 to honor Mister Blue.

Well that was fun!! Amazing walking around snowy New York to these beats and grooves.

Test

Great listen.

I’m sure there’s a 5 star EP or even single album on there, but they got carried away and nobody told them to snap out of it. Favorite song: turn to stone

Magnificently absurd? Absurdly magnificent? Depends on my mood. It is an overly-long self-indulgent epic, the first 3/4 of which I have adored regularly for almost fifty years, and the last 1/4 of which I've probably only heard twice because it's just too much, which I'm guessing was always the point.

Good album. Takes me back. Realize why I rarely listen to many albums. Songs are similar and I have a short attention span.

If this was a single album full of the best tracks from this it would easily be 5 stars. As it is you have a 5 star album mixed with a 3 star album of more average tracks.

First impression: this maximalist pop doesn’t suit me. Weirdly enough, given that ”Mr blue sky” has a billion plays on Spotify, I don’t think I have ever heard ELO. As expansively produced music often grows on me given the chance I gave this a handful of listens. And it definitely grew! ”Sweet talkin’ woman” is a new favourite. As is ”the whale”.

The length is daunting. I still say not many great albums are over 50 minutes. But I did love a lot of these songs. Will definitely be retiring to certain tracks. 4/5

Somewhat underrated, ELo was massive. Pleasantly surprised to see this here but New World order but the albums either side were better. Having said that this sold 50 gajillion so makes sense. ELO were one of three bands who got what the Beatles were trying to do and tried to extend what they did. (XTC and Queen being the other two). The clash of rock and classical is nice. It’s strong pop and yes I prefer Queen and xtc but I like ELO. Big hooks. Strong singles. An enjoyable listen. 3.5 stars

I think this is so fun! Very theatrical, knees up high marching.

Pretty great

Mr blueeeeee, I remember hearing this song in high school and immediately being hooked. I’ve never listened to the whole album. Yes it’s over the top and yes it’s a specific mood but that mood is awesome and it’s got a lot of groove and happy vibes. They were so ahead of their time especially in the context of the other music largely being made during this era.

I enjoyed listening to this album. ELO has some great song writers and musicians and there are great hooks in every song.

It is both electric and boogey oogey oogey!

An album I have on vinyl, courtesy of Graham Currie. A great album with some very memorable tracks. I generally preferred the early ELO releases but this ticks all the boxes for me.

Put a smile on my face

I am giving up and giving this 3.5 stars. I have tried many times to listen over the past few days and work+phone data issues have made it hard. But I like it. Even the stuff that's not quite to my taste, I think is relatively interesting and well done. I like that while they have a sound and in that way all the songs sound the same, there's a lot of variety in the album as well.

If you ever listen to one ELO album... If you were a teenager in the late 1970s or early 80s you weren't supposed to like ELO. They weren't trendy. They were a bit old fashioned. Your uncle and aunt liked them. This album is very much a "guilty pleasure". 4/5.

Heel leuk om da lied er ineens in te horen, goeie vibes voor de rest

Underrated band. Album has some great tracks

Estay chulo...

No notes

This is one of those albums where I can clearly remember seeing the cover for the first time - that multicoloured flying saucer with a space ship about to dock promised great things and the album really delivered - mixing electric guitars with orchestral arrangements, some effective sound effects and twiddles, and impossibly catchy songs. The highlight is side 3 which is a sequence ending with the iconic Mr Blue Sky and the instruction ‘Please turn me over’

Very fun

Good album

Quite a fun listen

Liked it but most of the songs sounded very similar to each other.

Lots of great songs, but also lots of ok songs

I love the use of Mariachi in Across the Border, and Mr. Blue Sky of course, since I recognize it. It was like a crossover of the Beatles and ABBA, but didn't love the whole album.

A tremendously fun album whose most memorable song comes just a tad too late. Not every song here fits exactly, and I think we could lose 15 minutes throughout, but it’s hard not to feel uplifted after a listen.

ELO delivers high-voltage, arena-sized pop with precision, if not restraint.

wasn’t this the first album i added to my now huge apple music library?

Good music

Enjoyed that. Don't know many ELO tracks - liked what I heard here.

Electric Light Orchestra is one of those bands that had some very catchy singles over the years, and therefore, a lot of people know those songs. That said, for a more avid listener of ELO, their albums hold a treasure trove of progressive, artsy sound. "Out of the Blue" may be the finest example of that. To me, it listens somewhat like a cousin to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon": it has its singles that it is known for, but the entire album has a very distinct synthy, space agey, artistic vibe from start to finish.

It’d be better as a shorter album , the production is joyfully way over the top , but this album is great . 5 stars if you chop out about 7 tracks. 4

mr blue sky!

An undeniable classic!

eu era apaixonado por esse álbum nos meus tenros 12 anos de idade, então vou dar 4 estrelas pela mais simples e pura nostalgia. (que conste nos autos que eu ainda acho bom)

achei que ia ser rock progressivo bem doloroso de ouvir. eu estava completamente errado (ô glória). bão demais esse aqui, eu to muito surpreso papo reto

Love this album, just a tiny bit bloated by the sound is great and most songs are really catchy

I was hoping for more from this but I didn’t really find anything new that I’ll be returning to. “Mr. Blue Sky” is one of the best songs ever.

Upbeat and fun, nice harmonies. 1 extra star for Mr Blue Sky

Competent melodies and lush orchestrations, what’s not to like to like? Oh yeah, it’s an hour and eleven minutes…

Good rock

Love me some ELO. Always loved their sound. And this is a great album...start to finish.

I love ELO, but this album does become a bit repetitive overtime.

Much better tjan anticipated. Jeff lynne is an a amazing arranger and composer and even with all he has done he is still not recognized enough

Rock on baby! What a fantastic record. Inject those furious strings. This is a masterpiece in pop rock arrangement. Every track is so enrapturing to air guitar desire. The big 3 singles deserve all of their status. A wonderful hour of enjoyment.

It's a hard album to hate. The only song I knew coming in was Mr. Blue Sky but a lot of the other songs have that cheery upbeat tone to them. The synth motif used throughout is interesting. Just a fun and enjoyable listen. 8/10

Overall really enjoyed the album, sounds like Queen with a robot voice megaphone. Album is long though and felt hard to get through.

Very cohesive sound through the album - Stand outs are Mr. Blue Sky (duh) and Turn to Stone (great opener). Definitely of the time but also a classic.

This album was really fun - I knew a few of the tracks already but had never listened to a full album before! Its pretty joyful fun music, a tad long but I'd revisit!

4 - this album to me is a 1:20 lead up and cool down to Mr Blue Sky, and it might never be anything else

I enjoy the occasional string arrangement on a rock song, and I can’t think of anyone that does it better than ELO. Jeff Lynne is a master at his craft. I just don’t know about a double album of it. This album is full of fantastic, incredibly well composed songs and it deserves 5/5. But I just can’t get into it that much. I’m the one who’s wrong here.

Good stuff

Have you ever had a meal that’s so wonderfully tasty but there’s just too much of it? You keep eating it because it’s rare that you come across anything like it, but by the end of the plate you’re left feeling sick and too tired to do anything else. That’s this album. It’s so so good. But it’s way too long.

When you’re a child, you think ELO is the best band ever. Then when you’re a teen, you think you’re too cool for ELO. And then when you’re an adult, you realize ELO is only pretty good.

solid 4/5

fun ^^

Kinda feels like a cross between Pink Floyd and Queen. I really enjoyed it. My only criticism is that it's a little too long.

Above average, would listen to again, quite a long album 6/10

This'll be interesting: an "I already know this album!" review. A "my nostalgic affection for this album blinders me from its flaws!" review. Finally, it's my turn. It's my Pogues, my Arctic Monkeys; you had to be there, and I *was!* All joking a salad, I have a lot of love for this album; it was my first ELO cd, bought at Tower Records in the mid-00s after I saw Mr. Blue Sky in a Volkswagon commercial and the Eternal Sunshine trailer. I thought it was a Beatles song, funny how close to the truth I actually was. Anyway, this is a four. It's not perfect: it's a bit long and overstuffed, some of the songs really don't work for me. But the highs are so dang high. So I say this as a huge fan, who just saw them on their final tour a couple weeks ago: New World Record is *the* ELO album; Eldorado is my hot-take pick. Out of the Blue is their basic-b album.

Fav (besides Mr Blue Sky ofc): Sweet is the Night I wish the vocals were clearer through the instruments.

I love ELO's sound, and have previously liked 'Mr. Blue Sky' and 'Sweet is the Night', but never fully listened to the full album. Having done so, I'd have to say - this album was initially maddening. Something about the order of these songs, and how they don't mesh together until 'Standing in the Rain' to 'Mr. Blue Sky' felt weird. It made the vocals sound really off for me. I've since read up on it and that was intentional given the tape medium it was released in, with blocks of songs making up 2 sides of 2 tapes. I've also given it a second listen. All said and done, it's further strengthened interest in ELO. They're like a more eccentric Pink Floyd, with a Sci-Fi twist and use of a wide range of instruments and sounds in their tracks. I also enjoyed the second listen a lot more - whether that was the added context or using bluetooth speakers over the headset (or even both) I'm not sure. After some consideration, I think the sum of the parts is far greater than the album as a whole. Initially, I wavered at a 3-3.5 star rating, but think it's worth a 4. I do feel like the album lacked an overall sense of cohesion, but it's enjoyable otherwise. 'Jungle' is easily the worst song of the batch for me. Just... Why? 'The Whale' was a nice find - I love ELO's instrumentals. 'Mr. Blue Sky' is a banger as usual and I think still the high point of the album for me (especially enjoyed as a set starting from 'Standin in the Rain')

8/10

feels like experiencing something special and larger than life (though i might just be a sucker for maximalism)

I wasn't expecting to like it this much, even though I knew "Mr. Blue Sky" to be a banger.

love

Hearing 'Turn to Stone' after so long made me very happy. It was one of the defining songs of my younger years, yet I mostly forgot it existed. And it's a genuinely incredible song too, especially when those strings come in on that oh-so nostalgic chorus. And then there's the rest of the album too. This group certainly lives up to its name, with the symphonic elements at the forefront backed by sweet theatric elements, not unlike a group like Queen. The first three songs are incredible - 'It's Over' again gives me heavy Queen vibes and 'Sweet Talkin' Woman' is as close to perfect as a pop-rock song of the late 70s can get. After that initial run though, the sound gets repetitive fast, but the highlights are still there. 'Mr. Blue Sky', as overplayed as it is, is an enjoyable and shockingly dynamic song at its core. Also that subtle, shimmering build-up on 'Big Wheels' was mesmerizing, to say the least. I was inclined to give this a lower score but by the end of the album I just felt really happy. It sort of brought out a childish joy within me, like being a kid out in a large city at night. Despite many songs not doing it for me (the last three songs I could've gone without, especially 'Birmingham Blues') it's an album so beaming with innocence and joy that I'd be a miserable loser if I said it wasn't incredible at what it does. It's those damn strings...they can't make me hate you.

Lush sounding and great for a revisit. Will listen again 7/10

I had high hopes for this, was pretty mediocre though

I love ELO and this album is no exception! Good rock with various styles, ranging from classic to progressive. Jeff Lynne is the fifth Beatle! Favorite Songs: Mr. Blue Sky, Turn to Stone, Sweet Talkin’ Woman, Jungle, Steppin’ Out, Standin’in the Rain 4.5⭐️

one of my all time favorites, love elo. a little on the long side for me, though

Just like let’s get it on, this one is clearly special, but I’m trying to be more picky about my 5s. So this is a 4.5 or a 9.

Музыка как-будто с финальных титров в фильме, прикольно

I really liked it.

I was excited to see this album because Mr. Blue Sky is on it, but they make you work for it. 1hr 16 mins and Mr Blue Sky is the 13th song. But at least it sounded nice. Album cover is pretty cool too.

7/10 - I really liked turn to stone and Latitude 88 North and Mr. blue sky but that's a given. The rest of the album was pretty good though. I feel like this is something I would revisit. I think they used the orchestra part of their name well.

I had no idea this album was so good. The only real criticism I have is that its a little long and most of the songs feel very similar

LIKING THIS ALBUM and has been on repeat, another type of music i like aside from rap lol

Great album

Fun and catchy. I found this album to be just a touch longer than I think it needed to be though.

Very few bands or producers can be identified by a sound. Tops among the lists would be Phil Spector and Jeff Lynn. Lynn's influence outside of ELO as a writer/producer has been firmly cemented as one of the most influential. His sound may be dated and gimmicky but it's so easy to get lost in a listen to any of his music. 4/5

Dang. Mr Blue Sky is a pretty great song. Great enough to pull up the album’s rating to a four. The other songs were decent but nowhere near as good as Mr Blue Sky.

Nice, another great record! Some solid, spacey Beatley rock. Pretty great, though a bit overlong. And I hope you enjoy vocoder folks!

Pretty Beatles-y. Pretty good.

Mr. Blue Sky

4.6. Very underrated. This could’ve been a lot higher if the album was a little shorter.

Enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Solid, if a little overlong.

3.5☆/5 07.30.2024

Had a ton of fun listening to this album. Love their vibe.

it’s giving beach boys for some reason?? like electric beach boys

An album that I never grew up listening to but I know that it has a huge reputation. Always makes me happy to listen but I still don’t quite connect to it the way that I wish I could.

Not in my childhood or adulthood rotation, but thoroughly enjoyable. Not sure I would come back to it regularly though.

Another prog rock double album... At least it's ELO! ELO were big players in the prog rock/pop era of the 70's. I mean, it's hard to deny the catchiness of their music. Every song feels like a grandiose production, with its mix of pop and classical inspired arrangements, as well as the catchy hooks. "Mr. Blue Sky" is easily the most recognizable song of the bunch, as most movie-goers have heard it at least once. I will admit there is a lot of pomp, especially for an album of this length. One thing of note is the extensive use of the vocoder, which gives that distorted, synthesized-human voice sound. This obviously wasn't the first use of such an instrument in music, but some may have noticed its use in other popular music immediately after and even more prominently later on by the likes of Daft Punk. The experimentation in this album didn't stop there though, as some tracks such as "Jungle" and the instrumental "The Whale" stand out simply for being unique compared to the rest. A fun album, if not a bit long. Time seemed to fly by whilst listening though, so that was hardly an issue. Easily recommendable for those new to this era of prog rock/pop. Personal favorite portion of the album was side 3, "Concerto for a Rainy Day".

Funny (to me) story: Growing up, I always thought Electric Light Orchestra was the name of the synth orchestra that played during parades down Main Street at Disney World — turns out that was called Electrical Parade. So I was understandably very confused when I first heard this band on the radio. (For the record, some of the synths on songs like Turn to Stone and Across the Border are very reminiscent of Electrical Parade, so I wasn’t totally crazy.) Anyway, this is another one of those 70s bands that I know several songs from but never knew who sang them. Musically, they’re like a weird pastiche of The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Queen, and Hall & Oates (with a smattering of white guys doing Shaft-era Isaac Hayes?). They’re a bit psychedelic, a bit poppy, and a lot schlocky. Very 70s easy listening/dad rock. Not in an unpleasant way, but not necessarily in an I needed to hear this album before I die way. The beginning of the album is a little too easy listening for me. Standin’ In The Rain through Sweet Is The Night is a pretty good stretch of songs. Really started to like it a lot more. Then the last few songs on the album are a mixed bag. The Whale goes a little too far into synthy psychedelic — it’s not bad, but it’s very vibey, almost lo-fi chill that I need to be in a certain mood for. Birmingham Blues is exactly what the title suggests — white dudes doing honky tonk blues. Very Elton John. Not bad, but again not really my thing. The closing track could easily be a Queen song. I’d rather listen to this than most yacht rock. As background music at a barbecue it’s fine. It’ll probably grow on me over time. But I also don’t think this would make my regular rotation (maybe a couple songs here and there). Best songs: Across the Border, Standin in the Rain, Mr. Blue Sky, Summer and Lightning Giving it a 4/5 but it’s probably a 3.75 at best

Good album, a few keepers, but goes on a little longer than needed.

"Out Of The Blue", de Electric Light Orchestra (ou ELO, para os íntimos), é capaz de redefinir o significado de sintetizador, pois para além do primoroso trabalho na implementação do instrumento nas faixas do álbum, também conferem à ele a capacidade de sintetizar, daí a redefinição, sentimentos humanos em impressionante detalhamento. Em faixas como "Steppin' Out", que te enchem de esperança e parecem iluminar o palco com energia radiante, ou "Big Wheels" que traz uma massa densa e volumosa de emoções que preenchem nossos ouvidos e corações, a representação da experiência que é ser humano seria de grande interesse de qualquer extraterrestre, de certo um grande presente para o "Mr. Blue Sky", ponto alto do álbum.

Never thought much of this band but gave it a listen because Jeff Lynne was a Wilburn. Better than I expected!

Was prepared to do a whole, ahh they sound like a queen ripoff and ahhh why is it so long but when I actually sat down to listen to it these songs are all actually pretty good. They all freakin move and don’t drag. Don’t know who came first, these guys or queen but even if they are ripoffs, honestly their songwriting is pretty on par with them on this album so I’m not mad about it.

There’s really only two things wrong with this album in my mind. I’ve found I’m not always a huge fan of the double album so there’s a couple tracks that could be dropped and it wouldn’t change much, and that what were considered to be “futuristic” sounds almost 50 years ago don’t really hold up. That being said, the antiquated old school lasers mixed with yacht rock vibes makes for such an excellent listen. The album has a couple great standout songs as well as some deep cuts that are jams. I was excited for this one and I’d say it met expectations.

Love me some ELO! Not only are the hits on here some of the biggest in the world, but the rest of the album is really solid. A consistent sound throughout without feeling too repetitive. I would give this an easy 5 stars if it wasn't for the length. 1h 10min is too long for any album. Cut it down to 50 minutes (or better yet 45) and it would be perfect. In this case I'm going with a 4.

Like this more than I thought I would! Def didn’t expect ambient tracks like the whale. Def would’ve been my shit if I was a boomer dad

This album feels huge. Tons of different instrumentation and a chorus of voices the entire time. It’s a ton of fun, very, intricate, and way ahead of it’s time. The early synth sounds really jumped out to me. No one was this effective with a synth in 1976. The classical influence comes through on a lot of this album as well, especially on tracks I was less familiar with coming in. Despite the complexity it never feels unapproachable and manages to be extremely catchy and memorable. 4.4

I had this album. Haven't listened to the entire album in a long time. It holds together and still.sounds good.

Good one.

This album is too much. ELO is too much. Anyone that remotely sounds like ELO is too much. That said,it's awesome.

Love ELO

Had never heard the whole album before. Enjoyed this.

Very unique listen and still, all tracks feel like 100% ELO. Mr Blue Sky is an absolute standout, from the beginning on, but this whole album is quite enjoyable. Viva Jeff Lynne.

Pretty good album… butttt too long. And not in a good way like All Things Must Pass. 3.6*

Amazing

I enjoyed it, unobtrusive music for the office.

2nd best album of theirs....classic...

I got to know ELO as a kid thru Discovery / Time albums, and found this one years later via Doctor Who :) Such a great band and sound.

I like the music of ELO, easy listening and some good lyrics.

He wrote this in 3 and a half weeks?? Shit. I actually just listened to my first ELO album a few weeks ago, independent of this project. It was A New World Record, which I enjoyed a bit more than Out Of The Blue. Both albums came out in 1976, wild.

Pop-rock setentero. Está bien. Un 4.

Very solid double LP. Obviously Mr. Blue Sky is the standout track, but I really enjoyed the opening run of tracks too

🛸🎬🎻👨🏻‍🎤🌭 highlights: mr blue sky. see also: production value; superhero films; the cars (the cars, 1978); artificial nortalgia; rhapsody in blue (george gershwin).

Great album. Just so many great songs and great mood. Yes, it's "Beatle-esque," as Jeff Lynne himself calls it, but it's great. I'll still take The Zombies over anything else in the "genre," though :)

A grandiose run through 17 wild tracks at the height of the ELO powerhouse.

Terrific highs and lows of human emotion in song writing within only one hour runtime of music. Emotional yet bright shiny electric melodies utilized to envoke espescially stronger feelings in the empty space. Chock full of excellent vocals too. Loved listening to this and indulging in a bit of ELO for the day.