Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue [2× 180g Vinyl LP]

Electric Light Orchestra – Out of the Blue [2× 180g Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: 2× Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Gatefold, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: 88875175261
• Barcode: 888751752610
• Genre: Rock / Pop Rock / Symphonic Rock
• Label: Sony Music / Legacy / Epic
• Originally Released: October 1977
• Reissue Released: 27th May 2016
• Pressing: 2× 180 Gram Vinyl
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Out of the Blue is Electric Light Orchestra's seventh studio album and their most commercially triumphant record — a lavish, exhilarating double LP that distilled everything Jeff Lynne had been building towards into something close to perfection. Released in October 1977 on Jet Records, it became ELO's best-selling album, certified Platinum in both the UK and the US and selling approximately 10 million copies worldwide. It reached number four on the UK Albums Chart and number five on the US Billboard 200.

Recorded at Musicland Studios in Munich — the same studio used by Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Giorgio Moroder — Out of the Blue was written and produced entirely by Jeff Lynne in just three weeks, an astonishing feat given the scope and ambition of what he achieved. The album features a full orchestra alongside the core band, with Lynne's trademark fusion of Beatles-influenced pop, classical strings and hard rock reaching its most confident and fully realised expression.

The album yielded some of ELO's most enduring singles. "Mr. Blue Sky" — Side C's triumphant closer and the fourth movement of the Concerto for a Rainy Day suite — has become one of the most recognisable and joyfully uplifting songs in British pop history. "Turn to Stone" opens the album with irresistible momentum and became a major hit on both sides of the Atlantic. "Sweet Talkin' Woman" is a shimmering, melodic highlight, and "Wild West Hero" closed the album with a cinematic sweep entirely befitting a record of such ambition.

Side C is given to the remarkable Concerto for a Rainy Day — a four-part suite linked by the theme of weather and its effect on mood, moving from the contemplative "Standin' in the Rain" through "Big Wheels" and "Summer and Lightning" to the euphoric, orchestral explosion of "Mr. Blue Sky". It remains one of Lynne's greatest compositional achievements and a centrepiece that elevates Out of the Blue from a great pop album to something genuinely extraordinary.

The original release came with a spectacular fold-out spacecraft sleeve designed by artist Shusei Nagaoka — one of the most iconic pieces of rock packaging ever produced. This 2015 Sony/Legacy reissue is pressed on 2× 180g heavyweight black vinyl in a faithful reproduction of the original gatefold artwork.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Turn to Stone
2. It's Over
3. Sweet Talkin' Woman
4. Across the Border

Side B

1. Night in the City
2. Starlight
3. Jungle
4. Believe Me Now
5. Steppin' Out

Side C — Concerto for a Rainy Day

1. Standin' in the Rain
2. Big Wheels
3. Summer and Lightning
4. Mr. Blue Sky

Side D

1. Sweet Is the Night
2. The Whale
3. Birmingham Blues
4. Wild West Hero

Credits

• Jeff Lynne – Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesiser, Mellotron, Electric Piano, Producer, Arranger
• Bev Bevan – Drums, Percussion
• Richard Tandy – Keyboards, Synthesiser, Guitar, Electric Piano
• Kelly Groucutt – Bass, Vocals
• Melvyn Gale – Cello
• Hugh McDowell – Cello
• Mik Kaminski – Violin
• Louis Clark – Orchestra & Choral Arrangements, Conductor
• Label – Sony Music / Legacy / Epic