Electric Light Orchestra - Out of the Blue [180g, Gatefold] (2LP) Vinyl

Out of the Blue is the seventh studio album by the British rock group Electric Light Orchestra, released on 24 October 1977 in the United States and on 28 October 1977 in the United Kingdom. Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the double album is among the most commercially successful records in the group's history, selling around 10 million copies worldwide by 2007.

The Album

Lynne wrote the entire album in three and a half weeks at a rented chalet in the Swiss Alps, then spent a further two months recording it at Musicland Studios in Munich between May and August 1977, with Mack engineering. The line-up is Lynne on vocals and guitars, Bev Bevan on drums and percussion, Richard Tandy on keyboards, Kelly Groucutt on bass, Mik Kaminski on violin, and Hugh McDowell and Melvyn Gale on cellos. Orchestral and choral arrangements are credited to Lynne, Tandy and Louis Clark, with Clark conducting the orchestra. The album made extensive use of the vocoder and helped to popularise it.

Concerto for a Rainy Day

Side three is subtitled Concerto for a Rainy Day, a four track suite built on the theme of weather and inspired by the relentless rain Lynne experienced in Switzerland while writing the album. Rain and thunder effects recorded in Munich open the suite and link its movements, which run from "Standin' in the Rain" through "Big Wheels" and "Summer and Lightning" to "Mr. Blue Sky".

Reception

Out of the Blue reached number 4 on both the UK and US album charts, number 3 in Australia and number 2 in Sweden, and became ELO's most commercially successful studio album. Five singles were taken from it: "Turn to Stone", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Sweet Talkin' Woman", "Wild West Hero" and "It's Over", and it was the first double album in the history of the UK charts to generate four top twenty hit singles. Capital Radio and the Daily Mirror Rock and Pop Awards named it Album of the Year in 1978. In 2000 it was voted number 346 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums, and it appears in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Sleeve Art

The spaceship on the cover, by then a symbol of the group, was designed by John Kosh with illustration by Shusei Nagaoka, developing the logo Kosh had created for the previous album A New World Record. The number JTLA 823 L2 on the shuttle docking with the station is the album's original catalogue number. The space theme carried over to the stage, where the band performed inside a large illuminated flying saucer set.

This Pressing

This is the Epic and Legacy reissue, catalogue number 88875175261, released on 27 May 2016 and pressed by Record Industry. It is a two record set on 180 gram black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve, with printed inner sleeves carrying the lyrics, credits and band portraits.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Turn to Stone (3:48)
2. It's Over (4:08)
3. Sweet Talkin' Woman (3:48)
4. Across the Border (3:52)

Side B

1. Night in the City (4:02)
2. Starlight (4:30)
3. Jungle (3:51)
4. Believe Me Now (1:21)
5. Steppin' Out (4:38)

Side C: Concerto for a Rainy Day

1. Standin' in the Rain (4:20)
2. Big Wheels (5:10)
3. Summer and Lightning (4:13)
4. Mr. Blue Sky (5:05)

Side D

1. Sweet Is the Night (3:26)
2. The Whale (5:05)
3. Birmingham Blues (4:21)
4. Wild West Hero (4:40)