Out of the Blue

Incredibly catchy, but leaves me wanting Electric Light Morechestra.

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

I'm an ELO fan and this album has much of Jeff's best stuff. Toe tapper all the way through.

Synes ærlig talt at det bliver lidt uoverskueligt at skulle tage stilling til 70 minutters musik.
Der var nogle gode ideer og det lød fint, men det kommer til at tage lang tid at genhøre for at finde de bedste sange...
Ikke umiddelbart noget jeg eksplicit sætter på selv, men nok heller ikke noget jeg direkte skipper

Super catchy, but feels a little dissatisfying, like processed food. The songs on this album (which like most double albums, is too long) tend to blend into one another; there's not a ton to differentiate them. However merits three stars at least for Mr Blue Sky.

Wow, this was not for me at all. I was really expecting better! It's hard to put my finger on what exactly I hated about this, maybe it's too commercial sounding, a bit souless? The best song on the album is undoubtedly Mr. Blue Sky, but it has become ubiquitous through its use in every advert imaginable - most recently the ads for the Irish National Lottery that make me want to throw the radio out the window.

It's very well performed, but either there's just not enough humanity in there, or what is there is too clean cut. If I contrast it with the two Todd Rundgren albums I got earlier in this challenge (and loved), I think the difference is that Todd seems to take himself less seriously, and wasn't afraid to experiment. Whereas ELO seem to be taking the ultimate safe bet in trying to plot out a course based on the Beatles' abandoned trajectory.

Solid prog pop.

Favourite songs: Birmingham Blues, Sweet Talkin' Woman, Sweet is the Night, Latitude 88 North, Wild West Hero, Turn to Stone, It's Over, Across the Border, Summer and Lightning, Big Wheels

Least favourite songs: Night in the City

4/5

This is not the album of theirs that Eric played over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. 3.5

This is a great album.

It has taken me a while to properly get into ELO. For years I appreciated the big singles but never fully bought into the whole sound. In recent years though, it has really clicked, and Out of the Blue shows exactly why they were so huge.

It is ambitious, melodic and unapologetically grand. The strings, harmonies and huge choruses could easily tip into over the top territory, but somehow it all works. There is a real sense of scale to the album, yet it never loses its pop instincts. The hooks are everywhere.

Turn to Stone is a brilliant opener, full of energy and drive, and It’s Over shows the more emotional, dramatic side of the band. Even across a long running time, it rarely drags. It feels like a fully realised vision rather than just a collection of songs.

Favourite song: Turn to Stone and It’s Over
Least favourite song: Birmingham Blues
Album artwork: Amazing cover. Iconic and perfectly matching the space age ambition of the music

I feel like I should like this a lot more than I do. For whatever reason, they've just never clicked for me in spite of me liking all of their component parts. I think maybe it's just a bit too 70s-y for me?

Very ambitious album. Not sure why they felt the need to make a double album- a bit long for my attention span. Cohesive, which I suppose is good for an album but in this case almost turns into too much of the same. Would give it a 3.5 if I could but the musicality involved is going to tip it to a 4.

I really enjoyed this one. Not everything was great, but it was all good in my opinion. I'll have to listen to more of this. 4.5/5

What a beautiful album. Impossible to listen to without a big smile on my face.

I can take or leave ELO, Jeff Lynne wishing to be the fifth Beatle? Whatever. This is mostly moderate stuff and even it's highest high in "Mr. Blue Sky" has been watered down in recent years to the point that I almost hate to hear it.

I'd always discounted this record due to Mr Blue Sky being so overplayed but for the most part it slaps, HUGE pop songs. Very Beatles-esque. Goes on too long but this was unexpectedly great

I was super surprised with Out Of The Blue's quality since at first, all i really knew it for was for being the album with Mr. Blue Sky and very little else. However, it turned out that all the songs on this album (including the one i just mentioned) are all very good. There were quite a bit of surprises for me with the uses of the instruments that i never would have expected. Its albums like these that show why i love doing this project so much because it allows me to see just how good some albums that i never cared all too much about at first really are.
Best Song: Birmingham Blues
Worst Song: Summer And Lightning

Prog on easy mode. Peak 70s bloat. A aliant effort at making a perfectly smooth album. Like using a firehose to fill a half pint glass with Paul McCartney's worst impulses. Or if Andrew Lloyd Weber wrote a musical based on Space Oddity. Once in a while there's a bridge that really hits, but it's a bridge over something you'd want to hear between to things you don't.

I like this album more than I should. I prefer A New World Record overall. Great songs on here including the excellent suite. Favorite songs are Turn To Stone, Sweet Talkin Woman, Summer And Lightning, Mr. Blue Sky, and The Whale. Objectively a 3.

I adore ELO and consider “Mr Blue Sky” to be favorite song. So it should come as no surprise that I give Out of the Blue the full 5 stars.

Sure, the lyrics are nothing to write home about, but they’re not really the point. Jeff Lynne is an absolute genius at crafting catchy melodies and sparkling maximalist production, and that is what this album is all about. So many classic tracks: “Turned to Stone,” “Wild West Hero,” “Sweet Talkin’ Woman,” “Jungle,” (I could go on). I love it.

Chooka Chooka Hoo La Ley!

Überraschend kurzweiliges und abwechslungsreiches Werk. Hat keine absoluten Höhepunkt aber mit Steppin’ Out einen Hidden Star. Guter Mix aus instrumentalen und melodischen Stücken.