Out of the Blue

Oh fuck yes! Mr Blue Sky is on constant rotation for me. Turn to Stone with all its strings is a fun opener. A lot of 70s goodness in the instruments, harmonies and overall upbeat feeling. Enjoyed Steppin Out, Believe Me Now.

I actually had such a strong urge to listen to this album a while ago that I figured it would be a bit before I got it on the generator. That was about six months ago, so I was mostly right! This album is really great, the opening track "Turn to Stone" is such a good opener, and the album gives you that same dopamine rush throughout the album with various other tunes. It's just so fantastical, and despite the whole genre of "baroque pop" I don't think any one band has mixed orchestration and pop music this well, save for perhaps Moddy Blues' Days of Future Passed. It admittedly does lose a little steam, since the long length can make the album feel a little bloated, but they pepper in so many goodies throughout that I hardly minded, and it still holds true enough for me that this is a fantastic record.

Again, catchy stuff, but a little too simple for me... I have to revisit this one when I feel like listening to some pop-ish rock?

Ìets teveel Beatles-inspiratie naar mijn smaak. Maar minder zeurend/zeikerig dan het eerdere Beatles-werk en minder kinderachtig dan het latere werk. En je hoort ook de inspiratie door anderen voldoende terug. Zo denk ik tijdens het luisteren ineens aan het nummer 'Daydream' en later aan Abba.

Af en toe pakt een fragment mij, meestal het 'Orchestra' gedeelte. (Ben inmiddels halverwege het volgende album van DJ Shadow en hoor in mijn hoofd nog steeds Night in the Sky erdoor heen. Dat melodietje had ook zomaar op dat album kunnen staan.)

"Mr. Blue Sky" is one of the best, most infectious pop rock songs ever written. Pure genius. I mean, this whole album, like so many ELO albums, show just how good Lynne was at writing catchy songs (kind of like Elton John). It's all such amazing easy-listening cheese.

A fun romp.

I own this on VINYL! Thanks, Dad!

I just really don't exactly know what to do with ELO. I've listened to this album a couple of times again (I already knew it from my parents' record player)
Jeff Lynne is clearly insanely talented and a great songwriter, but the orchestration an overload of sound takes away from the talent. I liked LP2 of this double LP a lot better than LP 1 though.

Viikonloppu eessä taas ja milläpä sitä aloittaisi kuin synapoppiksen klassikolla. 4/5

With Mr. Blue Sky being on this album, the more important thing is trying to figure out the non-hits. Its got a lot of duwop and tight Brian Wilson like harmony. Jungle is a fun song. Summer and Lightning is a great tune.

A work of genius, with some all time classics. Even the random bonus tracks are good!

Incredibly solid album, right up my alley.
There’s something I’m trying to put my finger on with this. A lot of the albums I’ve liked during this project will have a few songs that I really groove with, but will also bore me a lot at some other point. Vs ELO here, who held my attention and gave me a really good time the whole way through an entire double album-length of stuff… but at least on first listen, there wasn’t any particular song that yanked me in. A slower burn. Any case, liked it a lot.

I see these album as one of the standard ones my parents like, it’s not bad but lacks something that just makes it sound dull to me, not sure what it is exactly On paper a mix of the Beatles and prog rock sounds great . Can see why it’s on the list and I didn’t mind it, but wouldn’t be an album I’d Iv rave about. Maybe it does just sound very dated now.

Love me some ELO. I remember listening to this album as a kid (thanks to my older siblings who were ELO fans). Those opening notes of Turn to Stone bring back memories and it's still a great song. ELO is one of those bands where I enjoy everything I hear but have never dug deeply into their catalog. Jeff Lynne is awesome and I appreciate him more every time I hear anything he's involved in. Mr. Blue Sky has been played a million times in my house since my kids got into Guardians of the Galaxy, but it never gets old. Stuff like Sweet Talkin' Woman is very 70s, but still great. Favorite non-hits - Jungle (fun track), Believe Me Now, Sweet is the Night. Basically, there isn't a weak moment on the album, which is even more impressive since it's a double album. Great stuff, easy 5.