Out of the Blue by Electric Light Orchestra (CD, Jun-1987, Jet Records)

Album Features
UPC:	074643553025
Artist:	Electric Light Orchestra
Format:	CD
Release Year:	1987
Record Label:	Jet Records
Genre:	Art Rock, Rock & Pop

Track Listing
1. Turn to Stone
2. It's Over
3. Sweet Talkin' Woman
4. Across the Border
5. Night in the City
6. Starlight
7. Jungle
8. Believe Me Now
9. Steppin' Out
10. Standin' in the Rain
11. Big Wheels
12. Summer and Lightning
13. Mr. Blue Sky
14. Sweet Is the Night
15. Whale, The
16. Birmingham Blues
17. Wild West Hero

Details
Playing Time:	70 min.
Producer:	Nick Gravenites, Harvey Brooks, Jeff Lynne, W. Pete
Distributor:	Sony Music Distribution (
Recording Type:	Studio
Recording Mode:	Stereo
SPAR Code:	AAD

Album Notes
Electric Light Orchestra: Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, keyboards); Mik Kaminski (violin); Hugh McDowell, Melvyn Gale (cello); Richard Tandy (keyboards); Kelly Groucett (bass); Bev Bevan (drums, percussion).Personnel: Jeff Lynne (vocals, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer); Richard Tandy (vocals, keyboards, synthesizer); Bev Bevan (vocals, drums); Kelly Groucutt (vocals, percussion); Mik Kaminski (violin); Hugh McDowell, Melvyn Gale (cello).Illustrator: Shusei Nagaoka.Nowadays, 1977 is remembered as both the year of punk and the year of disco. At the time, though, it was the year of Fleetwood Mac's RUMOURS and Electric Light Orchestra's OUT OF THE BLUE, two albums that were simply inescapable. But where overexposure made RUMOURS feel somewhat stale and dated, OUT OF THE BLUE sounds as fresh now as it did at the time. This is due in large part to the obsessive insularity of Jeff Lynne's aesthetic. He seems not to be ignoring musical trends, but to be simply unaware of them.Lynne's mid-period Beatles fixation combines with his love of lush orchestrations and pristine production to create some of his strongest music, including the enormous hits "Turn to Stone," "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and "Mr. Blue Sky." However, the autobiographical "Birmingham Blues" suggests that Lynne was tiring of the rock-star grind, which might explain ELO's lowered profile after this release.

Editorial Reviews
5 stars out of 5 -- [I]t shows ELO at their most lush and broad: the choral arrangements have something of '30s Hollywood, the strings arrive simultaneously from several eras -- past and future...
Mojo

4 stars out of 5 -- The symphonic pretensions and STAR WARS-via-Sergio Leone imagery have impacted everyone from Air to Muse.
Uncut

4 stars out of 5 -- Their virtuoso musicianship dazzled. But the real genius was in the songwriting and wonderfully unorthodox arrangements.
Q