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Out of the Blue

~ E.L.O.
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Audio CD (27 July 1998)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Label: Epic
  • ASIN: B000026H7Z
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 30,497 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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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. Stepping Out
10. Standing In The Rain
11. Summer And Lightning
12. Mr Blue Sky
13. Sweet Is The Night
14. Whale
15. Wild West Hero
16. Big Wheels
17. Birmingham Blues

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

"Why do people need a Beatles reunion", Paul McCartney once wondered aloud, "when they've already got ELO?" It was a fair question: Jeff Lynne's obsessive enthusiasm for the Sgt. Pepper's-era Fab Four saw him appropriate entire harmonic and melodic structures from his heroes--carefully substituting sawing cello lines for guitar riffs and sweetening already-friendly chords with syrupy layers of strings. The double-album Out Of The Blue was released the same year Britain was galvanised by punk--though you'd never know it. One could argue that Lynne simply wasn't aware of the tectonic shifts going on around him, such was his desire to craft his band's most definitive musical statement, including a four-part "Concerto for a Rainy Day"--precisely the kind of thing the Clash and the Sex Pistols wanted to abolish. Boasting a string of catchy, instantly memorable pop tunes, very much in the traditional ELO mould ("Turn To Stone", "Mr. Blue Sky"), it also saw, in "Sweet Talkin' Woman", a discreet acknowledgement of (gasp!) disco. How very modern. --Andrew McGuire

From Amazon.com

ELO's fusion of Beatles-esque harmonies and melodic structure, coupled with their symphonic arrangements was just on the verge of wearing thin at the time they released Out of the Blue. To argue that the double album went platinum because of the band's live extravaganza to support it--the band performed inside a flying saucer--is a premise worthy of consideration. Song for song, Out of the Blue is not as strong as Face the Music, but it still has some of Jeff Lynne's finest compositions ever recorded. "Turn to Stone" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman" are almost downright giddy in their deliveries; the former opening with a string riff, the latter with a minor key violin line, before boasting a choral background accompaniment. "Mr. Blue Sky" and "The Whale" are almost too hokey, yet still managed to work. "Standin' in the Rain," "Big Wheels," and "Summer and Lightening" are more memorable. But in the end, power cello riffs can only take you so far. Stick with a "greatest hits" or "best of" collection in this case. --Steve Gdula
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
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 (15)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Five-star period-piece, 23 Feb 2006
Understanding this album requires a proper understanding of real 1970s popular culture. The supergroups of the latter 60s and 70s (Cream, Led Zeppelin) lead to groups who took their musicality a bit too seriously, the Prog Rockers. Most pompous of them has to be Yes, though less mainstream bands like The Enid have to be heard to be believed!

Proggers had this thing about becoming The New Classical Music. They were serious, folks! They started using more and more sounds from classical music, writing symphonies and making albums that went on for hours. Enter ELO. Pure pop, but with an eye on the rock zeitgeist: A bit of Strawbs folkiness, a touch of glam rock & blues, loads of strings and the latest electronics put together with the slickest production in the world. All this with a slight Midlands naffness misunderstood the world over: Most people miss the knowing twinkle in the eye!

This is an album everyone with an interest in pop / rock history ought to own. ELO pricked the Prog bubble and had some fun. Punk lacked their subtlety, merely raging and puking the party over.

Were ELO the last band of the decade of the greatest rock music?

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Best album of all time, 18 Mar 2005
By Matthew Parker (Bracknell, Berkshire) - See all my reviews
I'm 26 years old so this album was before my time, and I can't believe I may still have never listened to ELO if it wasn't for a random browse through my dad's record collection a decade ago (I was into Blur, Radiohead etc). Ten years later I would definitely say that Out of the Blue is is my favorite album of all time. There are only one or two tracks I'm not too keen on (ie Jungle); 50% of the rest are very good and the other 50% are stunning. Sweet Talkin' Woman was the song that blew me away at the time, but 'Standin' in the Rain' also really stood out; that must have been way ahead of its time. I would recommend ELO to anyone of any age, and this album is a great place to start.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars BREATHTAKING, 29 Jan 2005
Why is Jeff lynne's genius never given the credit he so rightly deserves? both for his great songwriting and incredible producing ability. It seems that people think its un-cool to admit liking this band but are happy to admit to bands like Queen, Led Zeppelin ETC ETC. "Out Of The Blue" then, every song on this album is good you wont find any fillers here, the soundscape is enormous and filled with drama, the melodies are lush and the original vinyl package was great with its blue vinyl, poster and cardboard model ELO spaceship. It was 1977 and Star Wars had just hit the cinemas, I was seven and kept on to my Gran to get me "Out Of The Blue" just because I liked the album cover, what an introduction to the world of music. I would often play the album start to finish, all four sides and study the album sleeve, it was as if this band had arrived from another world bringing with them a very unique and exciting sound. What really amazes me is the sound production, remember this was 1977, it still sounds fresh today and has a big sound on any Hi-Fi you care to play it on. This album in my opinion stands up as a truly "Classic" piece of work especially when you consider it took Jeff Lynne just eight days to write it. Dated? I dont think so. Timeless Classic? Definately...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars ELO's Sgt Pepper
This album was the moment Jeff Lynne pefected his fusion of Beatles, Pop and Classical music. This is probably one of the greatest pop albums of all time and is a masterpiece of... Read more
Published on 1 Aug 2005 by Mr. W. J. Butson

5.0 out of 5 stars Majestic Overblown Tour De Force
It seems strange that out of all the classic 1970s bands, there are two which have not received the recognition they deserve. ELO and Supertramp. Read more
Published on 13 Jan 2005 by John Heaton

4.0 out of 5 stars Simply a Classic
Jeff Lynne is criminally under-rated as a songwriter, and ELO has always been fair game for most critics through the years. Read more
Published on 16 July 2004 by Jl Adcock

5.0 out of 5 stars 'If you only ever get one ELO album...'
First off, if you're perhaps of the opinion that ELO are simply MOR, middle-aged irrelevant tosh then please allow me to disabuse you of that view: This is without doubt ELO's... Read more
Published on 10 Dec 2003 by Kevin O'Keefe

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating album from a unique band
The ELO evolved from The Move, a late sixties pop group famous for Flowers in the rain and Blackberry way, but their music is noticeably different. Read more
Published on 7 Sep 2003 by Peter Durward Harris

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Judge an Album by it's Cover
Marvellous.

Punk was destroying everything and this improbable concept album pushed through.

Virtually flawless, it skates precariously near progressive rock but the beat... Read more

Published on 23 Nov 2002 by Edward Barry

5.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff
I recently rediscovered this album. What a treat! Melodies to die for. This is ELO at their best. They were always best when the orchestral element was to the fore and this album... Read more
Published on 2 April 2002

5.0 out of 5 stars Utter Brilliance
Normally -, as an intelligent, thoughtful, expressive person, I would like to discuss the finer points of an album, its melodic structures, immaginative integration of strings... Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2002 by gsbellamy@clara.net

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Sgt. Pepper
Why do ELO album reviewers always have to refer to the Beatles and Sgt. Pepper when assessing any ELO album? The critics have never gotten in right in my opinion. Read more
Published on 30 Sep 2001

5.0 out of 5 stars ELO at their peak - no fan should be without it
This CD epitimises ELO at their absolute height. Some may argue that Eldorado, A New World Record or Discovery show them at the top, but in my opinion this album contains so much... Read more
Published on 5 July 2001

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