Out Of The Blue (1977)
The Last (Big) Hoorah
When Out Of The Blue hit the shelves, ELO couldn’t get any bigger. As it turns out, they wouldn’t. Their previous LP, A New World Record, was a multi-platinum success and the only way Jeff Lynne saw to compete with it was to go big. So, at the apex of ELO’s success, they issued a double album brimming with hits, including “Sweet Talkin’ Woman,” “Mr. Blue Sky,” & “Turn To Stone.” Then something odd happened. Punk. And, punk didn’t just kill the prog star, it was a wake-up call to all bigger than life bands… and ELO was caught in the crossfire. After a decade of constant touring and tensions, Jeff Lynne may have seen the writing on the wall. ELO fizzled out 4 LPs (and Xanadu) later in the mid-80s, a victim of bloat and changing tastes. There’s much more ELO history after this history, but that’s for another post. Check the archives for the final, 2001 Jeff Lynne-led ELO album, Zoom. Amazon’s got a 30th Anniversary Edition with 3 bonus tracks.
Turn To Stone (3:48)
It’s Over (4:09)
Sweet Talkin’ Woman (3:50)
Across The Border (3:53)
Night In The City (4:02)
Starlight (4:28)
Jungle (3:52)
Believe Me Now (1:21)
Steppin’ Out (4:40)
Standin’ In The Rain (4:20)
Big Wheels (5:07)
Summer And Lightning (4:13)
Mr. Blue Sky (5:06)
Sweet Is The Night (3:28)
The Whale (5:03)
Birmingham Blues (4:23)
Wild West Hero (4:42)
14 Comments
Search HERE
This is another lp that I loved as a kid but stopped listening to when the Rolling Stone critics made me feel bad about it. Glad I got over that.
HA!
I was so on the punk tip I gleefully got rid of all my so-called “dinosaur” music, only to see the promise of punk undelivered. All you have to do is read “Please Kill Me” to see why.
In 1977 this represented exactly the kind of bloat we rebelled against.
These days dinosaur music is sounding pretty good.
Might be because we’re dinosaurs.
Hey Willard, I’ve got the complete ELO studio catalog from the last round of Japanese Remasters, all have bonus tracks. Send me an email with which ones you want and I’ll get them to you.
Hey Reg, wanna do a bonus track post. Just all the bonuses?
Sure. I’ll get them to you tomorrow evening when I get back home. They’re all at 320 and sound great.
Cool. I’m looking forward to hearing it all. I used to own nearly all of their releases, but never upgraded them during the CD/bonus track years, so I’ve barely heard any of them. Thanks, as always, Reg.
Just the bonus tracks? No, no. please load all the remasters. thanks!
I saw ELO live just once – at the New Victoria Theatre, London back in (I think) 1976. I remember lots of audience members (but not me!) were given green glowsticks as the show was being filmed and it was thought this would look good. But in my memory they were hardly noticeable. Doing a quick google it seems this gig has been released as a DVD which I should probably take a look at.
Cool. Never had the chance to see them myself.
More importantly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a video product of a concert I’ve ever been to, either.
I’d pick that up in a heartbeat.
I agree with Mike, please post them all! We dinosaurs get hungrier for great music as we get older!:P
Too late fellas. Unfortunately, when we post entire catalogs it draws a lot of heat. We’ve done it a few times and we’ve been popped a few times, too. So, we’re just looking for something a little different. Sort of an alternate catalog. Besides, with just a little typing in the Google machine, you can find pretty much anything you want.