Out of the Blue (Electric Light Orchestra album)
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| Out of the Blue | |||||
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| Studio album by Electric Light Orchestra | |||||
| Released | November 1977 February 20, 2007 (US) February 26, 2007 (UK) |
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| Recorded | Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany | ||||
| Genre | Rock, art rock | ||||
| Length | 70:12 | ||||
| Label | Jet, United Artists, Columbia | ||||
| Producer | Jeff Lynne | ||||
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| Electric Light Orchestra chronology | |||||
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Out of the Blue is a double album by Electric Light Orchestra, first released in 1977.
Contents |
[edit] History
Jeff Lynne wrote the entire album in three and a half weeks after a sudden burst of creativity whilst hidden away in his rented chalet in the Swiss Alps. It took a further two months to record in Munich. The album had 4,000,000 pre-ordered copies and quickly went Platinum upon release. Out of the Blue spawned five hit singles in different countries, and was one of ELO's most commercially successful albums. It was also the first double album in the history of the UK music charts to generate four top twenty hit singles. Side three of the original double LP consisted of the symphonic Concerto for a Rainy Day, composed of four separate tracks which together made up a cohesive suite. The inclement weather effects heard on "Concerto" were real and recorded by Jeff Lynne during a very rainy summer in Munich 1977. The Concerto suite would be Lynne's last dabbling in symphonic rock.
Jeff Lynne considers A New World Record and Out of the Blue to be the group's crowning achievements [1] as taken from Flashback's liner notes, and both sold extremely well, this album reaching platinum according to RIAA Certification. Capital Radio and The Daily Mirror Rock and Pop Awards (forerunner to The Brit Awards) named it "Album of the Year" in 1978. Jeff Lynne, the albums composer, received his first Ivor Novello award for Outstanding Contributions to British Music the same year.
The large spaceship on the album's cover (by now symbolic of the group) was designed by Shusei Nagaoka and Ria Lewerke with Kosh based on Kosh's earlier logo he designed for the previous album A New World Record which connected with Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind fever. It also looks like a space station with a docking shuttle from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968).[2] The number JTLA 823 L2 which is featured on the shuttle arriving at the space station is the original catalogue number for the album. The space theme was carried onto the live stage in the form of a huge glowing flying saucer stage set, inside which the band performed.
[edit] Concerto for a Rainy Day
Side three of the release is subtitled "Concerto for a Rainy Day", a four track musical suite based on the weather and how it affects mood change, ending gloriously with the eventual sunshine and happiness of "Mr. Blue Sky".
"Standin' in the Rain" opens with a haunting keyboard over a recording of real rain, recorded by Jeff Lynne just outside his rented studio. Also heard at the 30 second point of the song marking the beginning of The Concerto is thunder crackling in an unusual manner voicing the words "Concerto for a Rainy Day" by the bands keyboardist, Richard Tandy. ELO used the song to open their 1978 Out of the Blue concerts.
"Big Wheels" forms the second part of the Concerto for a Rainy Day suite and continues with the theme of the weather and reflection followed by the more optimistic third part "Summer and Lightning". Apart from its inclusion on "Out of the Blue" album, the song has never appeared on any compilation or b-side until 2000 when Jeff Lynne, the song's composer, included it on his retrospective album Flashback. The song's working title during recording was Bad Salad, a word play on Sad Ballad.
"Summer and Lightning" is the third song in the "Concerto for a Rainy Day" suite. The raining weather theme is continued throughout the track though the mood and lyrics are more optimistic eventually leading on to the classic finale of...
..."Mr. Blue Sky" is the finale of "Concerto for a Rainy Day". It is an uplifiting, lively song celebrating sunshine. It is the only piece from the Concerto to be excerpted as a single. In the last orchestral note, the phrase "Please Turn Me O-ver" spoken through a vocoder can be heard (This bit has been misheard repeatedly as "Mr. Blue Sky, why?", but original keyboardist Richard Tandy confirmed the actual lyric to members of the Showdown ELO fan list).
[edit] Reissue
The album was remastered on February 20th (US) and 26th (UK), 2007 as part of the Sony/BMG Music Epic/Legacy series. The 30th anniversary issue was a strictly limited one-off pressing in hardback book with expanded 24-page full colour booklet. It features full-length sleeve notes by Jeff Lynne and ELO archivist Rob Caiger and a huge amount of rare photos and memorabilia. A push-out replica ELO Space Station for this verson was released as well as the standard jewel case edition with a full colour 12-page edited booklet. The album once again reached the top twenty album charts in the UK peaking at #18 also a sixth single "Latitude 88 North" was released as digital download single.
The album is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[3]
In August 2006, it was named by the UK's Q magazine as the #11 'Guilty Pleasure' album of all time – a list designed to celebrate 'uncool' but excellent records, and which received considerable publicity.
[edit] Track listing
All music and lyrics were written by Jeff Lynne. Orchestra and choral arrangements by Jeff Lynne, Richard Tandy and Louis Clark. Orchestra conducted by Louis Clark.
[edit] Side one
| # | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Turn to Stone" | 3:42 |
| 2. | "It's Over" | 4:08 |
| 3. | "Sweet Talkin' Woman" | 3:48 |
| 4. | "Across the Border" | 3:52 |
[edit] Side two
| # | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Night in the City" | 4:02 |
| 2. | "Starlight" | 4:30 |
| 3. | "Jungle" | 3:51 |
| 4. | "Believe Me Now" | 1:21 |
| 5. | "Steppin' Out" | 4:38 |
[edit] Side three (Concerto for a Rainy Day)
| # | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Standin' in the Rain" | 4:20 |
| 2. | "Big Wheels" | 5:10 |
| 3. | "Summer and Lightning" | 4:13 |
| 4. | "Mr. Blue Sky" | 5:05 |
[edit] Side four
| # | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Sweet Is the Night" | 3:26 |
| 2. | "The Whale" | 5:05 |
| 3. | "Birmingham Blues" | 4:21 |
| 4. | "Wild West Hero" | 4:40 |
[edit] 2007 bonus tracks
- "Wild West Hero" (Alternate Bridge - Home Demo) – 0:24
- "The Quick and the Daft" – 1:49
- "Latitude 88 North" – 3:24
[edit] Personnel
- Jeff Lynne – lead vocals, backing vocals, lead guitar, slide guitar, rhythm guitar, Gibson EDS 1275, Les Paul Custom, Marauder, Ovation 1615/4, 1619/4, Wurlitzer E.P. 200, Mini-moog, percussion
- Bev Bevan – Slingerland drums, Remo Roto Toms, Avedis Zildian Cymbals, Slingerland 'Bev Bevan' drumsticks, Remo drum heads, gong, various percussion instruments, backing vocals
- Richard Tandy – Polymoog, Minimoog, ARP 2600, ARP Odyssey, ARP Omni, Sequencer, minus noise mixer, Wurlitzer E.P. 200, Yamaha C 7B piano, S L M concert spectrum, mellotron M 400, Hohner clavinet, Gibson S.G custom guitar
- Kelly Groucutt – vocals, backing vocals, Gibson G.3 bass, percussion
- Mik Kaminski – Barcus Berry violin
- Melvyn Gale – William Lewis cello, piano
- Hugh McDowell – William Lewis cello
Even though Mik Kaminski appeared only on "Sweet Talkin Woman" and "Across the Border", Melvyn Gale on "Wild West Hero" and Hugh McDowell on none of the tracks, all three are credited as full band members.
[edit] Chart Positions, Chart Runs
- US: #4 Billboard 200, 58 weeks
- UK: #4 UK Albums Chart, 113 weeks
- AUS: #3 ARIA Albums Chart, 31 weeks
- CAN: #2 RPM Albums Chart, 29 weeks
[edit] References
- ^ allmusic ((( A New World Record > Overview )))
- ^ 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - Posters
- ^ Outline Page
[edit] External links
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