Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra

Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra
Greatest hits album by Jeff Lynne
Released	8 October 2012 (UK) 9 October 2012 (US)
Recorded	2001–2012 Bungalow Palace
Genre	Rock
Length	48:51
Label	Frontiers
Producer	Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne chronology
The Essential Electric Light Orchestra (2 CD Edition) (2011) Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra (2012) Electric Light Orchestra Live (2013)

Mr. Blue Sky: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra (also known as Mr. Blue Sky) is a 2012 album by Jeff Lynne. It consists of solo re-recordings of hits originally recorded by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and was released on Frontiers. It was issued simultaneously with Lynne's covers album Long Wave.

Background

Jeff Lynne told Rolling Stone magazine that the idea came from him listening to the original Electric Light Orchestra recordings, and thinking that he could produce a better result having since had a long career as a record producer.^[1] Lynne decided to re-record a number of songs from scratch, and began with "Mr. Blue Sky". He told Rolling Stone that "I enjoyed doing that a lot, and when I listened back to it and compared it to the old one, I really liked it much better."^[1] It was suggested by his manager that Lynne record a few more versions of Electric Light Orchestra songs, the results being recordings of "Evil Woman" and "Strange Magic". Lynne also liked these versions, so he continued by producing a full album of re-recordings.^[1]

Release and content

The album features all new recordings of some of the group's hits,^[2] as well as two bonus tracks: a new song, "Point of No Return", and a live recording of "Twilight" on Japanese releases. The album debuted at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart^[3] and at number 2 on the UK Top 40 Independent Albums Chart, then also at number 118 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart,^[4] at number 29 on the Billboard Top Independent Albums chart^[5] and at number 46 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart.^[6]

Track listing

All songs written, produced and performed by Jeff Lynne.^[7]

1. "Mr. Blue Sky" – 3:44
2. "Evil Woman" – 4:30
3. "Strange Magic" – 3:53
4. "Don't Bring Me Down" – 4:01
5. "Turn to Stone" – 3:46
6. "Showdown" – 4:16
7. "Telephone Line" – 4:30
8. "Livin' Thing" – 3:42
9. "Do Ya" – 3:56
10. "Can't Get It Out of My Head" – 4:35
11. "10538 Overture" (40th Anniversary) – 4:44
12. "Point of No Return" – 3:14

    Previously unreleased studio recording

Japanese bonus track

13. "Twilight" (Live) – 3:40

iTunes Store "Deluxe edition" bonus tracks^[8]

14. "Ma-Ma-Ma Belle" – 3:52
15. "Rockaria!" – 3:13
16. "Steppin' Out" – 3:23

    With Richard Tandy, live 2012

17. "Can't Get It Out of My Head" – 4:11

    With Richard Tandy, live 2012

Personnel

Personnel per album booklet.^[7]

Musicians

• Jeff Lynne — lead vocals, background vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, piano, bass, drums, keyboards, vocoder, cowbell, production, mixing, engineering
• Marc Mann — string arrangements, Mini Moog ("Turn to Stone"), engineering
• Laura Lynne — background vocals ("Evil Woman", "Strange Magic", "Showdown", "Livin' Thing")
• Steve Jay — shakers, tambourine, mixing, engineering
• Ryan Ulyate — piano solo ("Evil Woman"), engineering
• Howie Weinberg — mastering engineer
• Dan Gerbarg — mastering engineer

Chart performance

• 8 UK (UK Albums Chart)^[9]
• 2 UK (UK Top Independent Albums Chart)
• 29 US (Billboard Top Independent Albums)^[5]
• 46 US (Billboard Top Rock Albums)^[6]
• 118 US (Billboard 200)^[4]
• 119 Belgium (Flanders)
• 129 Belgium (Wallonia)

References