Electric Light Orchestra - Out Of The Blue [2LP]

Jeff Lynne's grand pop spaceship lands again with Out Of The Blue, Electric Light Orchestra's 1977 double album, presented here as a gatefold 2LP.

Lynne wrote the songs in a rented Swiss chalet in just a few weeks, then took them to Musicland Studios in Munich, where he produced them with sweeping orchestral arrangements. Coming off the success of A New World Record, it caught ELO at full confidence, piling hook upon hook across four sides of vinyl.

Side three holds the Concerto For A Rainy Day suite, which ends with sunlight breaking through on "Mr. Blue Sky", a song so cheerful it practically glows. "Turn To Stone" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman" fire off hooks in rapid succession over stacked harmonies and sawing strings, while "Wild West Hero" closes the album with a cinematic, frontier-sized chorus.

Lynne's love of The Beatles is all over the melodies, but the disco-era sparkle and the orchestral sweep make it unmistakably his own. Bev Bevan's drums keep the grandeur grounded, and Richard Tandy's keyboards add the space-age shimmer.

Housed in a gatefold sleeve, this is a fitting home for a record this generous, four sides that reward playing straight through, and that famous spaceship cover looks right at full twelve-inch size.