The double album seems to be a rite of passage for all great rock bands, and the Electric Light Orchestra delivered theirs in 1977 with Out of the Blue. Jeff Lynne and company were at the top of their game, and this was one double-disc that didn’t suffer from overstuffing.
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Lynne recently announced ELO will be going out on a farewell tour this year. You can bet that there will be several Out of the Blue songs that pop up on the setlists. Let’s give you our choices for the five best songs on this wonderful record.
5. “Steppin’ Out”
Their name promised some connection to the classical music world, and no band did sweeping, orchestral ballads better than ELO. You can find at least one on every side of Out of the Blue, as Lynne possessed a knack about when to add that variety to a record. Many people compare ELO to The Beatles in terms of the slow stuff. But a better comparison for “Steppin’ Out” might be the pre-disco Bee Gees, as the song certainly rises to the high levels of drama of those early Brothers Gibb hits.
4. “Sweet is the Night”
Lynne concocted a melody for this mid-tempo number that’s designed to provide maximum joy. He does this by first giving us just a hint of melancholy, especially in the pre-chorus sections. This is one of the few ELO tracks where you’ll find someone other than Lynne getting any of the lead vocals, as Kelly Groucutt takes a few verses. “Sweet is the Night” finds the narrator trying to convince a heartbroken girl that better times will be arriving within the very near future, and if the glorious chorus doesn’t convince her, nothing will.
3. “Turn to Stone”
The opening track fades up and provides shimmering beauty alongside impressive momentum for about four minutes, and then fades back down, leaving listeners awestruck. On their finest songs, ELO tended to find a way to provide memorable moments that might range beyond the norm of what might normally be expected. In the case of “Turn to Stone,” one of those moments arrives when the propulsion of the music stops on a dime for an a cappella section that sounds as if it was lifted out of a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. It’s an idiosyncratic grace note to this amazing track.
2. “Wild West Hero”
The closing track on Out of the Blue finds Lynne diving into one of his favorite themes: an ordinary man who imagines himself in extraordinary situations. These songs create a subtext of wistfulness because the unspoken part is that these narrators probably aren’t going to realize these exciting dreams. “Wild West Hero” romanticizes the cowboy life, and the band adds touches to exemplify that, such as the hoedown-style instrumental breakdown. There’s some more a cappella goodness in this one, as well as a thrilling conclusion where every repeat of the refrain seems to take on more intensity.
1. “Mr. Blue Sky”
Lynne made no secret about the fact that ELO were always meant to try and follow in the footsteps of some of the more ornate productions of The Beatles. Most artists attempting such a feat would likely have come up woefully short. You can argue that he might have actually topped his heroes with “Mr. Blue Sky.” There are reasons that advertisers and film and TV soundtrack producers keep going back to this song. Lynne inserted so many deft, unique touches that it never gets old. And no song before or since has ever quite evinced the majesty of wonderful weather like this beauty.
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