Capitalizing on the Star Wars <\/i>craze of 1977, Jeff Lynne released this biggie-size intergalactic opus, Out Of The Blue<\/i>.\u00a0 As double concept albums go, this is one of the very best. And as far as Electric Light Orchestra albums go, it is Jeff Lynne\u2019s personal favorite.\u00a0 As the group\u2019s leader, producer and head vocalist, Lynne has always been able to wear many hats on any given project and wear them well. <\/p>\n
With its galloping beat and full-on symphonics, \u201cTurn To Stone\u201d is the perfect song to open Out Of The Blue<\/i>. Of the next six songs to follow, only \u201cSweet Talkin\u2019 Woman\u201d is as strong. It became a hit single and is perhaps the most memorable, one of those tunes that seems to have it all, from its multiple acoustic guitars playing in unison to its otherworldly-sounding men\u2019s chorale droning on in the background. <\/p>\n
After a bunch of formulaic cuts, we are presented with \u201cJungle.\u201d It comes as a welcome addition too, since I was beginning to get bored.\u00a0 This is one song that kids really take to — I know I did when I was little.\u00a0 It\u2019s is the sound of what would happen if a spaceship landed in the Brazilian rainforest. With its terrific hand-jive percussion and catchy nonsensical chant, \u201cJungle\u201d is proof that story songs can be fun. Signifying that the orchestra is back, \u201cBelieve Me Now\u201d is a brief and pointless interlude that brings us to the end of Part One with the song \u201cSteppin\u2019 Out,\u201d a heartbreaking slow song to swoon over (even if it does sound like a Xanadu <\/i>outtake).\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Known collectively as a \u201cConcerto For A Rainy Day,\u201d the next four songs represent the best sequence on the entire album. Conducted by Louis Clark of \u201cHooked On Classics\u201d fame, the orchestra picks up the pace on \u201cStandin\u2019 In The Rain\u201d while incorporating baroque elements into the mix. Also notable is \u201cSummer And Lighting,\u201d which has a great electronic dance break that helps to bring it to a whole new artistic level.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
And then there is \u201cMr. Blue Sky,\u201d the hit song that jumps off the record and demands that the listener bow down and beg for mercy. The final four songs on Out Of The Blue <\/i>come as somewhat of a letdown, especially compared to the other material that came before them.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Another masterstroke of genius was to design ELO\u2019s concert stages in the form of the glowing spaceship that is often featured on many of their album covers, including this one. It\u2019s sad that more bands today aren\u2019t as daring as Electric Light Orchestra or Pink Floyd when it comes to putting out concept albums or creating elaborate stage spectacles.\u00a0 All of that stuff is now a memory, but it is certainly a memory worth treasuring. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":28786,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6624],"rating":[5617],"class_list":["post-40284","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-electric-light-orchestra","rating-rating-b-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=40284"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=40284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}