Out of the Blue is Electric Light Orchestra’s most ambitious album — a sprawling double LP that stands as the high point of their orchestral pop-rock era, and home to their signature song, ‘Mr. Blue Sky.’ Released in 1977, it was written by Jeff Lynne in barely three weeks, and became one of the biggest-selling albums of the band’s career.

The short version

Out of the Blue (1977) is the seventh studio album by Electric Light Orchestra, and their most ambitious statement: a double album written and produced by Jeff Lynne and performed by the classic ELO line-up of Lynne, Bev Bevan, Richard Tandy, Kelly Groucutt, Mik Kaminski, Hugh McDowell and Melvyn Gale. Packed with hits like ‘Turn to Stone,’ ‘Sweet Talkin’ Woman’ and the beloved ‘Mr. Blue Sky,’ and famous for its spaceship cover and stage show, it sold around ten million copies worldwide.

Three weeks in the Alps

After the breakthrough of A New World Record, Jeff Lynne set out to make something even grander. He rented a chalet in the Swiss Alps to write, and after two weeks of rain and writer’s block, the sun finally broke through — inspiring not only the song ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ but a whole four-part suite about the weather, ‘Concerto for a Rainy Day.’ In a remarkable burst of creativity, Lynne wrote the entire double album in around three and a half weeks, before the band spent two months recording it at Munich’s Musicland Studios. The result was ELO’s most expansive work, and the peak of their classic orchestral sound.

The sound

Out of the Blue is ELO at their most lavish and Beatlesque. Across its four sides, Jeff Lynne piles on everything that made the band special — soaring string arrangements, stacked vocal harmonies, gleaming synthesizers and some of the earliest extensive use of the vocoder in pop — all in service of irresistible melodies. The production is dense and detailed, occasionally to the point of excess, but the sheer craft and joy of the best songs carry it. From driving pop-rockers to sweeping ballads to the ambitious ‘Concerto for a Rainy Day,’ it’s a maximalist showcase for Lynne’s gifts as songwriter and producer.

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The songs

The album opens with the propulsive ‘Turn to Stone’ and includes some of ELO’s finest singles: the baroque, dance-tempo ‘Sweet Talkin’ Woman,’ the wistful ‘It’s Over’ and the closing ballad ‘Wild West Hero.’ Its centrepiece is the third side, the four-part ‘Concerto for a Rainy Day,’ which moves from the moody ‘Standin’ in the Rain’ through ‘Big Wheels’ and ‘Summer and Lightning’ to the glorious ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ — a pure hit of pop sunshine that has since become the band’s best-loved song. Deeper cuts like ‘Starlight,’ ‘Jungle’ and the whale-song curio ‘The Whale’ add to the album’s variety.

Reception and legacy

Out of the Blue was a huge commercial success, selling around ten million copies and cementing ELO as one of the biggest bands in the world. Its 1978 tour, on which the group emerged from a giant illuminated spaceship, was among the most spectacular of the era. Critically, opinion was initially mixed — some found the double album overblown — but its reputation has grown enormously over time, helped in no small part by the enduring popularity of ‘Mr. Blue Sky,’ which has appeared in countless films and adverts. Today it’s widely regarded as ELO’s masterpiece, or at least the definitive expression of their maximalist ambitions, and the last great album of their classic orchestral era.

The verdict

Out of the Blue is essential Electric Light Orchestra, and one of the great pop-rock double albums — an ideal place to experience the band at full stretch. Yes, it’s long, and yes, the production sometimes tips into excess, but the hit rate is astonishing and the best songs are simply glorious. Come for ‘Mr. Blue Sky,’ ‘Turn to Stone’ and ‘Sweet Talkin’ Woman,’ and stay to discover an album’s worth of deeper treasures. It’s Jeff Lynne’s pop vision at its most ambitious, generous and joyful — the sound of a band at the very top of their game.

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