Out Of The Blue - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA****

Turn To Stone/Its Over/Sweet Talkin’ Woman/Across The Border/Night In The City/Starlight/Jungle/Believe Me Know/Steppin’ Out/Standin’ In The Rain/Big Wheels/Summer & Lightning/Mr Blue Sky/Sweet Is The Night/The Whale/Birmingham Blues/Wild West Hero

ELO maintained their relatively recent high level of commercial appeal with the double LP Out Of The Blue. Their music is best described as melodic pop-rock. Features the UK top ten hits Sweet Talkin’ Woman, Mr Blue Sky and Wild West Hero. (US:4 UK:4)

“Surprisingly great 70s symphonic rock album. The songs are catchy but corny as well, with a good variety between upbeat rockers to symphonic ballads. It never forgets the huge hooks and overblown production.”

“ELO will never be considered a fashionable band, but their place in rock history as one of the great bands is absolutely assured. The song Sweet Talkin' Woman is an absolute gem.”

“It's hard not to love ELO, they combined so many different genres together while still keeping their pop appeal. Nowhere is that more apparent than on this disc. You have rock & roll, disco, funk and so many other types of music crammed together with delightfully poppy hooks and choruses. It's pretty incredible how they managed to pull it off with no real slip ups.”

“Some of the double album curse, with too many inconsequential tracks. But some great singles here too, mostly on the first side. One gets the sense that Lynne had taken his orchestral style of pop to its limit here.”

“Should have been a single LP. There is too much filler, but the hits and a couple of other songs are great.”

“Although never straying from their, by this time, well-established formula, Lynne, producing, writing and singing as always, leads the band through engrossing, tuneful songs, dominated by guitars, characteristic strings, endless synthesizers, a dash of piano and choral vocals. It all comes together beautifully, if not perfectly.”

“With Out Of The Blue, the Electric Light Orchestra attained an apex of artistic creativity and commercial appeal. For all of its incredible variety, this album holds together as a cohesive whole. It is also easy to imagine that virtually every song could have been a hit single.”