Electric light orchestra out of the blue

The Electric Light Orchestra walked the lines between disco, baroque, progressive rock and middle of the road with every track on each of their albums. Lynne carefully marketed their image and crafted elegant concertos with rock music and synthesised effects that could easily pass as the soundtrack to a science fiction film. They clearly were a visionary band both musically and commercially. The albumвЂ™s inside cover showed the interior of the craft, with each of the seven members of the band acting as crewmembers of the ship, setting the controls of a recording studio вЂ“ cum flight deck to broadcast their music out into the heavens. The album showcased some fantastic artwork, with an elaborately painted flying saucer, sporting the ELO logo at its centre.

It was a highly successful album, going multiвЂ“platinum and spurring the band on to the вЂOut of this WorldвЂ™ tour in 1978. The Electric Light Orchestra released 'Out Of The Blue' in 1977. The words and music felt like they were reaching out to me while they made their journey as sound waves onwards through space and time out into the stars and across the universe. ELO are known for their discoвЂ“like sound, and before too long, I was spinning myself around the lounge room a form of dance that I developed as soon as I heard this record!, caught up in the cadence of this music that was to become so much a part of my life from this moment hence. The opening track вЂњTurn to StoneвЂќ imitated the sound of a star cruiser landing, and the combination of sound effects, strings and synthesisers with rock instruments provided a strange, futuristic mood. When we put on track one, side one it was to be a moment that would stay embedded in my memory forever. I can still vividly recall one night in 1979 when I was given this album as gift from my father.

Electric light orchestra out of the blue