Welcome, Mr. Lynne

Hooray, hooray, I have finally discovered Electric Light Orchestra! By ”discovering” I of course mean the beginning of active listening. Now that I think about it is quite strange that it didn't happen earlier. ELO is a dream come true for a popster like me but I never got round to checking out the band until about a month ago.

It all began almost Out of the Blue. One day I noticed I had put some ELO into my mp3 player and thought about trying something ”new”... I listened to the album once and immediately heard a lot of pop beauty. Repeated listening revealed new dimensions and soon I was hooked to everything on the album.

The sound... The songs! The string arrangements... The mood! Based on my current listening experince of Out of the Blue and Time (1981) I can only say that I have discovered some sort of a missing link that explains certain common things about many bands that I admire. I feel I understand now why many bands sound like what they sound like. Even right now, as I listen to ELO, I constantly think to myself that the music really sounds like the Flaming Lips, or the Apples in Stereo. While being pure 70s pop gold ELO is a link to both the past and present. ELO is an intriguing combination of 60s influence (the Beatles etc.) and being the influence for countless later bands.

Out of the Blue was released as a double LP in 1977. By today's standards it doesn't feel like a double album but it doesn't matter at all... I can't really think of any other album that contains as many songs as 17 all of which are really great. In addition to great songwriting, beautiful melodies and hooks there are stunning strings everywhere. The album has a good balance between classic single hits (Turn to Stone, Sweet Talking Woman, Mr. Blue Sky), rock-oriented material (Across the Border, Birmingham Blues), powerful ballads (Stepping Out, Big Wheels) and songs that, in my opinion, are memorable especially because they are instrumental-driven (Standing in the Rain, The Whale)

So, what else would I like to mention about this album (or ELO in general)... Of course it has to be said that the harmonies are gorgeous – very Queen/Styx, I think. But there is a lot of the Beach Boys as well. On the other hand, the vocals often remind me of disco-era Bee Gees... Another really interesting thing about ELO is that the music tends to have a nice, gentle psychedelic vibe. The songs with their arrangements create such a strong atmosphere that it almost scares me! Music like this is from another world – a world more interesting and colorful but also more dramatic and sometimes wondrously melancholic, when you think about it..

Perfect, catchy symphonic pop/rock with big harmonies, rich sounds, a wonderfully grandiose mood and impeccable songwriting. Gee, ELO's got everything! Why doesn't music like this sell millions anymore, why oh why... (If it did it would probably have many nice by-products - more frequent concerts, for instance.)

There is so very much to cherish on this one album [Out of the Blue] alone... But I intend to listen to the other ELO albums as well. I don't want to rush but sometimes I just can't keep great pop waiting. And there is of course the Move. We'll see what happens next...