Project 1001: Out of the Blue by Electric Light Orchestra; June 17, 2024

The sun is shining in the sky / There ain't a cloud in sight / It's stopped raining / Everybody's in the play / And don't you know, it's a beautiful new day

You want harmonies? ELO has harmonies. You want luscious string arrangements in a pop/rock setting? ELO has that too. You want a really good record? ELO has you covered with this one. For me, ELO has always been one of the most distinctive-sounding bands ever and Out of the Blue is a grand example of the ELO sound. And Out Of The Blue is considered by some to be the finest concept album written about the weather ever recorded.¹ Here is where I confess that I can think of no other concept albums about the weather.

The contemporaneous review in Rolling Stone slammed Out of the Blue as a “totally uninteresting and horrifyingly sterile package.”² To which I say, whatever and at least 10 million fans disagreed by purchasing the album.³

A 2007 review of the reissue praised the album as, “proof of how good (music) can sound when the grand approach works.⁴

In 2021 another reviewer lavished praise writing that “this album is every bit as surprising as it is excellent.”⁵

Out of the Blue peaked at #4 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart on January 7, 1978.⁶

My Rating:

Out of the Blue was released on October 24, 1977. Let’s take a look at what else was happening.

Pop Culture

• Number one song: You Light Up My Life by Debbie Boone⁷
• Number one album: Rumours by Fleetwood Mac⁸
• Number one movie: Star Wars by George Lucas⁹
• Most watched TV program: Laverne & Shirley¹⁰
• NYT bestseller, fiction: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien¹¹
• NYT bestseller, non-fiction: All Things Wise and Wonderful by James Herriot¹²

Sport

• Oct 1 Brazilian soccer great Pelé plays his final game for the New York Cosmos in an exhibition against Santos in front of 75,000 at Giants Stadium.
• Oct 2 Dusty Baker hits his 30th homer of the season against Astros' J.R. Richard; Dodgers become the first team in MLB history to have 4 players hit 30 or more HRs; joins Steve Garvey (33), Reggie Smith (32) and Ron Cey (30).
• Oct 18 World Series: Reggie Jackson hits 3 consecutive HRs tying Babe Ruth's WS record; NY Yankees beat LA Dodgers, 8-4 to clinch, 4-2 series win; Jackson named MVP.
• Oct 23 New York City Marathon: defending champion Bill Rodgers wins in 2:11:38; Miki Gorman retains women's title in 2:43:10.

Notable Births

• Oct 11 Matt Bomer, American actor (The Normal Heart, White Collar, Chuck), born in Webster Groves, Missouri.
• Oct 12 Bode Miller, American alpine ski-racer (Olympic gold 2010), born in Easton, New Hampshire.
• Oct 12 Christie Kerr, American golfer (US Open 2007, PGA Championship 2010), born in Miami, Florida.
• Oct 13 Paul Pierce, American basketball player, born in Oakland, California.
• Oct 16 American guitarist and singer-songwriter John Mayer ("Your Body Is A Wonderland"; "Waiting For The World To Change'), born in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
• Oct 19 Jason Reitman, Canadian filmmaker (Juno; Up In The Air), born in Montreal, Quebec.
• Oct 26 Jon Heder, American actor (Napoleon Dynamite), born in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Notable Deaths

• Oct 4 Del Porter, American jazz singer (Foursome - "Walkin' My Baby Back Home"; Spike Jones and His City Slickers - "Der Fuehrer's Face"), dies at 75.
• Oct 14 Bing Crosby, American singer ("White Christmas", "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy") and actor ("Going My Way"), dies of a heart attack at 74.
• Oct 20 Cassie Gaines, American rock singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a plane crash at 28.
• Oct 20 Ronnie Van Zant, American rock musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a plane crash at 29.
• Oct 20 Steve Gaines, American rock vocalist and guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd), dies in a plane crash at 28.
• Oct 27 (Anton) "Tony" Hulman Jr., American businessman and motorsport entrepreneur (owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, 1945-77), dies of heart failure at 76.
• Oct 27 James M. Cain, American writer (Postman Always Rings Twice), dies at 85.

Enjoy and listen without prejudice. Cheers!

Full video playlist: You're Welcome 100; Out of the Blue by Electric Light Orchestra

Prime access: 100. Out of the Blue by Electric Light Orchestra

1. ELO - Out Of The Blue 40th Anniversary album review

2. Out of the Blue album review in Rolling Stone

3. Electric Light Orchestra’s ‘Out of the Blue’: The Masterpiece from Munich

4. Review for Pitchfork

5. Review by Oliver Thatcher Watson

6. Billboard Database Out Of The Blue

7. Billboard Hot 100 WEEK OF OCTOBER 22, 1977

8. Billboard 200 WEEK OF OCTOBER 22, 1977

9. Domestic Box Office Weeklies For 1977

10. 1977-78 Ratings History

11. The New York Times Bestseller List October 23, 1977

12. Ibid.