Turn to Stone: Electric Light Orchestra’s “Out of the Blue” Returns to Vinyl with Picture Disc
Electric Light Orchestra’s sprawling seventh studio album Out of the Blue landed with four sides melding impeccably-crafted, widescreen pop and symphonic rock. Written and produced by Jeff Lynne, the LP went multi-platinum and introduced some of the band’s most enduring songs including “Turn to Stone,” “Sweet Talkin’ Woman,” and most especially, “Mr. Blue Sky.” It’s returning to vinyl on September 29 from Legacy Recordings in a new picture disc edition.
This 2LP collector’s picture disc edition of Out of the Blue was remastered from the original master tapes and includes a digital download of the album. Its distinctive cover artwork was the first to feature the group’s logo as a flying saucer; the now-iconic image would later appear on such albums as Discovery and countless collections. Peaking at No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200, its success was matched in the U.K., where it reached the same peak on the Albums survey and became the first double LP to yield four Top 20 singles: “Mr. Blue Sky,” “Turn to Stone,” “Sweet Talkin’ Woman,” and “Wild West Hero.” In the U.S., “Turn to Stone” and “Sweet Talkin’ Woman” made the top twenty, while “Mr. Blue Sky” peaked at No. 35.
Commenting on this new edition in Legacy’s press release, Jeff Lynne says, “Forty years on, I would never have imagined that this music would take on a life of its own.” It certainly has, both on its own and as part of the lasting legacy of the band. Electric Light Orchestra was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year on the heels of a successful tour and the 2015 release of Alone in the Universe from Jeff Lynne’s ELO.
The 2-LP picture disc edition of Out of the Blue arrives from Legacy on September 29! It’s currently available for pre-order at the links below.
Electric Light Orchestra, Out of the Blue (Jet Records JT-LA823-L2, 1977 – reissued Legacy, 2017) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada Links TBD)
Side A
- Turn to Stone
- It’s Over
- Sweet Talkin’ Woman
- Across the Border
Side B
- Night in the City
- Starlight
- Jungle
- Believe Me Now
- Steppin’ Out
Side C (Concerto for a Rainy Day)
- Standin’ in the Rain
- Big Wheels
- Summer and Lightning
- Mr. Blue Sky
Side D
- Sweet Is the Night
- The Whale
- Birmingham Blues
- Wild West Hero
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2 thoughts on “Turn to Stone: Electric Light Orchestra’s “Out of the Blue” Returns to Vinyl with Picture Disc”
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Some great songs on that album. I still can’t get my head around those backing harmonies in the call-and-response of ‘Turn To Stone’. They almost sound inharmonious or discordant but work really well. Like, how do you come up with something like that?
One has to assume that the multi-tracks are lost for this one, which is a terrible shame as the mix/production job is pretty grim.