I’ve been an enormous fan of Out of the Blue by The Electric Light Orchestra ever since I was at school. It was one of the first albums I bought with my own (fairly) hard-earned money! It has stuck with me far longer than most others, and I still play it regularly because across its four sides, there isn’t a weak track. This obsession means that over the years, I have amassed fourteen — yes, fourteen! — different copies, each unique in some way. This blog is a bit of a self-indulgent dive into the phenomenon of collecting multiple copies of the same album. Surely I can’t be the only one?

In My Blue World

There are plenty of albums I own multiple copies of: Olias of Sunhillow by Jon Anderson (four), Marquee Moon by Television (three), The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis (also three), plus two copies of albums by Rush, Camel, Porcupine Tree, Yes, Pink Floyd, and The Grateful Dead. But Out of the Blue is different.

I was already a fan of ELO and had a copy of A New World Record that my mum and dad bought me for Christmas 1976, when I was just fourteen. So by the time Out of the Blue was released on 28th October 1977, I was (as the saying goes) gagging for it — and I fell in love immediately!

Say Goodbye to All Your Friends

The striking sci-fi gatefold cover folds out to reveal the band’s logo transformed into a spaceship, possibly beaming their perfect cocktail of glam, prog, rock, and pop to every corner of the universe.

Inside the gatefold, there’s an incredible image depicting the control room of the spaceship — packed with retro-futuristic detail and glowing with the same imaginative flair as the music itself. It’s the kind of artwork you can get lost in while the record spins, and it perfectly captures the album’s cosmic ambition. But the treats didn’t stop there. The original release also came with a pop-out cardboard model of the spaceship featured on the front cover — yes, you could actually build your own ELO ship! Alongside that was a large fold-out poster featuring the band in full 1970s splendour, plus inner sleeves printed with full lyrics and credits. It was, and still is, one of the most lavish and lovingly put together album packages of its era — a total feast for fans of music and design alike.

I’ve Been Thinkin’ It Over

Legend has it Jeff Lynne wrote the entire album holed up in a hotel near Musicland Studios in Munich in just three weeks! The trademark ELO sound reached its peak on this album, thanks in large part to the keyboard genius Richard Tandy and orchestral arranger Louis Clark. Together, the three crafted a powerhouse glam/prog/pop masterpiece.

Innovative use of the vocoder and those eerie, almost Disneyesque backing vocals add an otherworldly sheen to many songs, reminiscent of earlier ELO albums like Eldorado and Face the Music. Some critics say Out of the Blue is overproduced (whatever that means). I say it’s a perfect work of art, with no space wasted — every moment has something to make it fab!

Concerto For A Rainy Day

My favourite part is side three: a four-song prog rock suite subtitled “Concerto for a Rainy Day,” touching on themes of love, loss, and loneliness against a backdrop of gloomy weather. It finishes joyfully with the stone-cold classic Mr. Blue Sky. It gets me every time!

the most recent addition to the collection

It’s A Beautiful New Day

I have no rational explanation for why I own so many copies. The most recent is a red and yellow coloured vinyl edition HMV released for Father’s Day — and it’s just wonderful.

I also have two different Japanese pressings, a clear vinyl version, three different blue vinyl editions, various foreign pressings, a cheap reissue without the gatefold, different label variations, and a picture disc!

My favourite version, without a doubt is the first edition blue vinyl which I think sounds the best out of all of them and I even used it recently for a demo here in the Cheltenham store when I got talking to a lady about “guilty pleasures” as a genre of music in its own right and Out of the Blue came up in the conversation. I played it for her on the Rega Planar 1 turntable with Rega Io amp and Acoustic Energy AE100² speakers system in our demo room and it blew her away! Yay!!

rega, acoustic energy and The elo…a match made in heaven

Calling All Collectors

If any of you out there in Audio T Blog Land share this affliction and have numerous copies of the same album, please let me know. We can drink tea, eat biscuits, and compare notes! I’ve already met someone with four copies of …And Out Come the Wolves by Rancid, and another with multiple Dire Straits albums. So come on — tell me what you collect!

I’ll Remember You This Way

Coincidentally, this ties in nicely with Jeff Lynne’s recent farewell concerts, retiring the ELO spaceship for good. Thanks for the long, strange trip and all the wonderful music, Jeff… love you x.

Thanks for reading,

Andy, Jon and Farid - Audio T Cheltenham.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

If you’ve enjoyed this, why not go ahead and read some more of our other blogs, and be sure to follow us on our social media channels below…