Has Mr. Blue Sky Become UNDERRATED? Electric Light Orchestra’s Masterpiece - ANALYSIS + REACTION
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
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Is Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra overplayed? Yes.
Is it still a masterpiece? Also yes.
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0:00 - Intro
0:49 - Song/Album History
2:32 - Song Begins
9:21 - Initial Thoughts
10:10 - Expert’s Corner
12:45 - Grading the Song
16:23 - Final Thoughts
"Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album Out of the Blue. "Mr. Blue Sky" was the second single to be taken from Out of the Blue, peaking at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and number 35 in the US Billboard Charts.
In a BBC Radio interview, Lynne talked about writing "Mr. Blue Sky" after locking himself away in a Swiss chalet and attempting to write ELO's follow-up to A New World Record:
It was dark and misty for 2 weeks, and I didn't come up with a thing. Suddenly the sun shone and it was, 'Wow, look at those beautiful Alps.' I wrote Mr. Blue Sky and 13 other songs in the next 2 weeks.'
AllMusic's Donald A. Guarisco considered "Mr. Blue Sky" a "miniature pop symphony" and a "multi-layered pop treat that was a pure Beatles pastiche", saying that "the music divides its time between verses that repeat the same two notes to hypnotic effect a la 'I Am the Walrus' and an effervescent, constantly-ascending chorus".
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan.
ELO was formed out of Lynne's and Wood's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones. During the 1970s and 1980s, ELO released a string of top 10 albums and singles, including the band's most commercially successful album, the double album Out of the Blue. Two ELO albums reached the top of the British charts: the disco-inspired Discovery and the science-fiction-themed concept album Time. In 1986 Lynne lost interest in the band and disbanded the group. Bevan responded by forming his own band, ELO Part II, which later became The Orchestra. Apart from a brief reunion in the early 2000s, ELO remained largely inactive until 2014, when Lynne re-formed the band with Tandy as Jeff Lynne's ELO.
#MrBlueSky #ElectricLightOrchestra #OutOfTheBlue
You know, what else is criminally underrated? This channel! You have way less subscribers than you deserve.
Regarding this specific song: I haven't heard ELO in years, and now I remember why I loved them so much when I was younger. Thanks for the good memories!
Much appreciated!
That final outro is the sun setting and night finally setting in. It brings to an end the full concerto.
So many great songs by ELO.
Do "Tightrope" next off of "A New World Record" for the world's greatest intro, then "Shangri la" from the same album for the world's greatest outro.🤷
Shangri-La is one of my most favorite songs by anyone, ever.
Your breakdown of this song inspired me to subscribe to your channel like you I agree that the best music was produced in the 70s, and I agree that this is a pop rock masterpiece. This was ELO at its peak, although they still did great music afterwards.going to your channel now and checking out other songs that you have digested. Great job.
Great review yes elo have many great songs but queen as many hits as they have will be mostly remembered for bohemian rhapsody please do across the border from out of the blue at some stage thank you❤
For me, Telephone Line is ELO finest moment. Listen to the instrumental version and the melody blows my mind.
As an ELO stan, I give it a 10/10, The electronic Mr. Blue Sky, fire extinguisher, operatic female, the choir, the strings, Jeff Lynne, What's not to love?
Imagine you are 14 years old, putting on your Sony CORDED headphones and run into this song at the end of side 3 for the first time, in 1977! It set the bar very, very high for every future artist I ever heard... This was back when real musicians made popular music, of course... The lyrics rate higher than 7 for me, when you view the song in the context of the entire Concerto.
I've been there and experienced the same thing . My God! It's so emotional...
I’m at the start of your review (generally love the approach you use and looking forward to this one cos I love the song), I had a thought of another band with deceptively simple orchestration and think you’d appreciate Madness. Not sure if they are well-known outside the UK or the 1980s. So many great songs from them showing production, orchestration, humour, originality, and story telling: It must be love, House of fun, Our house, Cardiac arrest, Driving in my car….
Hi MK
After your little prog rock journey, I would like to recommend you a small, often overlooked gem.
"Marillion" a British band which, after their big commercial success in the mid 80's, maintains a small and loyal following.
Song you could analyze would be:
The obvious hits:
- Kayleigh or Lavender (Album: Misplaced Childhood 1985)
- Sugar Mice oder White russian (Album: Clutching at straws 1987)
In my opinion, the more interesting ones would be:
The Space (Album: Seasons End 1989) - re-recorded with orchestra in 2017 at the Royal Albert hall
or
The Great Escape (Album: Brave 1991)
Groot dances to this song in Guardians of the Galaxy. I think ELO is The Beatles of the 70's. They are AMAZING!! Love this video. Thank you!!
I'm in my early 50s and I honestly don't think I've ever heard this song before. None of it sounded familiar. I like the stuff I have heard from ELO, but haven't heard all that much. I'm definitely going to dig a little deeper into their music.
If i had never heard of ELO or this song before, I would absolutely have thought this was a Beatles track. The influence is palpable.
I'd give it 11/10🤷
Maybe I need to be re-educated on the definition of “underrated.” The claim could’ve been made in 1978 when the song hit only Number 35 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, then hid in hibernation for a couple of decades… but currently?
As you mentioned, Mr Blue Sky is played everywhere, which impressively included London’s 2012 opening AND closing ceremonies. It’s entered the pop culture zeitgeist, becoming ELO’s equivalent to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody as a band signature song. “Underrated?” If it continues to get the same mass repeated airplay and media use, it may be in danger of becoming “overrated.”
ELO’s positive critical re-evaluation over the last decade+ has been well deserved; the same goes for Lynne’s induction into the Rock And Roll and Songwriters Halls Of Fame. He has written a long list of memorable tunes that are enjoying new audiences and long lives nearly a half-century after their original releases. Who would have thought Jeff would be selling out big American and UK arena tours today (well, pre-Covid) when ELO broke up in the mid-1980s?
It’s not underrated because people think it’s bad, as opposed to people being either jaded or numb to how great it really is - given how often we all hear it.
@@TheMusicKingdomeven the most delicious food gets unpleasant if you eat it every day. I have had that with MBS at times. Then I stop hearing it for a while. Instead I put on _Jungle_ . One song I hear every day wiyhout tiring of it is _I'm Alive_ - it has improved my mornings, and in turn my days and my life, more than I could have hoped, making it my "alarm clock". Some days I literally wake up singing I'M ALIVE. That puts a good perspective on one's day once you are past 50. I've had it as my wake up music for a few years now, and it's one of the best things I've done for my own well-being.
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Agree or disagree? What’s the best ELO song ever made? Share your thoughts!
I think the real genius of this song, is that despite it's intricate musical and production additions and affectations, at it's core the song is a "playful ditty" (much like you might find in advertising) and hence is why it's so accessible, and instantly likeable...unlike a lot of the truly progressive/complex music (which requires more of the listener to really appreciate). Love the channel, keep up the great work. Cheers!
Like I said in my other comment, perfection can't be ranked. ;-) But just to tease you, the songs Jeff Lynne wrote in his first moderately successful group, the Idle Race, are completely unknown to all but maybe the most hardcore JL/ELO fans (such as yours truly), which is a great shame, as they are just as perfect, and have some freshness and I don't know what to call it (not naive, childish or innocent, but something in that direction), from being among his earliest work, in 1968. I usually suggest two songs: _The Lady Who Said She Could Fly_ and _Please No More Sad Songs_ (paradoxically a quite sad song.) If you listen to them, I bet you will probably be even _more_ awestruck by the production, as that certainly wasn't something that came to Jeff later in the career, but a talent he already mastered in 1968/69.
Yes Turn to Stone and Twilight
Having immersed myself in ELO's musical innovations for numerous years, each creation holds a unique charm. However, if I were to select one, "Eldorado" would, in my opinion, stand out as Jeff Lynne's most emotive composition.
Tightrope
Fair review of Mr. Blue Sky. Looking forward to more ELO reactions. Their catalogue is deep. Watch out for a surge in subs from fans.
Everything Jeff Lynne/ELO does is underrated/ underappreciated.
Despite "Mr. Blue Sky's" near-perfect composition, Jeff Lynne saw the need to re-record it, because he thought it needed to be tighter, punchier, and just -- in his own words -- better.
I’m not saying this is true.
But this song always makes me feel the Beatles taught another band how to make music.
This is always in my top 20 songs 🥳
Even though it's a "happy" song, it can easily bring me to tears. For sure, I must have heard it thousands of times since finding ELO in 1980.
Interesting channel and competent analysis, btw.
Maybe there is no "similar" song, but I think I found the same "vibes" in Brian Wilson's 2004 completion of SMiLE. I never compare BW, JL, Beatles and other geniuses, in the sense of ranking, as perfection cannot be ranked. I would love to see an analysis of BW's SMiLE, as it has never had the attention it deserves, being a revision and a far more advanced production than what the originally planned 1968 version could have been. After hearing it, I don't even care that much for the "original" _Good Vibrations_ - although the voices may have been better, the lyrics and structure in the "new" version just appeal to me more. Both OOTB and SMiLE are in the rare selection of not that many albums that I listen to frequently, and wouldn't like to live without.
So how about a look at Brian Wilson presents SMiLE (2004)?
its funny spacey and robotic
I am a huge die-hard ELO fan since 1974, however Mr. Blue Sky has become too over played in my humble opinion. And I think it’s kind of sad that Jeff Lynne has had the moniker’Mr. Blue Sky’, because he wrote so many more great songs that don’t get nearly the attention they deserve because people are caught up in the ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ redundancy. In my humble opinion ‘Tightrope’ is a much better song than ‘Mr. Blue Sky’. As I mentioned earlier, I like ‘Mr. Blue Sky’, but if I never hear it again I will be fine.
Its a great song but for me its kinda overplayed, I prefer a few of the other songs on the album