Electric Light Orchestra - Mr. Blue Sky
Added 2025-09-14 15:00:15 +0000 UTCI want everyone to know that when I brought this band up to friends and coworkers and they were very concerned that I didn't know "Mr. Blue Sky" that well.
I won't lie, I have heard the intro to this song, and immediately knew the general idea of the song, but I have never had the pleasure of listening to the entire song.
There are some cool things happening in here and it's really fun to hear what types of scales are being used in this song!
Comments
ELO was probably the first band I considered myself a fan of. I had scratched the vinyl records of Out of the Blue, Discovery, and Time from playing them so much. Those were the days...
Juan San
2025-09-15 18:43:15 +0000 UTCThe original concept of ELO was a four piece rock band with a 3 piece string section (kinda like Chicago with strings instead of horns), more or less as you see in the MV. It was unusual but not totally unique (I once saw Jethro Tull live with a three-piece string section). I saw that version of ELO once and they were really fun live. Two cuts give a great sense of that early ELO: "Ma-ma-ma Belle" (a crunch rocker with strings) or "Showdown." You can really hear the timbre of the horns in those tunes (think string quartet vs orchestra). Later ELO, sort of around this middle period, incorporated straight up orchestra stuff a lot more. At the time, I thought they were selling out but now I'm an adult. Another superfun ELO song but a deep cut is "Rockaria". About an opera singer laying down some blues and the power of community (really!). Beatles motifs on purpose here. Surprised no one has mentioned that this tune owes a lot to the middle section of "A Day in the Life" (panting and all). Jeff Lynne was close to George Harrison and produced some of his later solo stuff. Really enjoy the in depth musical reaction. Thanks.
j3ffc
2025-09-15 10:42:59 +0000 UTC
