I wasn't completely oblivious to the album's existence prior to that moment and had heard the single; When I was a Boy, and a couple of radio interviews with Jeff on the albums initial release the year before. I knew I was going to get something reasonably familiar, nostalgic probably, but certainly a thing of quality because Jeff Lynne is a master musician, an excellent song write and a stunning producer of beautiful sounds. I know this because I owned Out of the Blue...
Its hard to explain good music and so much easier to just go off and have a listen. To which ends you'll find it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIt9t11xgY8 and probably lots of other places as well. Enjoy. But before going off and doing that, lets get back to that amazing artwork.
The album cover's spaceship was designed by John Kosh with art by Shusei Nagaoka. It was based on the logo Kosh designed for ELO's previous album, A New World Record and has now become synonymous with the band.
This is post 2001-A Space Odyssey and pre-Star Wars technology. It's big, clean, bright and optimistic. It's tripy, progressive sci-fi that doesn't need to fully explain itself because the ideas are from our future and we don't quite grasp them yet. We need to evolve and grow. We need to aspire and work at attaining that understanding. We need to dream big and then chase that dream into reality. Who wouldn't want to go on that journey of discovery. I did. I imagined myself aboard, one of the many crew. This would be my future one day. I was 10.
I've journeyed round the sun a few times since then and most of it with my feet firmly on the ground. I still like a big idea though and I still value the power of the imagination. Jeff Lynne's a lot older as well but he can still write a good tune or two. The new album is OK although its very reflective of where Jeff is now in his life. The lyrics are less optimistic, the scale more personal. This is to be expected I suppose.
I'm not sure the big ELO space ship featured on the front cover is quite the same vessel any longer either. It seems smaller to me, remote and unmanned. And the kid on the front seems content just to sit and look at it. There's no immediate or visible desire on his part to get on board.
And inside the album, inside the spaceship, its altogether different as well. Its a small corridor or maybe a room. Its functional, off-white and lined with pipes and conduit. There's an empty chair by the window and photos stuck on the walls. Guitar, radio set, coffee cup and a towel. These are the possessions of just one individual who isn't even there anymore. Nobody is dreaming of the future in here, this is all about the past.
...and I find that a little sad!
I have this theory, and it's one of the reasons I'm drawn to examine the past of my childhood, that we used to dream bigger back then. And the artwork above would seem to reinforce that. There used to be a greater a sense of wonder, of possibility and of our own enormous potential. We don't seem to project all that far forward anymore. Perhaps we think this is it; we are already here. This is the future now!
It doesn't seem like it to me though and I liked us all so much more when we knew we had farther to go. I find myself contemplating, not how we can bring the past back but how we can remember who we used to be.
Funny how a bit of album art can make you feel.
Steve
Oh and yes; I think they know they ripped-off the corridors of the Nostromo from Alien (1979) they were just hoping you wouldn't!
