ELO - Out of the Blue vs. Time

Which is the best ELO album to you? With Out of the Blue having more hits and being a double album, perhaps it's the more obvious choice but I think Time is pretty special, sound quality aside, to a lot of fans.

 

out of the blue!

 

not enough orchestra and too much synthesizer on Time for my liking.

 

I like OOTB just fine, but I hold Time in pretty high regard. I find it hard to believe that album with such a unique sound/vibe/approach could have just been a contractual obligation for Mr. Lynne. He's got nothing to be ashamed of whatsoever with that album.

 

Time, the first concept album I ever heard, and still my favorite concept album. It's a great album!

 

Love both of them , Concerto for a rainy day is maybe the finest grouping of songs Ever !!
Time is bonkers , fabulous stuff , & was the first E.L.O. gig i went to , so yes a definate soft spot for that one.
Ah , Time gets my vote

 

Between the two, unquestionably OOTB. I will say that "Eldorado" is my favorite album in the band's catalog however.

 

Out Of The Blue is by far my favorite.

 

Nailed it.

 

Out of the Blue is my favourite ELO album, closely followed by Discovery (yes, I'm the one who likes it!). Time is among the next tier for me. A great album but no OOTB.

 

I like Time, but I love OOTB.

 

Like another poster said.....orchestra vs. synths. I love both albums but I'm going with OOTB. Besides that was my first time seeing ELO....and with the spaceship to boot! Time was my 2nd.

 

Time. So sad it doesn't get the nods it deserves. An amazing album. Out of the Blues always felt bloated to me.

 

I think Jeff oughta do a remix of Time...and a less compressed remaster, if that's possible.

 

"Concerto for a Rainy Day" is, in my opinion, the best thing ELO ever did, so Out of the Blue is the winner for me.

 

I'm the other one.

 

"Time" because it's consistently strong from start to finish. "Out Of The Blue", like most double albums, has some weaker tracks.

 

I'm gonna vote for Time because it's the "underdog". Love them both in reality

 

and Jungle. "...and they danced!!..."

 

Out of the Blue , but both great albums !

 

Same here. "Time" was my introduction to ELO and will always hold a special place in my heart, so I voted for it. But I find it hard to choose between the two.

 

I like 'Out Of The Blue' much, much better than 'Time' and the above statement could not have put it better.
The album I like best of all the albums ELO did is 'A New Word Record' - closely followed by 'Out Of The Blue.'
However, although I do not like the production on 'Time' I have actually thought of re-buying it again (had it way back but sold it.)
There are after all some great stuff on it...

 

The highs on OOTB surpass the ones on Time, but for me the latter has endured better. I played the former so much back in the day that I'm still a bit over-familiar with it even now. Time is strong pretty much throughout and is nice and short. Still prefer Discovery to the pair of them, though!

 

This was a tough one. I like both almost equally, for different reasons. But I picked OOTB because of the "bigger" sound. It was also the first ELO album I owned and so it has that special place for me. Time went in another direction and fits together nicely as the concept that it is. In a way, I like Time because it went in a different direction and fit the time period (early '80s). I still find it nice that Jeff Lynne was able to go in so many different directions so that each album was its own.
For those that need an "ELO fix", I'm doing an internet radio show today (Nov. 26, 2014) from 4-6pm EST featuring ELO and related material. Stop by and join live chat and listen in! I'll be happy to play some stuff from both of these albums. The station is Lost Planet Radio.

-Bill

 

Time is the only ELO album that matters here in Russia. It's HUGE. Everyone and his cat has it. It also boasts THE signature ELO tune here - Ticket to The Moon. And while I find some of the russian tastes in music weird at best, here I fully agree. An amazing album start to finish. Prefer it to bloated Out of the Blue by mile. And frankly, I don't get all the "orchestra or no ELO" purists. Orchestra seems to be a lot cheesier than synths in their case. A lot of 70's ELO records make me cringe for that reason exactly.