Search - Electric Light Orchestra :: Out of the Blue/Discovery

Roll over Ludwig, ELO has arrived on DVD! And boy, they rock

Maurice Z. Crosby Jr. | Trenton, NJ USA | 04/09/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am a huge ELO fan and thoroughly enjoyed the concert (Out of the Blue) and music videos (Discovery Album). I gave this DVD 4 stars only because of the cinematography. With that said... this is definitely a must for any ELO fan and fans of music from the '70s.For a concert from 1979, I found the sound quality very good. Don't buy this DVD if you are looking for a concert originally recorded digitally. It's from the '70's, when the only things digital were clocks!I did however, find the cinematography POOR in parts. The director did not seem content on showing the concert, so he "added" special effects and layering. All he managed was to add distraction! I found myself yelling at the screen during "Rockaria!". Why he just didn't show the band playing is beyond me.The music and performance make up for the directing bungle. The songs are great with a finale' that is second to none!I wish their earlier concerts were available, even if the filming was poor and the sound was analog."

Nice representation of ELO at its peak; worth the price.

mh53465 | Kansas City, Missouri United States | 02/22/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I never actually had an opportunity to see the Electric Light Orchestra in concert, the closest I got to that was watching a show broadcast on HBO back in 1978. I don't know if it's the same show contained here; my memory is a bit fuzzy regarding a 23 year old show. All I remember from that experience was how "cool" it was. As a 13 year old in the year of Star Wars, anything with a spaceship and lasers was all that mattered. The music was secondary. Of course, as I grew older, I paid more attention to music, and always had great appreciation for Jeff Lynne's contributions to popular music. And this DVD is a nice offering well worth its price. Now I knew when purchasing this, I would not get crystalline sound quality. After all, back in the 70's, there was no such thing as digital sound. But the sound quality in the Wembley show is actually very good, much better than some of the concerts released on DVD from the same era (Yes Live in Philadephia 1979 is one painful example of a bad one). It does sound like there are some "backing tracks" in the audio mix, but it is really nothing annoying given the quality of the performance. Picture quality does leave a bit to be desired; not much (if any) better than VHS, and with dated video production effects. But then again, this was the 70's! The real plus here is the full album length video for Discovery. This is almost like a two-for-one deal in just this section of the disc: a great album with very nice sound quality, and some enjoyable "performance" videos. This was a few years before MTV, when the promotion of an image was less important, and videos actually served to promote the music. Of course, the production is a bit "outdated" as well, but if you do get into some kind of "retro" mood, you might just find it enjoyable. Highly recommended if you enjoy ELO's music and want to see them captured at their peak. Well worth the purchase price and more."

I was at this show!

mcair | michigan | 09/29/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"We had fairly good seats in the second section back from the stage on the floor. This was ELO's first night at Wembley on the Out of the Blue tour way back in 1978. Fantastic show. Unbelievable excitement just being there.



I bought this DVD in the hopes of re-living the experience - but the sound is horrible."