Listen to Jeff Lynne's isolated vocals on Electric Light Orchestra's classic 'Mr. Blue Sky'

You’d be hard-pressed to find a song more joyous than ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). A heady piece that is the pinnacle of progressive pop, it is one of those rare songs that unfailingly arouses a totally sunny feeling in all those listening.

Happily skipping along, it makes us truly believe that “there ain’t a cloud in sight”, despite how grey the day might actually be. The finest testament to the skill of Jeff Lynne’s songwriting and production abilities, it contains a truly timeless appeal that has made it everpresent in culture since was first released in 1977.

Taken from ELO’s 1977 album Out of the Blue, it forms the fourth and final track of the ‘Concerto for a Rainy Day’ suite, on side three of the double album, with there being many things to love about it. Whether it be the purely elated lyrics, the constantly shifting dynamics, or the choral movement at the close of the track, Lynne showed that music could be experimental whilst also being fun, setting the band apart from their peers.

Considered the band’s signature song, when discussing it in a BBC Radio interview, Lynne described how he wrote it, which came after he locked himself away in a chalet in Switzerland, needing to write the follow-up to the band’s critically acclaimed album A New World Record.

Describing the picturesque scene that brought such a masterpiece out of him, Lynne said: “It was dark and misty for two 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 two weeks.”

Elsewhere, when speaking to Louder Sound in 2020, it was put to Lynne just how enduring ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ is, with special mention going to it being used as Birmingham FC’s unofficial anthem, as well as being used to wake up astronauts out in space on missions for NASA. Asked which one of the two feats he was most proud of, he said: “[Laughing] Being a Blues fan, it’s got to be Birmingham. I’m just kidding. Obviously, the idea that it’s been used to wake up spacemen is amazing, just the fact that someone sent my tune up there.”

The song is so loved that it has also permeated the film industry, with a host of classics using it in some of the most stirring visual sequences we’ve ever seen. These include Role Models, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, with the spread of genres that these three titles represent showing just how far-reaching ‘Mr. Blue Sky’ remains.

One of the highlights of the track is undoubtedly Lynne’s vocal performance. Luckily, his isolated vocal performance has been unearthed, and it confirms what we always knew — Jeff Lynne is a genius.

It’s a soulful performance in that it bounces from falsetto to baritone in a second, not only showing how talented Lynne is as a vocalist but the extent of the imagination he used when writing the track, with the vocals being the aspect that carries this aural journey. It’s a masterful moment in his career, as instead of being content with the mundanity of regular syllabic vocal performances, there’s real artistic verve here, setting an example for all those wanting to create something genuinely astounding.