The Best Sci-Fi Album Covers, Part 6

ELO, Out of the Blue—1977

If any of you every played with Milton Bradley’s Simon when you were kid, you might be having an unpleasant big brother or big sister flashback as you look at this album cover. What we have here, of course, is another “Spaceship” themed cover.The cover depicts what I’m guessing is ELO’s private yacht docking with a ship that’s roughly the size of the Louisiana Superdome (a size necessary to accommodate Jeff Lyne's enormous afro). Here’s a clip from an ELO “Best Of” album commercial that prominently features the ELO ship. Apparently, the ship is also some sort of transformer as well.

Holy Crap! Here’s a side note. The ELO song “All Over The World” is featured in the 1980 movie Xanadu. I’ve never seen the movie, but now it’s just jumped up to the top of my queue. Oliva Newton John, Gene Kelly, and Michael Beck (Swan, from The Warriors)? Words fail, but at 1:50 into the clip, I was convinced. Completely.

The ship depicted on the cover of Out of the Blue is only one of a few iterations of ELO UFOs. A website called Halfpixel has a hilarious comparison between the Boston Guitar Ship and the ELO fleet. Journey makes an appearance too. Though valid points are made on the ELO side, the guitarship is still the best rock and roll space ship ever.