Fans of the legendary rock band Electric Light Orchestra have decided on the band’s best album cover.
In a post to the r/ELO subreddit, fans suggested Balance of Power or From Out of Nowhere was the worst in their decades of work, but attention has since turned to the best. The Jeff Lynne-fronted band has plenty of solid album covers to choose from, with one “thought-provoking” ’80s album cited by fans. Others believed the group’s biggest album is also their best album cover. The fan who asked for the best album cover suggested that it had nothing to do with the quality of the songs featured on the record, but was solely based on the feelings people had for the cover itself.
They asked: “I think we all agree that the worst ELO album cover is either Balance of Power or From Out of Nowhere. So what is their best? By the way, it shouldn’t have anything to do with your enjoyment of the album.
“I love Balance of Power (seems like I’m one of the few that do), and I enjoy From Out of Nowhere, so judging what you think the best ELO cover is shouldn’t be related to how much you enjoy an album. Personally, I love covers that tell stories, so Discovery has my vote (I think Alone In The Universe is second since it tells more of a story than say Out Of The Blue).”
Fans disagreed with the selection of Discovery and Alone in the Universe, and instead noted the strengths of Time as an album cover. One fan shared: “The Time cover is beautiful and very easily recognisable.”
Another agreed, adding: “Time is the best cover; it’s mysterious and thought-provoking; being beautifully cosmic and painfully basic at the same time, the jarring colours and the harsh cuts make it feel like a painting that’s not supposed to be there, it feels like it shouldn’t belong next to that garish pink.”
A third suggested the Time cover was “very creative, yet deceptively simple.” Others believe ELO’s Out of the Blue has the best album cover of all. One fan wrote: “Out of the Blue has the best cover. It’s also my favourite ELO album. But I also like A New World Record, Face the Music (Nightrider is my favourite song on that album) and Discovery. Not much ELO I don’t like.”
Another shared: “Out of the Blue has the best cover, and the inner fold artwork is fantastic, too. To me, it’s not even close.” A third agreed, adding: “Out of the Blue is iconic. But El Dorado’s colouring is beautiful.”
The usual hits from ELO were selected by most fans, though one did shine a light on Secret Messages as having an excellent cover. They wrote: “No one saying Secret Messages? That album cover is awesome!”
