Saturday Matinee: Concerto for a Rainy Day by Electric Light Orchestra

Progressive Epics. Folky Meditations. Extended Jazz Improvisations. Some songs are just long, y'know? So when better to sit down and take it all in than on a Saturday with your beverage of choice in hand?

Today's Matinee: "Concerto for a Rainy Day" comprises the entirety of Side 3 of Electric Light Orchestra's 1977 Out of the Blue album. While "Mr. Blue Sky" has over time become a signature single for Jeff Lynne and ELO, it originally appeared as the finale of this side-length 'concerto'. The relentlessly positive track provokes an even bigger smile when experienced after the beautiful melancholy of "Big Wheels" and the sense of futility expressed in "Standin' in the Rain" and "Summer and Lightning." Come for the big pop hooks, stay for Richard Tandy, King of the Vocoder.