FlashBack! - Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado (1974) (album stream)

Eldorado - A Symphony By The Electric Light Orchestra (known as simply Eldorado) is the fourth studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra, released in 1974.



Album Review by Bruce Eder for allmusic.com

This is the album where Jeff Lynne finally found the sound he'd wanted since co-founding Electric Light Orchestra three years earlier. Up to this point, most of the group's music had been self-contained -- Lynne, Richard Tandy, et al., providing whatever was needed, vocally or instrumentally, even if it meant overdubbing their work layer upon layer. Lynne saw the limitations of this process, however, and opted for the presence of an orchestra -- it was only 30 pieces, but the result was a much richer musical palette than the group had ever had to work with, and their most ambitious and successful record up to that time.

Indeed, Eldorado was strongly reminiscent in some ways of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Not that it could ever have the same impact or be as distinctive, but it had its feet planted in so many richly melodic and varied musical traditions, yet made it all work in a rock context, that it did recall the Beatles classic.

It was a very romantic work, especially on the opening "Eldorado Overture," which was steeped in a wistful 1920s/1930s notion of popular fantasy (embodied in movies and novels like James Hilton's Lost Horizon and Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge) about disillusioned seekers.

It boasted Lynne's best single up to that time, "Can't Get It Out of My Head," which most radio listeners could never get out of their respective heads, either.

The integration of the orchestra would become even more thorough on future albums, but Eldorado was notable for mixing the band and orchestra (and a choir) in ways that did no violence to the best elements of both.
Album Review by Bruce Eder for allmusic.com

Concept
Eldorado is the first complete ELO concept album; vocalist Jeff Lynne conceived the storyline before he wrote any music. The plot follows a Walter Mitty-like character who journeys into fantasy worlds via dreams, in order to escape a mundane reality with which he's become fed up.

Recording
Eldorado marks the first album on which Jeff Lynne hired an orchestra; on previous albums, Lynn would overdub the strings. Louis Clark co-arranged and conducted the strings, and would go on to become a full member. The group's three resident string players continued to perform on recordings, however, and can be heard most prominently on the songs "Boy Blue" and "Laredo Tornado".

Mike de Albuquerque departed early on in the recording process, leaving Lynne to play bass and provide most of the backing vocals for the album (though de Albuquerque received credit.) Kelly Groucutt replaced de Albuquerque for the subsequent tour, when cellist Melvyn Gale also joined.

"Eldorado Finale" is heavily orchestrated much like "Eldorado Overture". Jeff Lynne said of the song, "I like the heavy chords and the slightly daft ending, where you hear the double bass players packing up their basses, because they wouldn't play another millisecond past the allotted moment."

In Popular Culture
In 1978, filmmaker Kenneth Anger re-released his classic 1954 film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome using Eldorado as the soundtrack.

Reception
"Can't Get It Out of My Head" was released as a single (with "Illusions in G Major" as the flipside) and was a success in the US.

An edited version of "Boy Blue" was released as the album's second single, but failed to make any commercial impact.

The album was certified Gold in the US soon after its release. The album and singles, however, failed to find a wide audience in the band's native United Kingdom.

Cover artwork
The front cover, designed by Sharon Osbourne (then known as Sharon Arden), consists of a still taken from the well-known 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

Legacy
In July 2010, the album was named one of Classic Rock magazine's "50 Albums That Built Prog Rock".

Reissue
The album was remastered and reissued on 12th June, 2001 with two bonus tracks, "Eldorado Instrumental Medley", a suite of the album's orchestral parts, plus "Dark City", an early draft of the track "Laredo Tornado".
"Eldorado Instrumental Medley" – 7:56
"Dark City" – 0:46

Chart Positions and Chart Runs
US: #16 Billboard 200, 32 weeks
UK: did not chart on its own when first released, but reached #38 in 1978 as part of the 3-LP box-set Three Light Years.
AUS: #40 ARIA Albums Chart, 14 weeks
CAN: #7 RPM Albums Chart, 28 weeks

Personnel
Jeff Lynne – vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, bass, keyboards, orchestra and choral arrangements
Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
Richard Tandy – piano, moog synthesiser, guitar, backing vocals, orchestra and choral arrangements
Mike de Albuquerque – bass
Mik Kaminski – violin
Hugh McDowell – cello
Mike Edwards – cello
Louis Clark - orchestra and choral arrangements and conducting
Peter Forbes-Robertson – spoken word

Links
http://www.elo.biz
http://www.ftmusic.com