Eldorado, A Symphony By The Electric Light Orchestra
by Electric Light Orchestra

From danmarzella 11/18/2016 16:59 | #178658 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Such an under-rated album! This should be up there with Dark Side of the Moon and Abbey Road in terms of sheer classic-ness and masterpiece level.

Consistently interesting listen, with less of the ELO generic orchestra gimmickry. Probably their second best album for me, after their first. Best songs are the El Dorado Overture, Laredo Tornado and the finale.

The Electric Light Orchestra has sometimes swamped itself in grandiose conceptions, and Eldorado (A Symphony) sounds like a prime opportunity to do it again. But thanks to strong original songs, Eldorado emerges as something of a triumph for the group.

ELO has its own amplified string section and is augmented here by full orchestra and chorus. The orchestral interludes are not oppressive (except for the pompous prologue), and generally range from mildly pleasant to merely irrelevant. The heavy strings and choral backings, though not to my personal taste, serve as effective filters, enhancing the dreamlike atmosphere of composer Jeff Lynne's story line.

The concept here is an updated "Miniver Cheevy" of sorts about your workaday dreamer longing for the stuff of legend. The tracks alternately depict Lynne's '74 Cheevy striving to escape his mundane existence, and dreaming heroic dreams. Nothing profound, but excellent grist for a strong suite of songs.

Here Lynne shines—the eight individual tracks represent the strongest, most varied set yet recorded by ELO. "Can't Get It Out of My Head" is an immediate favorite, vaguely suggestive of the Kinks, with a lush, irresistibly pretty melody. Other standouts include "Illusions in G Major," a skillful, power-packed Fifties-style rocker with intriguing lyrics; "Poor Boy," a robber ballad cleverly employing an uncanny John Wesley Harding soundalike vocal. "Mister Kingdom" pleasantly evokes the Beatles' "Across the Universe"; "Boy Blue" is an enjoyable, extremely simple rock number; and "Eldorado," though embarrassingly rotund in spots, is a tuneful Bee Gees-like ballad.

As a concept album Eldorado is lyrically effective and thankfully not overbearing. The symphonic aspects sometimes get out of hand, but generally work well enough. And as for the rest, Eldorado is the most successful Electric Light Orchestra album to date. (RS 177)

KEN BARNES

(Posted: Jan 2, 1975)

ELO finally gels commercially on the concept album Eldorado, their fourth. The hit was the infectious "Can't Get It Out of My Head." Other strong tunes include "Boy Blue," "Mister Kingdom" and the title track. The whole thing actually hangs together fairly well in its slightly Wagnerian way.

I don't think this album is anything special but you can get some very enjoyable moments out of here and there are some very infectious songs. This is mainly down to some of the choruses which just get lodged in your head and you can't shake them out. This is best evidenced on the two best songs Can't Get It Out Of My Mind and Boy Blue. Also, it has some great instrumental performances on here with there being a very high tempo that is maintained throughout. This gives off a high energy record which is passed over to us making it very enjoyable. The concept is unique also and works very well. However, there is filler near the middle of the album and cuts that are a bit slow and I find them to be skippable. Overall, an album I revisit a lot just because of how fun it is but I don't think it is their best release quality wise. (Edited)