Eldorado (Electric Light Orchestra album)

Eldorado
Studio album by
Electric Light Orchestra
ReleasedSeptember 28, 1974
RecordedFebruary–August 1974
StudiosDe Lane Lea Studios, London
Genres
Length38:42
LabelsWarner Bros., United Artists
ProducerJeff Lynne
Electric Light Orchestra chronology
The Night the Light Went On in Long Beach
(1974)		 Eldorado
(1974)		 Showdown
(1974)
Electric Light Orchestra studio album chronology
On the Third Day
(1973)		 Eldorado
(1974)		 Face the Music
(1975)
Singles from Eldorado
  1. "Can't Get It Out of My Head"
    Released: November 1974
  2. "Boy Blue"
    Released: April 1975

Eldorado (subtitled A Symphony by the Electric Light Orchestra) is the fourth studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in the United States in September 1974 by United Artists Records and in the United Kingdom in October 1974 by Warner Bros. Records.

Concept

Eldorado is the first complete ELO concept album; bandleader 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, to escape the disillusionment of his mundane reality. Lynne began to write the album in response to criticisms from his father, a classical music lover, who said that Electric Light Orchestra's repertoire "had no tune".

Recording

Eldorado marks the first album on which Jeff Lynne hired an orchestra; on previous albums band members would play strings using multitracked overdubbing. Louis Clark co-arranged, with Lynne (and keyboardist Richard Tandy), and conducted the strings. 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, as touring made him feel separated from his family. Lynne plays most of, if not all, the bass tracks and backing vocals for the album, but de Albuquerque still featured on the final release as well as getting credited. Kelly Groucutt replaced him for the subsequent tour, when cellist Melvyn Gale also joined (replacing the departing Mike Edwards). "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."[verification needed]

Cover design

The cover, designed by John Kehe, was taken from a still slide from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, and is of Dorothy's ruby slippers with the Wicked Witch of the West reaching for them.[better source needed]

Release, reception and aftermath

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStarStar
Encyclopedia of Popular MusicStarStarStarStar
MusicHound3/5
Music StoryStarStarStarStarHalf star
Rolling Stone(favourable)
The Rolling Stone Album GuideStarStarStarHalf star
PopMatters(favourable)

Critical reception

Bruce Eder of AllMusic, giving a five-out-of-five-star retrospective rating, opined that "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." Ken Barnes of Rolling Stone said that "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."

Chuck Hicks of PopMatters wrote in his retrospective review that "Eldorado (named for the mythical, gilded king of a golden kingdom) struck a responsive chord, breaking through like sunlight on the buried desires of the discouraged and disillusioned ’70s audience. Thankfully, Sony's Epic/Legacy label has reissued a gorgeous digital remaster of this album, which will carry its timeless message to another lost generation." He continued that "Eldorado was the first of many successful ELO albums"

Commercial reception

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

Accolades

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

On 17 June 2015, the album was ranked No. 43 on Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time" list.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Jeff Lynne.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Eldorado Overture" (instrumental)2:12
2."Can't Get It Out of My Head"4:21
3."Boy Blue"5:18
4."Laredo Tornado"5:29
5."Poor Boy (The Greenwood)"2:57
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Mister Kingdom"5:50
7."Nobody's Child"3:40
8."Illusions in G Major"2:36
9."Eldorado"5:20
10."Eldorado Finale"1:20
Total length:39:03
CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
11."Eldorado Instrumental Medley"7:56
12."Dark City"0:46

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada) Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA) Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 (Posted: 17 June 2015) (17 June 2015). "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 15 July 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. 1 2 3 Wild, David. "The Story of a Rock and Roll Band and the Pop Genius Who Dared to Go Baroque." Flashback.
  3. ↑ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (30 October 2015). "Interview: Jeff Lynne – From Electric Light Orchestra to one-man band, the pop veteran talks about his new solo album". Financial Times. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  4. ↑ Casey Kasem's American Top 40 from March 19, 1977 & May 6, 1978
  5. ↑ Goldstein, Mike (29 July 2020). "ACHOF Interview with designer and illustrator John Kehe". Album Cover Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 9 June 2026. Retrieved 5 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 Eder, Bruce. "Eldorado – Electric Light Orchestra: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  7. ↑ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London: Omnibus Press. p. 915. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  8. ↑ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 383. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  9. 1 2 Barnes, Ken (2 January 1975). "Electric Light Orchestra: Eldorado". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008.
  10. ↑ Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th edn). New York, NY: Fireside/Simon & Schuster. p. 274. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. 1 2 Hicks, Chuck (11 June 2001). "ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA: ELDORADO". PopMatters.
  12. ↑ "ELO through the years: How the Electric Light Orchestra has changed over time".
  13. ↑ Classic Rock magazine, July 2010, Issue 146.
  14. ↑ "Australian Album Chart Positions". Kent Music Report. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2024. Eldorado{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link).
  15. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs. Volume 22, Issue 17 (1974-12-14)". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  16. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Electric Light Orchestra – Eldorado" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  17. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  18. ↑ "Charts.nz – Electric Light Orchestra – Eldorado". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  19. ↑ "Electric Light Orchestra Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  20. ↑ "CashBox Top 100 Albums" (PDF). CashBox. Vol. XXXVI #31. United States. 14 December 1974. p. 37. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  21. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1975". Billboard. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  22. ↑ "Number One Pop Albums" (PDF). Billboard. United States. 27 December 1975. p. 16. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  23. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Eldorado". Music Canada.
  24. ↑ "American album certifications – Electric Light Orchestra – Eldorado". Recording Industry Association of America.