Eldorado | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 1974 | |||
Recorded | February–August 1974 | |||
Studio | De Lane Lea Studios, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:42 | |||
Label | Warner Bros., United Artists | |||
Producer | Jeff Lynne | |||
Electric Light Orchestra chronology | ||||
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Electric Light Orchestra studio album chronology | ||||
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Singles from Eldorado | ||||
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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.
Eldorado is the first complete ELO concept album;bandleader Jeff Lynne conceived the storyline before he wrote any music. [2] 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". [3]
Eldorado marks the first album on which Jeff Lynne hired an orchestra;on previous albums band members would play strings using multitracked overdubbing. [2] 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." [2] [ verification needed ]
The cover,designed by John Kehe,is a mirrored still frame of Dorothy's ruby slippers from the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz . [4]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
MusicHound | 3/5 [7] |
Music Story | |
Rolling Stone | (favourable) [8] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [9] |
PopMatters | (favourable) [10] |
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." [5] Ken Barnes of Rolling Stone also noted 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." [8] 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 that had in mind “the mission of the sacred heart”,a shimmering,purlined call to hold on tight to our dreams." [10]
"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. [11] 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 United States soon after its release. The album and singles,however,failed to find a wide audience in the band's native United Kingdom.[ citation needed ]
In 1978,the filmmaker Kenneth Anger re-released his 1954 film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome ,using Eldorado as the soundtrack.[ citation needed ]
In July 2010,the album was named one of Classic Rock magazine 's "50 Albums That Built Prog Rock". [12]
On 17 June 2015,the album was ranked No. 43 on Rolling Stone 's "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time" list. [13]
All tracks are written by Jeff Lynne
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
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 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
11. | "Eldorado Instrumental Medley" | 7:56 |
12. | "Dark City" | 0:46 |
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Canada (Music Canada) [23] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA) [24] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. From this point until their first break-up in 1986, Lynne and Bevan were the group's only consistent members.
Jeffrey Lynne is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and currently the sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970, and as a songwriter has written all of the band's music past 1972, including the hits "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Don't Bring Me Down", and "Hold On Tight".
Face the Music is the fifth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in September 1975 by United Artists Records and on 14 November 1975 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records. The album moves away from the large-scale classical orchestrated sound of the previous album, Eldorado, in favour of more "radio-friendly" pop/rock songs, though the string sections are still very prominent. The new sound proved successful for the group, for Face the Music was the first ELO album to go platinum.
On the Third Day is the third studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the first to be recorded without input from Roy Wood. It was released in the United States in November 1973 by United Artists Records, and in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1973 by Warner Bros. Records. From this album on, the word The was dropped from the band's name. The album was reissued on 12 September 2006.
ELO 2 is the second studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1973. In the US, the album was released as Electric Light Orchestra II. It was the band's last album to be released by the Harvest label, the last on which the band used the definite article The in their name, and the one that introduced their abbreviated name 'ELO'.
A New World Record is the sixth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released on 15 October 1976 on United Artists Records in the U.S., and on 19 November 1976 on Jet Records in the United Kingdom. A New World Record marked ELO's shift towards shorter pop songs, a trend which would continue across their career.
Out of the Blue is the seventh studio album by the British rock group Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released on 24 October 1977 in the United States and four days after in the UK on 28 October. Written and produced by ELO frontman Jeff Lynne, the double album is among the most commercially successful records in the group's history, selling about 10 million copies worldwide by 2007.
Discovery is the eighth studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released on 1 June 1979 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records, where it topped record charts, and on 8 June in the United States on Jet through Columbia Records distribution. A music video album featuring all the songs being played by the band was then released on VHS in 1979, then re-released as part of the Out of the Blue: Live at Wembley DVD and VHS in 1998.
Time is the ninth studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra, released in July 1981 on Jet Records. It is a concept album about a man from the 1980s who is taken to the year 2095, where he is confronted by the dichotomy between technological advancement and a longing for past romance. The record topped the UK Albums Chart for two weeks, though it attracted mixed reviews for its heavy use of synthesizers and stylistic shift away from the orchestral rock of previous ELO albums. It has since gained a cult following, particularly among retrofuturist enthusiasts.
Secret Messages is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and a full orchestra, and the last ELO album to be released on the Jet label. It was also the final ELO studio album to become a worldwide top 40 hit upon release.
Zoom is the twelfth studio album by British symphonic rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released on 12 June 2001 on Epic Records. It was the first official ELO album since 1986's Balance of Power.
Kelly Groucutt was an English musician, best known as the bassist and second vocalist for the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1974 and 1982.
"Mr. Blue Sky" is a song by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), featured on the band's seventh studio album Out of the Blue (1977). Written and produced by frontman Jeff Lynne, the song forms the fourth and final track of the "Concerto for a Rainy Day" suite on side three of the original double album. "Mr. Blue Sky" was the second single to be taken from Out of the Blue, peaking at number 6 in the UK Singles Chart and number 35 in the US Billboard Charts.
"Don't Bring Me Down" is the ninth and final track on the English rock band the Electric Light Orchestra's 1979 album Discovery. It is their highest-charting hit in the United States to date.
"Boy Blue" is a song written by Jeff Lynne and performed by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) which first appeared as track number 3 from their 1974 album Eldorado.
Definitive Collection is a compilation album recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) and produced by Jeff Lynne. It was released in 1995 with two discs. Some of the songs include their album versions like "Strange Magic" and "Shine a Little Love", and some tracks include edits seen below.
Alone in the Universe is the thirteenth studio album by British rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the first credited to Jeff Lynne's ELO. The moniker came out from Lynne as a response to ELO tribute and imitation bands, who repeatedly used ELO for promoting their own tours. Released on 13 November 2015, the album is the first of new original material credited to the group since Zoom in 2001, and the second since the group's original disbandment in 1986.
From Out of Nowhere is the fourteenth studio album by British rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the second credited to Jeff Lynne's ELO. The band's first studio album in four years, it was released on 1 November 2019 through Big Trilby and Columbia Records. The title track was released as the lead single on 26 September 2019. Lynne played most instruments on the album. Keyboardist Richard Tandy returned to play on one track, prior to his death in 2024.
Wembley or Bust is a live album and concert film by Jeff Lynne's ELO. It was recorded during the Alone in the Universe Tour at Wembley Stadium. The album peaked at number 8 on the UK Albums Chart and at number 12 on the Billboard Top Rock Albums. The album was also certified silver in the United Kingdom.
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