Eldorado, A Symphony By The Electric Light Orchestra (studio album) by Electric Light Orchestra

From Jboy56 05/31/2023 10:11

To me, ELO has always been somewhat a stranger and as I'm more a hard rock, blues, and jazzman, the ELOS hybrid thing does not make me sing. Heavy-handed strings can be irritating and pompous

ELO is incredibly underrated

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.

From IlMala 01/27/2022 13:35

Actually my favourite from ELO: easy popular and commercial, but... i don't care, i decide to take it easy and have fun on listening this album.

An excellent concept album, can't get it out of my head is a song to dissolve into. You can see the talent of lynne in this third ELO album, the forerunner of great things to come. Mr kingdom lennonesque beauty stands out above the remaining tracks.

This whole album is so pleasant to listen in one go, there is no filler here and you can really appreciate the atmosphere created by the orchestra and chorus.

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)

95/100

By this point i think ELO is the most underrated band ever, such an amazing album

Wow !!! This album blew my mind when I first bought it..

Although it's not an original idea, the cover is definitely one of my favorites which led me to buying on vinyl. Little did I know, it would soon become one of my favorite albums to listen to. Perfectly exemplifies what a concept album should be.