Eldorado [Bonus Tracks]

by Electric Light Orchestra

Overview

This is the album where Jeff Lynne finally found the sound he'd wanted since co-founding ELO 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 as the 1967 Beatles album, 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. Peter Ford-Robertson's speech accompanying the overture even bore a striking resemblance to the work of actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who appeared in more than his share of '30s and '40s romances and fantasies -- that wasn't too serious, and Lynne later admitted that he wrote the opening speech accompanying the overture while on his way to the session, but it set a mood that was also echoed in the cover art (a full-color close-up of Dorothy's ruby slippers and Glinda's wand, from MGM's The Wizard of Oz); but it was also a surprisingly hard rocking effort for a progressive concept album, with electric guitars cranked up high and a serious beat throughout, and one hot old-style rock & roll blowout, "Illusions in G Major." 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 -- check out "Poor Boy (The Greenwood)" especially at its finale (which closed the original LP's first side) or the bridge on "Mister Kingdom" and see if they aren't the best pieces of orchestrated rock & roll to be heard since the Beatles closed up shop. [The album has appeared on CD from Sony Music in a conventional compact disc of fair quality and from DCC in a gold-plated audiophile CD with significantly better sound. The 2001 CD reissue on Epic/Legacy adds two previously unreleased bonus tracks: an eight-minute "Eldorado Instrumental Medley" and the 46-second home demo "Dark City," described by Jeff Lynne as an "early idea for 'Laredo Tornado'."] ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	06/12/2001
Label:	Bmg / Sony Music
UPC:	0886978817228
Rank:	5470

Tracks

1. Eldorado Overture
2. Can't Get It Out of My Head
3. Boy Blue
4. Laredo Tornado
5. Poorboy (the Greenwood)
6. Mister Kingdom
7. Nobody's Child
8. Illusions In G Major
9. Eldorado
10. Eldorado - Finale
11. Eldorado Instrumental Medley: Eldorado Overture/Can't Get It Out of My Head/Laredo Tornado/Nobody's Child/Eldorado/Eldorado - Finale [Instrumental]
12. Dark City

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Electric Light Orchestra   Primary Artist
Jeff Lynne   Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Moog Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Mik Kaminski   Violin
Michael d'Albuquerque   Bass
Bev Bevan   Drums,Percussion
Richard Tandy   Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Synthesizer,Moog Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Hugh McDowell   Cello
Mike Edwards   Cello
Peter Ford-Robertson   Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Louis Clark   Conductor
Marcia McGovern   Director

Technical Credits

Steve Hoffman   Remastering
Jeff Lynne   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Dick Plant   Engineer
Mike Pela   Assistant Engineer
Richard Tandy   Arranger
John Kehe   Design
Louis Clark   Arranger
Norman Seeff   Photography