Eldorado (Electric Light Orchestra album)

Eldorado (subtitled as 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". The influence of the Beatles is prevalent, especially in the melody of the verse of "Mister Kingdom" which to some degree resembles the Beatles' "Across the Universe".

Recording
Eldorado marks the first album on which Jeff Lynne hired an orchestra; on previous albums, Lynne would overdub the strings. 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, even though de Albuquerque received credit. Nevertheless, de Albuquerque was involved in some of the released album, if not as prominently as previous albums. Kelly Groucutt replaced de Albuquerque for the subsequent tour, when cellist Melvyn Gale also joined. "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."

Release, reception and aftermath
"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. 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.

In 1978, the filmmaker Kenneth Anger re-released his 1954 film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, using Eldorado as the soundtrack.

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

On June 17, 2015, the album was ranked #43 on Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time"

Personnel

 * Jeff Lynne – lead & backing vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, bass, Moog, production, orchestra & choral arrangements
 * Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
 * Richard Tandy – piano, Moog, clavinet, Wurlitzer electric piano, guitar, backing vocals, orchestra & choral arrangements
 * Mike de Albuquerque – bass & backing vocals (credited; departed during the recording of the album)
 * Mike Edwards – cello
 * Mik Kaminski – violin
 * Hugh McDowell – cello


 * Additional personnel
 * Peter Forbes-Robertson – spoken word
 * Louis Clark – orchestra and choral arrangements and conducting
 * Al Quaglieri – reissue producer (2001)

Chart positions

 * US: number 16 CashBox; number 16 Billboard 200; Billboard Year-End number 31 (1975)
 * UK: did not chart on its own when first released, but reached number 38 in 1978 as part of the 3-LP box-set, Three Light Years.
 * AUS: number 40 ARIA Albums Chart, 14 weeks
 * CAN: number 7 RPM Albums Chart, 28 weeks