View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 4.0 (134 ratings)
- Date Released: June 12, 2001
- Genre: Rock/Pop
- Style: Rock
- Label: Epic/Legacy
- Copyright: (P) 1974, 2001 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Demonstrates beyond a doubt that it's possible to be both pretentious and awesome at the same time
-
We Say...
Eldorado: A Symphony was ELO's fourth album and mastermind Jeff Lynne's first true artistic success. He hits his stride here, at least partly because he was finally able to work with an entire, 30-piece orchestra. A concept record about a guy who can go in and out of his own dreams at will, the album demonstrates beyond a doubt that it's possible to be both incredibly pretentious and unbelievably awesome all at the same time. You don't believe me? In 1978, Kenneth Anger added parts of Eldorado to the soundtrack of his brilliant, trippy 1954 film Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, much in the same way that in the 1960s Harry Smith re-soundtracked a selection of his early avant-garde films to Meet the Beatles.
Speaking of the Beatles: they're definitely here in spirit. Lynne's an unapologetic Beatle fetishist, though he's fully capable of pushing past obvious Fab Four signifiers into a kind of majestic and overblown pop music that's a little bit like the Moody Blues if they had more than one good song.
Lynne shows himself to be a great sappy songwriter, both in short and long form. I dare you to listen to "Can't Get It Out Of My Head," a paean to the joys of pop music itself, only once. Then there's the title track, which contains multitudes: eight minutes that interweave a dozen melodies played on George Harrison-style guitars, brass, synth, choir, lumbering drums, strings. It's a wholly ridiculous affair that somehow works — just like ELO's entire, misunderstood career. -
They Say...
This is the album where Jeff Lynne finally found the sound he'd wanted since co-founding Electric Light Orchestra 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, 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. 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. [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.'"]
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 12 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 12 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
| 01. |  |
Eldorado Overture |
2:12 |
|
| 02. | |
Can't Get It Out Of My Head |
4:26 |
|
| 03. | |
Boy Blue |
5:19 |
|
| 04. | |
Laredo Tornado |
5:30 |
|
| 05. | |
Poorboy (The Greenwood) |
2:58 |
|
| 06. | |
Mister Kingdom |
5:30 |
|
| 07. | |
Nobody's Child |
3:57 |
|
| 08. | |
Illusions In G Major |
2:37 |
|
| 09. | |
Eldorado |
5:18 |
|
| 10. | |
Eldorado - Finale |
1:30 |
|
| 11. | |
Eldorado Instrumental Medley |
7:55 |
|
| 12. | |
Dark City |
0:46 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 47:58 Total Length
Loading...
Playlists If you like Electric Light Orchestra, check out these member playlists
Explore music recommended by Electric Light Orchestra fans
Credits
- Electric Light Orchestra - Main Performer // Electric Light Orchestra - Main Performer // Jeff Lynne - Synthesizer // Jeff Lynne - Guitar // Jeff Lynne - Arranger // Jeff Lynne - Keyboards // Jeff Lynne - Vocals // Jeff Lynne - Vocals (Background) // Jeff Lynne - Moog Synthesizer // Jeff Lynne - Producer // Jeff Lynne - Liner Notes // Jeff Lynne - Reissue Producer // Jeff Lynne - Commentary // Louis Clark - Arranger // Louis Clark - Conductor // Michael d'Albuquerque - Bass // Bev Bevan - Guitar // Bev Bevan - Percussion // Bev Bevan - Drums // Bev Bevan - Vocals (Background) // Peter Ford-Robertson - Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part // Mik Kaminski - Violin // Hugh McDowell - Cello // Joseph M. Palmaccio - Mastering // Mike Pela - Assistant Engineer // Dick Plant - Recorder // Dick Plant - Engineer // Richard Tandy - Synthesizer // Richard Tandy - Guitar // Richard Tandy - Piano // Richard Tandy - Arranger // Richard Tandy - Keyboards // Richard Tandy - Vocals (Background) // Richard Tandy - Moog Synthesizer // Ian Dickson - Photography // Al Quaglieri - Reissue Producer // Norman Seeff - Photography // Kevin Gray - ? // Marcia McGovern - Director // Laura Grover - Product Manager // John Kehe - Design // Christine Wilson - ? // Steve Hoffman - Remastering // John "Buddy" Williams - Art Direction // Mike Edwards - Cello
Choose from over 7 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC