Eldorado - ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA****

Eldorado Overture/Can't Get It Out Of My Head/Boy Blue/Laredo Tornado/Poor Boy (The Greenwood)/Mister Kingdom/Nobody's Child/Illusions In G Minor/Eldorado/Eldorado Finale

With the release of Eldorado ELO live up to their name by the inclusion of a real orchestra that provides a more symphonic sound. Features the US top ten hit Can’t Get It Out Of My Head. (US:16)

“It’s an overwhelming listen at first, constructed as a single, flowing piece of symphonic music from start to finish, shrieking electric violins lurking around every corner. But the songs connected by these strands of melody are rock-solid.”

“Hooks galore, the epic feel is present, but doesn't get in the way of neat rock-classical melodies. Simply wonderful.”

“For me this is where things really come together. When it comes to progressive rock, Electric Light Orchestra often fall flat but this is the one major exception. I think there's supposed to be some concept behind this, but who cares. Every song hits its mark and Jeff Lynne finally gets to really show off his production skills.”

“Jeff Lynne's songs are so good in a purely pop way. He throws the whole kitchen sink in here; lavish orchestrations, a choir singing backup, musical stylings borrowed from the soundtracks of old Hollywood. I disagree with those who find this to be a rather pompous affair; rather it does not take itself too seriously and is pure fun.”

“A lot of the songs on Eldorado have a very operatic feeling to them. I'm not generally a fan of symphonic styles of music, and this album does come across as slightly corny and cheesy. However, it also is very catchy. The presence of the orchestra throughout definitely provides a progressive feeling to it. Ultimately, ELO went in a direction that very few bands had gone in.”

“ELO were definitely a better band to listen to on the way up as opposed to after they made it big and sold out to insipid pop and disco. This album contains only one hit single, as opposed to several on their later efforts. It loses nothing by this and indeed gains integrity for not compromising the artistic intent.”

“It's a really good, pop/classical/prog, concept album, but a change in sound for ELO which favours bigger orchestration over the smaller ensemble sound that gave earlier releases a warmer feel.”