The story of one man's journey of discovery -- discovery of the world and of himself -- is dramatically told in poetic lyrics and heart-pounding music in ELO's "Eldorado." Eldorado's overture sets the tone of the journey's start both emotionally and thematically. The dreamer in all of us is awake and excited.
"I Can't Get It Out Of My Head" celebrates our romance with adventure and travel and others. "Boy Blue" finds our dreamer returning from war, probably military service, and being cheered by all. But he has seen the horror of war and vows to do it no more. Our dreamer's awareness of pollution and despoiling of the environment is lamented in "Laredo Tornado"; the beat is that of a Native American chant, a poignant evocation a less-polluted time. Work in the world of commerce and business (for a large national company named "Greenwood") proves to be less than satisfying to our eager searcher as it is for so many of us. "Mister Kingdom" tells of a flirtation with religion, as the journey for meaning in life continues. This is followed by affairs of the flesh and bouts with depression and doubt. Drug experimentation follows in "Illusions in G". All these paths leave their mark, but none give deep meaning and contentment to the soul of our dreamer.
True transformation finally comes through self-enlightenment as the journey to Eldorado is revealed as a journey to the self. The Eldorado finale repeats the overturn, bringing the dreamer and us back to the beginning -- the self -- where it all started. A masterpiece of words and music! It rivals the works of Homer and Byron. The listener of the opus, the listener who really listens, returns from "Eldorado" as a different person.

This is my least favorite ELO album. Seems so rushed and undeveloped. The orchestral parts have no backbone and lyricaly it is just as weak. Time was such an excellent album because of how much went into it. Eldorado is cheesy and alot of the riffs and solo's seem practically pulled right from older albums. Unless your one of those fans who cant say a thing negative about ELO and must give them 5 stars on every album, you wont be to happy with this one. The bonus instrumental is the only thing that stands out here.

This has always been my favorite by ELO. I like their pseudo-orchestral stuff better than their visits to retro-rock-and-roll. The material that came later voyages too close to ordinary pop and disco.

Listening to this album today is a guilty pleasure. I still love it! It sounds a little dated, and sometimes corny, but it's a great deal of fun.

The defintive ELO album. I finally bought the CD to replace my long worn out vinyl. Brings back my long lost college days and better times...This is music that has aged well after 25+ yrs., still sends shivers down my spline..
Try working out to this BTW, you'll wonder where the time went.
Still gets my vote for best album cover too..

...'cause I wore out my vinyl copy of Eldorado a looooooong time ago! I wonder how many sales of this album (or others, like Dark Side of the Moon) are actually replacements for overplayed albums or tapes. This is one that surely bears repeated listening.

Is there a bad song on the whole CD? Nope, not a one. I find "Boy Blue" a little annoying, but only because I can't hit the high notes. You'll be singing along too, I'll wager; tunes like "Can't Get It Out of My Head", "Laredo Tornado" and "Illusions In G Major" go beyond hummable. And "Mister Kingdom" has unbelievable depth--it still moves me 26 years later. Astonishing stuff. Pretentious? Nonsense! Unless of course you think there's something inherently bad about a "rock" group composing a "symphony".

ELO would achieve much greater heights of fame and fortune. They would issue albums with better songs than any on "Eldorado". They would appear on "Battle of the Network Stars" (or some version thereof--really, I clearly remember seeing Richard Tandy on it) but they would never release an album with such cohesive clarity, something that demands that you listen to it without pause from beginning to end. Put it on, sit back, and enjoy.

I've recently become reacquainted with this recording, which I first fell in love with at the age of 12-13. It's funny that we live in an age that has been willing to redefine the likes of Abba and the Bee Gees as respectable music -- that is, even the most superficial pop can be celebrated from a countercultural sort of mindset -- but the art-rock excesses of the 1970s are still taboo. Over the last 20 years, pretentious displays of musical erudition within the bounds of pop music have become the unforgivable sin. Accordingly, any record with a title like, "A Symphony by the Electric Light Orchestra" is going to be sneered at. So if you buy this CD, you may feel compelled to hide it from your friend who works in the record store.

This isn't the ELO of "Livin' Thing" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman." If you've come looking for ELO at their most snappily pop, you've come to the wrong place. But what *is* here is far, far more rewarding.

To be fair, pop musicians did get carried away with this stuff in the 1970s. No doubt impressed by the Beatles' ability to combine and sequence several songs seamlessly (Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road) in a sort of medley or symphonic-movement format, as well as their ability to incorporate classical instruments into pop songs, bands from ELP to Pink Floyd to ELO to the Moody Blues all seemed to determine to show off their classical "chops" and technical wizardy, and in the course of this, the pop aesthetic was lost amid in-your-face "Look what we can do!" messages. The difference between Eldorado and most of these records is that Jeff Lynne's songs are so darn good in a purely pop way.

Jeff Lynne throws the whole kitchen sink in here -- lavish orchestrations, a choir singing backup, lyrics that steal from Shakespeare and Walter Scott, musical stylings borrowed from the soundtracks of old Hollywood. And I disagree with those who find this to be pompous; rather, it's done with a wink, and it is pure fun.

The opening strains of the record, the Eldorado Overture, sound like the soundtrack of some old 1950s film version of a Grimm's Fairy Tale. It's far too whimsical to be taken as anything other than a bit of parody, but the energy that is kicked up when the orchestra and the band get going is very real, and when the Overture settles into ELO's classic Can't Get it Out of My Head, only a callous listener could avoid being affected by it.

One thing that the CD reminds me of is how lush and distinctive was ELO's sound then, the way that Lynne combines the string section and his electrical instruments with great ingenuity. As soon as the full ensemble starts playing together halfway through the first verse of Can't Get it Out of My Head, you're reminded that nothing else sounds like this.

And there are plenty of other truly great songs on this album. Laredo Tornado is forbiddingly bluesy, and I can't quite put my finger on the style that is being riffed off of with the strings. Mister Kingdom is a lovely melody and is made more beautiful by a restrained performance of the verses. Illusions in G Major is mindless fun, and Eldorado is really a gorgeous tune, one of Lynne's best.

But even the ones that rank below those masterpieces -- Boy Blue, Poor Boy, Nobody's Child -- show off Lynne's ability to pull off impressive atmospheric styling (for instance, a film noir feel in Nobody's Child.)

Is it all too over-the-top to be a rock classic in the sense of the Rolling Stones or the Beatles' music? Indeed it is. But that doesn't diminish what Eldorado is -- a combined display of musical virtuosity and pop music composition that is nearly without parallel. Jeff Lynne went on to propel ELO to pop music stardom, but this creation of his, on the brink of that stardom, is a jewel, an expression of a talent that is no less unique and amazing simply because pop music chose afterwards to go in a different direction.

Most of ELO's early albums contained only 9-10 songs which irritated some buyers who felt ripped off. But these 10 songs were generally *quality* songs and this album delivers the goods. "Illusions in G Major" is one of the best ELO tunes on any album, almost as good as "Nightrider."

When this album was first released, most people commented on the stunning record cover, but 26 years later, the music has also stood the test of time. Jeff Lynne was an accomplished arranger and writer of quality songs. It's a mystery why he is so lightly regarded.

The ELO of the first three albums was rougher, rawer, and its vision didn't always quite gel. The ELO that was to come was increasingly slick and polished at the price of energy and juice. This album marks the point of perfect balance. There isn't a bad moment on the disc; this is the music ELO was meant to make, and cd is how it was meant to be heard-- straight through and crystal clear. This is a must-have cd.

This record is a classic. This is pure pop music at its best. I partially agree with another reviewer who thought that it was a pretentious album because of all the orchestral arragements. I think that only 2 songs could be so labeled. But for an album to have songs like ELDORADO and Mr. Kingdom and many others, it is just impossible to give it a bad review. If you buy this album, I assure you you will not regret it. Some of the sounds are somewhat dated but, you will understand that the melodies and lirics are the work of masters and if you think about it, this is what matters the most. I would think that if a new, stripped down version of this album is made, it would definately become a bigger classic than it is now. This is the only reason why I dont give it a full 5 star rating. Then again, 4 stars is pretty good...dont you think?

This would be ELO's 4th release. This is a concept album about a dreamer in eldorado. "Can"t Get It Out Of My Head"#9 in 1975 begins this disc, after 26 years this song has never got old! "Larado Tornado" is a song I can really relate to. The 50's sounding rocker "Illusions In G Major" is Lynne at his best. You really have to listen to this disc as a whole, it is really a charming piece of work by one of the greats Jeff Lynne! Hey Victor listen to this one again.

ELO was obviously trying to blend classical and rock music. The result is pretentious. With melodies and musical arrangements too obvious and banal. The result is ever worst when you can read the lyrics, childish. Definitely, ELO got better in later albums, when they recognized they were a soft rock group accompanied by an orchestra, and abandoned their musical pretentions.

I grew up listening to this band both on the radio and on the record player. Although I am a fan of all their albums, I have to admit this one is my favorite -- it's a beautiful album. Also, the sound quality is a major improvement over the L.P. (which sounded muddled). Most noteable is the sound of the strings on this album, which are loud and clear. If I had to use one word to describe this album, it would be 'enchanting'.

This is a much stronger album musically than most of what ELO produced in the years to follow, with the honourable exception of Out of the Blue. "Eldorado" is worth buying for Boy Blue alone.

ELDORADO strikes me as the culmination of everything Jeff Lynne was striving to achieve from as far back as The Move's LOOKING ON (5 albums earlier). Sweeping string sections (in large part thanks to Louis Clark & a full orchestra!) combining seamlessly with rock & blues guitars. With a unifying theme (daydreaming about a "better life" in the past) and instrumental bridges linking it all together, this is virtually ELO's "Days Of Future Past" (or, to a lesser extent, "Sgt. Pepper"-- Lynne's favorite album!). Standouts are the magnificent "Eldorado Overture", "Can't Get It Out Of My Head", "Boy Blue", "Laredo Tornado", "Poor Boy" (gee, that's the whole first side!) and my personal favorite, "Illusions In G Major" (an ironic "classical" title for the album's sideline into 50's ROCK & ROLL! ). After this, apparently having felt he'd "proved his point", ELO headed back into more pop-based material-- and greater "commercial" success.

This album is one of the best albums I have ever owned. It is true musical creative genius all in one. Just sit back and listen to the whole album at once and you will be a new person. It is a rock opera story in itself. Definitly a must own ELO album.

All of ELO's CD's are great, but for me "Eldorado" is the one I could listen to anytime. It flows perfectly from start to finish. Brent A. Farr (brentfarr@aol.com)

With 1974's ELDORADO (their fourth studio album), the Electric Light Orchestra launched an unabated 12-year, 9 album trail of consistently incredible brilliance. Not only did this album raise the bar for ELO, but for all progressive rock bands. ELDORADO, billed as "A Symphony by the Electric Light Orchestra" is a powerful concept album about the grandiose renaissance dreams of a poor worker, stuck at a "bank job in the city." "Overture" and "Can't Get it Out of My Head" lay out the foundation for the story, and remind us that, in dreams, "no pain may kiss the brow/the love of ages fills the head." Musically, the orchestral richness of ELO is in full bloom throughout the album...a heavenly concoction of strings, synths, and guitar work that is alternately shimmery and biting. "Boy Blue" is an underrated ELO classic, with the great line, "I have fought in some of the holiest wars/I have smashed some of the holiest jaws." "Poor Boy (The Greenwood) is a vivid Robin Hood tale and "Illusions in G Major" is another of those great ELO retro-rockers. "Mister Kingdom" is a fine prog-rock ballad and "Eldorado" is all majestic magnificence, as Jeff Lynne's voice ventures into Roy Orbisonville, singing "I will stay, I'll not be back...I will be free, of the world." Lynne carries the listener with him..."free, of the world." With this album, ELO broke free from the obscurity of being a really good "unheard" band into the pantheon of enduring classic rock artists. ELDORADO was an ambitious concept that paid off handsomely 25 years ago, and still continues to pay dividends to the listener who is willing to make the investment today. (By the way, listen to ELDORADO and TIME back-to-back sometime, and be amazed as the story continues.)

This is actually the richest, most fulfilling of all of Jeff Lynne's work either with ELO or post ELO. Though other ELO records may get all the hype; ala "New World Record" and "Out Of The Blue", "Eldorado" as well as "Time" take you on a lyrical as well as emotional journey that is far deeper than the singles collections that many of their other albums were. I recommend the Gold CD.

This is probably their first home-run album for the Electric Light Orchestra as creativity and momentum is filled here! Beginning with a soothing overture, the album starts off with a flare as Eldorado is presented following one of ELO's best songs "Can't Get It Out of My Head". The rest coincides without interlusions whatsoever. Next to the second song, the fourth, "Laredo Tornado", steals the rest of the show on side one as it shines Lynne's high-pitch tone. The second side goes rather downward but not too far! "Nobody's Child" stands strong along with the closing "Eldorado" song, one of Lynne's best as well! Probably one of the best albums for ELO, especialy for their early years!! A complex album in the studio and outside, many artists were sessioned to this one giving no official lineup for ELO! However, ELO still managed to pull a sucess with this album earning them their first Gold Record! Well worth experiencing!!

I'm a long-standing ELO fan and I can tell you that Eldorado is fantastic! Next to Out of the Blue, it is the most surprising ELO album I've ever listened to. Laredo Tornado is my very favorite with its blues influence. Make me think of New Orleans funerals -- until you get to the chorus, and then it's all ELO. Of course, the only way to listen to ELO is with the volume cranked up as high as the woofers and tweeters can stand and this album is supurb for that. You'll especially like the Eldorado Overture, Eldorado and Eldorado-Finale. A must own for ELO fans.