ELDORADO

Eldorado was a turning point for ELO. Instead of recording with two cellists and a violinist, Jeff Lynne incorporated a 40-piece orchestra. This changed the sound of the band, leaning more towards the violin end of the strings and departing from the more heavily cello-based recordings of the previous two albums. This, in my opinion, was a mistake. Furthermore, the production on Eldorado is more muddier than On the Third Day.

ELO moved toward a more pop/art rock sound on Eldorado, featuring songs like the lush ballad Can't Get It Out of My Head, the Dylanesque Poorboy (The Greenwood), the jazzy lounge-like Nobody's Child and the driving old-style rock'n'roll Illusions in G Major. There are still some decent songs as well, including the powerful, although often repetitive Boy Blue, the soaring Laredo Tornado, and the nicely arranged Mister Kingdom which has a nice wall-of-sound ending. Also featured is an orchestral overture (with narration) and finale to this concept album of loosely related songs about a dreamer who fantasizes about travels, disillusionment, and paradise found in his dream world of Eldorado.

Overall, this is a good album, but not essential in any way. It pales in comparison to ELO II and On the Third Day, and that's because the production is poor, the songs are uninspiring, and Lynne's desire to achieve pop stardom. I would recommend starting with ELO II or On the Third Day. Three stars.