“Eldorado” is the album that took the Electric Light Orchestra to a whole other level.
Part of that can be measured in sales and popularity, as the 1974 outing brought ELO into the top 20 of the U.S. album charts for the first time. The album would eventually go gold — which was more new territory for the band — propelled to a large extent by ELO’s first-ever top 10 single, “Can’t Get It Out of My Head.”
More significantly, however, is the artistic growth shown on “Eldorado.” After three solid albums — all of which had flashes of brilliance — “Eldorado” is the first time where everything came together for ELO and the potential of the band’s whole classical-meets-rock idea is fully realized over the course of an entire album.
The music is absolutely gorgeous — lush and symphonic, yet as melodic and enticing as any pop offering on the radio. ELO leader Jeff Lynne’s lyrics are captivating, pulling listeners into the concept album, and his vocal work has simply never been better.
In all, this is the moment where Lynne and company really start solidifying their case that ELO would become one of the greatest bands of all time.
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“Eldorado” is sounding better than ever in 2022, thanks to the incredibly high-quality reissues from audio champs Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (MoFi). The concept album is currently being offered as a single LP — cut at 33 rpm on gorgeous 180-gram “SuperVinyl” — for $59.99. For those who want to take their “Eldorado” game to the next level, consider pre-ordering the 2 LP set — cut at 45 rpm for optimal quality and featuring MoFi’s acclaimed UltraDisc One Step technology — that runs $125 and is due out in September. There is also a Super Audio CD (SACD) version for $29.99 that comes out in April.
Visit musicdirect.com for orders or more information.
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
