Electric Light Orchestra – Eldorado (2LP, 45RPM, Box set, 1STEP, SuperVinyl)
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€195,00
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ORDER LIMITED TO ONE ITEM PER CUSTOMER
Jeff Lynne – lead & backing vocals, electric & acoustic guitars, bass, Moog, production, orchestra & choral arrangements
Bev Bevan – drums, percussion
Richard Tandy – piano, Moog, clavinet, Wurlitzer electric piano, guitar, backing vocals, orchestra & choral arrangements
Mike de Albuquerque – bass & backing vocals
Mike Edwards – cello
Mik Kaminski – violin
Hugh McDowell – cello
2 LPs, box set
Limited to 10,000 numbered copies
Original analog Master tape : YES
UltraDisc One-Step (UDS1)
Heavy Press : 180g SuperVinyl
Record color : black
Speed : 45 RPM
Size : 12'’
Stereo
Studio
Record Press : RTI
Label : MOFI
Original Label : Warner Bros Records
Recorded February–August 1974 in Studio De Lane Lea Studios, London
Produced by Jeff Lyne
Originally released in 1974
Reissued in 2022
Tracks:
Side A :
- Eldorado Overture
- Can't Get It Out of My Head
- Boy Blue
Side B:
- Laredo Tornado
- Poor Boy (The Greenwood)
Side C :
- Mister Kingdom
- Nobody's Child
Side D :
- 3 Illusions in G Major
- 4 Eldorado
- 5 Eldorado Finale
Reviews :
“Electric Light Orchestra’s magnum opus, Eldorado, is the perfect choice for the sonic upgrade that the boutique label, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab, can provide with their Super Vinyl process. Utilizing their proprietary “Gain 2 Ultra Analog System,” specially plated and pressed on 180 gm high definition vinyl, the acoustics give off the “wow factor” that ELO must have had in mind when they recorded this album way back in 1974.
Eldorado was their first complete concept album, and provided the band a true commercial break-out. Recorded a few years after Tommy, by The Who, ELO now had their own rock opera. It was the vision of Jeff Lynne, the de-facto leader of the band, who both produced, composed, arranged, and was the band’s lead vocalist. The inspiration for the album was Lynne’s father, a classical music aficionado.
The band was originally founded by Roy Wood, with the intention of mixing rock and classical motifs. Wood recruited Jeff Lynne, who took over leadership after their second album. The band’s early use of strings was by overdubbing, but for this project they used a 30 piece orchestra, as well as a choir.
Eldorado has an esoteric theme of a spiritual dreamer attempting to escape reality. Throughout the tracks this “message” is revisited. Its rich melodies brought out with soaring classical influences was quite unique for its era. The group was also influenced by The Beatles psychedelic period (i.e. “I am a Walrus”) on “Mister Kingdom.”
The big hit on the album was “Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” which reached the Top Ten after the album’s release. But there are many memorable tunes that have stood the test of time with the group’s unique rock/ classical blend.
They include “Laredo Tornado,” with its hook laden rock guitar, clavichord, and funk overtones supported by Lynne’s high pitched vocals. “Poor Boy (The Greenwood)” is anthemic, with use of reverb, while “Illusions in G Major” has a “rock-a-billy” 50s vibe, supported by heavy guitar. The title track has lovely strings, and is a melancholy ballad. It merges into a closing finale allowing the choir to take it into stratospheric heights.
This album was an instant hit in the US market, setting the stage for the Electric Light Orchestra’s future albums. The opportunity to hear this project in full acoustic splendor is one the band’s fans should not pass up…” Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition, April 2022
"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." AllMusic Review by Bruce Eder
UltraDisc One-Step : Instead of utilizing the industry-standard three-step lacquer process, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's new UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) uses only one step, bypassing two processes of generational loss. While three-step processing is designed for optimum yield and efficiency, UD1S is created for the ultimate in sound quality. Just as Mobile Fidelity pioneered the UHQR (Ultra High-Quality Record) with JVC in the 1980s, UD1S again represents another state-of-the-art advance in the record-manufacturing process. MFSL engineers begin with the original master tapes and meticulously cut a set of lacquers. These lacquers are used to create a very fragile, pristine UD1S stamper called a "convert." Delicate "converts" are then formed into the actual record stampers, producing a final product that literally and figuratively brings you closer to the music. By skipping the additional steps of pulling another positive and an additional negative, as done in the three-step process used in standard pressings, UD1S produces a final LP with the lowest noise floor possible today. The removal of the additional two steps of generational loss in the plating process reveals tremendous amounts of extra musical detail and dynamics, which are otherwise lost due to the standard copying process. The exclusive nature of these very limited pressings guarantees that every UD1S pressing serves as an immaculate replica of the lacquer sourced directly from the original master tape. Every conceivable aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the most perfect record album available today.
MoFi SuperVinyl: The World's Quietest Surfaces and Cleanest Grooves: Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever created. Analog lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.
Ratings :
AllMusic : 5 / 5 ; Discogs : 4.15 / 5 ; Audiophile Audition : 4.5 / 5