I first hear Beth Orton’s Trailer Park (1996) near the end of the 20th Century. I heard Orton’s cover of The Ronettes‘ “I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine” and that blew me away. I immediately bought a copy of Trailer Park and played it several times in a row. I loved the songs and the lush musical accompaniments. I’ve listened to all of Beth Orton’s CDs and the later ones are more acoustic and austere. I prefer the fuller sound of Trailer Park .
Sticking with fuller sounds, I just picked up a copy of Eldorado: A Symphony (1974) with the Wizard of Oz cover recently. Eldorado is the first complete ELO concept album; bandleader Jeff Lynne conceived the storyline before he wrote any music. The plot follows a Walter Mitty-like character who journeys into fantasy worlds via dreams, to escape the disillusionment of his mundane reality. Lynne began to write the album in response to criticisms from his father, a classical music lover, who said that Electric Light Orchestra’s repertoire “had no tune”. The influence of The Beatles is prevalent, especially in the melody of the verse of “Mister Kingdom” which to some degree resembles the Beatles’ “Across the Universe.”
Eldorado marks the first album on which Jeff Lynne hired an orchestra; on previous albums, he would overdub the strings.[2] Louis Clark co-arranged, with Lynne (and keyboardist Richard Tandy), and conducted the strings. The group’s three resident string players continued to perform on recordings, however, and can be heard most prominently on the songs “Boy Blue” and “Laredo Tornado”. Mike de Albuquerque departed early on in the recording process, as touring made him feel separated from his family. Lynne plays most of, if not all, the bass tracks and backing vocals for the album, but de Albuquerque still featured on the final release as well as getting credited. Kelly Groucutt replaced him for the subsequent tour, when cellist Melvyn Gale also joined (replacing the departing Mike Edwards). “Eldorado Finale” is heavily orchestrated, much like “Eldorado Overture”. Jeff Lynne said of the song, “I like the heavy chords and the slightly daft ending, where you hear the double bass players packing up their basses, because they wouldn’t play another millisecond past the allotted moment.”
Are you a fan of Electric Light Orchestra or Beth Orton? GRADE: A (for both)
TRACKLIST:
All tracks written by Ted Barnes, Ali Friend, and Beth Orton except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | “She Cries Your Name“ | William OrbitOrton | 4:47 |
| 2. | “Tangent” | 7:29 | |
| 3. | “Don’t Need a Reason” | BarnesOrton | 5:04 |
| 4. | “Live as You Dream” | 2:59 | |
| 5. | “Sugar Boy” | 4:21 | |
| 6. | “Touch Me with Your Love“ | 7:27 | |
| 7. | “Whenever” | 3:53 | |
| 8. | “How Far” | 4:27 | |
| 9. | “Someone’s Daughter“ | 4:16 | |
| 10. | “I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine” | Jeff BarryEllie GreenwichPhil Spector | 4:43 |
| 11. | “Galaxy of Emptiness” | 10:07 |
TRACK LIST:
All tracks are written by Jeff Lynne.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Eldorado Overture” (instrumental) | 2:12 |
| 2. | “Can’t Get It Out of My Head“ | 4:21 |
| 3. | “Boy Blue“ | 5:18 |
| 4. | “Laredo Tornado” | 5:29 |
| 5. | “Poor Boy (The Greenwood)“ | 2:57 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | “Mister Kingdom“ | 5:50 |
| 7. | “Nobody’s Child” | 3:40 |
| 8. | “Illusions in G Major“ | 2:36 |
| 9. | “Eldorado“ | 5:20 |
| 10. | “Eldorado Finale” | 1:20 |
| Total length: | 39:03 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 11. | “Eldorado Instrumental Medley” | 7:56 |
| 12. | “Dark City” | 0:46 |
I’m not familiar with Beth Orton, but love ELO. My favorites by them include “Can’t Get It Out of My Head”, “Show Down”, “Sweet-Talking Woman”, and “Turn to Stone”. I think they get a bad rap because of how lush and “string-y” their sound is, but I love it!
Deb, I’m with you all the way on ELO. Love their sound, love the lush strings, and high-concept music. Beth Orton’s TRAILER PARK also presents a Big Sound approach. Sometimes More is More.
I picked up “Trailer Park” shortly after it was released. I was drawn to Orton’s willowy vocals that reminded me a bit of the women British folk singers of the sixties/seventies. I remember a number of critics writing about how the album’s use of subtle electronic beats was supposed to have represented a merging of folk and techno (I believe the term was “folktronica”). Orton herself denied the intent in interviews at the time and was so annoyed that she deliberately moved away from the sound on subsequent albums (which, as you note, sadly resulted in less interesting music). This remains a lovely album though and a nice mini-time capsule of a brief musical sub-genre I always liked.
I heard lots of ELO on the car radio back in the day but I never bought any of their albums except for a greatest hits CD. I go through a seventies pop/rock phase every summer and nothing brings back the mood of that decade for me better than ELO (and “The Virgin Suicides” soundtrack album).
Byron, once again your insightful analysis of TRAILER PARK and ELO outdoes mine. Yes, they are time-capsules! Orton’s “folktronica” resonates with me every time I listen to it. ELO’s unique sound transports me back to the 1970s each time I listen to ELDORADO: A SYMPHONY. Wonderful music!
Like what I’ve heard of Orton, and am soft on what I remember of ELO, but hadn’t listened to much of either of them for decades…never beyond radio fodder for ELO. Might give some of this a spin (or a button-push).
Todd, both Orton and ELO traffic in Big and Grand musical productions. A feast for your ears!
I didn’t dislike ELO but wasn’t a big fan. Some of their stuff is pretty good, although there were other British bands of that ilk that I liked more.
Never heard anything by Orton, which sounds about right because she seems to have come along around the time (late 90s, early 2000s) I had pretty much given up on current music and was in the process of becoming an old fart. But I just listened to a couple of things on YouTube and she’s really interesting. She’ll definitely get a closer listen.
Michael, I highly recommend TRAILER PARK. Orton’s later CDs aren’t as delightful (to me) because she stripped down her sound and went acoustic. I prefer her Big Sound.
Totally unfamiliar with Beth Orton, but yes, I love ELO. They used several of their songs (including the title song) in the fun off-Broadway musical XANADU – “Magic,” “Evil Woman,” “Strange Magic,” “All Over the World,” and “Xanadu.”
We never got to see them live in their original incarnation, but when Jeff Lynne brought a revived version on tour – as Jeff Lynne’s ELO – we saw them in Madison Square Garden on August 22, 2018. Great funm, and if given the chance I’d see it again in a minute.
Jeff, I remember those ELO songs in XANADU. And, like you, if an incarnation of ELO showed up here, I’d go see it in a minute!
You’ll be happy to hear that I ordered a copy of TRAILER PARK. Sounds good.
Jeff, you won’t be sorry. TRAILER PARK is terrific!
Never heard of Orton, like ELO.
Bob, just about everybody likes ELO!
I like Beth Orton’s first 3 or so cd’s. Her last one I found her voice buried in the mix.
Steve, I agree. Early Beth Orton is the best! Her later, stripped down songs…not so much.