The song first appeared as the opening track of side 2, track number 6 from their 1974 album, Eldorado. It was the B-side to the 1977 hit "Turn to Stone", found on their album Out of the Blue.
On the single version, the solo slowly fades from 5:05 all the way to the very end at 5:29. On the Flashback boxset, the solo fades about 16 seconds earlier than the LP version, also cutting the small orchestra intro.
Rolling Stone critic Ken Barnes remarked that "Mister Kingdom" "pleasantly evokes The Beatles' 'Across the Universe'".[1] Other critics have also commented on the song's similarity to "Across the Universe". The song features an extended orchestral playout starting from 4:16 to 5:29, transitioning into Nobody's Child.
Phonograph Record critic Michael Davis said that in "Mister Kingdom" Lynne "displays a feel for melody...that would make a Bee Gee blush in envy."[2]
Jeff Lynne has said the following about the song and its subject:
