Customer Reviews

Cast Of Thousands

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It'd been my experience that the more you listen to Elbow, the better they get. When I was given their first album Asleep In The Back, I just had it on in the background while I read a book. Didn't really think too much about it considering how much my flatmate hyped them up. I liked the first track alright but it didn't throw me out of the chair. A week later I listened to it again but this time I really listened to it. "Hey! This is pretty good," I thought and listened to it twice more that day. I liked it more each time. The new album is made the same way. The first time I listened to it I didn't think it was as good as their first. Then I listened to it again and again and so will you.

It sounds a bit more polished than Asleep but is just as moving and it's a bit more psychedelic but just as powerful. Although Elbow sounds relatively familiar, they have a fairly timeless sound, not borrowing too heavily from any one decade's influences. While the first album tended to have a few more all out rock moments, Cast Of Thousands sees Garvey and company matured to a more composed and collected form. Their power lies in their simplicity...but it's pretty much pointless to try to fully explain the movement of Elbow. Their work just needs to be felt. Imagine that! Feelings still exist some 20 years after Satan launched his own channel, MTV. In the words of the Glastonbury 2002 crown at the end of "Grace Under Pressure," an amazingly moving song, "we still believe in love so f**k you!"

This band should never work. It is a band of misfits. They are from Manchester. They have been playing for years. They put out a very good album a few years ago. They have played to millions. Now they are doing the music that they always wanted to do. Guy Garvey is one of the most interesting dudes in music right now. He sounds a lot like Peter Gabriel. Garvey is no nonense. "Ribcage" comes on like a song played after the party is over. "Fallen Angel" is Elbow at their most intense. There is a lot of noise and experimenting on this record. Elbow is a hybrid of many conflicting ideas. "Not A Job" is a fine song. It combines quietness and mood. They have always been about making beautiful sounds and beauty.

Absolutely amazing. Intensely atmospheric, haunting, moving, mysterious, beautiful. I am so glad to have discovered Elbow thru Amazon's "people also bought..." lists! Much more interesting to me than South or Doves, and light-years beyond wanna-be's like Starsailor. I'd class them with Coldplay, though that group is far more pop-oriented; where Coldplay's music washes over you with its lyricism and grace, Elbow's got a deeply quiet forcefulness that makes you lean forward and listen hard. One of the best albums I've bought in years.

Manchester band Elbow rose to fame in the UK with their moody debut "Asleep in the Back." In "Cast of Thousands" Elbow takes a slightly different tack. The music is a little smoother, the album altogether a bit more cohesive, and its lovesick melancholy brings to mind a sunny day temporarily obscured by clouds.

The opening track, "Ribcage," is a gradual buildup accentuated with a gospel choir, followed by the vaguely funky "Fallen Angel," the brilliantly bluesy "Fugitive Motel," the magnificent "Grace Under Pressure," the African-inspired "Snooks (Progress Report)," the insanely catchy "Buttons and Zips," before rounding off on the same solid note it started with on the brief "Flying Dream."

"Cast of Thousands" somehow manages the impossible: it hangs on to frustration and dreariness , while managing to shift into a more optimistic space. Basically it's a collection that has retained its edginess, but is able to sing a little wistfully, "I blow you a kiss/It should reach you tomorrow/As it flies from the other side of the world..."

The more typical drums'n'percussion are joined by string sections in such songs as "Fugitive Motel," which adds an extra dimension to it. Not to mention barking dogs, tambourines, accordians and sprawling synths. Only the African drums start to drag. And the music is layered in a peculiar way, shifting the guitar and bass over one another. As a result, the instrumentation is richly layered like a gourmet cake.

Singer Guy Garvey is rather reminiscent of Radiohead's Thom Yorke, but a little more hesitant. He sounds unsure in many tracks, as if he isn't sure how he should sing with the music flowing behind him. And in some of the tracks, the London Community Gospel Choir provides a panoramic sweep of backing vocals.

Elbow is still in fine form in "Cast of Thousands," a rich slice of lovelorn pop-rock that will appeal to fans of diverse, intricate music. A must have.

I'm not sure how anyone who has listened to this band's debut, "Asleep at the Back," could give "Cast of Thousands" five stars. Elbow have taken a decidely different direction with their second album, and that's all well and good. The music, however, is not.
There is nothing on this record that even comes close to the musical, lyrical and ethereal qualities of songs like "Newborn" that made the first album so engaging.
There are a few songs on Cast of Thousands (Ribcage, Not a Job) that merit repeated listens. The rest is simply boring.
"Fugitive Motel" might have great production, but what good is that if the song doesn't go anywhere?
Experimenting is one thing. But making something out of that experiment is something entirely different. I think Elbow have really missed the mark this time.

This is really something worth getting... I've been playing music for years now, trying to write hooks and make things fit... I don't know how they did this. After listening a few time, these songs become ingrained into you mind as classics. What's just as interesting is their history with their record label. ...trying everything in their power to have their music heard... What really makes this disc special is the second, data, disc. The 'visuals' that go with the tunes really put some human quality behind everything. When the rest of the world is incidental and the music comes first, this is what you write.

hey there, i just wanted to tell you guys who are thinking of buying the album to do so, although at the moment my wallet is void of money and thus, i haven't got it yet.

Elbow were in perth last saturday supporting placebo, and they did an acoustic live set at one of our record stores here in perth. i have to say, for the first time that i had ever heard these guys play, they were amazing and i was imediately in love with their music.

afterwards we went up and talked to the guys, and they were really cool, we got stuff signed, and it was amazing, later on we met them again and they recognised us and we ended up talking to them again...they were just so fantastic, in everyway (i find myself in love with mark-the guitarist) but they are just brilliant and you should buy this CD because they are the best.

-Friend of Elbow-

I for one thought Elbow's US debut, "Asleep in the Back", was one of the most unexpectedly auspicious debuts of 2002. So I eagerly awaited this long-delayed followup. My first - and second - impression is of a band that wants to move on and explore new musical territory, while grounding itself in more traditional stylings as well. And Guy Garvey's mopey vocals are still eerily reminiscent of David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, a major influence to be sure. Elbow is a middle ground between Coldplay and Radiohead (how many times has that been said before?), yet here they seem to want to go in both directions. Some of the tunes here are more upbeat, even "poppier", than anything on "Asleep", and the use of the gospel choir is interesting. (But what's with that high-pitched scream that annoyingly punctuates the chorus of "Grace Under Pressure"?) Garvey's lyrics are often brilliant ("To pull my ribs apart/and let the sun inside"), and yes, the music occasionally leans toward the experimental. Yet nothing here moves me as the anthemic soungs like "Powder Blue" did on the first album. Give Garvey and the band credit for wanting to move on, rather than stagnate into a "sound", but that progress, at least for this record, has met with mixed results. (The CD-ROM bonus music video disc is a nice plus, but there's nothing terribly groundbreaking here - a good diversion for your desktop, though.)

Having been turned on to British music for some time, and having purchased many outstanding albums from bands like Travis, Coldplay, Radiohead, Beck, and Oasis, I felt there had to be more bands that so enthusiastically celebrated classic rock sounds. Thankfully, Amazon catalogs people's purchases so that we in the states can sample music that other like-minded people bought. That's how I found Elbow. Cast of Thousands is an outstanding album that deserves to have its tracks analyzed individually...so here goes:

1. Ribcage - (*****): Like the mantras offered ala their previous album, this song builds from quiet and unassuming lyrics and music into a multi-layered experiment in cobra-swaying grooves and gospel choir shimmies. Outstanding track.

2. Fallen Angel - (*****): This ruckus romp is as close to mainstream rock as I've heard from Elbow. It does remind me of Peter Gabriel as other reviewers have mentioned. I love the bass sax sound that is achieved by the guitar player. This song would be best played at high volume while cruising the strip in a convertable...

3. Fugitive Motel - (*****): Fugitive Motel is a beautiful song that has superb music provided by a mix of piano, orchestration, upright bass, guitar, and jazz-style drumming. Simply breathtaking in its breadth of emotionally inspired lyrics and music, this song is a standout among the album.

4. Snooks - (*****): The driving beat of this number is enough to drive an already shaken soul into spiritual submission...then when the Ennio Morricone-inspired guitar and orchestration with interesting synthesized sounds begin, the tune just speaks and the music erupts into sonic jolts--parts of this song belong in the cinema--outstanding.

5. Switching Off - (****1/2): This song begins with simple drum beats accompanied by a tamborine and what I would swear is an old-style reed organ. This motiff is repeated for the primary verses, while the chorus builds musically with excellent instrumentation and wonderful use of volume to evoke emotion.

6. Not a Job - (*****): Probably the most uptempo song on the album, Not a Job is also one of my favorites. The layers upon layers of music and vocals are expertly composed and performed. This track definitely showcases the band's musical and lyric prowess and could be a hit single if great music were better appreciated these days.

7. I've Got Your Number - (****): This is one of the most bluesy/jazzy number on the album. I can almost see the smoke taking various form in the spotlight while the bandmembers, wearing sunglasses, drop ash from quickly disappearing cigarettes. Moog intermission is disruptive, but welcome in this slow-groove. Good track.

8. Buttons and Zips - (*****): Almost a return to the Snooks groove, this ditty is probably the most infectiously groovy one on the album. I immediately loved the way the lyrics are sung in the same pace and notes of the musical accompanyment--the effect is one of voice actually being used as a musical instrument...having all of the same percussive and tonal qualities. This one is definitely a head-bobber. Tops

9. Crawling with Idiot - (***1/2): This is a return to the bluesy/jazzy sound of I've Got Your Number. If you like one, you'll like the other. All in all, not the best track, but one that fits well among the others. I sometimes skip this one.

10. Grace Under Pressure - (*****): Just like the mantra of the first song, this one also builds into a crescendo of magnificent proportions; and just like the first song, accompanying the Peter Garbriel-like crooning is a full gospel choir. This is a standout track on an already outstanding album. An instant favorite of mine, this is bound to be a fan pleaser.

11. Flying Dream - (****): A punctuating song that is brief, to the point, but yet maintains the feeling and musical greatness of the rest of the album.

There you have it. An album that has more than enough 5-star rated tunes to require an overall 5-6 star rating. If you like British bands mentioned in the opening paragraph then you'll love this album. Pick it up today and you won't be disappointed.

Let's face it America, there are too many of these wishy-washy British bands who do this Radiohead/Pink Floyd thing and pretend to pass it off as their own. Jeez, even you guys are trying it (to varying effect - Death Cab For Cutie to The Wrens), and calling it 'college rock'. But when it all hangs together, as on Elbow's second release Cast Of Thousands, this whole Brit doom-and-gloom indie-rock thing happens to restore your faith in modern guitar music.

Asleep In The Back, Elbow's debut, was a fine record, punctuated by moments of breathtaking pathos, but lacking cohesiveness. Cast Of Thousands is slightly more rounded, and contains even more moments of jaw-dropping greatness. The opening Ribcage disarmingly creeps up on you before Guy Garvey "pulls your ribs apart and lets the sun inside" accompanied by full gospel choir. Fallen Angel is an unlikely first single that only really becomes catchy after its third or fourth spin, and Snooks is downright scary. Then there are those ballads - Fugitive Motel, Switching Off and Not A Job - as tragic and elegaic as Red, Powder Blue and Scattered Black and Whites, only more so. They are worth the cost of admission alone, and cement Elbow's place in the great modern Brit-rock canon, somewhere between Coldplay and Radiohead, only more addictive.