Customer Reviews

Cast of Thousands

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

i was mildly entertained by 'asleep in the back,' elbow's first album. as the title suggests, by the end of the album i was asleep. 'asleep...' was an 'atmospheric album' (save a few tracks like the beautiful 'newborn'), heavy on sound and ambience. so i surprised when i first heard 'a cast of thousands.' it's quite a step forward for the band. they, much like doves, ditched the atmospherics for a more straightforward sound. and the results are incredible.

guy garvey, he of the beautifully huskied voice, is one of rock's premier lyricists. 'i'll blow you a kiss,it should reach you tomorrow as if flies from the other side of the world' belongs among the great single lyrics of our time. other lyrics like 'pull my ribs apart and let the sun inside,' ('ribcage) 'walking through the long grass on your hands,' and 'teach you how to whistle like a boy' reveal a nice sensitivity without dipping into sentimentality. the album is full of amazing imagery, much more poetic that 99.9% of songwriters out there.

musically, the band really seems to find it's footing. every track, and i mean, EVERY track, is well worth listening to. the rawkish 'fallen angels,' the hummable 'not a job,' and my favorite song of 2003 - 'switching off.' it's a devasting and heartbreaking song. you'll hit repeat again and again and again and again. i know i did. when guy sings 'you, the only sense the world has ever made' you get goosebumps zipping up and down your body like rogue torpedos. one of the great modern love songs. trust me.

it's difficult not to join the elbow army, especially when the album ends with thousands of people singing 'we still believe in love, so f*** you!'

i am having a bit of a hard time trying to figure out my thoughts on this album. it's a strange one...but good, very good. the production is quite strange and unique. it seems to be a cross between some old Pink Floyd sound ideas and some of the sparse wide open spaces of dub. the vocals are closely mic'd and it sounds like the singer is whispering his thoughts directly into your ear at times. it can be a bit unsettling and strange at first, but eventually it comes accross as being very intimate and tender. the acoustic guitar and bass and drums form a solid background, but there's bit of distorted guitar that stab and pierce the open spaces in the songs...the results can be both exhilerating and annoying. the first song suffers from the use of a choir, but let that one slide and try to enjoy the rest of this record. it may take a while for these melodies to sink in and make an impact. because when i first heard it...i knew that there was something that i liked about it...but i couldn't figure out what it was...so i had to listen again and again. and finally, the charm and the character of these songs started to reveal themsleves. there's alot of great beautiful moments on here of great songwriting. this is a very mature album...perhaps more mature than you might expect from a band as young as Elbow. they write some sensitive songs, but they never stoop to the level of being bedwetters like Coldplay or the dreadful Keane. they choose instead, to add some darker tones and let the distance in their sound do some of the work. let it play a few times. i promise ... it will sink in.

Guy Garvey and co. set out with a sound that resembled enough of their musical mates to find a place for their music but set themselves apart enough to know that they aren't just another band from the other side of the pond. Preferably, none of the english bands should be compared to being the next Radiohead (pointless analogies), but rather to their own core of groups that they derived and were influenced from. The Manchester scene has given us numerous bands throughout the decades and, along with Doves, we are in high gear these past few years.
"Asleep in the Back" was an exceptional work that had the listener reaching with the band for areas of rock that had been previously unattainable. Stretching their sound further and expanding on their lyrics was expected and Elbow have delivered another well produced piece. Both "Ribcage" and "Fallen Angel" give you the perfect start for rock that is great for those who like it, but not meant for MTV and daily radio and that is why Elbow work. Through personal lovelorn and introspective lyrics they take their sound far and strong, but never out of reach. Real rock is true of their performances and after giving this album continuous listens, you can follow through on the path Elbow have been setting with both of their fine, fine lps.
Yet another reason why Manchester remains at the forefront of the musical map.
US version comes with 2 bonus tracks and a cd-rom complete with videos and a film accompaniment to the album.
Just under 4 stars.

Elbow's experimental sophomore effort is a diverse mixture of understated, melodic, melancholy, mood rock with relentless intensity. The subtle intricacies culminate to a much greater whole than they initially sound. Several astute listens to this incredible work are essential to feel the album's beauty. The stellar epic track "Fugitive Motel" is reminescent of the mysterious, lingering mood of classic tracks like Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and Eagles' "Hotel California." It yearns with desperation, layered with dramatic piano,echoing choir-like voices, and swooning dreamy sound scapes. Vocals might be compared to Peter Gabriel and Sting with a twist of Curt Kobain. The track "Snooks" sounds like a campfire tune if Lou Reed were to host a Boy Scout troop with sudden bursts of noise as wolves sporadically attack. It's simplistic, quirky, and catchy. My favorite track is "Not a Job" which the British tone of his voice is more pronounced over metallic echoing guitar and light touches of high notes on the ivory scale. The track "Buttons and Zips" reminds me of a more refined Pavement track if the indie classic album "Slanted and Enchanted" had been more polished. The tracks "Grace Under Pressure" and "Ribcage" feature the London Community Gospel Choir on back-up vocals. With all this spiritual persuasion, I'm sure there will be many more converted Elbow fans, as I am now a devoted follower.

Maybe one of the most brilliant british groups today!! Elbow defines what british rock should be...listen very carefully the third track ("Fugitive Motel") so beautifully crafted, full of passion and melancholic tenderness. Next we have "Snooks (Progress Report) bringing a fabulous intricate bass rhythm and a scary chorus in despair, also we cannot forget the harmonium-like melody of "Switching off"... Come on, these fellows are thousand times better than Coldplay or Starsailor, but unfortunetely they haven't any hype movement around them, have they???
At middle of the record there's a jazzy feeling rapidly giving place to an angry guitar (I've Got Your Number), a meditative plainsong smashed by an angry guitar (Whisper Grass) that leave us to the funny "Buttons and Zips" with an almost blockbuster melody (seems strangely like Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water", am I wrong???). The album ending tracks are somber and mournful, "Grace Under Pressure" brings a final hymn with a sentiment of hope to the short "Flying Dream 143"...

This is my favorite new band from the UK, although there seems to be a growing number of young bands that are HOT at the moment, Snow Patrol, Keane, Turnin Breaks.. an so on, this CD and group stand out for me. Very interesting musically, and although you may struggle for a while to understand the lyrics, the challenges are rewarding. I don't like the comparisons to Coldplay I read here though, they are quite different musically, and I don't think the voices sound much a like at all (yes I'm a fan of Coldplay). Anyway, I'd rush right out and buy this CD because you won't be disappointed. It's another bold statement as to why the UK music scene is far superior to ours here in the US. Why can't music like this be played more on the radio here? It's my understanding that this is one of the hottest bands in the UK right now.. shame US radio doesn't listen..

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.)

at first listen, i was disappointed with this release..it seems so subtle compared to Asleep in the Back ( which I think is amazing)..but after repeated listens, Cast of 1000's grew on me..it's still Elbow, a little less melancholy but just as strange and experimental..Guy Garvey's voice is great as usual..standout tracks: fugitive motel,fallen angels,grace under pressure

Cast of Thousands gets my vote for the best album of 2003. Each track is beautifully written, sung, and performed. I highly, highly recommend it to anybody and everybody because that is what it has...something for everybody. I bought my album used at a record shop. After listening to it, I couldn't believe anybody would let this album go. Fantastic, brilliant, beautiful, moving, joyous, mournful, and introspective are just a few words to describe it. Anyone who says this is just another brit-rock album obviously hasn't listen to it.

The great thing about Elbow is how they mask the sense of urgency of the blues in a hybrid of 'Coldplay meets Radiohead' type Britpop. As Gomez did it a few years back the blues, 'Cast Of Thousands' takes those same gut wrenching core of emotions and combines it with an airy brand of experimental Britpop. The CD straddles between the stripped-down folk of Badly Drawn Boy and bare-my-soul ballads of Coldplay. Connecting it all are strands of acoustic/electric guitars, eg, Radiohead, and orchestral strings which thread these elements together. Emotional but not weepy, experimental but not too left field, with enough guitar bite to keep you satisfied. 'Cast Of Thousands' could be very well the sleeper of 2003.