Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In with Google

Become a Subscriber!

Subscribe to our Patreon, and get image uploads with no ads on the site!

Read more...

Elbow

What's Hot
2

Comments

  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    What ever happened to Doves?
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • digitalkettledigitalkettle Frets: 3124
    edited November 2017
    Cirrus said:
    What ever happened to Doves?
    I think Jimi Goodwin did a solo album and stuff whilst the other two formed Black Rivers (not a bad album).
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • I discovered Elbow without any great hype or encouragement somewhere between "Cast of Thousands" and "Leaders of the Free World", which might be my favourite album of theirs on alternate days.

    Saw them at DeMontfort Hall earlier this year and was really impressed. 

    Totally agree with @TheOtherDennis, @Cirrus - "Build A Rocket Boys" was a bit of a disappointment after "The Seldom Seen Kid" (IMO it's a grower- I like it more now than I did when I first heard it), but the subsequent albums have been really good and are well worth checking out.

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • darthed1981darthed1981 Frets: 11670
    Cirrus said:
    What ever happened to Doves?
    I think Jimi Goodwin did a solo album and stuff whilst the other two formed Black Rivers (not a bad album).
    Hugely rated in their pomp, no-one shut up about "Last Broadcast" when it came out, but despite remaining extremely good, they seem largely forgotten these days, 
    We have to be so very careful, what we believe in...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • WhitecatWhitecat Frets: 5378
    Cirrus said:
    What ever happened to Doves?
    I think Jimi Goodwin did a solo album and stuff whilst the other two formed Black Rivers (not a bad album).
    Hugely rated in their pomp, no-one shut up about "Last Broadcast" when it came out, but despite remaining extremely good, they seem largely forgotten these days, 
    All four albums they made were pretty much exceptional. I guess there's an argument for quitting while you're ahead...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • boogiemanboogieman Frets: 12314
    CHRISB50 said:



    Mirrorball is a personal favourite of mine.

    Mine too. The tinkling riff at the beginning gives me goosebumps. That little drop to the minor key where he sings "everything must change" is lovely too. A simple song but so effective, wish I could write stuff like that. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • darthed1981darthed1981 Frets: 11670
    Whitecat said:
    Cirrus said:
    What ever happened to Doves?
    I think Jimi Goodwin did a solo album and stuff whilst the other two formed Black Rivers (not a bad album).
    Hugely rated in their pomp, no-one shut up about "Last Broadcast" when it came out, but despite remaining extremely good, they seem largely forgotten these days, 
    All four albums they made were pretty much exceptional. I guess there's an argument for quitting while you're ahead...
    Indeed true, even their B-Sides album has some crackers, a lot of bands don't do anything as good as "Darker" in their whole careers.
    We have to be so very careful, what we believe in...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • SecretMachineSecretMachine Frets: 34
    edited November 2017
    They're a pretty fantastic band who have sort of lost their lustre over the past three albums since Seldom Seen Kid. I think there's some outstanding tracks on them (I really love "Gentle Storm", "Fly Boy Blue / Lunette" and "The Birds"), however I feel like they're quite bloated albums and towards the latter half of the album they sort of sink into a malaise. Especially so with Build A Rocket Boys!, I think they went overtly minimal with some tracks and then way too maximalist with the singles. 
    In contrast, I find their first four albums to be mostly impeccable, but not something I can necessarily listen to alot of. They're one of these weird bands that seem to convey a change with each album...but while the sounds might change, the compositions and lyrical themes are generally quite similar.
    They have a good little underrated EP called "Lost Worker Bee" which has some lovely tunes on it, worth checking out. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • darthed1981darthed1981 Frets: 11670
    One of their albums has a superb track called Fugitive Motel in second one I think.

    I'm off to make an epic Elbow playlist for spotify...
    We have to be so very careful, what we believe in...
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Newborn is one of the greatest songs ever written. I haven’t cared for them for 10 years but that still stands
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • One of their albums has a superb track called Fugitive Motel in second one I think.

    I'm off to make an epic Elbow playlist for spotify...
    Yep. That one's on Cast of Thousands. "Dear Friends" from Build A Rocket Boys! is thematically very similar (which is a good example of what @SecretMachine says).

    IMO one of the best things about Elbow is that they've managed to be consistently good. There's no bad records in their back catalogue, and none where half the songs are brilliant and the other half are terrible.

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • WhitecatWhitecat Frets: 5378
    Welp, Elbow have done the John Lewis Christmas ad this year. Shark = jumped. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Incidentally, just saw on Facebook that there's a best of compliation coming out just in time for Christmas. IMO it's got a really good selection of stuff on it for any Elbow n00b looking for a decent introduction. Nothing much new for people who have all the albums already though.

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • I know some people can find them irritatingly middle-class and proto-hippy positive all the time (even though that's not actually true if you listen to the lyrics).

    I've always found them just a little bit dull.  They are to music what Vanilla is to Ice Cream.

    But I should listen to a few albums, I'm going off the incessant radio play they had.  Perhaps there's more in there than meets the eye and to be fair I've never though they sounded bad, just bland.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Based on what you might have heard on the radio, I would make the argument those songs are the most dull they have. The rest of them are generally much more interesting. 
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • Based on what you might have heard on the radio, I would make the argument those songs are the most dull they have. The rest of them are generally much more interesting. 
    This. IMO they're also a band that reward a proper listen, not just background music while you wash the pots.

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • TheOtherDennisTheOtherDennis Frets: 2010
    edited November 2017
    Whitecat said:
    Welp, Elbow have done the John Lewis Christmas ad this year. Shark = jumped. 
    You do realise that it wasn't Elbow who chose to do the Christmas ad, right? They'd already done that track and the agency behind the John Lewis ad chose the Elbow track. Elbow had nothing to do with it, and if their record deal is worded in a particular way, they won't even have been able to say no, like the Human League and the Fiat Punto ad from about ten years ago. Phil Oakey wasn't happy about it at all, and said so as often as he could, but he had no say in it whatever. Similarly, when Andy Summers's riff from Every Breath You Take was used on the rap 'tribute' to the Notorious B.I.G., he got nothing and wasn't allowed to nix it either.
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • WhitecatWhitecat Frets: 5378
    Whitecat said:
    Welp, Elbow have done the John Lewis Christmas ad this year. Shark = jumped. 
    You do realise that it wasn't Elbow who chose to do the Christmas ad, right? They'd already done that track and the agency behind the John Lewis ad chose the Elbow track. Elbow had nothing to do with it, and if their record deal is worded in a particular way, they won't even have been able to say no, like the Human League and the Fiat Punto ad from about ten years ago. Phil Oakey wasn't happy about it at all, and said so as often as he could, but he had no say in it whatever. Similarly, when Andy Summers's riff from Every Breath You Take was used on the rap 'tribute' to the Notorious B.I.G., he got nothing and wasn't allowed to nix it either.
    That's not how the PR is being spun... they are calling it "new" and implying it was done just for this, but if true, fair enough. I would still say that anytime anything gets into any big agency's musical director's hands it's automatically no longer "cool" though by default. :)

    Anyway, being that Guy has already given press blurbs about it, I'd say he's onboard... but anyway, I spoke too soon as I'm sure they made just as much cash from replay due to London 2012 when One Day Like This was the unofficial national anthem. 

    (Don't get me wrong, not begrudging them at all, just feeding my inner hipster who was into them before they were big!)
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
  • Whitecat said:

    (Don't get me wrong, not begrudging them at all, just feeding my inner hipster who was into them before they were big!)

    Meh. The hipster bands are the ones who are having to jack it in and go work in call centres. I'm all for bands making some money from their music. 

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 1reaction image Wisdom
  • Whitecat said:
    I would still say that anytime anything gets into any big agency's musical director's hands it's automatically no longer "cool" though by default. :)



    Hard to argue with that, to be fair. :D

    And I didn't see any of the PR about it. I can see your point in that case, and I withdraw my previous remarks. :)
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
    0reaction image LOL 0reaction image Wow! 0reaction image Wisdom
Sign In or Register to comment.