Been fan since I first heard That Bloody Song, and now that the overplaying has died down, I still quite like it, but 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 like them, though, have the last four albums and there are some fabulous tunes and rhythms on them. The title track from Little Fictions, their latest, is a belter.
Anyway, this has been helping me through some very lumpy times recently.
http://elbow.co.uk/videos/?v=HvIJL06DSV8
If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
And I'm still not super keen but....
Thanks to @holnrew I discovered "Switching Off"
And that is now one of my favourite songs ever.
Bit of Elbow can always soothe the soul. Leaders of the Free World and Seldom Seen Kid are two of my favourite albums.
You couldn't tell them apart.
Guy Garvey needs to lighten up, get over his middle class problems and get out more.
They're not as good as they used to be but I still enjoy their arrangements and Guy's lyrics and voice still hook me in.
Saw them years ago at Connect festival and thought they were fantastic.
Seldom Seen Kid was excellent too, though I didn't really rate the big hit, One Day Like This. I saw them on the tour supporting that album at the old O2/Carling Academy in Birmingham. Best live sound I've ever experienced, it was perfect and a great show.
After that I kinda lost interest. The album after that only had one good song imo, and they (quite understandably) went down the route of trying to re-create the most commercially successful parts of their breakthrough and lost some of the melancholic vibe.
My absolute favorite track of theirs is "Powder Blue".
Bandcamp
Spotify, Apple et al
'Asleep In The Back' is still my favourite record by miles. They've not done anything *bad* since then... there is something to like in almost everything they do but less and less of it grabs me as being essential.
After that Seldom Seen Kid album cycle finished, they played a huge show at Wembley Arena - it was their first arena show. My wife and I went but even though we managed to get right up to the very front, we still felt that something was lost in that setting so I haven't seen them live since.
Feedback : https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/58125/
I really like them. They seem to be pretty consistent and are a little bit different too.
Mirrorball is a personal favourite of mine.
I can't help about the shape I'm in, I can't sing I ain't pretty and my legs are thin
But don't ask me what I think of you, I might not give the answer that you want me to
Loved them ever since...and I think they may be going from strength to strength. I do admit to being touched by Guy's writing...sometimes I think it helps to be slightly northern and over 40. They're like an antidote to all the guitar crap that I listen to.
Funnily enough, I never saw them live (despite living in Manchester during their formative years) until this June when I went to one of their Forestry Commission gigs: one of the best concerts I've been to.
So many great tracks...top 5 for today in random order:
- Scattered Black and Whites
- Mexican Standoff
- The Bones of You
- Lippy Kids
- New York Morning
Back when Swine Flu was a thing I was off work for a week, after the first couple of days in bed it was just feeling generally weak, foggy head, like a bad cold, and moping round the house - you know that phase of being ill where you're on the mend and you've come to terms with it, rather than being furious that it's happened to you?
I listened to that whole album one afternoon about four days in, and when that final track came on I wept like a fucking baby. Don't even know why. I blame the flu, but what a good song.
Bandcamp
Spotify, Apple et al
@Cirrus - I can see why you thought Build A Rocket Boys wasn't up to The Seldom Seen Kid, but The Take Off and Landing of Everything and Little Fictions are much better than Build A Rocket, Little Fictions especially.
I'm also keen on Sad Captains, it has a great chorus.
I can see why some would think they're boring or dull, but I certainly don't think they whine or need to cheer up - I find a lot of their music immensely positive and uplifting, which is why I've been using them to help me through some rough times lately.
Never seen them live in person, but I've watched them on Glastonbury a couple of times and the concert I've put in the link in the op is terrific. Guy Garvey is a great frontman, and he really knows how to handle a crowd.
"Anyone else remember when Elbow were a poor mans Doves?"
I sure do.