Flying Dream 1 - Elbow (2021)

Greatness is arbitrary, when it comes down to it. If you just listened to their music and didn’t know anything about celebrity personalities or sales charts or best-of-all-time lists, it’s hard to imagine that Elbow isn’t one of the greatest bands of the last 20 years. And yet, while they are quite successful in the UK, I imagine most Americans haven’t even heard of them. It’s kind of a tragedy, but it also keeps them out of the tabloids or whatever. Maybe it’s for the best.

Someday I’m going to just do a week or two of straight up favorite albums, and 2008’s The Seldom Seen Kid will be on there. But all of that doesn’t help writing about this one.

This was recorded live-in-the-room in an empty theater, and while they always sound tight as a band, it really shows off how well they play together. The songwriting is always great. There are multiple Elbow lyrics that i actually work into conversations because they’re so clever (“mercifully free from the pressures of grace” is a favorite descriptor of mine). The lyrics are so heartfelt and personal, it really has a lot of vulnerability to it.

Because of the mood coming out of the pandemic, and the personal and domestic bent of most of the lyrics, these are probably intentionally less rocking than Elbow has been in the past, but they bring so much color and nuance and beauty and lyrical skill that you don’t miss a guitar solo here or there.

Tracks I liked

Six Words - and oddly jarring turn into a more beat driven song about 2 minutes in, but both the before and after are nice.

The only road - a slow gallop of a road trip love song

What Am I Without You - a sublime lyric about devotion