Elbow – Asleep In The Back (Reissue)
It feels like an age since Elbow finally stopped touring for The Seldom Seen Kid. Their most recent and career-defining album, and also the one that put them in the mainstream, was accompanied by a tour that lasted a whole year and a half. Whilst the band is now winding down, they’ve also revisited their early days and have just released a new version of their 2001 debut, Asleep In The Back.
The album itself is similar to the two other albums before The Seldom Seen Kid – Cast Of Thousands and Leaders Of The Free World – in that, whilst it is not an outstanding album, it contains moments of real beauty. Its best song is still Newborn, which starts off as a conventional lullaby before turning into an almost completely different song as it builds to its thunderous climax, but the soft and reminiscing Scattered Black And Whites is still seen by some as Elbow’s best song. It’s also their most ‘homely’ album, as pretty much all of their songs have the backdrop of the town of Bury as inspiration, whether it be songs about relationships, drugs, or just getting drunk.
But it’s not just the full, original LP that you’re buying the deluxe edition. You’re getting two extra discs of material from around that time. In terms of audio, you’ll get the Noisebox EP, one of the earliest Elbow releases, a selection of live sessions that were for BBC DJ Steve Lamacq and a live recording of a headlining show at the London Astoria (which, at the time, was a big deal for the band). There is also a DVD that includes promo videos from the album, home recordings, and previously unseen footage.
Asleep In The Back is not Elbow’s best album, but it is an important one nonetheless in the sense that you can trace the beginnings of the sounds that would then be elaborated on in future efforts in bigger studios with bigger budgets. When you add all the bonus material that is being attached to this, it becomes a must buy for anyone who wants to investigate the earlier beginnings of the band, and it also is one of those rare re-issues that is appealing to people who already have the album.
RATING – 4/5
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Posted on October 28th, 2009 by Max
Filed under: Albums, Reviews
You don’t get the Noisebox EP on this re-release.
One of the tracks has been left off, “George Lassoes the Moon” Ok, there is a shortened live at the Astoria version, but not as good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMcJlGCpBZs
is the Noisebox version, the EP cover even had the lyrics to this song on it…so why was it left off?
You don’t get much of the live Astoria set, “Any Day Now” and “Asleep in the back” live,are sadly omitted too, so what could have been a great showcase of their early music is incomplete.
With the DVD repeating all the audio that was already on disc 2, for some unknown reason, and a booklet, which although thicker, is very similar to the original, it seems rushed and lacking.
For the many people who already have the original album, some background information as to the songs and the live sessions, would have truly celebrated what to many fan’s is still their finest album.
Aww dang, that is a shame.
I still think that it is just about worth the purchase. Elbow’s official site have it listed as £20 and for two CDs and a DVD that’s not too bad. I do agree that they probably could have added the entire EP and live gig but I think it’s still value for money. Whether or not it is a ‘rushed’ release is for debate. I’d say that if it was done without any input from the band then I would be more inclined to agree but from the track-by-track article that Drowned In Sound did with Guy Garvey (http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4138252) a few weeks ago I’m not so sure.