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Cast Of Thousands | 
| Artist: Elbow
Label: Commercial Marketing
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy New: £3.98
as of 21/11/2009 21:58 GMT details
You Save: £5.01 (56%)
New (37) Used (11) from £2.29
Seller: Amazon.co.uk
Rating:  42 reviews
Sales Rank: 343
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Running Time: 50 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
EAN: 5033197218120
ASIN: B00009NQZC
Release Date: July 1, 2006
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Ribcage | | • | Fallen Angel | | • | Fugitive Motel | | • | Snooks (Progress Report) | | • | Switching Off | | • | Not A Job | | • | I've Got Your Number | | • | Buttons And Zips | | • | Crawling With Idiot | | • | Grace Under Pressure | | • | Flying Dream |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
An astonishingly intense and ambitious album, Elbow's ICast of Thousands/I is relentlessly experimental. Having toiled for 10 years over their spellbinding Mercury-nominated debut IAsleep in the Back/I, the maverick Bury five-piece--who were initially hailed as the new Radiohead--have produced a worthy sequel in a comparatively short two years. While mirroring their debut's melancholy tone, this album's romantic lyricism and uplifting harmonies inject a fresh dynamic. p From the first bar, ICast of Thousands/I is enthralling. "Ribcage", an exquisite rousing treasure, builds on a languorous and fragmented melody into a cohesive climax while Garvey listlessly intones (with a flat mic taped to his larynx) the charming mantra, "When the sunshine/ throwing me a lifeline/ finds its way in to my room/ all I need is you". Meanwhile, the London Community Gospel choir's spiralling harmonies echo Blur's "Tender" in its lo-fi, mellifluous majesty. But the majority of the album is far less grandiose with the haunting "Snooks (Progress Report)" and "I've Got Your Number" bristling with an unnerving intimacy and brooding dialogue. It's an enchanting return that finds Elbow stretching from despair to lovelorn tenderness. I--Christopher Barrett/I
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 42
 Elbow show they have grace under pressure July 13, 2004
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
After Asleep in the Back, an album that took years to create and release, Elbow must have felt the strain when asked to make a follow-up in a much shorter timespace. However, the pressure seems to have worked well as they have made a brilliant second album that shows just how talented these guys are.pThe great thing about this album is its layers: Elbow really have a thing for attention to detail. All the tracks add layer upon layer to create amazing soundscape-like masterpieces that are at once catchy and melodic.pThe experimentalism on this album is also catchy. Everything from the offbeat, sometimes jazzy sometimes just odd drumming to the quiet piano, repetitive guitar sounds, melodic offbeat bass and giant gospel choirs just seems to work well together. This is partly due to great production by Ben Hillier Elbow and partly due to the band's creativity. The good thing too is that the album still retains the dark, melancholy feel of the first album; it just achieves it in slightly different ways. This experimental feel just blows other bands out of the water.pBut it's not just the music that's great. The lyrics are what make the music still feel human. Guy Garvey adds wit and romanticism to every song, and his Peter Gabriel-like voice just adds to this feel. "Lost in a lullaby, side of the road, melt in a melody, slide in a solitude". Beautiful.pSome people say this album is more uplifting than the last, and, while that is true to an extent, the constant darkness of the first album is still here which is what I love. You just love the fact that the band are moody and unhappy, and they can't get enough of it themselves either. That's what makes this album work.pSo, in conclusion: great layered structure, unusual musicianship, brilliant lyricism, great production, curiously unhappy but uplifting feel... what more do you want? These guys are the future of rock music, so buy them now. And congrats to Elbow for making such an amazing record in a much shorter space of time.
Two or three listens and you will love this record. July 25, 2003
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
This album is everything i hoped for and more from the follow-up to 'Asleep in the Back.' The first thing that struck me was that it didn't really have any obviously "stand-out" tracks such as 'Newborn' and 'Red' on Asleep in the Back. However, after a few listens the album and certain songs in particular started to seep inside my head and this album overall is a more complete, more subtle and better sewn together piece of work than Elbow's excellent debut. The DVD is also very good and easy to watch all the way through unlike other DVD albums i own, which really do require a great deal of patience to watch. Magnificent.
Don't be mistaken, it's a brilliant album October 1, 2003
23 out of 25 found this review helpful
What ever happened to the 'notoriously difficult' second album that bands usually fell down on? A myth to suit yesterday's bands me thinks. Nowadays the 2nd album brings maturity, progression, and such and such. Coldplay did it with Rush of Blood..., Doves did it with The Last Broadcast, and now I'm very happy to annouce that Elbow have done it too with Cast of Thousands. pTheir debut album, Asleep at the Back was definately an album to play late at night when you want to get your emotion on. Powder Blue and Newborn were made to pull on those little heart strings that we all seem to possess deep down. It was an album full of epic, emotion driven songs that we all fell in love with. pCast of Thousands is more subtle. For those of you who have bought it on the back of Fallen Angel or Asleep at the back (album), played it once, and shelved it to the 'will never play again unless i'm dead bored' part of your CD collection, believe me, you are missing out on a gem.pIt is an album that has to be played 7 or 8 times before you can even start to comprehend it's magic. OK, it has its catchy tunes like the 'Fallen Angel' and 'Buttons and Zips' (There is almost a 'The Chicken or the Egg' paradox behind the chorus "Will I ever get this song off my lips, thats what you said"), but after a few more plays, you start to get hooked on songs like 'Fugative Motel' and 'Not a Job', and realise this is probably the best stuff you've heard since OK computer was around.p'Switching Off' is this albums Newborn, the almost naked voice of Guy Garvey has never sounded as good. This guy really means what he's singing, it obvious isn't it? It's coming from his soul. You don't hear that sort of emotion in voices coming out of the kids on the millions of manufactured bands we seemed to be bludgeoned with. But don't worry Mr Garvey, you are making sense to me, and I know exactly what you are trying to say.pOther highlights of the album include the spiritulised-esque 'Ribcage', the devilishly delightful 'I've got your number', with the dirtiest organ you will ever hear. 'Grace Under Pressure' is another Newborn-type epic, with a little help from a certain glastonbury crowd.pThis is definately an album worth buying. It's full of soul, magic, raw emotional power. Well down Elbow for making another superb album. pWe still believe in love.
Better than Asleep In The Back? July 14, 2003
15 out of 17 found this review helpful
Though written in a fraction of the time, Cast Of Thousands seems to pick up where Asleep In The Back left off. Most of the tracks are closer in feel than they were on the debut album. The lows are not quite so low, but the highs are definitely higher.pThe opening 4 tracks are all stunning. "Ribcage" brings in slightly disharmonic vocal choirs over an excellent repeating motif, and brilliant lyrics ("pull my ribs apart, and let the sun inside.") "Fallen Angel" marks a new progression for Elbow, with soaring chorus in a conventional structure. "Fugitive Motel" is simply the best on the album, with a heart-stoppingly poignant chorus and brilliant harmonies. Elbow are in a higher gear than anything previously. Simply outstanding.p"Snooks" retains the feel of the first album, with plaintive percussion and some of the scariest sounds you will ever hear.p"Switching Off" lowers the gear to a mournful ballad, then it moves up again for the radio-friendly "Not A Job."p"I've Got Your Number" has a smoky jazz feel, with double bass and brushed percussion, but again features the trademake Elbow raucous clang and what must be the greatest guitar (?) sound since Bowie's Fashion - and probably better.p"Buttons and Zips" is the only disappointment on the album, but things improve with "Crawling With Idiot", a typically slow-paced down-beat track.p"Grace Under Pressure" sees a more optimistic and sunny Elbow than ever before, with an uplifting refrain over up-tempo, heavy beats and the audience from Glastonbury joining in part way through.pWith the throw-away closing track "Flying Dream", the whole feels on a par with Asleep In The Back and at times certainly betters it. Though it is apparent that this album was written faster, and it is occasionally more mainstream, it's still a wonderful piece of work that gets better with each listen, and it should be eagerly consumed. It will repay the investment you give it.pAs with the first album, there's enough depth, richness and variety here to take you to every point on the emotional compass and it is greater than the sum of its parts.pOn the strength of this, catch them before they become world-class.
Elbow's 2nd album is jolly good stuff October 7, 2003
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
A strong powerful album chock full of beautiful melodious songs.brSome of the best are:brRibcage- Slow burning, melancholy but still very melancholy album. It's completely delicious.brFallen Angel- A rollicking rock song.brFugitive Motel- A very atmospheric, very good song.brGot Your Number- Smoky jazz with a lovely jarring organ part.brGrace Under Pressure- Could be the best song on the album. A wonderful riff is spread over a great DJ beat, an orchestra and the crowd at Glastonbury 2002.br Definitely worth the money. A fantastic album.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 42
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