Asleep in the Back [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Eagerly anticipated debut album for UK indie guitar act winning raves in all the British music press. 11 tracks including the first three singles, 'Newborn', 'Any Day Now' and 'Red '. 2001 release.

Tracks:

Any Day Now
Red
Little Beast
Powder Blue
Bitten By The Tailfly
Asleep In The Back
Newborn
Don't Mix Your Drinks
Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)
Coming Second
Can't Stop
Scattered Black And Whites

Amazon.com

Asleep in the Back, Elbow's frighteningly competent debut album, presents 11 tracks of rain-sodden misery blown up into the breed of gracefully elegiac fatalism that once formed the essence of, say, Joy Division. Elbow's foggy psychedelic swirl and sewer-deep dub bass lines might recall the prog-rock indulgences of Radiohead, but their grievances are unmistakably aired from the far end of a welfare line. "Any Day Now" veritably fidgets with small-town frustration, with lead singer Guy Garvey (a man with the voice of an angel and the face of a brickie) repeatedly hissing a mantra of desperation: "Any day now / How's about getting out of this place / Anyways?" Should we take it as a given that Elbow will break out of this rut of depression and despair? Asleep in the Back is good enough to suggest so, while also suggesting that fate can be awfully cruel. --Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews:

introducing Elbow.......2007-04-13

Elbow's first, best (to date), most interesting, and most poignant release. Highlights include:

- Any Day Now, the grinding, dissatisfied opening number
- Red, which is probably more responsible for this band being continually likened to Coldplay than any other song they have done
- Newborn, probably their most famous song and the one that is most deserving of the band's self-proclaimed genre, "prog rock without the solos"
- Scattered Black and Whites, which is one of those quintessentially Elbow numbers that drifts by sleepily under your radar if you're not paying attention, and breaks your heart if you are

Little Beast, Powder Blue, and the title track are also terrific, each in its own way.

To the extent that it has a weakness, it's that some of the tracks get so weighted down in murky drums and noise and don't function as songs so much as transitory noise between songs. But don't let that stop you.

Brooding and beautiful.......2006-01-10

To me, Asleep in the Back is one of the few albums that doesn't reveal a cynical formula after repeated listening. It is atmospheric, creative, intelligent and gorgeous. Too bad their follow-up efforts are not as cohesive. I still believe that one day they will blow my mind again.

best i have bought in years.......2005-11-07

i heard about twenty seconds of track one ( any day now ) on an episode of nip/tuck, then spent several hours trying to track down the name of the band. i ordered the cd , anticipating one or two good songs, but after listening to the entire cd , i fell in love. i havent felt so emotionally connected to music since i was in high school, about thirteen years ago. after listening to the cd several times certain tracks grabbed ahold of me, namely #'s 1 , 4 , 6 , and 10.then i began to castigate myself for not knowing about this band before.they combine all of the best elements of pink floyd, radiohead, the rapture, and something else that sets them apart from any other band that ive heard . i would reccommend this cd to anyone who craves emotioal , evocative music that makes you feel again.

give it a few listens.......2005-05-09

itll take a few careful listnes to appreciate whats going on in these songs. theres a subtle brilliance to it that many people overlook.

one of the best of 2001.......2005-03-23

I bought this album way back in the autumn of 2001 (the UK version, the first print without the song "asleep in the back") note unheard just because I was intrigued by the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the album. Quite simply, this is the most confident and assured debut album since Mansun's "Attack of the Grey Lanterns" These songs were written over the course of 10 years, and it shows: Every track is extremely precise and calculated; every note is right where it's supposed to be. Guy Garvey sounds a little too much like Peter Gabriel at times (especially on the opening track, which could've been a lost Genesis song if you didn't know better) but at other times he has a very distinct smoky croon. "Newborn" and "Powder Blue" are two of the most beautiful songs of the last 5 years, and indeed, I'd say this is one of the 10 best albums of the last 5 years or so.

By the way, if you get a chance to see these guys live, do it, I saw them open for Doves in 2002 and they were absolutely incredible. I can't wait to hear what these guys come up with next!

Average customer rating:

Asleep in the Back, Pt. 2
Elbow
Manufacturer: V2 Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Asleep in the Back, Pt. 1
Fugitive Motel, Pt. 1
Fallen Angels, Pt. 2
Powder Blue, Pt. 1
Red Pt.2

ASIN: B00005UT5Q
Release Date: 2002-06-04

Tracks:

Asleep In The Back
Coming Second (Misery: Lab Remix)
Puckfair

Album Description

Taken from the 2001 album with the same title, 'Asleep In The Back' is a non-album track and is backed with 2 non album tracks 'Coming Second' (Misery Lab Remix) & ' Puckfair'. 2002.

Album Details

Includes a Mixed Version of 'coming Second' and the Previously Unreleased Track 'puckfair'.

Average customer rating:

Asleep in the Back, Pt. 1
Elbow
Manufacturer: V2 Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Asleep in the Back, Pt. 2
Fallen Angels, Pt. 2
Fallen Angel 1
Powder Blue, Pt. 1
Red Pt.2

ASIN: B00005UOAU
Release Date: 2002-06-04

Tracks:

Asleep In The Back
Coming Second
Stumble

Album Description

Taken from their 2001 album Asleep In The Back, The track does not appear on the album and is the first new material since the album was released. It's backed with 'Coming Second' (Album Version) & 'Stumble' (Non-LP). 2002.

Album Details

Includes the LP Track 'coming Second' and the Previously Unreleased B-side 'stumble'.

Random Walks : Piano Music of David Kraehenbuehl

Average customer rating:

Wonderful interpretation

Random Walks : Piano Music of David Kraehenbuehl

Manufacturer: New World Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00004TYR1
Release Date: 2000-06-01

Tracks:

Diptych
Toccate per Cembalo
A Formal Triad
Toccata Sopra B-A-C-H: Tombeau de Bach
Random Walks: Studies in Controlled Randomness
Looking Back: Twelve Images from My Past

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful interpretation.......2002-03-26

RANDOM WALKS is a beautiful collection of contemporary piano music - for children and adults.

Average customer rating:

Excellent
Fantastic Debut!!
...and snoring, just a little
Excellent in-your-face debut
Radiohead Meet the Beta Band

Asleep in the Back
Elbow
Manufacturer: V2 Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Britpop | British Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Dream Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Ambient Pop | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00005AV14
Release Date: 2001-07-24

Tracks:

Any Day Now
Red
Little Beast
Powder Blue
Bitten by the Tailfly
Newborn
Don't Mix Your Drinks
Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)
Coming Second
Can't Stop
Scattered Black and Whites

Album Description

Eagerly anticipated debut album for UK indie guitar act winning raves in all the British music press. 11 tracks including the first three singles, 'Newborn', 'Any Day Now' and 'Red '. 2001 release.

Album Details

OK, it is the next big thing for 2001. Sounding like something in the middle of Coldplay and Dave Matthews, Elbow's debut is one of the most anticipated discs of the year. Understated in musical beauty and lyrically powerful, their releases up to this point have been the lead-in to the big bang ... this CD. Watch the groundswell peak quickly.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent.......2006-04-13

Excellent...very melancholy and moody...there isn't an uptempo song on here, but a great listen from start to finish. Newborn is the strongest song, but I love how the album closes.

Fantastic Debut!!.......2002-03-19

I keep hearing Elbow lumped in with Coldplay, Travis, Radiohead and I don't understand why. Elbow sound absolutely nothing like Travis and have little to do with Radiohead. I loved Coldplay's "Parachutes", but I think "Asleep" is even better. "Any Day Now" is a phenomenal opening track. Other favs are "Powder Blue" and the beautiful, "Newborn". Nicest love song I've heard in a while. Definitely more than a touch of Peter Gabriel in that voice.

...and snoring, just a little.......2002-02-27

From the early singles and peel sessions, it was pretty clear Elbow were promising something special - not just the majestic locked-in chant of 'Any Day Now' and the painfully fragile death-ballad "Powder Blue", but here (at last) were a band who were capable of good songs, stylistic breadth and cared deeply about the sound of the records they produced. (Talk Talk are the first comparison that came to mind)

The album finally arrived, showing this to be true; their strength and their weakness. They throw out a hatful of exhilirating tricks - sudden mid-song mood swings, thrilling collapsing-song chaos, conflicting melodic lines and clattering percussion and initially I was totally sold. The random "parp!" trumpet on "Can't Stop" is now my favourite solo of all time.

A few listens down the road, and the underlying conservative nature of the song-writing starts to show through the fashionably messy production. It's a little like Del Amitri got produced by Nigel Godrich, though that's way too harsh. However, the singles stand out as the precious gems they are and, with three truly cherishable tracks on a debut effort, Elbow are as interesting a propect as I heard in 2001, but I wouldn't say the most exciting.

Excellent in-your-face debut.......2001-10-29

Elbow is one of the most promising new British bands of 2001. One might call their debut album `Asleep In The Back' a depressing one. I call it a beautiful melodic piece of art. Kick-off track, and funky single `Any Day Now' proves this. And true, a phew songs here are quite depressing (in the most positive way possible), like `Bitten By The Tailfly' and `Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)', but most of the songs here are very strong and well composed. Best one here is current single `Newborn'. I prefer the album version to the edited single version, because the best thing has been left out: the excellent instrumental climax in the end of the track. Other highlights are `Red', `Little Beast', closing track `Scattered Black And Whites' and especially `Powder Blue'. Singer Guy Garvey has a very fine magical voice, and his lyrics are even more moving. This album is recommended to all the fans of Coldplay or Doves, and ofcourse to anyone who likes very good music.

Radiohead Meet the Beta Band.......2001-10-22

Radiohead recently toured the US with the Beta Band as their opening act, an inspired pairing. If you have any interest in hearing what they'd sound like if they were one band, spend the cash to check out the import-only debut of Manchester's Elbow, Asleep in the Back. Elbow purify the best qualities of both bands - namely, Radiohead's sonic palette and Beta Band's rhythmic savvy - without the intolerable shortcomings of either at their worst. Vocalist Guy Garvey sings without mannerisms - Thom Yorke refined - and bandmates Richard Jupp (drums), Craig Potter (organist), Mark Potter (guitarist) and Pete Turner (bassist) root the songs, what they call "prog without solos", in recognizably minimal forms. Like anything progressive the songs do go on (though rarely lose interest). And while they don't rock they do compel - no more so than on "Powder Blue", where ambient Bowie meets Catherine Wheel croon, and "Coming Second", where Pink Floyd does the backwater stomp.