build a rocket boys!

In favourite order:

Jesus is a Rochdale Girl
Lippy Kids
Open Arms
The Birds
With Love
The Night Will Always Win
High Ideals
Neat Little Rows
Dear Friends
The Birds (Reprise)
The River

on the third time through, this is already growing on me a lot, doesnt really have one song that stands out to me , i dont think any of these will break into my top ten elbow songs, but i'm pretty pleased with it, except for the birds reprise, still waiting for the vinyL

My list, from favourite to least:

Dear Friends
The Night Will Always Win
High Ideals
The Birds
Lippy Kids
Open Arms
With Love
Neat Little Rows
The River
Jesus is a Rochdale Girl
The Birds (Reprise)

Gosh was that hard, there's only a slight margin between most of them though

...still haven't heard it yet. Aaaaaaagh!

ChrissyBoy wrote:

Lippy Kids ....and the piano at the end hit me.

That, ChrissyBoy, is possibly my favourite moment of the whole album. It beautifully underlines the song. It actually reminds me of Joe Jackson circa "Night & Day". - A Very Good Thing Indeed.

glad its not just me then !!

the more i listen the more this album is growing on me

my faves in order:

The Night Will Always Win
Dear Friends
Open Arms
The Birds
Lippy Kids
Neat Little Rows
High Ideals
Jesus is a Rochdale Girl
With Love
The River

The Birds (Reprise) -i love elbow, they are my favorite band, this is the worst thing they have ever put on a record, in my opinion

I think people are being very harsh on the BIrds reprise. There may be timing issues with regard to its place on the album but there is absolutely nothing wrong with it IMO. It's a lovely, unusual extra as far as I am concerned. It's not a full song so can't be compared to other songs...it's a poignant echo of another song and is entirely pertinent.

Don't get all the hate at all.

Totally agree with above post. I find it quite haunting.

There has been quite a bit of debate about the reprise on another thread.

Before condemning the reprise (quite strongly, in some cases) it might help the unconvinced to consider the track's purpose within the context of the album, bearing in mind Guy's observations about 'The Birds' in the RTE interview posted elsewhere:

Guy: "I love birds me. I was writing that song in the countryside in Real World studios in Bath and there are so many birds around there and I needed a vehicle to describe a nostalgic thought about the last encounter of a doomed love affair and I thought what could trigger that memory on a regular basis and I thought if the character in the song considered the birds the only key to the secret because they're the only witness to this moment of passion in a field. In a lot of mythology and poetry, birds inhabit people's souls. I like the idea of an old man sitting in his bath chair looking at the birds and remembering a certain moment."

That last sentence opened up a whole new level of poignancy, for me at least.

On its own, it just seems a pointless oddity; the back story reveals it to be a very clever and affecting addition.

But, hey; if you don't like it, you don't like it.

Would be interested to know why there is so much hate though; "Worst thing they've ever recorded" seems a tad harsh.

Mr Woman wrote:

There has been quite a bit of debate about the reprise on another thread.

Before condemning the reprise (quite strongly, in some cases) it might help the unconvinced to consider the track's purpose within the context of the album, bearing in mind Guy's observations about 'The Birds' in the RTE interview posted elsewhere:

Guy: "I love birds me. I was writing that song in the countryside in Real World studios in Bath and there are so many birds around there and I needed a vehicle to describe a nostalgic thought about the last encounter of a doomed love affair and I thought what could trigger that memory on a regular basis and I thought if the character in the song considered the birds the only key to the secret because they're the only witness to this moment of passion in a field. In a lot of mythology and poetry, birds inhabit people's souls. I like the idea of an old man sitting in his bath chair looking at the birds and remembering a certain moment."

That last sentence opened up a whole new level of poignancy, for me at least.

On its own, it just seems a pointless oddity; the back story reveals it to be a very clever and affecting addition.

But, hey; if you don't like it, you don't like it.

Would be interested to know why there is so much hate though; "Worst thing they've ever recorded" seems a tad harsh.

Thanks for that ... I think context is really important here. The Elboys are unashamedly prog in their outlook and the decision to include this piece may have been influenced by listening to the old dinosaurs of rock .. thinking Genesis, Yes, Pink Floyd et al. where reprises were a common occurance. For example Los Endos is an instrumental amalgam of Squonk, Dance on A Volcano and other bits IIRC. This is a throwback to the old vinyl days where you placed the needle at the start and listened non-stop to the end of that particular side. Therefore 'themes' could be explored.

With the advent of iTunes and mp3s a different paradigm has emerged where playlists and shuffle play dominate. Small wonder that the Reprise seems out of place when sat uncomfortably between 'The Real Slim Shady' and 'Smack My Bitch Up'.

I like it and completely understand why they have included it. But then I am a bit of an old fart

I love the reprise I find it very haunting and poignant. I'm a Kate Bush fan and it somehow compares to some of her work. Don't ask me why and don't shout at me as I admit I don't know an awful lot about music but it just reminds me of her. When I heard it I wondered if they would play this to walk onto the stage, it kind of sets the scene.

Given Kate Bush has Rolf Harris singing and talking on her last album, I think the parallel is entirely justified.

The reprise is quite evocative of that track in fact.

The Birds (reprise) has echoes of Bjork's all-vocal album 'Medulla' for me. Particulary the haunting chant in the background.

MagicalTrevor wrote:

Given Kate Bush has Rolf Harris singing and talking on her last album, I think the parallel is entirely justified.

The reprise is quite evocative of that track in fact.

(Rolf Harris's drummer is now a drummer with one of my old prog/psychedelic favourites 'Caravan' who are doing festivals this summer, yay!)

I like the order of the tracks with the reprise where it is, with the album theme running through.
Wembley audience had to sing a bit of the lyrics to 'dear friends' at the end of the album, would if the london audiences this time,get any opportunity to join in with it.

Lynne, I think they did use the backing harmonies of the reprise a bit in the intro at Cambridge. (Kate Bush still one of my favourite female musician...Bjork too)

Mr Woman wrote:

Would be interested to know why there is so much hate though; "Worst thing they've ever recorded" seems a tad harsh.

well theres any number of ways you could put it, its my least favorite elbow song (but really its not much of an elbow song at all, besides them writing it), or if i ranked all the elbow songs in order, it would be last, i dont hate it, but i just dont have a desire to listen to it

it just feels like too much of a novelty song to me, the album is already pretty short, i just dont like one of the tracks being an old man singing over a choir (i already think elbow overuses choirs a little bit), i think it disrupts the flow of the end of the album, i think if they wanted to do a reprise it could have been done in a different way that was actually more of an elbow song

but thats just me

Cozzer wrote:

Small wonder that the Reprise seems out of place when sat uncomfortably between 'The Real Slim Shady' and 'Smack My Bitch Up'.

hahaha

Elbow are an albums band. I'd never even DREAM of listening to any of their albums on shuffle

anyway, the worst Elbow song is that b-side with the bloke wittering on about politics Or Lay Down Your Cross, was never a fan of that...

was trying to remember what guy said about Neat Little Rows the other night,
he said the song was in two parts.
it was something along the lines of insisting your right when your younger and then "when you get to our age realising you were a complete Twat" and he also said something like ..."...and I was a right little f**ker"

still trying to work out the lyrics to the mid section on this one. should have taken notes when they were up on the bloomin screen on Tuesday lol.

got the "No more, Don't point fingers, fingers are for pointing at the sky" bit
and the start something about "in the house where the glue? is" There were secrets and mistakes, and the .............? would give anything to erase..... picture counting your fingers, waiting for the .... your eyes

anyone got any ideas ?

They are detailed in the lyric thread

http://elbow.heavenforum.org/t1259-barb-lyrics?highlight=lyrics

of course they are .. silly me

OK... 27 and with a Y chromosome.

Dear Friends just made me cry.

Don't judge me.

Lee Spoons wrote:

Elbow are an albums band. I'd never even DREAM of listening to any of their albums on shuffle

I am using my ipod the same way

having listened again a few times, The River has really grown on me. Reminds me of early Kate Bush for some reason!
The Birds - still my favourite from the album, with Lippy Kids a close second.

elbowismymuse wrote:

OK... 27 and with a Y chromosome.

Dear Friends just made me cry.

Don't judge me.

That part with the stars, he navigates too? If your eyes don't get wet on that you have no heart at all...