Cast of Thousands
The second album, named for a Glastonbury crowd that sang on Grace Under Pressure.
Elbow, 2003
- Released
- 18 August 2003
- Label
- V2
Released on V2 in August 2003 in the UK and January 2004 in the US, the album takes its title from Grace Under Pressure, whose refrain was sung by the audience at the band's 2002 Glastonbury set and recorded. Fans were invited to register their names on the Elbow website, and everyone who did was credited on the sleeve. The London Community Gospel Choir sang on Ribcage and Grace Under Pressure, and Ian Burdge arranged the strings for Fugitive Motel and Crawling with Idiot. The US edition added Whisper Grass and Lay Down Your Cross.
The singles ran from Fallen Angel in August 2003 to a Grace Under Pressure and Switching Off EP in July 2004. The cover, by art director Rob Crane, showed two ten-foot polystyrene figures named Elle and Bo. The album averages 84 on Metacritic from 23 reviews. Pitchfork's Hartley Goldstein gave it 7.8 and credited Ben Hillier's production on Ribcage, and he called Grace Under Pressure damn near revelatory.
Track listing
- Ribcage6:27
- Fallen Angel4:08
- Fugitive Motel5:51
- Snooks (Progress Report)4:00
- Switching Off5:05
- Not a Job4:23
- I've Got Your Number4:48
- Buttons and Zips3:57
- Crawling with Idiot4:41
- Grace Under Pressure4:57
- Flying Dream 1431:48
Personnel
- Ben Hillier co-producer
- The London Community Gospel Choir vocals on Ribcage and Grace Under Pressure
- Ian Burdge string arrangements, cello
- Chris Worsey cello
- Jimi Goodwin additional vocals on Grace Under Pressure
- Cathy Davey additional vocals on Grace Under Pressure
More from Elbow
Asleep in the Back (2001), Leaders of the Free World (2005), The Seldom Seen Kid (2008), Build a Rocket Boys! (2011), The Take Off and Landing of Everything (2014), Little Fictions (2017), Giants of All Sizes (2019), Audio Vertigo (2024)
Sources
- Cast of Thousands, Wikipedia
- Elbow: Cast of Thousands, Pitchfork (2004-01-11)
- Cast of Thousands (master), Discogs