Elton John & Brandi Carlile – Who Believes In Angels?
Elton John may have been enjoying retirement from live performances for two years now, but he is far from fully retired. He continues to make music. And why not? His collaborations with other artists like Dua Lipa, Ed Sheeran, and Britney Spears have been quite lucrative in recent years, and they’ve helped him gain embrace from a younger audience. When his farewell tour was forcibly paused in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, he seized the moment to release a duets album, “The Lockdown Sessions.” Among the array of artists he collaborated with for that album was American country singer Brandi Carlile. Already an established artist in the United States, Elton immediately wished to create an entire album with her. She, too, is no stranger to collaborations. For example, she supported Joni Mitchell during her comeback performance at the Newport Folk Festival, which resulted in an impressive live album.
That promised album is now here with “Who Believes In Angels?” The cover art breathes the 1970s and evokes memories of albums like “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy” from Elton John’s undoubtedly best period. And what becomes apparent? With Brandi Carlile, he musically returns to that era. Carlile worked with Elton’s longtime songwriter, Bernie Taupi,n on the compositions. Add to that producer wunderkind Andrew Watt, who in recent years has managed to elevate new albums from veterans like The Rolling Stones and Pearl Jam to great heights.
The opening track, “The Rose of Laura Nyro” immediately captures the epic and bombastic quality Elton John had on his records in the 1970s. Meanwhile, “Little Richard’s Bible,” “Swing For The Fences,” and “The River Man” swing just as Elton did in “Crocodile Rock.” The title track also nods to his piano classics like “Tiny Dancer” or “Rocketman.” In contrast, “A Little Light” is more of a country duet that aligns with Carlile’s style. The same goes for the other country-influenced track, “Someone To Belong To.” Even with the two songs they perform separately (Carlile’s “You Without Me” and Elton’s “When This Old World Is Done With Me”), they impress by keeping things appropriately subdued.
Only the single and title track of the namesake documentary “Never Too Late” is perhaps a bit too sweet with a Disney-like coating reminiscent of Elton’s 1990s work, making it the only somewhat weaker track on the album. But for the rest, John and Carlile have brought out the best in each other. This makes the album a textbook example of a perfect musical collaboration between two famous artists. (8/10) (Interscope)
