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| The Seldom Seen Kid | 
 enlarge | Artist: Elbow
Label: Polydor Group
Category: Music
List Price: £16.99
Buy New: £6.98
You Save: £10.01 (59%)
Buy New/Used from £6.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  (102 reviews)
Sales Rank: 35
Media: Audio CD
Running Time: 56 minutes
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 602517640986
EAN: 0602517640986
ASIN: B0013F2M52
Release Date: March 17, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
 Grown Up Music for Grown Ups October 22, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The horns of the opening track `Starlings' seem to ring out as a fitting fanfare to the world announcing the arrival of this excellent record. What impresses me most about `The Seldom Seen Kid' is the maturity of songwriting and musicianship throughout; Elbow are true masters of their craft both musically and lyrically. The songs here are perfectly put together with the traditional rock template enhanced by subtle electronic effects and atmospheric strings. The lyrics truthfully, and with wry amusement, observe the realities of everyday life through stand out lines like: "cramming commitments like cats in a sack", "straight to my head like the first cigarette of the day" and "I'm working on a cocktail called grounds for divorce" to name but a few.
The band show their versatility by following `Mirrorball', with its gorgeous, melancholy string washes with `Grounds For Divorce' a stomping rock track punched along with a fantastic, growling guitar line. On the whole, the songs on `The Seldom Seen Kid' swell atmospherically and are richly melodic and satisfying, none more so than on `One Day Like This'. This song is a true string- drenched, flag-waving anthem, with a massive, uplifting lyric and chorus and would have made a fantastic closing track. I mention this because the only real criticism I have of the record is of the two tracks that succeed `One Day Like This'; both `Friend of Ours' and `We're Away' are very low-key and subdued and are a little disappointing.
The rest of `The Seldom Seen Kid' is still good enough to be a five star record for me though and thoroughly deserves all its plaudits and awards.
 Slightly disappointing October 22, 2008
I bought the album based on a performance I saw on later with Jools Holland. I can see why elbow picked the couple of songs that they played as they are easily the best songs on the album. The trouble is I find the whole album a bit disappointing because the sound is really tinny. Even through my rotel separates and B&W speakers the sound is lacking in depth. The performance on later was a live performance and had a much better sound through the basic speakers on the TV than I get from the album through an expensive hi-fi.
I find the comparisons with coldplay a bit confusing. I would say elbow are much more like embrace than coldplay. The coldplay albums are all about taking a simple riff or hook and building the sound with layers. The elbow sound doesn't quite have the same depth, perhaps because of the poor production, but it does have it's good points. Whilst some of the songs can be a bit boring they are all at least original with a unique sound. I don't think it's right to really compare elbow with anyone else as they have a sound all of their own.
I would say it's worth 3 1/2 stars but as that's not an option I'll be generous and give 4. It's one worth owning but not quite as good as the hype. Perhaps they are a 'live' band.
Holy Cow! October 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Holy Cow I love... this album! Seldom do I buy albums and play ALL the tracks but this is an exception. One Day Like This is a very personal favourite and Grounds for Divorce is technically and musically evergreen. There is no room for disappointment here!
Something New, Something Old...!!!! October 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was spending a well earned lunch break in a very well known record shop, scouting the old and looking for anything new that may have slipped under my radar, when suddenly I heard a voice (not that of an Angel by any means) supported by music that reminded me of something that, at first, eluded me. Then it dawned on me, the voice, being that of Guy Garvey, reminded me of both David Gilmour and Peter Gabriel; there was something compelling in the voice. I couldn't not buy the album and, after listening to it in full, a number of times, I had to ask myself "Is this what Genesis would sound like now if Peter Gabriel had never left them?", "is this the sound that Pink Floyd would have become?" Questions that can never be answered but which do Elbow the credit they deserve. Elbow have a timeless and hypnotic style that draws the listener deeper in and leaves them feeling as if they had just uncovered a favourite memory and are revelling in the moment. The Seldom Seen Kid was my first Elbow album... but definitely not my last; it is a truly wonderous opus and I thank that lucky lunchtime when I first heard Mr Garvey's seductive and compelling voice.
I LIKED IT October 8, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
WHO SAID FAT MEN CANT SING, NON-COMERCIAL AND BRILLIANT A BREATH OF FRESH AIR BURYING THE PAST AND ITS DEAD BODYS AND PLANTING A FLOWER POT FULL ON THE GRAVESTONE WHILST TAKING A WIZZ.
HE HEE BYE.
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