Some of the greatest albums of all time were born from artists reaching their breaking points. Bruce Springsteen got so frustrated making Born to Run that he threw the tapes into a swimming pool out of anger. The Dark Side of the Moon was the product of Syd Barrett’s declining mental health and eventual departure from Pink Floyd. And Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours was created during a time when the band, to put it mildly, was going through a series of internal romantic conflicts.While I don’t think the new Brandi Carlile/Elton John studio record Who Believes In Angels? will achieve the same legendary status as the aforementioned classics, it’s quite great, with a lot of drama behind the scenes. (Spoiler! Elton John, according to the behind-the-scenes video, almost quits).
The idea to collaborate on a record together was devised by close John and Carlile (who are close friends), along with producer and songwriter Andrew Watt. Bernie Taupin, John’s longtime songwriting partner, and Carlile contributed the lyrics.
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Who Believes in Angels? provides both John and Carlile plenty of song spotlights as lead vocalists. But the album’s first track, “The Rose of Laura Nyro,” is an uncompromising duet between the two, an epic swirl of piano and keyboards, electric guitar, crashing drums, and choir-like harmonies. It’s a terrific introduction to the album, giving Goodbye Yellow Brick Road vibes.
“You Without Me,” is another standout, with Carlile on lead vocals and John backing her up on this tender, acoustic, fingerpicking ballad.
John leads the vocal charge on “Never Too Late,” written for the Disney+ documentary of the same name, released last year. It’s a track that, at first listen, bordered on schmaltzy for me. But the more I put this song on repeat, I grew to appreciate how it harkens back to John’s 1971 (or 1970 in Britain) record, Tumbleweed Connection, an absolute favorite of mine from his discography.
“Swing for the Fences,” and “A Little Light” are both terrific tracks that are unapologetically optimistic, which is kind of what we need right now. In fact, the whole album is a package of positivity and light, which is to be expected, I suppose, with a record called, Who Believes in Angels?
The concept of angels, at least to me, is a trope that I’ve grown tired of in pop culture and always makes me think of Hallmark Channel movies and Precious Moments figurines—both make me nauseous. When I first heard about this album, I was skeptical; not because of John and Carlile, as they’re both masters of their musical domains. It was that damned title, Who Believes In Angels?, that initially turned me off. But this record, which evokes themes of getting older, reminiscing over the past, death, and the afterlife, is at times, deeply emotional and poignant, and at others, energetic and raw with tinges of rock and roll, pop, and country-hued Americana.
But what I took away most from Who Believes In Angels? is this: The world seems to be at its breaking point, and John and Carlile, through their unapologetically optimistic album, are doing their best to keep us from reaching it.
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