Cast of Thousands

This article is about the Elbow album. For the Adverts album, see Cast of Thousands (The Adverts album).

Cast of Thousands
Studio album by
Elbow
Released18 August 2003
Recorded2002–2003
StudioParr Street Studios, Liverpool[1]
Genre
Length50:09
LabelV2
ProducerBen Hillier, Elbow
Elbow chronology
Asleep in the Back
(2001) 		Cast of Thousands
(2003) 		Leaders of the Free World
(2005)
Singles from Cast of Thousands
  1. "Fallen Angel"
    Released: 4 August 2003
  2. "Fugitive Motel"
    Released: 27 October 2003
  3. "Not a Job"
    Released: 23 February 2004
  4. "Grace Under Pressure"/"Switching Off"
    Released: 12 July 2004
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[5]
The Guardian[6]
The Independent[7]
NME9/10[8]
Pitchfork7.8/10[9]
Q[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
SpinA−[12]
Uncut[13]

Cast of Thousands is the second studio album by English rock band Elbow, released on 18 August 2003 in the UK and on 27 January 2004 in the US by V2 Records. The album title refers to the song "Grace Under Pressure", whose refrain was recorded live at the Glastonbury Festival in 2002, as sung by the audience during the band's set. Participants were then invited to register their names at the Elbow website, with all responders gaining a 'credit' on the album sleeve. The US version of the album contains two additional songs: "Whisper Grass" (which was a B-side to first single "Fallen Angel") and "Lay Down Your Cross" (a B-side to third single "Not a Job"). The Japanese version includes "Whisper Grass" and "Brave New Shave" (another "Fallen Angel" B-side) as bonus tracks.

A companion film was also produced in conjunction with the album's release. It features footage set to all 11 tracks on the UK version of the album, as well as the music videos for the singles "Fallen Angel" and "Fugitive Motel". In the UK the film was released on DVD, whereas in the US it was released as an enhanced video bonus disc with the album.

  1. ^ Biography section on Elbow official website Archived 8 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Leas, Ryan. "The 10 Best Elbow Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Reviews for Cast of Thousands by Elbow". Metacritic. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  4. ^ Kellman, Andy. "Cast of Thousands – Elbow". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  5. ^ Browne, David (19 January 2004). "Cast of Thousands". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  6. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (15 August 2003). "Elbow: Cast of Thousands". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  7. ^ "Elbow: A Cast of Thousands (V2)". The Independent. 17 August 2003.
  8. ^ Naylor, Tony (2 September 2003). "Elbow : Cast of Thousands". NME. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  9. ^ Goldstein, Hartley (11 January 2004). "Elbow: Cast of Thousands". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  10. ^ "Elbow: Cast of Thousands". Q (206): 106. September 2003.
  11. ^ Hoard, Christian (5 February 2004). "Elbow: Cast of Thousands". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 22 February 2004. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Breakdown". Spin. 20 (30): 96. March 2004. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
  13. ^ "Rock This Joint". Uncut (76): 100. September 2003. Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.