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Cast of Thousands

Cast of Thousands
Cast of Thousands.jpg
Studio album by Elbow
Released 18 August 2003 (UK)
27 January 2004 (US)
Recorded 2002-2003 at Parr Street Studios, Liverpool
Genre
Length 50:09
Label V2
Producer Ben 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
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 3.5/5 stars
The A.V. Club 8/10 stars
BBC Music (highly favourable)
The Guardian 4/5 stars
The Independent 3/5 stars
MusicOMH (highly favourable)
NME 9/10 stars
Pitchfork Media (7.8/10)
PopMatters (favourable)
Stylus Magazine A
Yahoo! Music 7/10 stars

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.

The two characters on the album cover were 10 feet (3.0 m) tall female and male polystyrene figures, named "Elle" and "Bo", which were originally placed by the side of the M1 motorway near Mansfield, but were removed by police following reported "alien" sightings by passing drivers. Following the conclusion of the promotional activities for the record, the models were auctioned for charity.

All tracks written by Elbow; all lyrics by Guy Garvey.

All tracks written by Elbow; all lyrics by Guy Garvey.

(released 3 November 2003 in UK, 27 January 2004 in US):

As the standard album release in each country (11 tracks in UK, 13 tracks in US)

(released as a DVD in UK, and as an enhanced CD-ROM in US)

In the UK, there were four singles released from the album:


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Wikipedia

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