Elton John and Brandi Carlile release their acclaimed collaborative studio album, Who Believes In Angels?, out now via Interscope Records. Listen here. The highly anticipated album comes the week after Elton and Brandi debuted several tracks live during a magical evening of music and conversation at The London Palladium. The show, which received widespread 5-star reviews from critics, will air on CBS on Sunday, April 6 and ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player on Saturday, April 19.
One of the tracks debuted live was album focus track, “Little Richard’s Bible.” A meditation on the rock and roll legend’s journey from outrageous gay rock star to devout Christian gospel singer and back again, set to frantic piano, a blasting brass riff and a bassline inspired by T Rex, “Little Richard’s Bible” turned out to be the key to an extraordinary album.
Speaking on the track Elton says: “I played ’Little Richard’s Bible’ just accompanied by Chad Smith hitting the hi-hat. Then Andrew put the band on it. When I heard it, I thought ‘God Almighty, this is incredible.’ The frost melted. It was a breakthrough: it had so much energy, and it was exactly the energy I wanted. I suddenly thought ‘yeah, this album’s going to be great.’”
The concept for Who Believes In Angels? was devised by close friends and regular collaborators Elton John, eleven-time Grammy-winning U.S. superstar Brandi Carlile and Oscar-nominated and multiple Grammy Award-winning producer and songwriter Andrew Watt. They set out to create a genuinely collaborative studio album between Elton and Brandi. The album would mix Elton-led songs and Brandi-led songs, with long term collaborator Bernie Taupin and Brandi both contributing lyrics, and producer and co-writer Andrew Watt acting as the producer, mediator and creative conduit. Entering Los Angeles’ Sunset Sound Studios in October 2023 with a completely blank slate, they pushed each other out of their comfort zones to write and record an album completely from scratch in just 20 days. They would be backed by a world class band of musicians comprising of Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Pino Palladino (Nine Inch Nails, Gary Numan and David Gilmour) and Josh Klinghoffer (Pearl Jam, Beck).
“Who Believes In Angels? Stories From The Edge Of Creation” is a 30-minute film series that encapsulates the creative brilliance and unbridled talent of all the musicians who worked on the record. Static cameras positioned around the studio captured thousands of hours of raw footage and ultimately documented the album's entire creation. Offering fans an unprecedented, searingly honest insight into the emotionally turbulent creative process - breakdowns, breakthroughs, tears, torn up lyric sheets and all. “Stories From The Edge Of Creation” marks the first time that Elton has allowed cameras to film his writing and recording sessions while creating an album. Fans can watch the short film this Saturday April 5 at 3:00pm ET/12:00pm PT premiered on YouTube here.
The results of this creative friction are stunning, and the kaleidoscopic scope of Who Believes In Angels? draws comparisons with some of Elton’s very finest works. Ballads co-exist with raw rock and roll, pop songs and country-hued Americana rub shoulders with synth-heavy psychedelia. It’s an album as unexpected as it is triumphant. Elton sounds utterly revitalized. Brandi sounds like a singer-songwriter at the absolute top of her game, her voice melding with Elton’s like a hand in a glove. The resulting songs somehow manage to be unequivocally the work of Elton and Brandi, while sounding unlike any album either have made before.
