Elbow – Asleep in the Back [Deluxe Edition]

Elbow’s powers-that-be have decided that, for whatever reason, it’s time for a reissue. Asleep in the Back was Elbow’s debut, not-so-way-back in 2001. It’s been repackaged in a ‘deluxe’ edition (and who can resist anything with the word ‘deluxe’ on it?), with a CD of that winning cash-cow buzz word ‘bonus’, and a DVD featuring, well, a lot of odds and ends.So”¦ let’s break this down”¦Disc One - Asleep in the BackEasily on a par with The Seldom Seen Kid, Asleep in the Back is an utterly astonishing debut album. Granted, the band had been together nearly a decade before they made it, but it was undoubtedly worth the wait.It features some of the bands live highlights ”“ 'Powder Blue', 'Red', 'Don’t Mix Your Drinks', the incredible, tender, grandiose cacophony that is 'Newborn', and recent set-closer, the heart-warming 'Scattered Black and Whites'.There’s also the odd forgotten gem it’s nice to get reacquainted with, such as 'Any Day Now' and 'Presuming Ed (Rest Easy)' which features the lush textures of multi-layered Garvey vocals.The rough around the edges outtakes are a timely reminder that Asleep in the Back captures Elbow at the flush of the band’s youth. A bit scruffy, and lacking the polished production of their later work, (ironically their own polished production), but rather endearing all the same.For those that only clambered aboard the Elbow train after The Seldom Seen Kid, Asleep in the Back will bookend their burgeoning Elbow discography nicely. Those that were on board from day one will still feel a little smug that they were there from the start.Disc Two ”“ Bonus TracksWhat’s that black and white blob coming on the horizon? Oh, here’s that cash-cow. Now forgive me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t the term ‘bonus’ imply something extra, additional, a cheeky bit on the side? Now according to my calculations, there are two ‘bonus’ tracks on CD 2 ”“ that is, tracks that aren’t on Asleep in the Back. There’s the grungey, scuzzy, tumbling free-for all of 'Theme From Munroe Kelly', and 'George Lassoes The Moon'.The rest of the ‘bonus’ tracks are all taken from Asleep in the Back, and are either from a Steve Lamacq session or an NME Astoria gig. Fair enough ”“ anyone who’s caught Elbow live will know they truly excel, but when ‘Red’ and ‘Don’t Mix Your Drinks’ roll around for the second time, it does become a little tiring. The six tracks from the Astoria show are the highlight, particularly the threatening, anticipating, hot-under-the-collar rendition of ‘Bitten by the Tailfly’. But it’s all a bit to bitty to really get involved with ”“ as soon as you’re getting into the swing of the Astoria show and enjoying Guy’s banter, it’s replaced with an (albeit pretty special) session version on 'Newborn'. Personally, I rather would’ve had a whole live gig on this CD rather than what seems like bits and pieces cobbled together in attempt to create some kind of snap-shot of Elbow circa 2001.Disc Three ”“ Asleep in the Back MovieMoo. It’s back. The DVD contains all the videos for Asleep in the Back. If you haven’t got time to sit through them all (and quite frankly the first five are worth avoiding anyway) then go straight for the title track, where the band are transformed into puppets topped with their heads, in a rather beautifully made old-school silent film about Guy being stung by a wasp.Another hilarious Guy moment sees him attempting to ad-lib when technical problems halt a show in Glasgow ”“ it would seem his on-stage banter has progressed in leaps and bounds since then, as the best he can come up with is discussing his favourite gadget and ‘Hello Glasgow’. Still, if he ever gives up music he’s a shoe-in for a role in an awkward docu-comedy.As for the rest of the ‘movie’, well there’s a Jukebox which means you can load up the album in any order you fancy and play it (how handy, I hear you cry) and the tracks off Disc Two again, just incase you need to play them on your DVD player instead.So sadly this deluxe edition is all a bit of a waste of time. I’m assuming that it has more to do with Polydor and Universal than the band, but after the rather beautiful box-set of The Seldom Seen Kid recorded at Abbey Road, this is certainly a let down. Luckily the, strength of this album means that it doesn’t need a load of extra padding to go with it ”“ this is one for the die-hards and uninitiated only.

Buy album from Amazon |[itunes link="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=335426102&s=143444&uo=4" title="iTunes" text=" iTunes"]