Elton John and Brandi Carlile Announce New Album Together
Last year, Elton John and Brandi Carlile released a collaboration, “Never Too Late,” for the documentary Elton John: Never Too Late (the song is nominated for an Oscar). Today. we learned that collaboration was not a one-off, as they announced an entire album together, Who Believes In Angels?
The album is a collaboration between Elton and Brandi, but also Elton’s longtime songwriting partner Bernie Taupin and producer/multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Andrew Watt. The four worked together on “Never Too Late” as well.
In a UK interview posted today, Elton said that, instead of working with his usual band, he worked with different musicians. He, of course, played piano; Carlile and Watt played guitars, Pino Palladino played bass, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers was on drums and Josh Klinghoffer, who played in Pearl Jam’s touring band (and who is a former member of the Chili Peppers) was on synthesizers.
He noted that bands like the Rolling Stones and the Who’s energy comes from antagonism. And he felt that on this record. “To start with, there was a lot of antagonism, because I was in a bad place, I was tired, I was irritable, I was full of self-doubt, and I put everyone through the ringer for the first five days [of recording]. And when I got that sorted out, and we’d done two or three tracks, and I knew we were on the right path, I completely relaxed.”
You can see some of that tension in a behind-the-scenes video that they released. In it, Elton says that the album came together after the end of his farewell tour, which wrapped in the summer of 2023. “I’m 76, and I wanted to do something different. I didn’t want to coast.”
The album was recorded in 20 days in October of 2023. “The reality is, I was exhausted, I had a lot of doubt… I was a nightmare.” The brief video backs up Elton’s statement: you see him arguing with Watt, having a minor meltdown, and even sobbing at the piano.
The duo have announced a “one night only” show together at the London Palladium on March 26 (Elton said he was finished touring, but he remains open to one-off performances). Who Believes In Angels? is due out on April 4. See the tracklist below.
The Rose of Laura Nyro
Little Richard’s Bible
Swing for the Fences
Never Too Late
You Without Me
Who Believes in Angels?
The River Man
A Little Light
Someone to Belong To
When This Old World Is Done With Me
