Sound Advice: 23. Apr. 2025

The flood of great records continues! Today we're taking a quick look at Elton John & Brandi Carlisle's Who Believes In Angels?

Cover art courtesy of EMI Records

Longtime readers may recall that I reviewed 100 new (to me) records last year. Because I’m a glutton for punishment love music, I’m doing it again this year. This is the latest in the series.

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Good morning!

Today we’re taking a look at the latest from Elton John and Brandi Carlisle

Every year, I celebrate all the great music we’ve been gifted while worrying that next year will see the other shoe drop. I first did that in December 2020 and have been proven wrong every month since. Not only are there a ton of releases steadily coming out, but it also transcends genre or any other artificial guardrail we try and put up—

In other words, a ton of good stuff is coming out, and there’s something for everyone. It’s almost overwhelming— but in all the best ways. Below is another batch that caught my attention recently.

Let’s get into it!

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Dear reader I did not have looking at an Elton John record on my 2025 bingo card.

There is no taking away from anything his career. "Levon" is an all-timer. "I'm Still Standing" is a great song that harkens back to the second wave of early MTV. Despite my occasional jabs at classic rock, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has earned a rightful place on many best-of lists.

But those are all from the first half of his career. The second half- defined arbitrarily by me- is notable for dreck like "Nikita," which might get my vote as the song I'd be most cool with never hearing again. The same goes for the tangentially related "Russians" by Sting, but I digress.

The truth is I was more interested in his fandom and investment in the Watford football (soccer) club than anything he was recording. See also: Robbie Williams and his love for Port Vale FC.

In my mind, he had taken his rightful place as a rock patriarch, and it would've been just fine if he'd ridden out the rest of his life doing whatever tf he wanted.

My point here is that I saw him more as a figure from the past (or at least mine, anyway)--something enjoyed by earlier generations—and not someone synonymous with current events/releases.

Earlier this year, I started hearing about him cooking something up with Brandi Carlisle and thought, "That's nice"… and then promptly forgot about it. In the interest of full transparency, I often get her mixed up with the likes of Sara Bareilles and Natasha Bedingfield. There is a block of early to mid-00s artists that all blur into one for me. It's an admitted blind spot.

Okay, so they're making a record, and I genuinely think it's interesting. However, it has the ring of a quiet denouement of a movie I stopped watching at the hour mark. Great for fans, but not my bag.

Then I see the two of them on CBS Sunday Morning (talk about something from a previous generation!), and it's all about how much of a fan she was of his growing up and the thrill of working together, and I think, "How cool is that!" I mean, that's the dream, right? But I'm still not to interested in hearing the product of said partnership.

I'm also charmed by the TV special with none other than Dan Levy as emcee, but not enough to stay up and watch it.

Be a writer long enough; eventually, your email address will find its way to marketers with fun Masterminds and other courses to sell you. You'll hear about "growth hacks" and how to ghostwrite, but you'll also hear that potential marks clients often need to see an email from you several times before anything clicks. Elton and Brandi weren't "selling" me anything (not directly, anyway), but it did take several signals before I caught on—and a claxon horn or two…

So anyway, about this record…

If you're gonna start a record strong, there are worse ways to do it than "The Rose of Laura Nyro." Nyro's work evokes a particular, narrow range of emotions in me, best described as a some optimism and a crescendo; it's all a "new kid in the big city" vibe, seen through the lens of a Super 8, and forever attached to the era when she cranked out brilliant records like New York Tendaberry. Here, John and Carlisle manage to capture that mood. The track starts with an instrumental that only fuels anticipation before bursting forth. Let me get this out of the way early; their vocals mesh incredibly well. Like, really well. Who saw that coming? Probably everyone else but me. It's pop that's in danger of becoming a show tune at any second. And I'm here for it.

"Little Richard's Bible" is a rollicking bop reminiscent of "Friday Night's Alright for Fighting." The piano's right out front and right where it needs to be. It might suffer from overproduction, but that doesn't make it any less catchy. If you plan on listening to this in your car, plan on getting caught singing along to this at a light. I'm just warning you now.

"Swing for the Fences" reminds me of the uptempo "new" country of the early 2000s in all the best ways-- the sort of thing that made Martina McBride and JoDee Messina household names in certain parts of the country.

"When This Old World is Done For Me" comes across as Elton writing the capstone of his career. Will this be the last song on his last record? It beats me, but it's a gorgeous way to go out if it is.

Speaking of swinging for the fences, not everything here is a winner. Things slow down with "Never Too Late." It's a nice message, but a titch too sentimental for me. After the fast-paced tempo, it just feels like too much of a pullback. Maybe it's just a sequencing issue. The lyrics hit home, though.

Ditto the title track, which feels a little too overzealous for its own good. There are 10 songs on this record; going with 8 or 9 would've been fine. None of that takes away from a release that is very good overall.

Is this an S-tier Goodbye Yellow Brick Road-type stuff? No, but it's a solid record from an unlikely combo and a delightful surprise. Will I play it again? Absolutely. I wish I'd moved sooner.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these records! Did I get it right, or am I way off the mark?

Thanks for being here,

Kevin—

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