1. Station Approach 2. Picky Bugger 3. Forget Myself 4. The Stops 5. Leaders Of The Free World 6. An Imagined Affair 7. Mexican Standoff 8. The Everthere 9. My Very Best 10. Great Expectations 11. Puncture Repair

Leaders of the Free World, Elbow s third album, sees the band try to beat down their major league contemporaries (Coldplay, Doves) with a more ambitious set of songs. In truth, they didn t need to try so hard, Elbow have arguably been making better and more interesting music than most of their mainstream compadres since they formed in 1990. That said, the results here are undoubtedly impressive and may form the band s best work yet. Beginning with the beautiful, slow-building Station Approach, and ending with the short but touching Puncture Repair, Leaders of the Free World takes in an a host of minor classics along the way. From the captivating strums of Picky Bugger and the sonorous chimes of The Stop to the massively captivating title track and the funereal waltz of Great Expectations, the record s elliptical nature only adds to its enchanting qualities. If this doesn t confirm Elbow s status as superior musicians/arrangers and underline Guy Garvey s abilities as a master storytelle...

#Top notch (2008-08-02) What a great album! By far and away their best, before they succumbed to Coldplay-type anthems on Seldom Seen Kid. Every track a winner, but Very best is well titled. Enjoy! Anyone that can get Stockport Supporters Club into the lyrics of a ballad is alright by me!!

#cracking album (2008-06-12) What an amazing album from Elbow. It really has got the lot. Instrumentally it is fantastic, the lyrics are witty, subtly clever. Just a great listen that improves with regular listens. Definitely an album to listen to from start to finish. You really need all the tracks, so if you re thinking of downloading just a couple of songs please think again.

#A year or so on. (2007-10-24) Great expectations is the greatest song ever written. Given that I love Elliott Smith it s hard for me to admit, but it washes over and stirrs the emotions like no other. An album of sheer brilliance.

#Bury s finest since black pudding. (2007-07-18) After the anthemic Red, powder blue and newborn from Asleep in the back fugitive motel and crawling with idiots from Cast of thousands,i found L. O. T. F. W to be a slower album, but it is a grower, and more often than not, they end up being your favourites. In my opinion, I am Kloot, Puressence and Elbow are the finest bands of the last 10 years to originate from the North West of this septic isle.

#These feelings belong in a zoo... (2007-06-08) I don t know how to do this album justice. It is breathtakingly beautiful, with Mr Garvey seemingly effortlessly finding poetry in the everyday. Finding the cast of a wedding ceremony on the last bus home (great expectations), giving the best description of a bouncer you ll ever hear (forget myself) or drunkenly falling for a random girl in a bar (imagined affair). The whole album feels like a story and its one I don t tire of. I can t recommend it highly enough.

1. Po Lazarus - J Carter & The Prisoners 2. Big Rock Candy Mountain - Harry McLintock 3. You Are My Sunshine - Norman Blake 4. Down In The River To Pray 5. I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow - Soggy Bottom Boys 6. Hard Time Killing Floor Blues - Chris Thomas King 7. I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow (inst.) - Norman Blake 8. Keep on the Sunny Side of Life - The Whites 9. I ll Fly Away - Gillian Welch & Alison Kraus 10. Didn t Leave Nobody but the Baby - Emmy Lou Harris,Gillian Welch & Alison Kraus 11. In The Highways - The Peasall Sisters 12. I Am Weary - The Cox Family 13. I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow (inst.) - John Hartford 14. O Death - Ralph Stanley 15. In the Jailhouse Now - Soggy Bottom Boys 16. I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow (with band) - Soggy Bottom Boys 17. Indian War Whoop - John Hartford 18. Lonesome Valley - The Fairfield Four 19. Angel Band - The Stanley Brothers 20. O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Enhanced Data - Soundtrack

Joel and Ethan Coen have long established themselves as film stylists without peer: from Blood Simple to Fargo, their movies have never been less than fascinating, and there has never been any question that their films could not have been made by anyone else. In T-Bone Burnett, the producer of the soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, they have finally met their match: Burnett s work in assembling a collection of pieces for the Depression-set film is as skilled and entrancing as the film itself.Despite the presence of Emmylou Harris, Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss and bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, the stars here are the songs themselves, a host of traditional songs augmented by archival recordings. The collection is also a showcase for a host of lesser known and forgotten bluegrass masters: The Cox Family, collaborators with Krauss, Norman Blake, a sideman for Bob Dylan and June Carter Cash, country gospel group The Whites, who once counted Ricky Skaggs as a member (and who, here,...

#Stunning, evocative music. (2008-04-14) I m not from the US, my family hail from Kashmir and I was born in the UK, grew up listening to punk rock but WOW! The soundtrack literally drips with the era and place it hails from, every time I hear a snippet I swear I can feel the heat and smell the wheat - so amazing!

#Diverse selection of old-time music (2005-07-01) The music here, like the film it provides the soundtrack for, is presumably intended to take us back to the thirties. Several songs from that era are featured along with traditional material that would have been popular then. Recorded mainly with state-of-the-art technology (except for some old recordings that are included and re-mastered), the sound quality is far superior to anything available in the thirties. Several different types of music can be found here - blues, gospel, country and folk - mainly performed by contemporary arti...

#a lovely mix of traditional music (2003-11-04) Performed by some of today s best singers, this multi-Grammy Award winner is a marvelous addition to any country/folk music collection. Some of these artists are at the top of their field, but some will be discoveries for most of us, like the beautiful rendition of Hard Time Killing Floor Blues by Chris Thomas King, a versatile young man who is versed in many styles, and here sings in the old blues tradition and does it brilliantly. The highlights for me are: The legendary Ralph Stanley, with his plaintive acappella chant of O Death, whic...

#oh brother where art thou (2002-07-13) first class traditional country and a bit of bluegrass. represents excelent value for money. so many good tracks its hard to pick one that shines above the rest. listen to YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE by norman blake if you are not tapping your toes then someone has nailed your feet to the floor. then there s I m a man of constant sorrow-Soggy bottom boys Wow!then for a real treat try The Stanley Bros. Angel Band Traditional country at its best. many other great tracks from Alison Krauss the queen of country and the Whites with keep on the sunny side...

#GREAT ALBUM . . . BUT TRY BEFORE YOU BUY (2002-06-06) Let me make one thing clear. ",O Brother. . . ", is one of my favourite films of all time. Not only that, but the musical soundtrack is one of its strongest features and stands as a valuable cultural document in its own right. In short, this is an album that anyone who loves country, bluegrass or folk music is likely to want in their collection. So why, as I write, am I tossing up whether to only give it four stars? The answer is that I m attempting to review it, not as a collector s item or a socio-historical document b...

1. Winter Wonderland 2. Go Tell It On The Mountain 3. Santa Claus Is Comin To Town 4. Jingle Bells 5. Baby It s Cold Outside 6. River 7. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas 8. Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire) 9. Some Children See Him 10. Who Comes This Night 11. In The Bleak Midwinter 12. Auld Lang Syne

#A wonderful collection of songs - you ll not regret buying it! (2008-01-07) I am biased of course because I love James Taylor s voice. . . ! but this is sublime for a christmas feel anytime of the year. . . even if,like me, you are not vaguely religious, all the songs just feel right !

#Perfect Christmas music (2008-01-05) I ordered this after hearing James Taylor singing a couple of the songs on a radio show. The CD is just beautiful and I have had it on almost non-stop since i bought it. Taylor has a lovely voice, the arrangements are wonderful and it evokes a really relaxing mince pies baking in the oven, snow falling outside sort of atmosphere. Just perfect.

#Love it! (2007-12-16) It s beautiful. I can t stop listening to it. If I had to pick a favorite it would either be River or Baby It s Cold Outside. You can t go wrong with this CD.

#Great for relaxing at Christmas (2006-11-04) For any fan of James Taylor, Christmas albums, or simply excellent music this is a must buy. James Taylor has a very easy voice to listen to, and the majority of the songs are instantly recognizable. There are some beautiful vocals, which add to already well known songs. If, like me, you managed to get the Hallmark Christmas album from the US, 10 tracks are the same here (10 out of the 12 being on this, and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas already being owned by fans who bought October Road a few years ago), the only New track to t...

1. ribcage 2. Fallen Angel 3. Fugitive Motel 4. Snooks (Progress Report) 5. Switching Off 6. Not A Job 7. I ve Got Your Number 8. Buttons and Zips 9. Crawling With Idiot 10. Grace Under Pressure 11. Flying Dream 143

An astonishingly intense and ambitious album, Elbow s Cast of Thousands is relentlessly experimental. Having toiled for 10 years over their spellbinding Mercury-nominated debut Asleep in the Back, the maverick Bury five-piece--who were initially hailed as the new Radiohead--have produced a worthy sequel in a comparatively short two years. While mirroring their debut s melancholy tone, this album s romantic lyricism and uplifting harmonies inject a fresh dynamic. From the first bar, Cast of Thousands is enthralling. Ribcage, an exquisite rousing treasure, builds on a languorous and fragmented melody into a cohesive climax while Garvey listlessly intones (with a flat mic taped to his larynx) the charming mantra, When the sunshine/ throwing me a lifeline/ finds its way in to my room/ all I need is you. Meanwhile, the London Community Gospel choir s spiralling harmonies echo Blur s Tender in its lo-fi, mellifluous majesty. But the majority of the album is far less grandiose with the haunt...

#Love It (2008-01-18) Elbow have written and performed some of the best music this century (IMO). Beautiful ballads & catchy tunes,Favourite Tracks: Fugitive Motel & Grace Under Pressure

#Drab, seven thousand shades of grey (2006-05-14) The music lacks drive and composure. It drifts seamlessly from one 2-demensional number to another, there are no gates of pleasure, no emotions other than the drab. Too many influences, too much historical rhetoric and too little raw edge - seems to fit with the UK music image, all pretty petticoats and no balls.

#Moving Rock But Probably Not Everyone s Bag (2005-08-03) It d been my experience that the more you listen to Elbow, the better they get. When I was given their first album Asleep In The Back, I just had it on in the background while I read a book. Didn t really think too much about it considering how much my flatmate hyped them up. I liked the first track alright but it didn t throw me out of the chair. A week later I listened to it again but this time I really listened to it. Hey! This is pretty good, I thought and listened to it twice more that day. I liked it more each time. ...

#A band on the move (2005-04-05) This album shows a band on form, moving on from asleep in the back (another marvelous album)into a territory full of samples bips and bleeps. The sound is still noticabley that of elbow but the songs are a little more hopefull. From the opening track ribcage (tear my ribs apart and let the sun inside) to the final song backed by a glastonbury album this is an album to be treasured.

#Elbow show they have grace under pressure (2004-07-13) After Asleep in the Back, an album that took years to create and release, Elbow must have felt the strain when asked to make a follow-up in a much shorter timespace. However, the pressure seems to have worked well as they have made a brilliant second album that shows just how talented these guys are. The great thing about this album is its layers: Elbow really have a thing for attention to detail. All the tracks add layer upon layer to create amazing soundscape-like masterpieces that are at once catchy and melodic. The experiment...

1. The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl – Fairtytale Of New York 2. Pretenders – 2000 Miles 3. Chris Rea – Driving Home For Christmas 4. Eagles – Please Come Home For Christmas 5. Emmylou Harris – Light Of The Stable 6. Tom Waits – Christmas Card From A Hooker In Minneapolis 7. Elaine Paige – Coventry Carol 8. Aztec Camera – Walk Out To Winter 9. Tori Amos – Winter 10. Frankie Goes To Hollywood – The Power Of Love 11. Lou Reed – Xmas In February 12. The Associates – The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot 13. Stina Nordenstam – Soon After Christmas 14. Otis Redding – White Christmas 15. They Might Be Giants – Santa’s Beard 16. Booker T & The MG’s – Winter Wonderland 17. Kate & Anna McGarrigle – Blanche Comme La Neige 18. Enya – Oiche Chiun (Silent Night)

#Favourite alternative Christmas album (2008-12-04) Okay so some of the choices are a little odd, but this is by far the most interesting Christmas album I ve heard. A much more interesting, ironic take on Christmas.

#Not as good as the reviews (2008-11-24) After reading the reviews that i thought were quite helpfull, i found the album to be of satisfactory standard. maybe it might be because of my age (i am in my twenty s) but i only knew a handfull of the artists on the album, and even then only about 3 of the songs would be what i call proper christmas songs! i. e The Pogues. Im afraid i wont be recommending it to any one, im just glad i only paid less than £3 for it!

#Not Truly the best yes alternative (2008-11-18) Reading the previous two reviews, I was won over and decided to purchase this cd, its starts off well with The Pogues (in my opinion) there are one or two mediocre tunes in the middle of the cd. To be truthful I stopped at track 11 Xmas in February which is about Vietnam, it looks like the cd ends on a strong note with Otis Redding s White Christmas & Booker T s Winter Wonderland.

#Truly the best alternative Christmas album (2007-12-09) I was thrilled to buy this CD from Amazon a few years ago, having worn out my copy on cassette. There are well-known standards (Kirsty and The Pogues Fairytale ) here mixed with lesser known gems, but everything is well worth the listen. Stina Nordenstam s ethereal voice is totally suited to Christmas songs, whilst Tom Waits bass growl is perfect for his tale of a jailed hooker. Everyone who has heard this CD has said Wow, that s great. Where did you track that down?

#Forget the rest, this truly is the best..... (2004-01-25) I ve owned this album for nearly 8 years and every Christmas it gives me immense pleasure to listen to it. Creating more and more memories as time passes. There are no tacky wedding disco type tracks only unusual, if not classic yuletide tunes. Everyone who hears me playing this, begs to know more. Amazon are diamonds in coming up with the goods at last. A real gem of a CD, previously very hard to get hold of. Thank you!