Elbow: Asleep in the Back (2LP) [POLYDOR]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set is on 180g vinyl in a heavy matte gatefold with lyrics printed inside and two printed inner sleeves. Asleep in the Back was shortlisted for the 2001 Mercury Prize, and Q named it one of the 50 best albums of the year.

This edition

• 2LP set
• 180g vinyl
• Gatefold jacket
• Lyrics printed in gatefold
• Printed inner sleeves
• Pressed in Germany
• Stereo mix

About the album

Some bands arrive fully formed. Elbow arrived after the best part of a decade together, which might explain why their debut sounds so patient, so sure of itself. Guy Garvey and his Bury bandmates made a record that takes its time, all slow-building atmosphere and late-night warmth.

"Any Day Now" opens in a hypnotic haze, "Red" and "Powder Blue" are gorgeous, aching singles, and "Newborn" builds from a whisper into something enormous. The title track became the band's first UK Top 20 hit, "Don't Mix Your Drinks" and "Bitten By The Tailfly" show off a darker, bluesier side, and "Scattered Black And Whites" closes with Garvey at his most tender.

It holds an 82 on Metacritic, and it set the course for the Elbow that would later win the Mercury with The Seldom Seen Kid. Garvey has always sounded like the nicest man in any pub, and here he's buying the first round.

Also at Kops: more Elbow on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Polydor (cat# 0894031), a reissue of the 2001 album.