Yahoo Lifestyle Elton John and Brandi Carlile Announce a Collaborative Album, ‘Who Believes in Angels?,’ With Title Track Out Now
Elton John and Brandi Carlile didn’t just record the currently Oscar-nominated song “Never Too Late” together but, as rumored, an entire album together. That 10-song set, “Who Believes in Angels?,” will be released April 4 on the Interscope label. It’s preceded by a first taste of the album, the title track, out today.
The two singers will also be doing what is being characterized as a one-off concert: “An Evening With Elton John & Brandi Carlile” is set for the London Palladium on March 26, described as “a one-night-only event” of “performance and storytelling.” Fans who pre-order the album will get a shot at buying tickets for the London show.
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The album is described as a collaboration between not just Carlile and John but producer Andrew Watt and Elton’s longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin, with lyrics contributed by both Carlile and Taupin. The four share a best original song Oscar nomination for the closing theme song of the documentary “Elton John: Never Too Late,” which is also included as one of the forthcoming album’s 10 tracks.
The participants had heretofore managed to stay mostly mum about the project while promoting “Never Too Late” on the awards circuit. But at a post-screening Q&A for Academy members in early January moderated by Variety‘s Chris Willman, John couldn’t help but exult over the still-unveiled project: “Between the four of us, what went down in the studio is pretty magical. And you know, I don’t wanna let cats out of the bag, but you ain’t heard nothing yet. You have heard absolutely fucking nothing. There’s something coming your way which is gonna blow your ass off.”
“Who Believes in Angels?” was fully written and recorded in a 20-day session at L.A.’s Sunset Sound Studio in October 2023. Backing John and Carlile on the album are Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, renowned studio bassist Pino Palladino and guitarist (and Pearl Jam touring sideman and ex-Chili Pepper) Josh Klinghoffer.
Also up today, besides the single, is a short film documenting the making of the album, said to be the first time John has let cameras in the studio for a writing/recording session. According to an announcement release, “Static cameras positioned around the studio captured thousands of hours of raw footage, and ultimately documented the entire creative process — breakdowns, breakthroughs, tears, torn up lyric sheets and all. The candid footage offers fans an unprecedented, searingly honest insight into the emotionally turbulent creative process for Elton, Brandi and the rest of the team.”
Besides describing themselves as heroes to one another, John and Carlile are saying that the album nods to some of their early heroes — something that is evident right in the first two song titles on the album, “The Rose of Laura Nyro” and “Little Richard’s Bible.” (Scroll down for the full track list.)
Word that an album was in the works — or even already completed — first publicly got out 13 months ago, when John’s friend Pete Townshend got loose lips in an interview and enthused about the spontaneity of the project. “Elton is so fraught with loss at not knowing what to do next. He’s just gone over to L.A. to make an album with Brandi Carlile,” the Who’s guitarist said in an interview in December 2023. “They made an album together in two weeks. He says it’s one of the best things they’ve ever done.” Indeed, John praised the project when he inducted Taupin into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in November 2023, saying he’d done an album that “is going to surprise the shit out of you,” although he didn’t disclose at the time that it was a collaboration with Carlile.
Carlile indulged in a Swift-style, Easter-egg tease of fans when she sold friendship bracelets in the gift shop at her Girls Just Wanna Weekend in January with the then-unexplained acronym “WBIA?,” creating intrigue throughout the festival as the mystery went unsolved.
It began to get cleared up when both John and Carlile sent physical letters to select fans in late January heralding the project, while a countdown clock to this week’s announcement went up. In his snail-mail letter to the fandom, circulated in screenshots, John described how Carlile wrote him a letter early in her career asking if he would play piano on one of her songs. “I didn’t know her then, but when we met, I fell in love with her, and we connected straight away. It was connection, a true connection, emotionally, musically, and it’s been one of the greatest friendships of my life.”
John further wrote that the making of the album was not a completely relaxed process, but that some early tension led to stellar results: “It felt like the way I used to make my albums all those years ago. In 20 days, we wrote 14 songs, and 10 are coming out on the record. For me, it’s immaculate. It’s incredible, considering the start. You would never think this album would have existed, but the tension led to us really upping our game. I wanted to play better, sing better, write better, and challenge myself creatively. It was one of the most difficult creative processes I’ve ever been through, but couldn’t be prouder of the outcome. I wanted to make this record with Brandi because I knew what she was capable of, and I wanted to sing and play with her because I knew it would be special.
“This album is the product of two people who love each other beyond words, and Bernie, who I love beyond words, and Andrew, who I love beyond words. You couldn’t get four people that love each other more.”
In her own letter to fans, Carlile wrote in part, “The world is a wild place to live in right now. It’s hard to find peace and triumph. It’s a radical act to seek out joyful and euphoric happenings. It’s rare in these times to even get the chance to hear stories about mysticism and beauty. The reason this is so important is that these kinds of miracles still happen every day. If they can happen to me, then there’s not a single reason I can think of why they wouldn’t happen to you!”
She continued, “Elton wanted to make an album with ME! He called me one day on the phone and told me he wanted me to come for breakfast. As soon as I sat down at the table he said, ‘I think we should make an album’,” with the desire to involve Taupin and Watt quickly following. “In the days that followed,” Carlile continued, “Elton and I would talk on the phone every day about what kind of an album we’d make… who we wanted to be for our big project. He’d call me up and say, ‘We’ll be like Robert Plant and Allison Krauss!’ …then he’d call the next day and say… ‘No! We’ll be the Eurythmics…’ ‘NO, Patsy Cline and Buddy Holly!’ And then one day, he called and said, ‘Ive got it. Let’s just (be us).'”
For both performers, this represents their first studio album in about three and a half years, and In John’s case is his first since he wrapped up his worldwide farewell tour. His last album was 2021’s “The Lockdown Sessions” (which itself included a duet with Carlile); hers was “In These Silent Days,” out that same year.
The “Who Believes in Angels?” track list:
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
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