Elbow and the BBC Concert Orchestra: The Seldom Seen Kid - Live at Abbey Road

Score: 6.3

Genre: Music

Year: 2009-10-24

On Saturday 17th January 2009 at the world famous Abbey Road studios in London, Elbow performed the entirety of their Mercury Music Prize winning album The Seldom Seen Kid with the BBC Concert Orchestra and Chantage, the winners of Radio 3's Choir Of The Year competition. The band played new and exclusive versions of the songs from the album in order and were joined by Richard Hawley for The Fix. The Seldom Seen Kid is a welcome return from the band, driven by a thunderous riff that reminds listeners of Elbow's love of the heavy as well as the delicate. Produced by keyboard player, Craig Potter, the album is the follow up to 2005's universally acclaimed Leaders Of The Free World. The big themes of love and loss become the central focus of an album that sees Elbow, a band universally recognized for their musical ability and innovation, stretch their sonic template further than ever before.