As the prophecy of Pete Townshend foretold, Elton John and Brandi Carlile have indeed recorded an album together, the release of which the pair of friends and frequent collaborators have now formally announced.
Who Believes in Angels? comes out on April 4 via Interscope Records / UMUSIC after being written and recorded by John and Carlile — alongside Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt — in just 20 days at Los Angeles's Sunset Sound Studio, with a backing band that included Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith, Josh Klinghoffer and Pino Palladino.
"This record was one of the toughest I've ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life," John said in a press release. "It has given me a place where I know I can move forward. Who Believes in Angels? feels like going into another era and I'm pushing the door open to come into the future. I have everything I've done behind me and it's been brilliant, amazing. But this is the new start for me. As far as I'm concerned, this is the start of my career Mark 2."
Carlile added, "I'm still reeling from the fact that I got to do it. I think all ships rise with Elton John's standards for songwriting, and it was an incredibly challenging and inspiring environment to work in, everybody throwing in ideas, everybody listening to everybody else's ideas. It felt like a family. 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. And that is what this album represents to me."
Today, the duo have shared the title track of the record, which press notes describe as a "true collaboration"; Carlile wrote the lyrics and John the theme, while Watt helped to bring it out together. It sounds like a pretty classic piano-driven Elton John power ballad! Give it a listen below, where you can also check out a short film about the making of the album, as well as its full tracklist — which includes "Never Too Late" from last year's eponymous documentary.
Who Believes in Angels?:
1. The Rose of Laura Nyro
2. Little Richard's Bible
3. Swing for the Fences
4. Never Too Late
5. You Without Me
6. Who Believes in Angels?
7. The River Man
8. A Little Light
9. Someone to Belong To
10. When This Old World Is Done with Me