Leaders of the Free World

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Leaders of the Free World
Leaders of the Free World cover
Studio album by Elbow
Released September 12, 2005 (UK)
February 21, 2006 (US)
Recorded Blueprint Studios, Salford, Manchester
Genre Indie rock
Length 49:28
Label V2
Producer Elbow
Professional reviews
Elbow chronology
Cast of Thousands
(2003)		 Leaders of the Free World
(2005)		 The Seldom Seen Kid
(2008)

Leaders Of The Free World is the third studio album from the band Elbow, released in 2005. The album went to #12 on the British albums chart.

Leaders Of The Free World was entirely self-produced at Blueprint Studios in Salford, Manchester, a space the band hired for the duration of their recording sessions. They teamed up with video artists The Soup Collective to produce an integrated music and video DVD. In the UK, there was a limited edition release of the CD and the DVD (in a small gatefold sleeve).

When released in the US, initial limited copies contained the bonus DVD (with alternately-colored green artwork). The Japanese release of the album (released on September 7, 2005) features two bonus tracks: "McGreggor" and "The Good Day" (both were B-sides to the first single "Forget Myself").

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Station Approach" - 4:22
  2. "Picky Bugger" - 3:04
  3. "Forget Myself" - 5:22
  4. "The Stops" - 5:03
  5. "Leaders Of The Free World" - 6:11
  6. "An Imagined Affair" - 4:43
  7. "Mexican Standoff" - 4:00
  8. "The Everthere" - 4:15
  9. "My Very Best" - 5:36
  10. "Great Expectations" - 5:05
  11. "Puncture Repair" - 1:48

[edit] Singles

In the UK, there were two singles released from the album:

  • "Forget Myself" (August 29, 2005)
  • "Leaders Of The Free World" (November 7, 2005)

[edit] Trivia

  • The song "Mexican Standoff" was also recorded in Spanish. This version appears as a B-side to the "Leaders Of The Free World" single.
  • The album cover is highly reminiscent of the 1976 album A Trick of the Tail by Genesis.

The album cover depicts five characters from the songs on the album itself:

  • The ticket conductor from the train in "Station Approach" (or possibly bus conductor in "Great Expectations")
  • The bouncer ("man at the door") from "Forget Myself"
  • The man "kicking up mischief", and drinking from "Picky Bugger" (or possibly the man who drinks "until the doorman is a Christmas tree" in "An Imagined Affair").
  • A mexican, from "Mexican Standoff"
  • A man needing patching up, and he has tea and a bike pump, as in "Puncture Repair"