Elton John and Brandi Carlile: Who Believes in Angels? review – a true meeting of minds

The British star and the US country artist spur each other on in this tuneful, swinging set with poignant moments

İn the twilight years of his career, Elton John has been anointing the next generation with a keener ear than most, championing new stars from Chappell Roan to Wet Leg via his Rocket Hour radio show and collaborating with artists as genre-diverse as Britney Spears, Gorillaz and Young Thug. Who Believes in Angels?, however, feels like a genuine meeting of minds. Created alongside American country rock royalty Brandi Carlile, an 11-times Grammy winner, there is the audible sense of two artists pushing each other and raising the other’s game; on the rollicking rock’n’roll romp of Little Richard’s Bible, or the full-blooded country duet Swing for the Fences, 78-year-old John sounds like a man half his age. Where many of his recent collaborations have seen him enter the sonic palettes of modern pop, Someone to Belong To’s interweaving harmonies, or the rousing piano balladry of the record’s title track, live firmly in the world of classic, melody-driven songwriting, created by two artists supremely gifted at exactly that. The album ends with the remarkably poignant, Elton-led end-of-life reflection When This Old World Is Done With Me. Who Believes In Angels? is a fine reminder that he’s certainly not there yet.