Earlier this year, the Who’s Pete Townshend made a surprising claim about his fellow rock legend Elton John: “He’s just gone over to LA to make an album with Brandi Carlile. They made an album together in two weeks. He says it’s one of the best things they’ve ever done.” John and Carlile are close friends, and Carlile appeared on John’s all-collabs 2021 album The Lockdown Sessions, but we still don’t know anything about an entire Elton John/Brandi Carlile album. The two stars do, however, have a new song together, so that’s something.
Elton John and Brandi Carlile’s new duet “Never Too Late” is sadly not a Luther Vandross cover. Instead, it’s a grand, sweeping ballad, and it’ll basically serve as the theme song for the upcoming Disney+ documentary Elton John: Never Too Late. It sounds like an old-school lighters-up Elton John song, which was clearly the idea. John and Carlile co-wrote it with John’s regular collaborator Bernie Taupin and producer Andrew Watt. Here’s what Carlile says in a press release:
I found the early cut of the documentary that went on to become Elton John: Never Too Late so moving. It was really amazing to see historic footage of Elton and the trajectory of his life. But as fantastic and as beautiful as everything was that we were all witnessing as fans, his life was also pretty lonely and difficult at times. And I thought that the documentary illustrated a really important sentiment, because he might not have ever found his serenity and his peace, but he did find it, and he found it later in life. And it is never too late — too late to find the love of your life, or to start a family, or to change your mind about anything.
And here’s what Elton John says:
When Brandi told me she was so inspired by the early cut of the documentary that she wanted us to to co-write a new song for it, I was thrilled. I’ve known for a long time how great she was but still, reading her lyrics and co-writing with her on the music was deeply moving. Especially given how personal it is to see, seeing my life on the screen, she just perfectly captured the essence of the documentary and why I stopped touring to spend more time with my family. I’m constantly astonished by her craft; she can channel my voice in a way only Bernie has managed to do before. I know Bernie helped guide Brandi on that. The standard of her musicianship, her songwriting, her passion for what she does are sensational. She truly is one of the greatest there is.
Listen below.
Elton John: Never Too Late is in some theaters today, and it’ll stream 12/13 on Disney+.
