Set the Fire to the Third Bar - Snow Patrol, Connolly
Crazy in Love - Snow Patrol, Carter, Shawn
Just Say Yes - Snow Patrol, Jacknife Lee
Batten Down the Hatch - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
You're All I Have - Snow Patrol, Connolly
Hands Open - Snow Patrol, Connolly
Cartwheels - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
The Planets Bend Between Us - Snow Patrol, Connolly
Ask Me How I Am - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
On/Off - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
Making Enemies - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
Run [Live] - Snow Patrol, Archer
Track Listings (15) - Disc #2
Take Back the City - Snow Patrol, Connolly
Shut Your Eyes - Snow Patrol, Connolly
An Olive Grove Facing the Sea [2009 Version] - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
Run - Snow Patrol, Archer
Give Me Strength - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
Signal Fire - Snow Patrol, Connolly
Spitting Games - Snow Patrol, Connolly
Open Your Eyes - Snow Patrol, Connolly
Dark Roman Wine - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
Fifteen Minutes Old - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
You Are My Joy - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
The Golden Floor - Snow Patrol, Connolly
Starfighter Pilot - Snow Patrol, Lightbody
PPP - Snow Patrol, Lee James Potter
Chasing Cars [Live] - Snow Patrol, Connolly
2009 two CD collection from the Scottish/Irish Pop rockers. Snow Patrol are one of the biggest and boldest bands of the past decade. Over 15 years and five studio albums, the part Irish, part Scottish five piece have sketc... more »hed heart-bruised ballads and arm-around-your-best-mate festival anthems, radio hits and moments of painful introspection. All of these have been gathered together for Up To Now, a 30 track, double album of singles, cover versions, rarities, album tracks and a handful of new songs. From their formation in Scotland in 1994, the band's hard-earned rise has seen them become one of the world's biggest bands, culminating in them selling over 10 million copies of their last three albums!« less
2009 two CD collection from the Scottish/Irish Pop rockers. Snow Patrol are one of the biggest and boldest bands of the past decade. Over 15 years and five studio albums, the part Irish, part Scottish five piece have sketched heart-bruised ballads and arm-around-your-best-mate festival anthems, radio hits and moments of painful introspection. All of these have been gathered together for Up To Now, a 30 track, double album of singles, cover versions, rarities, album tracks and a handful of new songs. From their formation in Scotland in 1994, the band's hard-earned rise has seen them become one of the world's biggest bands, culminating in them selling over 10 million copies of their last three albums!
"Snow Patrol's career compilation is a great introduction of their chiming melodic-but-melancholic Rock sound to new listeners as it contains their hits and then some, but is also a delight to fans as it contains live versions of a couple of recordings ("Run" - which some think Leona Lewis did first, and "Chasing cars"), but also some rarities like "Signal fire" from the Spider-man 3 soundtrack, B-sides like their interesting cover of Beyoncé's "Crazy in love" (with a spoken delivery from Gary Lightbody: Kind of tough imagining him shaking his tush like B though) and "PPP" (Post punk progression), and 3 new recordings; "Just Say Yes" (a UK top 20 hit), "Give Me Strength" and "Dark Roman Wine".
Not a greatest hits as such (though quite a number of their hits make the cut; "Chocolate", "Run", "Set the fire to the third bar" with Martha Wainwright and the Grammy-nominated "Chasing cars"), and spread over 2 discs, the 30 songs cover all 5 Snow Patrol albums - singles and album tracks included, as well as a couple of songs by Lightbody's side project Reindeer Section ("Cartwheels" and "You are my joy"). Also included is a Lightbody solo version of "An Olive Grove Facing the Sea".
The only tiny complaint one may have is that the songs are not chronologically arranged, allowing us to see the musical growth of the group, but still, this is a career retrospective with a difference. Essential!"
Just Say Yes to Snow Patrol
MusicMan | Louisville, Kentucky, USA | 11/27/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I first discovered Snow Patrol in 2004 when "Spitting Games" became an alternative radio hit. That prompted me to buy its parent album, Final Straw, and I was enough of a fan to also buy the follow-up, Eyes Open, which contains my favourite Snow Patrol song to date, "Hands Open." I decided to purchase Up to Now for a few reasons. Firstly, the lead single and one of three new tracks, "Just Say Yes," is great. Secondly, it allowed me to hear some of the material from their albums prior to Final Straw. Thirdly, it collected some cool non-album tracks, including the soundtrack single "Signal Fire" and such b-sides as "Post Punk Progression" (listed as "PPP" here) and "Crazy in Love."
I say all of this to explain why Up to Now is a five-star compilation. It isn't just because the music contained on these two discs is great, but also because it serves its purpose very well. For the curious who may only have heard a few songs and not own any albums, this set acts as an excellent overview. For casual fans like me, who own some of their prior releases, this collection acts as a good supplement. For big fans, the three new tracks are of such a high caliber that they will not disappoint, standing up well against some of the other highlights of Snow Patrol's catalogue featured here. Therefore, whether this would be your first Snow Patrol album, one of a few, or one of many, I can safely say it is a worthwhile purchase."
Possibly remastered? Some songs definitely sound different
roebeet | Morrisville, PA | 11/23/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"First off, I am a massive fan of Snow Patrol - I have all their albums on CD, and even OHMS on vinyl. I wasn't too thrilled about picking up a greatest hits for a few new tunes, but I figured it would be worth it to complete my discography.
One thing I have always disliked, however, is the horrible mastering their albums receive. OHMS, in particular, is awful (even on vinyl) - muddy and compressed, overall. But, as I gave this new compilation a spin, I could hear definite differences - "Chocolate", particular, was very obvious to me (my favorite track from them). "Signal Fire" also sounds a bit improved, and I believe "Take Back the City" (which really sounds very compressed on OHMS).
That's not to say that the sound quality is significantly improved - it's not. But it is noticeable for those of us who've listened to these songs over and over again."
Snow Job
Tim Brough | Springfield, PA United States | 02/24/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Seeing how Philadelphia received a record amount of snow this winter, it seems fitting that reviewing this 30 song compilation by Ireland's Snow Patrol should be posted. Not just for the historical amount of white stuff dumped on my neighborhood, but for the cool music this double disc set contains. There's some deep talent to be found here. And I, for one, did not realize that Snow Patrol was almost a 15 year old group.
Those in the USA who came to Snow Patrol via their worldwide breakthrough "Chasing Cars" will be surprised by the artier songs that date prior to 2000. The band very quickly evolved into a slick alternative outfit and by 2003, the UK hits started coming off of Final Straw. The first song on "Up To Now" is the melancholy "Chocolate," which found lead Patrolman Gary Lightbody going for the lush world of "Coldplay." He also started writing stronger ballads, as "Run" will attest.
After that, Lightbody started swinging for the bleachers. The sound got noticeably bigger on Eyes Open, with both "Shut Your Eyes" and "Chasing Cars" making Snow Patrol now sounding more like band than the sum of their influences. There's also much more atmosphere than before, allowing the epic guitars to chime. When 2008's A Hundred Million Suns appeared, the band began hitting the kind of heights U2 often does, like "Take Back This City," Snow Patrol's hardest rocking single to date. However, frontman doesn't have the mammoth ego of Bono, nor Chris Martin's sometimes exasperating over-eagerness.
That's even more obvious on one of "Up To Now's" new tracks; a cover of Beyonce's "Crazy In Love." Keyboardist Tom Simpson is apparently a pretty cool DJ (who knew?). The other is a brilliantly produced "Give Me Strength," which plays right into the band's considerable...err...strengths. It's a slow building anthem that rises to a chorus of rejuvenation. Snow Patrol is a band that wants the stardom, but isn't afraid of getting heroes like Martha Wainwright to sing on "Set The Fire to The Third Bar" or name dropping Sufjan Stevens in "Hands Open." "Up To Now" is the portrait of a modest band that is now making terrific music."