"An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" | |
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Song by Snow Patrol | |
from the album When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up | |
Released | 5 March 2001 24 April 2001 |
Recorded | 2000 Substation, CaVa Studios, The Stables, Rage |
Genre | |
Length | 5:18 |
Label | Jeepster Records |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) |
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"An Olive Grove Facing the Sea (2009 Version)" | ||||
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Single by Snow Patrol | ||||
from the album Up to Now | ||||
Released | 4 December 2009 | |||
Recorded | July 2009 at The Garage (Kent, England) | |||
Length | 4:59 | |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Jacknife Lee | |||
Snow Patrol singles chronology | ||||
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"An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" is a song from Snow Patrol's second album When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up . A re-recorded version featuring only vocalist Gary Lightbody's singing and guitar was released on the bands' 2009 compilation album Up to Now , and was later released digitally as the second single from the album.
The lyrics to the song were written by vocalist Gary Lightbody, and the music composed by the whole band, then consisting of Lightbody, Mark McClelland and Jonny Quinn. The original album version was recorded by Snow Patrol during the sessions for their second album, When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up . Recording took place at two different studios: The Stables (in Lincolnshire, England) and Substation (in Rosyth, Scotland). The final mix was done at Substation. [1] The song was produced by Michael Brennan Jr. and Snow Patrol. [2] The song has been described as possibly being "a dream", "a hymn to an imagined presence" and also a "mermaid fantasy", because of its lyrics: "She was an angel / I saw her swimming there". It has also been compared to the Big Star song "Thirteen" and called its "Stalkers Handbook" version. [3] The start of the song features acoustic guitar, whose strings are "brushed gently" and the cymbals played for "reverberation and resonance", instead of being "struck for impact", according to Stylus' writer Nick Southall. He has noted that the drumming is "slow and deliberate", and repeated, because "dreams repeat". As the song reaches the chorus, the acoustic guitar stops and an electric one takes over. The end of the song features a trumpet solo as cadenza. [3] [4] Lightbody's vocal on the song invited comparisons to Nick Drake. [5]
Gary Lightbody re-recorded the original version in July 2009 at The Garage in Kent, with Jacknife Lee acting as producer. The new recording was called the "2009 Version" [6] and featured Lightbody singing over an electric guitar. Lightbody called his new version "shamefully self indulgent". [7]
Snow Patrol filmed a music video for the song on 24 May 2001. It was created with mneTV as a part of the @ìre series, which was broadcast on BBC Two and STV. mneTV's Cailean Collier wrote that since the song had been described as a dream, the video interprets this by "blurring the borders between fantasy and reality". [8]
Snow Patrol's recording was released on their second album When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up in 2001, and 2006, when the album was re-released. [9] Lightbody's re-recording, the "2009 Version", was released on Snow Patrol's first compilation Up to Now. [10] It was later released as the second single from the compilation on 4 December 2009. A digital only single, it was released on the UK iTunes Store. [11] It was also given away as a freebie for a day on the 1st day (26 December 2009) of iTunes' 12 Days of Christmas. [12]
"An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" has been mostly praised by critics. It has been called "pretty" and "affecting" and been praised for employing an orchestra. [13] [14] It has also been called an example of the "lo-fi rustic beauty" of the band's early records. [15] In a negative review, RTÉ said that the downbeat nature of the song was eerie. It was criticized (along with the whole album) for being "ill-timed" and having "misspent emotions". [16] In later years, it has been called a "stone cold classic" and "a bona fide tear jerker". [17] UK magazine Drowned in Sound in 2009 named it the song to be played to anyone who didn't have enough respect for Snow Patrol as a band. [17] Scott Juba, writing for website The Trades, praised it as "the real highlight of the two LPs" ( Songs for Polarbears and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up ). He went on to describe it as "one of the best songs" he'd ever heard, and that it "paints a beautiful picture of love's yearnings and contains enough quiet drama and soothing emotion to completely engross the listener in every word of the eloquently penned lyrics". [18]
Jeepster Records is an English, London-based independent record label, founded in 1995, and specializing in British indie and alternative bands, particularly Glasgow-based acts. It is most notable for its signing of Belle and Sebastian and Snow Patrol.
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Jonny Quinn (drums), and Johnny McDaid. Initially an indie rock band, Snow Patrol rose to prominence in the early– mid-2000s as part of the post-Britpop movement.
Final Straw is the third studio album and major-label debut by Scottish-Northern Irish rock band Snow Patrol, released on 4 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in 2004 in the United States. The album is notable for bringing the band their first mainstream success outside of their native countries of Northern Ireland and Scotland. In the 14 months following its release, a total of 5 singles were drawn from it. It is the first album to feature lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and the last to feature bassist Mark McClelland.
Songs for Polarbears is the debut album by the Scottish-Northern Irish indie rock group Snow Patrol, released on 31 August 1998 in the UK and 12 October in the US.
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up is the second album by the Scottish-Northern Irish indie rock band Snow Patrol, released on 24 April 2001 in the UK and 5 March in the US.
"Run" is a song by Scottish-Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol from their third studio album, Final Straw (2003). It was released in the United Kingdom on 26 February 2004 as the second single from the album. The song was conceived in 2000 by frontman Gary Lightbody after an accident he had during a bender. "Run" is described as a Britpop power ballad and was received with positive reviews by music critics, who compared it with Coldplay's "Yellow".
"You're All I Have" is a song by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released on 24 April 2006 as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Eyes Open (2006). The song was used by RTÉ sport to promote the return of The Sunday Game for the 2006 GAA Championships. It became the band's second big hit after the success of "Run" in 2004, peaking at number seven on the UK Singles Chart.
Gareth John Lightbody is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The Reindeer Section and Tired Pony.
Mark Peter McClelland is a Northern Irish musician known best as the former bass guitarist of the band Snow Patrol. McClelland is a recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for his work on the album Final Straw. He is now the bassist for alternative act Little Doses.
The discography of Snow Patrol, an alternative rock band from Northern Ireland and based in Dundee, Scotland, consists of seven studio albums, thirty-one singles, eight extended plays, three compilation albums and one live DVD. Snow Patrol was formed in 1994 by Gary Lightbody, Michael Morrison and Mark McClelland under the name Shrug. They released an extended play (EP) titled The Yogurt vs. Yogurt Debate. Morrison left in 1995, and the band changed their name to Polarbear. Under this name they released their other EP, Starfighter Pilot, on the Electric Honey label. Drummer Jonny Quinn joined in 1997 and the band signed to Jeepster Records the same year. They then underwent their final name change to Snow Patrol. The band's first two studio albums: Songs for Polarbears and When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up were released in 1998 and 2001 respectively, but failed to do well commercially. Subsequently, the band was dropped by the label.
"Chasing Cars" is a song by Northern Irish-Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was released as the second single from their fourth studio album, Eyes Open (2006). It was released on 6 June 2006, in the United States and 24 July 2006, in the United Kingdom. The song gained significant popularity in the US after being featured in the second season finale of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy, which aired on 15 May 2006.
"Take Back the City" is a song from alternative rock band Snow Patrol's fifth album A Hundred Million Suns. It was released as the lead single from the album on different dates in October 2008, depending on the region. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. The song has positive lyrics, and is about Lightbody's love for Belfast. The song has been officially remixed once, by Lillica Libertine, and it appeared as a B-side to the single.
"If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It" is a song by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It is the opening track on their fifth album A Hundred Million Suns, and was released as its third single on 8 March 2009. The music was composed by Snow Patrol, with frontman Gary Lightbody writing the lyrics. The song is a departure from Lightbody's frequent attempts at diagnosing his less positive personal issues, which often focus on his romantic breakups, and instead celebrates a newfound love outside human relationships.
The Final Straw Tour was a concert tour by Scottish/Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol. It was launched in support of the group's 2003 album Final Straw. The band visited numerous venues internationally from 2003 through 2005. The tour is the collective name of many smaller tours and festivals Snow Patrol has played in support of their album. The tour commenced on 13 July 2003, spanned 13 legs and saw the band play over 200 shows, visiting four continents in the process.
"Just Say Yes" is a song by Northern Irish alternative rock band Snow Patrol, released as the single to follow "The Planets Bend Between Us" in October–November 2009, depending on the region. The song, produced by Jacknife Lee, is one of the three new songs, and the lead single from the compilation Up to Now. The lyrics were written by Gary Lightbody and the music was composed by Snow Patrol. "Just Say Yes" has its origins as a song written for pop singer Gwen Stefani, who rejected it. Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls was then given permission by Lightbody to record it for her solo debut album, which was later shelved.
Up to Now is the first compilation album by alternative rock band Snow Patrol. The album features tracks spanning Snow Patrol's fifteen-year music career, including tracks from The Reindeer Section, a side-project/supergroup involving musicians from all over Scotland. The album was released in early November 2009, primarily as a two-disc set and a three-disc digipak format containing one DVD of bonus material. A limited edition heavyweight box was also sold. Three new songs were released on the album. One of these was "Just Say Yes", the lead single taken from the compilation. The solo re-recording of "An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" was released as the album's second single. In Netherlands, Belgium and Finland "Run" was re-released in a version called "Run " in January 2010.
The Place We Ran From is the debut album by the alternative rock/alt country supergroup Tired Pony, released on July 5, 2010, through Polydor/Fiction in the United Kingdom and on July 28, 2010, in the United States by Mom and Pop. The album grew from what was initially a solo project for Snow Patrol songwriter Gary Lightbody which rapidly became a collaboration with members of Belle and Sebastian, R.E.M., and producer Jacknife Lee joining as well as contributions from actress and singer Zooey Deschanel, guitarist M. Ward, and Tom Smith of the indie rock group Editors. The tracks were recorded over the course of one week in January 2010, in Portland, Oregon. The album was recorded over the course of one week in January 2010 and charted in over a half dozen countries.
Live at Somerset House is a concert film by Snow Patrol. Recorded on 8 August 2004 at Somerset House on the band's featured stop in London, England, the video was released on 23 November 2004 on DVD.
"The Last Time" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift featuring Northern Irish singer Gary Lightbody, taken from the former's fourth studio album, Red (2012). Swift, Lightbody, and Jacknife Lee wrote the song, with the lattermost producing it. On Red, Swift wanted to experiment with different producers beyond her career base in Nashville, Tennessee. To this extent, she reached out to Lightbody and Lee, members of the rock band Snow Patrol, inspired by their music about loss and heartbreak.
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