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Product details
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Track Listings
| Disc: 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. I'll Never Let Go | |||
| 2. Called Out In The Dark | |||
| 3. The Weight Of Love | |||
| 4. This Isn't Everything You Are | |||
| 5. The Garden Rules | |||
| 6. Fallen Empires | |||
| 7. Berlin | |||
| 8. Lifening | |||
| 9. New York | |||
| 10. In The End | |||
See all 14 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. Finish Line | |||
| 2. An Olive Grove Facing The Sea | |||
| 3. You Could Be Happy | |||
| 4. Take Back The City | |||
| 5. Dark Roman Wine | |||
| 6. Spitting Games | |||
| 7. Run | |||
| 8. Lifeboats | |||
| 9. Planets Bend Between Us | |||
| 10. Chasing Cars | |||
Product Description
Review
Snow Patrol’s sixth studio album is billed as a change in direction – but don’t get flustered. While Fallen Empires contains a few new musical tricks, it would be an exaggeration to label this a revolution in sound.
Snow Patrol are often mentioned in the same breath as Coldplay, and it’s not surprising: both bands grew up with U2 dominating their horizons, and both have been inspired by their gutsy, catchy pop. Fallen Empires betrays this love of U2, and in particular their 1991 LP Achtung Baby: in come synths, thrusting bass lines and a hint of electronica. The opening pair of songs here – I’ll Never Let Go and Called Out in the Dark – wear this influence on their sleeves readily.
The trouble is that these two songs are flimsy at best. Called Out in the Dark is the lead single, yet is a pure mistake of style over substance: a song that has the traditional Snow Patrol shape, dominated by Gary Lightbody’s vocal, but where the guitars have been binned just for the sake of it, just to try something ‘new’. It sounds too try-hard and trite.
Get these cuts out of the way, though, and Fallen Empires settles down and improves. Yes, the title-track is pure Bono and company, but now there is passion and conviction in the delivery, Snow Patrol allowing a propulsive rhythm to burgeon and turn threatening. The piano-led ballads arrive, and the band relaxes: this is their forte. This Isn’t Everything You Are, The Garden Rules and Those Distant Bells are indisputably great pop songs, full of sparkle and warmth.
Best of all, however, are the moments when Snow Patrol blend the two approaches together, combining their own aesthetic with an Achtung Baby adoration. New York and In the End are the massive, sweeping songs that form the heart of Fallen Empires. These are the songs you can envision in the stadiums; the songs that show Snow Patrol could just as easily be as big as Coldplay and, yes, U2. It’s here where Fallen Empires nails it, and where their fans will start drooling. --Mike Haydock
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Product Description
DELUXE EDITION with a bonus DVD 'Live At Royal Albert Hall' : New 2011 album produced by Jacknife Lee! Includes 'This Isn't Everything You Are'.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Wow. If you have a choice get this CD+DVD combination! ... and for £2---£3 more than the vanilla CD it's a bargain. In fact on it's own it would be worth the purchase... if it was available on it's own!
Unlike most combinations the DVD is unrelated to the present album. Instead it is about 65minute highlight (the best songs) from the ReWorked tour. It was filmed at arguably the best acoustically and visually concert venue in London - the Royal Albert Hall in late 2009. For those who weren't there / haven't heard or seen it it features songs from the previous 6 albums reworked acoustically and featuring classic instruments - including (and the reason for the RAH venue recording) the enormous (and I mean enormous) organ (about 5x10metres at the back of the RAH)... the audio of which is used on Dark Roman Wine and the sound (I was there) shakes you to your core! Impressive stuff! A few songs (Run) don't work in that maybe you miss the version you know and love - but 7 out of the 11 or so tracks are amazing with Chasing Cars getting an amazing reworking that'll leave you singing along (in your head at least) and toe-tapping away!
Audio is uncompressed stereo or a nice 5.1 mix!
Possibly the only unfortunate thing is that this was never released on it's own as I'm sure the whole gig would have been filmed! The full set runs nearly 2h30mins and contains 26 tracks!).
It's also a peeve of mine that they again only included a few tracks on the previous concert (Take Back the City) on the Up To Now DVD! Why not a full live concert DVD. Surely a band that have sold nearly 10 million albums have enough fans to have a concert DVD that's more recent than 2005 (before the big hits of Run, Chasing Cars and others!
Anyway, the CD, othere'll review it better than me so all I'll say is Mr Lightbody is an amazing song writer so it'd get several stars if he was reading the lyrics :)
Unlike most combinations the DVD is unrelated to the present album. Instead it is about 65minute highlight (the best songs) from the ReWorked tour. It was filmed at arguably the best acoustically and visually concert venue in London - the Royal Albert Hall in late 2009. For those who weren't there / haven't heard or seen it it features songs from the previous 6 albums reworked acoustically and featuring classic instruments - including (and the reason for the RAH venue recording) the enormous (and I mean enormous) organ (about 5x10metres at the back of the RAH)... the audio of which is used on Dark Roman Wine and the sound (I was there) shakes you to your core! Impressive stuff! A few songs (Run) don't work in that maybe you miss the version you know and love - but 7 out of the 11 or so tracks are amazing with Chasing Cars getting an amazing reworking that'll leave you singing along (in your head at least) and toe-tapping away!
Audio is uncompressed stereo or a nice 5.1 mix!
Possibly the only unfortunate thing is that this was never released on it's own as I'm sure the whole gig would have been filmed! The full set runs nearly 2h30mins and contains 26 tracks!).
It's also a peeve of mine that they again only included a few tracks on the previous concert (Take Back the City) on the Up To Now DVD! Why not a full live concert DVD. Surely a band that have sold nearly 10 million albums have enough fans to have a concert DVD that's more recent than 2005 (before the big hits of Run, Chasing Cars and others!
Anyway, the CD, othere'll review it better than me so all I'll say is Mr Lightbody is an amazing song writer so it'd get several stars if he was reading the lyrics :)
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This latest offering from snow patrol is well worth a listen. It has a new sound and freshness about it and the tracks are instantly memorable. There is also the familiar Snow Patrol feel underlying the whole thing and the album will feel like an old friend making an appearance after some time away. I love it and hope you do too.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This album is getting some surprisingly mixed reviews here which is a shame. I am not the biggest SP fan, BUT this album does feel like they were on a roll when writing and recording it. I even think this could be their 'Sargeant Pepper' moment - it's that consistently strong if a little dark and gloomy at times. Tracks like 'This isn't everything you are', 'Fallen Empires', 'New York' and 'Called out in the dark' are both anthemic and somewhat menacing. Snow Patrol are almost becoming the thinking man's Colplay, but still seem to play second fiddle to them.
However, compared with Coldplay's somewhat overproduced Mylo album, this album is rich in texture and style. 'Fallen Empires' for example is like being hit between the eyeballs with something heavy - it's just very powerful stuff. Is there a 'Chasing Cars' on here? Well no, but there are plenty of close to moments when you feel Gary Lightbody is a fine songwriter and lyricist. 'New York', for example, contains a load of great lyrics about loneliness ... 'if you were here instead of...'.
So, it's definitely not an album to get out at a party but then we have plenty of stuff like that around. This is more deep and meaningful and very welcome for that.
However, compared with Coldplay's somewhat overproduced Mylo album, this album is rich in texture and style. 'Fallen Empires' for example is like being hit between the eyeballs with something heavy - it's just very powerful stuff. Is there a 'Chasing Cars' on here? Well no, but there are plenty of close to moments when you feel Gary Lightbody is a fine songwriter and lyricist. 'New York', for example, contains a load of great lyrics about loneliness ... 'if you were here instead of...'.
So, it's definitely not an album to get out at a party but then we have plenty of stuff like that around. This is more deep and meaningful and very welcome for that.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Snow Patrol Convert
I was aware of Snow Patrol from previous singles but this is the first album of theirs that I've bought. Absolutely blown away - can't stop playing it (and don't want to stop!). Read more
Published 19 days ago by D
Fantastic .......
absolutely love this CD, can't stop listening to it, every track is brilliant...5*, got their previous album which was ok, but this one beats it by far.
Published 1 month ago by Christina Karbowiak
Brilliant CD
A bit different from previous Snow Patrol albums but already have a few favourites on it. Great tempo, already excited about what direction the next CD will take. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ellen
10 out of 10
Bought this for a gift for a Snow Patrol fan. They uphold their musical talents, and after listening to the CD it confirmed the concert would be wicked. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mythicalsoul
An album that grows.
I was in a Bar one night some weeks ago when I heard this song come over the speakers. It haunted me throughout the evening. Read more
Published 2 months ago by FAMOUS NAME
Worth the money
I am enjoying it more and more with each listen. A couple of good tracks to get you into it iniitally and then some real gems that you will love by 4th or 5th play
Published 3 months ago by Gregoriah
Why wasn't it nominated at the 2012 Brits for best album?
Another epic album from Snow Patrol. Plenty of variety with many of the songs seemingly getting better the more you listen to them. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Eaton55
SNOW BUSINESS
So there i was sitting contemplating,should i have smooth or crunchy peanut butter on my toast,when a butterfly fluttered into view,and i thought to myself "Well thats it then"and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Finbar the looney
Snow Patrol
This album is as brilliant as I expected it to be and I have played it over and over since receiving it.
Published 3 months ago by namaste
it's a grower
I've had this on in the car for a few weeks now and haven't wanted to change it yet. Favourite tracks on the album include the singles, 'Called out in the dark', 'In the end' and... Read more
Published 3 months ago by kbulb
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