''Up to Now'' is the first
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
by
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...
. The album features tracks spanning Snow Patrol's fifteen-year music career, including tracks from
The Reindeer Section
The Reindeer Section are a Scottish indie rock supergroup formed in 2001 by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, which released albums and gigged in 2001 and 2002.
Lightbody describes the band's sound as "pretty much all very slow, quiet, folky-ty ...
, a side-project/
supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to:
* Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields
* Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry
* Supergroup ...
involving musicians from all over
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. 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
"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 compila ...
" was released as the album's second single. In Netherlands, Belgium and Finland "
Run
Run(s) or RUN may refer to:
Places
* Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia
* Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant
People
* Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
" was re-released in a version called "Run (2010 Version)" in January 2010.
The release has been described by the band as a collection of the band's best loved songs, and not a
greatest hits, as the album also contains non-singles. It was received favorably by music critics for not being a typical hits record. The album performed well commercially, reaching the top 5 in three countries and the top 40 in another. It also sold well on the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
, making the top 10 selling albums lists in various countries.
Background
The album marks the band's 15 year music career. It is a reminder to newer fans that the band had made two albums before ''Final Straw'', and achieving any commercial success. In line with the 15 years they have been recording, the album features 2 CDs with 15 songs on each, with 3 brand new tracks.
The band felt it was a good time for such a release as their newer material was heading towards new, unexplored musical styles.
To come up with a track list for the album, each member compiled one individually, initially coming up with almost the same song selections.
According to guitarist
Nathan Connolly
Nathan Connolly (born 20 January 1981) is a Northern Irish musician, who is best known as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for alternative rock band Snow Patrol.
Early life
Connolly, who was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, sang for a ...
, the only differences in opinion on song selections among the band members arose on songs from the earliest albums. Forty songs were initially selected, but they realized it wouldn't be practically possible to include all of them. They were whittled down to thirty, some reluctantly. One of these was "Make This Go on Forever". Vocalist
Gary Lightbody explained that they did it as to evenly represent all their albums. The final chosen songs are from all five studio albums, past b-sides and rarities, apart from three new recordings. They also felt the song selection should draw all sorts of fans; those who've supported from the start and those who might be hearing about the band for the first time, which was the reason for comparatively less representation of songs from the early albums.
Commenting on fans' arguments about leaving singles "
How to Be Dead
"How to Be Dead" is the fourth (fifth if the re-issue of "Spitting Games" is counted) and final single by Snow Patrol from their album ''Final Straw''. It was released in 2004, slightly remixed by Chris Lord-Alge from the album version, and reach ...
" and "
One Night is Not Enough
"One Night Is Not Enough" is the sixth single released by Scotland-based indie rock band Snow Patrol, the second to come from their second album, ''When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up''. It was released on 5 March 2001 under the Jeepste ...
" off the album, Lightbody said that they couldn't please everyone.
Drummer
Jonny Quinn
Jonathan Graham Quinn (born 26 February 1972) is a Northern Irish musician, best known as the drummer for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and was previously a member of bands like The Mighty Fall, The New Brontes and Disraeli Gears. As drumm ...
remembers enjoying the selection process as he went back to listen their older songs he hadn't heard recently.
Lightbody has made it clear that the album isn't a greatest hits record, and has expressed his dislike for such. According to him, the compilation is a way to leave the last 15 years behind, and looking forward to 15 years in the future. The album's title, ''Up to Now'' was specifically chosen to indicate the band has more to offer in the future, and that it wasn't a way of saying goodbye.
The band believes that the album signifies a portrait of the band, who they are, "warts and all".
Lightbody said it represents the band making a statement, explaining: "We've climbed a hill and now we're looking back and taking in the view for a bit. It's nice to show people that we didn't just arrive overnight". The artwork for the album was revealed on 25 September 2009.
Promotion
![RoyalAlbertHall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/RoyalAlbertHall.jpg)
To promote the album, a competition exclusive for members on the Snow Patrol mailing list was held. Fans wishing to enter the competition had to sign up and answer a question.
The competition closed on 9 October 2009 and its winner received a drum skin, signed by all members of the band, as well as a photograph proving its authenticity, taken on the band's
North American Tour of September–October 2009.
On 16 October 2009, a competition called the "Up to Now Pub Quiz" was launched on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
. Fans were required to create teams of five, and were posed with ten questions each week, related to the band's entire career. The team with the most correct answers at the end flew to London to see a Snow Patrol concert at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
, with a certain part of travel cost paid. The team was allotted their own private box at the venue, and got to meet the band afterward. Along the same lines, a Swiss radio station 20 Minuten hosted a similar competition for listeners. They had a pair of tickets for the concert for the Royal Albert Hall concert of 24 November to give away. All flight and hotel accommodation costs were paid for by the radio station. The band also played an intimate, acoustic show at King's Head in
Crouch End
Crouch End is an area of North London, approximately from the City of London in the western half of the borough of Haringey. It is within the Hornsey postal district (N8). It has been described by the BBC as one of "a new breed of urban villag ...
, London on 4 November. Tickets for this show could only be obtained via two competitions, one organized on
Play.com
Rakuten.co.uk is a website owned by Rakuten, that operates as an online marketplace. The website does not sell any products directly, but instead allows third party sellers to sell their products. The website replaced Play.com, which was origin ...
and the other on the band's official website. Both involved answering a simple question. On 8 November 2009, the band released a second application for the
iPhone. An online application was also made, where users could manually create their own snowflakes.
Singles
The lead single taken from the album was the new recording "
Just Say Yes", released first in the United States on 23 October 2009 via
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...
and
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
. It was physically released on CD on 30 October and 2 November in Ireland and the United Kingdom respectively.
The single was a hit in the Netherlands, topping the
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
chart. The second single, "
An Olive Grove Facing the Sea
"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 compila ...
" (2009 Version) was only released digitally on iTunes on 4 December 2009. It was also given away as a freebie for a day on the 1st day (26 December 2009) of iTunes' 12 Days of Christmas. In Belgium and The Netherlands the song "
Run
Run(s) or RUN may refer to:
Places
* Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia
* Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant
People
* Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...
" was released on 25 January 2010 as the 2nd single of Up to Now. In The Netherlands the song was Alarmschijf on Radio538 in week 6 of 2010. The song entered the
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...
on 26 February 2010 and moved up to the number one position on that chart. That makes it the 5th Snow Patrol song that hit on that chart, and the first number one hit in The Netherlands. In Belgium, Wallonia, the song was on the ''Top 30'' of the
Ultratop 50, but in Flanders, Just say Yes peaked at number 6 in the
Ultratop 50.
Release
The album was made available in three formats:
* Standard – Two CDs featuring thirty tracks.
* Digipak – Two CDs, and a DVD containing documentaries and live footage.
* Box set – Limited edition heavyweight box, numbered and wrapped in cloth. Contains three CDs, three heavyweight LPs, two DVDs, a lithograph print by Bradley Quinn and an LP sized booklet.
The additional DVD in the digipak format contains the animated film for "
The Lightning Strike" and previously unseen live footage. The box-set went on pre-order on 11 September 2009 and was priced at £49.99. The first 100 sold boxes were individually numbered and signed by all band members.
The DVDs have no region restrictions, and can be played in any part of the world. The album contained three new songs: "Just Say Yes", "Give Me Strength" and "Dark Roman Wine". Additionally, a solo rendition of "An Olive Grove Facing the Sea", performed by Gary Lightbody was also released through the album. Also featured is the cover of
Beyoncé Knowles' "
Crazy in Love", which became a hit in the
hip hop community. Lightbody felt it would be one of the most sought-after songs on the collection.
Lightbody is pleased with "Give Me Strength" and has named it
robablyhis most favorite song by the band.
The song is about everyone who's "been there", his love for his bandmates, especially
Jonny Quinn
Jonathan Graham Quinn (born 26 February 1972) is a Northern Irish musician, best known as the drummer for alternative rock band Snow Patrol, and was previously a member of bands like The Mighty Fall, The New Brontes and Disraeli Gears. As drumm ...
, whom he considers his big brother. He has said that it was "long overdue". The song is lyrically similar to "Weather to Fly" by
Elbow. Lightbody is a huge fan of the band and is "head-over-heels in love" with them. He has credited the band for being the reason for "most of the things
e does
E, or e, is the fifth Letter (alphabet), letter and the second vowel#Written vowels, vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worl ...
and does not deny that he may have subconsciously based "Give Me Strength" on "Weather to Fly".
Reception
Critical reception towards ''Up to Now'' was "generally favorable" according to the review collecting site
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, where it holds a score of 62. IndieLondon's Jack Foley gave it a 4.5/5 rating, and found it "classy". He praised it for not being a generic compilation album, noting the inclusion of the band's lesser known songs. He praised the band's willingness to tread unfamiliar territory (with "Just Say Yes") and found the synth a "nice touch".
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' reviewer Jon Dolan found the set "claustrophobic" and awarded it three stars out of five.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
's Andrew Leahey gave the album a positive review, and also gave it three stars. He felt it indicated the band's growth over the years. He found the new song "Give Me Strength" as one of the best songs the band has written in years.
''
The Border Mail'' gave it 4 out of 5 and found the set "expansive".
''
Drowned in Sound
''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums.
History
''D ...
'' called "An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" a classic and named it the song to be played to Snow Patrol detractors.
Stuff.co.nz gave it 4 stars out of 5. Reviewer Kris Hall said that the album looked like a "shameless cash grab" at the first look, but turns out to be different. He noted that the diverse material meant that there was something for everyone. He also said wrote the live renditions of "Run" and "Chasing Cars" were not be missed.
However, Scottish magazine ''
The List'' in a negative review said that it was still a typical greatest hits album.
In
''Pitchfork'''s mixed review, Tom Breihan wrote that the album was too long and "overstuffed".
The inclusion of "Crazy in Love" was praised in most reviews, and was seen as an indication of the band's lighter, fun side.
However, in Pitchfork's review, it was called "limp" and "unfunny".
''
Hot Press Peter Murphy wrote he would have liked to see the duet "
Some Surprise
"Some Surprise" is a song which features on the charity album '' The Cake Sale'' released in 2006 by The Cake Sale. It is a duet between Irish singer Lisa Hannigan and Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody, written by Bell X1 frontman Paul Noonan. ...
" included.
On national record charts, it peaked at #5 in the Netherlands and Ireland.
In the UK, it peaked at #3.
It also reached the top 40 in Switzerland, peaking at #36.
Supporting tour
![Snow Patrol at Royal Albert Hall on 24 November 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Snow_Patrol_at_Royal_Albert_Hall_on_24_November_2009.jpg)
The band "looked back" by playing a special tour, called the
Reworked Tour.
It saw the band play "reworked" versions of songs that spanned their full career, including songs from side-project
The Reindeer Section
The Reindeer Section are a Scottish indie rock supergroup formed in 2001 by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, which released albums and gigged in 2001 and 2002.
Lightbody describes the band's sound as "pretty much all very slow, quiet, folky-ty ...
.
The songs were reconstructed using strings, brass and choir. The band visited a south London studio to rehearse the reworked songs. Touring began in mid-November, and continued till early December. The band played without any support act. They took the stage twice between an interval, accompanied by 11 special musical guests,
including
Iain Archer
Iain Archer is a writer, producer and solo artist from Bangor, Northern Ireland. He is a two-time Ivor Novello Award winner, winning the 2004 Album Award – ''Final Straw'' by Snow Patrol and Most Performed Work in 2016 for Grammy nominated ...
, members of
Belle & Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes ...
,
Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Bellshill near Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), all of whom shared ...
and
Idlewild.
Track listing
Box set
Including the two CDs and DVD, the box set version contains an additional CD and DVD.
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
External links
*
Make Your Own Snowflake app
{{Authority control
2009 compilation albums
Snow Patrol compilation albums
Interscope Records compilation albums
Fiction Records compilation albums
Albums produced by Jacknife Lee