Final Straw is the highly acclaimed third album by Snow Patrol, released in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland in 2003 and in the United States in 2004. The album is notable for bringing the band their first mainstream success outside of their native countries of Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The album was re-released in the UK in 2004 with two extra tracks[2], before being exported to the U.S. (without the bonus tracks). The album was also released on SACD and DualDisc with 5.1 Surround mixes.[3]
[edit] Recording and composition
Guitarist Nathan Connolly joined the band during the recording sessions. He did not contribute much, as the whole album had already been demoed. He commented that he found it easy to start writing and sharing his ideas with the rest of the band, as he had a good relationship with the band before being a member.[4] The album's music incorporates distorted guitar, feedback styles, and the vocals are gritty. The lyrics deal with the themes of relationships and politics. The band's sound on the album was described as being a "cross between the sullen folk of Nick Drake and the more punchy rock moments of Simple Minds and the Pixies.[5] Lightbody has said that him "finally learn[ing] to write a chorus" was the key to the album's success.[6]
Its music was along the same lines as the band's first two albums, and no attempt was made to change the sound to something more radio-friendly. The lyrics, all written by Lightbody are bleak. They speak about failing relationships and break-ups. They were inspired by his personal experiences. Quinn, his longtime friend, says that he knows who Lightbody sings about in those songs.[7]
[edit] Track listing
All lyrics written by Lightbody, all music composed by Lightbody/Connolly/McClelland/Quinn except for tracks 7, 9, 11 by Archer/Connolly/Lightbody/McClelland/Quinn[8].
| 1. | "How to Be Dead" | 3:21 |
| 2. | "Wow" | 4:02 |
| 3. | "Gleaming Auction" | 2:04 |
| 4. | "Whatever's Left" | 2:39 |
| 5. | "Spitting Games" | 3:46 |
| 6. | "Chocolate" | 3:02 |
| 7. | "Run" | 5:54 |
| 8. | "Grazed Knees" | 2:55 |
| 9. | "Ways & Means" | 4:47 |
| 10. | "Tiny Little Fractures" | 2:28 |
| 11. | "Somewhere a Clock is Ticking" | 4:32 |
| 12. | "Same" | 3:54 |
- UK re-release bonus tracks
| 13. | "We Can Run Away Now They're All Dead and Gone" | 3:15 |
| 14. | "Half the Fun" | 2:54 |
| 13. | "Post Punk Progression" | 3:23 |
| 14. | "Steal" | 2:45 |
| 13. | "Chocolate (Video)" | 3:43 |
| 14. | "Run (Video)" | 4:20 |
| 15. | "Spitting Games (Video)" | 3:52 |
| 16. | "Sessions@AOL: Interview" | 6:14 |
| 17. | "Sessions@AOL: Run" | 4:33 |
- The AOL sessions feature frontman Gary Lightbody & lead guitarist Nathan Connolly being interviewed, and doing an acoustic rendition of "Run".
- The dualdisc version does not include the UK bonus tracks.
[edit] Songs in popular culture
[edit] Personnel
- Other personnel
| | - Dan Swift - engineer
- Jacknife Lee - producer, mixing
- Phil Tyreman - assistant engineer
- Ian Dowling - assistant engineer
- Mike Nelson - mixing
- Jeff McLaughlin - assistant
- Chris Lord-Alge - mixing
|
[edit] Peak positions and certifications
| Organization | Level | Date[24] |
| RIAA - USA | Gold | 17 October 2008 |
[edit] References
- ^ Cohen, Jonathan (1 May 2004). "Snow Patrol storms U.S. shores". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc.) 116 (18): 10. ISSN 0006-2510. http://books.google.com/books?id=thAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA10&dq=snow+patrol&lr=&as_brr=3&as_pt=MAGAZINES#v=onepage&q=snow%20patrol&f=false. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- ^ http://www.snowpatrol.com/discography/default.aspx?pid=3
- ^ http://www.snowpatrol.com/discography/default.aspx?&in=8
- ^ Jurilj, Igor (4 August 2009). "October 2009 Interview - Nathan Connolly (Snow Patrol)" (in Croatian). Muzika. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.muzika.hr%2Fclanak%2F22192%2Finterview%2Fnathan-connolly-snow-patrol-s-vremenom-postajemo-veci-bend-i-nemamo-straha-izaci-na-jednu-od-najvecih-pozornica-ikada.aspx&date=1 October 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2009. Note: Translation can be found here.
- ^ Weingarten, Abby (3 September 2004). "Scotland's Snow Patrol jumps on gloom bandwagon". AccessMyLibrary. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-13235006_ITM. Retrieved 2009-10-19. Appears as: "Using distorted guitar, feedback and gritty vocals, the band inserts lyrics with political and relationship themes." and "Comprised of Gary Lightbody (songwriting, vocals, guitar and keyboards), Nathan Connolly (guitar), Mark McClelland (bass and keyboards) and Johnny Quinn (drums), Snow Patrol has a sound that's a cross between the sullen folk of Nick Drake and the more punchy rock moments of Simple Minds and the Pixies."
- ^ Heawood, Sophie (30 October 2009). "Snow Patrol: 'We're not ready for greatest hits'". The Times. http://www.webcitation.org/5kvhEAV7s. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
- ^ "That's Snow business". The Age. 25 July 2004. http://www.webcitation.org/5kskyWtQq. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
- ^ "Final Straw". Snow Patrol. http://www.snowpatrol.com/discography/default.aspx?pid=3. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
- ^ http://www.tower.com/gran-turismo-4-original-soundtrack-cd/wapi/105944138
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0789452/soundtrack
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0760338/soundtrack
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Wicker-Park-Various-Artists/dp/B0002MIBW0
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436058/soundtrack
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Last-Kiss-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B000G8NY54/
- ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2007 Albums". ARIA. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupagesARIACharts-Accreditations-2007Albums.htm. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d "Snow Patrol - Final Straw". aCharts. http://acharts.us/album/13722. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
- ^ http://dutchcharts.nl/weekchart.asp?cat=ab&year=2009&date=20090606
- ^ http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/plat2008.html
- ^ http://www.irishcharts.ie/awards/multi_platinum.htm
- ^ http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2008.pdf
- ^ title=Chart position on Top Heatseekers
- ^ "Brits Rock". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/artist/snow-patrol/306432#/news/brits-rock-1003877997.story. Retrieved 4 August 2009.
- ^ "RIAA certification". http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=snow%20patrol&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25.
- ^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=snow%20patrol&format=&debutLP=&category=&sex=&releaseDate=&requestNo=&type=&level=&label=&company=&certificationDate=&awardDescription=&catalogNo=&aSex=&rec_id=&charField=&gold=&platinum=&multiPlat=&level2=&certDate=&album=&id=&after=&before=&startMonth=1&endMonth=1&startYear=1958&endYear=2009&sort=Artist&perPage=25
