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Whistle Stopper - A Hundred Million Suns
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List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $5.97
Your Save: $ 8.01 ( 57% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Geffen Records
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0602517852624
Label: Geffen Records
Manufacturer: Geffen Records
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Geffen Records
Release Date: 2008-10-28
Studio: Geffen Records
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the year's best
Comment: Rolling Stone once described Snow Patrol as a band that sneaks up on you, stealthily altering the musical landscape as they go. It could be an apt description of the songs on this album. They do indeed creep up on you slowly, so that by the third or fourth listen, you're hooked. the lyrics often express the delicate and intimate emotions, surronded by an almost epic wall of sound. It's a rather unusual combination, and in the end, rather begulling. This is a great album, from one of the best bands around.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Raw... or retail?
Comment: After all the commercial rap stars that have been on the radio lately, it is about time that some real gangsters got some airplay. Let the suburbs have 50 cent and T.I. - Snow patrol is the purest expression of ghetto artform since Wu-Tang entered their 36 chambers. Right away their credibility is obvious; the band takes their name from the coke trade and poorer times when they used to "patrol" for "snow." And as coke prices rose, these snow patrollers found themselves out of the streets and into penthouses and recording contracts.
Coming on the heels of their previous masterpiece "final straw" (a blatant reference to cocaine paraphernalia), SP's latest offering starts off furiously. The group is not afraid to flaunt their legendary status in the inner city - "I'll take back this city for me" head rapper Gary Lightbody is quick to boast. Yet somehow one can't help feeling that the further SP has gotten from their roots in the cold streets of Dublin, the more commercial their rhymes have become. Sometimes the evidence of lil jon is unmistakable, and the many "woaaaaahs," "oohs," and "yeahs" begin to remind of one the crunk fad that has been dominating the airwaves. In the end, while the group may boast of their "lightning strike," when all is said and done this may be merely a drizzle.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not their best, but worth a listen
Comment: I always think of this album as the make or break 3rd album even though it is the Patrol's 5th outing. The first 2 albums `Songs for Polar bears' and `When it's all over we still have to clean up', although there are some good songs on both these albums; compared to the later 2, `Final Straw' and `Eyes Open', they feel like weak albums. This is shown through their live set when `Final straw' came out; the first 2 albums disappeared into obscurity with only rare appearances given to the tracks of these albums. The question is will the tracks from `A Hundred Million suns' become a mainstay in their live set or disappear as quickly as they were made.
If the first track `If there's a rocket tie me to it' is anything to go by it would indicate the former. The song starts off the album gently before gathering momentum into a thumping indie rock song which has got to be a contender for the third single. You can tell throughout the album, Lightbody and co are trying to keep the album fresh and different, often to varying degrees of success. With Lightbody's signature vocals throughout, it always can be recognised instantly as a Snow Patrol record.
Second and third track `Crack the Shutters' and `Take back the city' continue the momentum from the first track. `Crack the Shutters starts off with a chirpy piano before the song comes to life as Lightbody escalates the song to the chorus with `Crack the shutters open wide, I wanna be with you every night and day'. A class song much like the rockier, punchier `Take back the city. Both are great singles and along with `If there's a rocket tie me to it', will fit perfectly in to their live set.
After a storming start to the album it is almost as if they ran out of gas as fourth track `Lifeboats' sends the album into mediocrity as apart from a few exceptions `Please just take these photos from my hands' and `Disaster Button' which bring some much needed oomph to the album. It just feels like the other tracks have no real hooks or memorable moments. Lightbody's vocals go into automatic mode making the songs feel lifeless. There is just no variation in the vocals or connection to the lyrics turning what could have been a great album into just an ok album.
When I first so the length of the last track I was instantly intrigued as it lasted 16 minutes! I almost fell off my chair when I saw this. The first thought that came to my mind was that this was another frustratingly long gap between the actual track and the hidden track. My next thought was that they might actually be going prog!? Well it turns out I was wrong on both fronts as it is actually 3 tracks back to back which are pretty average and the fact that they have tried to link them unsuccessfully does not really help.
Overall compared to their last 2 albums, this is a slightly disappointing effort, especially given the strength of the singles. The singles will slot nicely into their live set, along with a few of the other album tracks but unfortunately the rest of the album lacks the same quality. No doubt this will not stop Snow Patrol on their quest to make the step up from arenas to stadiums, but they will still have to stick predominantly with the older songs that got them to the position they are in, in the first place.
Customer Rating:
Summary: All these broken pieces fit together to make a perfect picture of us.
Comment: Snow Patrol's fifth cd is arguably their best, most consistent work. Yet, there still seems to be room to grow (not unlike popular bands of yesteryear did such as U2 and R.E.M.)
Where "Final Straw" and "Eyes Open" began, and progressed, a new musical direction for Snow Patrol, "A Hundred Million Suns" finds the band continuing to build on their strengths--good melodies and hooks, memorable power riffs and soaring vocals from Gary Lightbody.
"A Hundred Million Suns" has a strong start with the sure-to-be modern rock hits "If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It", "Crack The Shutters", "Take Back The City" and "Lifeboats".
"The Golden Floor" is a bit of a departure for the band with a drum loop and percussion driven beat. Not a rocker, but not quite a ballad. The result is a song that grows with each listen.
After this, Snow Patrol falter (as they typically do mid-way through) and give us "Please Take These Photos From My Hands" which just seems too much like "Take Back The City" or "If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It". Good song, but repetitive. "Set Down Your Glass" and "The Planets Bend Between Us" are good, but not all that interesting.
However, "Engines" has this uplifting chant throughout the song, and I could see it becoming another modern rock single. "Disaster Button" is good, but very similar to "Please Just Take These Photos From My Hands" or "If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It".
The last song, a 16 minute suite entitled "The Lightning Strike", forges a new concept for the band akin to bands like Yes, Genesis or Emerson, Lake & Powell without the classical, prog rock chords. In essence, "The Lightning Strike" is three separate songs with an intertwined theme. I would have liked them to have been separate tracks as I preferred "The Sunlight Through The Flags" and "Daybreak" portions of the suite. Still, this is a pretty ambitious song for a band that does not normally make episodic music, and they do it very well.
So here's my verdict in the context of Snow Patrol's previous works:
1998 Songs For Polar Bears: Three and a half stars
2001 When It's All Over We Still Have To Clear Up: Three stars
2003 Final Straw: Three and a half stars
2006 Eyes Open: Four Stars
2008 A Hundred Million Suns: Four Stars
Customer Rating:
Summary: (Much) better than Eyes Open, falls (well) short of Final Straw
Comment: Let's be real. This album is not Final Straw. It is unlikely that any future album they write will equal its mastery. That said, A Hundred Million Suns has several interesting new songs that move in different directions for the band- something which Eyes Open did not have. Eyes Open consisted primarily of tracks that all sounded the same: radio friendly rockers with a couple simple ballads, like the pleasant "Chasing Cars", which has unfortunately become the song Snow Patrol will continually be associated with. "Chasing Cars" was no classic, especially in comparison to "Run".
Fortunately, this album does not have a "Chasing Cars". What it does have are several rockers in a similar style to what the band attempted on Eyes Open, except that this time, they succeed. But where they really succeed on this album are those songs on which they push the envelope a bit. "Lifeboats", "The Golden Floor", and "Engines" are easily three of the best songs, but they all fall short of the epic "The Lightning Strike", which is absolutely one of the top three songs the band has written, along with "Run" and "Chocolate". The first section builds incredibly, weakens slightly in the middle, and then climax strongly on the "Daylight" section. This album is worth getting simply because it doesn't bore with 11 identical songs. It has a few songs catering to the radio-listening crowd who can't tell one song from another anyway, but it also has several for the more trained ear, the music listener who wants to hear something different. The rockers are enjoyable, and the single "Take Back The City" is a definite winner. The only place this album falls horribly flat on its face is with the atrocious "Crack the Shutters" which the packaging had the audacity to inform me was one of the featured songs on this recording. It's the only one I skip.
It's not a new direction for Snow Patrol, but they've moved beyond their static mainstream obsession which they (hopefully) exorcised on Eyes Open.
Top songs:
1. The Lightning Strike
2. Lifeboats
3. Take Back The City
4. The Golden Floor
5. Engines
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Editorial Reviews:
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SNOW PATROL - A Hundred Million Suns - (Polydor/Fiction/Geffen Records)
The album is preceded by the fantastic single "Take Back The City", which comes with a video shot in East London courtesy of acclaimed video director Alex Courtes (White Stripes "Seven Nation Army").
Gary Lightbody (vocals/guitars) says, ""I'm so proud of this record. Everybody played out of their skin. Garret (Jacknife Lee) continued his progression from maverick genius to one of the best producers in the world. Musically, lyrically and sonically the best record we've made"
The Grammy-nominated band's fifth studio album was recorded throughout the Summer of 2008 in Hansa Studios in Berlin (where Bowie recorded "Low," "Heroes" and "Lodger") and at Grouse Lodge deep in the Irish countryside. Written by Snow Patrol, the album was produced by Garret "Jacknife" Lee (Bloc Party, REM, U2).
Snow Patrol are one of the biggest selling UK bands this decade and A Hundred Million Suns follows up the 2006 Number One, seven-times platinum phenomenon Eyes Open which sold 2.1 million copies in the UK and over 1 million in the US. Eyes Open achieved platinum awards across the world from the US and Canada to Germany, Australia and beyond, selling over 4.5 million copies. Their single "Chasing Cars" has just received its 2 millionth download in the US. Snow Patrol Photos
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