An Olive Grove Facing the Sea
Encyclopedia
"An Olive Grove Facing the Sea (2009 Version)" is a song from Snow Patrol
's compilation album Up to Now
. It was released digitally on 4 December 2009 in the United Kingdom as the second single taken from the album. The original version of the song was released in 2001 on Snow Patrol's second album When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
. The lyrics were written by vocalist Gary Lightbody
and the music was composed by the band.
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. The song was produced by Michael Brennan Jr. and Snow Patrol. 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. 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
. Lightbody's vocal on the song invited comparisons to Nick Drake
.
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" and featured Lightbody singing over an electric guitar. Lightbody called his new version "shamefully self indulgent".
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".
. It was also given away as a freebie for a day on the 1st day (26 December 2009) of iTunes' 12 Days of Christmas.
"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. It has also been called an example of the "lo-fi rustic beauty" of the band's early records. 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". In later years, it has been called a "stone cold classic" and "a bonafide tear jerker". 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.
Other personnel
Snow Patrol
Snow Patrol are an alternative rock band from Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland. Formed at the University of Dundee in 1994 as an indie rock band, the band is now based in Glasgow...
's compilation album Up to Now
Up to Now
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...
. It was released digitally on 4 December 2009 in the United Kingdom as the second single taken from the album. The original version of the song was released in 2001 on Snow Patrol's second album When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
-Bonus tracks on 2006 re-release:*All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from "When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up".-Reception:...
. The lyrics were written by vocalist Gary Lightbody
Gary Lightbody
Gary Lightbody is an Northern Irish musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol.- Early life :...
and the music was composed by the band.
Background
The lyrics to the song were written by vocalist Gary Lightbody, and the music composed by the whole band, then consisting of Lightbody, Mark McClellandMark McClelland
Mark Peter McClelland is a musician from Northern Ireland, known best as the former bass guitarist with the band Snow Patrol. McClelland is a recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for his work on the album, Final Straw...
and Jonny Quinn
Jonny Quinn
Jonathan Graham "Jonny" Quinn is a Northern Irish drummer, born in Bangor. He is 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 drummer for Snow Patrol, he has played on all releases...
. 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
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
-Bonus tracks on 2006 re-release:*All bonus tracks originally appeared as B-sides to the singles released from "When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up".-Reception:...
. Recording took place at two different studios: The Stables (in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) and Substation (in Rosyth
Rosyth
Rosyth is a town located on the Firth of Forth, three miles south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the town has a population of 12,790....
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
). The final mix was done at Substation. The song was produced by Michael Brennan Jr. and Snow Patrol. 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
Big Star
Big Star was an American rock band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1971 by Alex Chilton, Chris Bell, Jody Stephens and Andy Hummel. The group broke up in 1974, but reorganized with a new line-up nearly 20 years later...
song "Thirteen
Thirteen (song)
"Thirteen" is a song by the American rock band Big Star. Rolling Stone describes it "one of rock's most beautiful celebrations of adolescence", and rated it #396 in a list of the 500 greatest songs of all time...
" and called its "Stalkers Handbook" version. 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
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
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
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
. Lightbody's vocal on the song invited comparisons to Nick Drake
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
.
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" and featured Lightbody singing over an electric guitar. Lightbody called his new version "shamefully self indulgent".
Music video
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 TwoBBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
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".
Release and reception
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. Lightbody's re-recording, the "2009 Version", was released on Snow Patrol's first compilation Up to Now. 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 StoreITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. It was also given away as a freebie for a day on the 1st day (26 December 2009) of iTunes' 12 Days of Christmas.
"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. It has also been called an example of the "lo-fi rustic beauty" of the band's early records. In a negative review, RTÉ
Raidió Teilifís Éireann
Raidió Teilifís Éireann is a semi-state company and the public service broadcaster of Ireland. It both produces programmes and broadcasts them on television, radio and the Internet. The radio service began on January 1, 1926, while regular television broadcasts began on December 31, 1961, making...
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". In later years, it has been called a "stone cold classic" and "a bonafide tear jerker". UK magazine Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
in 2009 named it the song to be played to anyone who didn't have enough respect for Snow Patrol as a band.
Personnel
Snow Patrol- Gary LightbodyGary LightbodyGary Lightbody is an Northern Irish musician and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol.- Early life :...
– guitar, vocals - Mark McClellandMark McClellandMark Peter McClelland is a musician from Northern Ireland, known best as the former bass guitarist with the band Snow Patrol. McClelland is a recipient of the Ivor Novello Award for his work on the album, Final Straw...
– bass - Jonny QuinnJonny QuinnJonathan Graham "Jonny" Quinn is a Northern Irish drummer, born in Bangor. He is 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 drummer for Snow Patrol, he has played on all releases...
– drums
Other personnel
- Fly by Heart – choir
- Rob Dillam – acoustic guitar
- John Todd – trumpet