Customer Reviews

And Now It's Come to This

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

In my last review, I put this album at 3 stars. I've since changed my mind.

This album marks a massive change for Seven Nations. A lot of fans may not like this change. Don't listen to this album for the good old Seven Nations sound...you won't find it. But I can not mark this album so low for what it is not...I must mark it for what it attempts to do and totally succeeds at. It rocks.

This album is marked by a much edgier Seven Nations than we are used to. The music is much more guitar-driven sound, with bagpipes and fiddle taking a backseat in most songs to Kirk's amazing voice, and some rocking guitar work! But this creates a new sound that is distinctly Seven Nations. The final cut, Last Call sounds like a cross between Green Day, Five Iron Frenzy, and Blink 182, but the bagpipe and fiddle interludes breaking up the verses are DISTINCTLY vintage Seven Nations. Do not be put off by the new sound. Listen to it with fresh ears, and you will hear a fresh sound that will have you singing some of these songs for days!

Seven Nations has been taking steps in this direction since the Factory, and you may or may not like it, but it's inevitable. However, if you can look at this album from a different standpoint, you will like it. What does it remind me of? Hard to say. In parts, it reminds me of Lit. Other parts remind me of The Beatles. Sometimes they remind me of Caedmon's Call. But mostly, they remind me of Seven Nations....with a new haircut

They do an amazing job of making this new sound totally theirs, and you have to give them props for this. This album really does ROCK!!! Buy it and enjoy!!

In the mid 90's 7N was on top of the world. Rain and Thunder, Old Ground, and Big Dog are phenominal albums. I highly suggest you purchase them.
But after Nick and Neil left Kirk changed the direction of the band. Not wanting to be known as a "Celtic Rock" band after you build your foundation on said music is truly biting the hand that feeds you.
7N lost their sponsorship (and tour bus) from Dewars because their latest recordings aren't even in the Celtic Tradition.
The songs on this cd are tepid, bland alternative rock. Most of the time you can't even hear the pipes and fiddle. The band needs to grow up, return to the music that got them gigs in the first place.
If you are looking for a band that has blistering pipes and fiddle tunes go buy anything from "Enter the Haggis." Those guys will make you dance.

I'm not a rock fan, but I love this albumn. I first heard 7N at a Scottish Festival when they were still Clan Na Gael. I have their albums and have followed their music since. None of their CDs (including Road Kill 1 & 2) touch their live performances.

I was a bit surprised when I read the reviews on this album. While I agree it's less Celtic than the others, I find myself listening to this album more than their others. The songs are original and the lyrics strong.

This strays a bit from the traditional 7N's sound, but it still works. As well as more popish sounding songs like The Little Yellow Bus, there's a vintage cut of "Up to Me" done to a faster beat that totally rocks. Truth be told, this CD took a few listenings to grow on me, but it's now one of my favorites. So far I've bought 4 copies, as I keep losing them or loaning them out. I suggest buying several spares.
Good job boys!

I was very very fortunate to see Seven Nations live in DeLand, FL recently. I was completely blown away. Within three songs I went and purchased this CD along with The Factory. Both are absolutely fantastic. I haven't stopped listening to them since the concert.

This album is a little different than the The Factory however. It places more emphasis on the rock, and less on the traditional celtic tunes in The Factory. So, if you want more alternative and less bagpipes, get this CD. If you want more traditional folk with electric guitars, buy The Factory.

This review may be a little contradictory, but here I go...
When I first popped this cd into the player I was overly disappointed...Expecting more Celtic/Rock like previous albums.I thought, what happened to Seven Nations? Why are they morphing into pop??? I always LOVED this band for their individuality...No one else was like them. Somehow I felt betrayed. I refused to give up, I listened again and again, and found myself in love again! This is truly great music! It's infectious and addicting with amazing song writing and catchy beats.
Don't get me wrong, I truly miss the traditional celtic flavor...bagpipes and all.Maybe that's why I couldn't give this cd more than 4 stars.I think others will be
disappointed in the change, but give this cd a good listen, it's worth it.

"and now it's come to this" is an aggressive, spirited, rock and roll album that breaks away from the enjoyable but restrictive "Celtic rock" formula. Kirk McLeod's songwriting has never been more confident. Despite what other customer reviews might say, 7N's pipes and fiddle are quite present in most of the songs -- they're just experimenting with them. For example, in "You'd Be Mine" Scott Long's playing his pipes through a wah-wah pedal. Other songs, such as "Waiting for Midnight," "Asleep for Days," "jump_START (peace)" and "Last Call," have more traditional instrumentation but wind up in completely nontraditional destinations. "Last Call" is one of the most enjoyable party songs I ever heard, "My Sweet Liberty" is nicely funky, and "Wonderful" is a strong rock anthem.

This is an exciting, tight album that doesn't take away from the accomplishments of previous albums. Putting the self-titled "Seven Nations" and this album together, you get a great picture of the complete range of this up-and-coming band.

while I agree with some of the reviews (good and bad), I'm also aware that these guys are in this AS THEIR JOBS. Sure, it looks all glamorous but be real here, they travel an un-Godly # of days/year working clubs all over hell & creation. You think that's just for the hell of it?? Gimme a break. Yes, they love their music (as do we) BUT, they are trying to make a living at the same time. I don't think this CD is nearly as good as Old Ground (my favorite) but it's good in it's own right. It's definitely MUCH MORE mainstream and if it lets them track to a larger following, GOOD FOR THEM, GOOD FOR ALL OF US! We'll hear more from them and once they get a bigger following can start pulling some of their old stuff back in as well. I say give them the benefit of the doubt...enjoy this one FWIW from an excellent band.

Ok, the truth is that this album is not really Seven Nations. I mean, it says it on the album, but it is inferior to all of their other offerings. I like it when Seven Nations blends some pop offerings into their music...but on this album the entire list is just pop. CLICHE!!! Seven Nations used to be my favorite band. What they need to do now is go back to making music for themselves rather than to sell records to mainstream America, which, I must say, has arguably the worst taste in music. If you want real Seven Nations, buy every one of their other albums first, especially BIG DOG. Even at their last concert, the just didn't really seem to enjoy playing their songs as much as they used to. This album as well as this band's current trends are very disappointing.

I am a big enough man to be able to say the I was wrong.

I reviewed this CD when it was first released, and I didn't like it very much because it was such a departure from what Seven NAtions usally plays.

Having not given up on it, I have listened to it enough to get a better appreciation of the direction that the band is travelling in.

Start with "Wonderful" or "Waiting For Midnight"

You won't be disappointed.

Seven Nations fans, if you thought that you had been let down, come back and give this one another listen.

Change can be good.