Coldplay

Parachutes
A Rush Of Blood To The Head
X&Y
Viva la Vida


Parachutes (Parlophone ’00, Capitol ’01) Rating: B+
One of several young bands to be compared to Radiohead, Coldplay also recalls the late greats Nick Drake and Jeff Buckley. In fact, singer Chris Martin is a dead ringer for Buckley on “Shiver,” though he also improbably brings Dave Matthews to mind at times ("Spies," for example). Sure, the guitars occasionally soar like Radiohead, but by and large this is a very mellow album that’s more reliant on gorgeous ringing guitars (as well as acoustic guitars and piano) and the stunning voice of Martin, whose fragile falsetto is right up there with anyone else currently working in the field of pop music today. Yes I said "pop music" because Parachutes rarely rocks, which is fine by me since the band’s music is so consistently well-crafted and beautiful. Granted, the album is slow going at times (the majority of the time, actually), and I wish that there were more instant classics along the lines of “Don’t Panic” and “Yellow.” Still, when Martin sings “we live in a beautiful world” on the former song it's easy to believe him, while the anthemic "Yellow" is the best song that Radiohead forgot to write while recording The Bends; the section from 1:48 to 2:12 is pure rock n' roll magic. “Everything’s Not Lost,” a nicely building 7+ minute finale that impressively ebbs and flows, is another album highlight, as is "Trouble," a broken hearted piano ballad that also dented the U.S. charts and helped make Parachutes a surprising multi-platinum success.

A Rush Of Blood To The Head (Capitol/EMI ’02) Rating: A-
Parachutes was one of the most acclaimed and criticized albums of 2000. Sure, its consistent beauty was blatantly obvious, especially on the brilliant hit that broke the band, “Yellow.” But the band sounded a little too much like others (Radiohead, Jeff Buckley) for some people, and the album was overly one-dimensional and somewhat boring over the long haul. Well, Coldplay have come back sounding like a band with something to prove, for A Rush Of Blood To The Head makes good on the promise of Parachutes by delivering a more mature, well rounded second set. The album starts on a high with “Politik.” Written the week of September 11th, 2001, the song shows a no longer naïve young band writing powerfully about politics. The dramatically building music is even better, while the second song and first single “In My Place” repeats the Parachutes formula effectively, delivering a beautifully ringing guitar melody from Jon Buckland and a gorgeous vocal from Martin. This one has "hit single" written all over it, and the faster paced, atmospheric “God Put A Smile Upon Your Face” continues the high quality tunes. Continuing, “The Scientist” is a sad but singable piano ballad that surges periodically, the stunningly pretty piano rocker “Clocks” (single #2) is absolutely perfect and is not only the band's best song to date but is simply one of the finest songs of the decade, and “Daylight” is another big production number that showcases the band at their moody, melodic best. The acoustic-based “Green Eyes” continues with a more modest but quite effective romantic ballad before Martin again bares his emotions on the wonderfully mournful and melodic “Warning Sign,” which ends a superlative eight-song sequence, as the last three songs simply don’t grab me like the rest of the album. They aren’t bad by any means, as “A Whisper” is an intense and comparatively rocking song, and the title track and “Amsterdam” ambitiously tackle serious topics (war and death, respectively). However, these melodies simply aren’t as memorable as previously, making the album eventually start to seem less impressive than it actually is. Truth is, though A Rush Of Blood To The Head would've benefited by being a bit briefer, it nevertheless delivers everything you could hope for in a second effort. Coldplay still recalls others a tad too closely at times, but the influences are much wider this time out, and though the band are still romantics, they’ve also become less insulated and more interesting as a result. Above all else Coldplay have an instantly inviting sound, helped by an emerging guitar hero in Buckman, an excellent singer in Martin, and a sympathetic rhythm section that brings more energy to the band’s expanded sound than on Parachutes. Yes, the band can still be “boring” at times, but A Rush Of Blood To The Head is an impressive rebuttal to anyone who had dismissed them as likely “one hit wonders” or “bedwetters” (Alan McGhee, an apology is in order), for it is a powerfully moody and surprisingly adventurous album.

X&Y (Capitol/EMI ’05) Rating: B
Of course, the word "adventurous" is a relative term, and even at their most adventurous Coldplay is still accessible and somewhat safe. Unfortunately, this much-delayed album (famously causing EMI's shares to drop as a result, such was the anticipation for the album), which followed a commercially successful if inessential live CD/DVD, is conservative even by their standards, almost as if they didn't want to disappoint the soccer moms and shareholders who were waiting for it. Songs such as "Square One," "White Shadows," and "Speed Of Sound" (another superlative first single, even if it's basically "Clocks Pt. 2") are appropriately moody and melodic, but the hooks are harder to come by this time, and the seemingly overly scripted album lacks energy and any sense of spontaneity. Martin still has a lovely voice, even if he goes overboard with the falsettos, and the band still has a rich, inviting sound, but those looking for innovation or deep lyrics (which at least are faceless enough not to be embarrassing) should look elsewhere. I would've liked to have heard less synthesizers and more of Buckman's ringing guitar sound, and the band's debt to U2 seems more obvious than ever, but then I'll hear a sweeping ballad ("What If"), a nice chorus ("X&Y"), or a soaring anthem ("Fix You," possibly their finest song yet) in the band's best style and I remember why I liked these guys in the first place. Still, I can't help but notice that the most memorable riff here (on the terrific "Talk") is lifted from Kraftwerk's "Computer Love," and that this is their third album in a row that ends much weaker than it begins. Then again, that could be said about most albums, and X&Y has steadily grown on me over time, though I still consider it a mild disappointment overall. I'm sure that EMI will be happy with the end result, however, as commercially speaking the band will likely continue to benefit from Radiohead's refusal to remake The Bends, but as of right now they're just another accomplished second tier singles band when with their last album it appeared that they might become something truly special.

Viva la Vida (Capitol/EMI ’08) Rating: A-
X&Y had three fantastic singles ("Speed Of Sound," "Fix You," "Talk") but also got bogged down by too many same-sounding, merely decent songs, especially on side two. Although this album may lack obvious hit singles, Viva la Vida, which smartly runs for only 47 minutes long, does not suffer from similar problems and in fact is the band's most consistent and best album along with A Rush Of Blood To The Head. Maybe this would've become the most legally downloaded album to date even without that omnipresent iTunes commercial (which may have boosted sales but which also reinforced many people's perception of Coldplay being a "poor man's U2") and if it wasn't so good, but I'd like to think not, though I should know better by now. Anyway, this album definitely does sound like U2 at times, especially due to Buckman's more aggressive, Edge-y guitar, but hey I love U2 so that's fine with me, and I for one welcome this album's success given how crap rap and American Idol-type pop pap have dominated commercial music in recent times. Among the characteristics that distinguish this from previous Coldplay albums is that Martin's voice generally opts for a lower register rather than his trademark falsettos, there are prominent strings and exotic percussive decorations, the latter likely due to the influence of a new producer in the legendary Brian Eno, and the album on the whole seems more positive and life-affirming than past records. More important than Martin's vaguely political lyrics, which as usual I can take or leave, this album's music is less obvious than X&Y, with a wider range of mostly interesting sounds. By and large the songs are really good too, beginning with "Life In Technicolor," an Eno-ish instrumental that builds nicely; it may be a mere table setter, but it is certainly an enjoyable one. "Cemeteries Of London," with its exotic percussion and haunting chants, is tuneful yet a far cry from your typical pop fodder, while "Lost!," which sounds like BIG IMPORTANT MUSIC, is an album highlight and the most arena ready anthem here. "42," like the more expansive "Yes," starts slowly but eventually morphs into a surging rocker, as this collection is less ballad-heavy in general than previous albums. Like "Yes," "Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love" is really two songs in one, and I'm not sure why the band didn't properly break them out in both cases since the separation is distinct and the song connections tenuous. I far prefer the "Lovers In Japan" part, whose effortless groove recalls U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name," and "Death and His Friends," which ends the album (actually, the "hidden song" reprise of "Life In Technicolor" really ends the album and brings it full circle, though they renamed this version "The Escapist"), likewise swings impressively. "Strawberry Day," with its "it's such a perfect day" refrain, gives credence to my previous proclamation that Coldplay actually seem happier and more content these days, and I still haven't gotten to the albums two best songs and (unsurprisingly) first two singles, "Violet Hill" and "Viva La Vida." "Violet Hill" is decidedly different from the Coldplay norm, being almost bluesy with intense, dissonant guitars, yet it most definitely works, as does the poppy, upbeat "Viva La Vida," which is much different from "Violet Hill" and anything else the band has done to date and which became their first #1 single in both the U.S. and U.K. Not only that, but it became the first rock song to hit the #1 spot on the U.S. pop charts since, um, Nickelback. Which shouldn't be held against them, for the string-heavy yet still anthemic "Viva La Vida" is a truly great track, one whose background vocals during the last minute really push the song over the top for me. All in all, the band has done very well on Viva La Vida, expanding their still-lush sound and adding enough new wrinkles to overcome their ever-increasing U2-ness, plus it's amazing what a difference a simple thing like including only ten strong songs instead of a bloated twelve or thirteen can make.

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