Viva La Vida

This is a very good album from Coldplay. My favorite track is the lead single "Viva la Vida". It is very spirited song. Chris Martin's vocals are excellent on this track. The guitar playing by Jonny Buckland is so good on the track "Violet Hill". Will Champion provides a steady strong drum beat throughout this entire disc. "Life in Technicolor" is an excellent instrumental track. The boys of Coldplay show that a song can still be great even without lyrics with this track. "Strawberry Swing" is a song about simply enjoying life. This is a very sweet song. "42" is another highlight here. The piano playing by Guy Berryman is slow and pretty here in the beginning. The pace of this song really picks up after the piano playing. I like the musical arrangements of the track "Lost". This song sounds very uplifting to me. Lovers in Japan is an upbeat track that I like very much. "Death And All His Friends" is a beautiful song. The musical arrangements are perfect on this track. This is an excellent album with great music.

It is a different album from what I consider their best to date, X & Y.
Definetly worth purchasing for any and all Coldplay fans!

Musing on Coldplay

There are those who will never like this band. For instance, from Drowned in Sound, "They try hard, Coldplay, but it just isn't enough; their fourth album might just be their best yet, but it's still a long way from being the epochal classic that Chris Martin is desperate to create." Metacritic (www.metacritic.com/music) assigns a "score" of 60 to this review. From Tiny Mix Tapes we have the following: "Don't get me wrong, this is the groups strongest offering". The assigned score? A 50! I have strong reservations about reviewers who obviously dislike a band and who will never like the band but who feel that their opinion is of value. I see these individuals as doing nothing more than preaching to the converted. It is rather like someone who despises soccer writing an assessment of Euro 2008 for a disinterested audience. If I want an opinion on an artist's latest offering, perhaps because I am considering a purchase, I want an open-minded opinion by someone who is at least prepared to be receptive to the work of the artist.

Those who dislike the band are prone to lamenting the lack of any real substance. The reviewer of A Rush... in The Austin Chronicle began his review with these words: "Musically, Coldplay are comfort food: easily digestible, not at all spicy (but not necessarily bland), probably a little fattening. The macaroni and cheese of rock bands". And he liked the cd! Admittedly, Coldplay's lyrics do not carry the weight of, say, early Bob Dylan of Billy Bragg. Then again, who suggested that the band was attempting to create anything more than dreamy and atmospheric songs of love and heartbreak? One of the music critic's favourite tricks is to suggest that an artist has failed in his efforts to create something that was never intended by the artist in the first place! A more honest approach would be for the critic to lay his cards on the table at the beginning of the review. We, the readers, would then be in a position to critique the critic properly!

Another common criticism from detractors is that Coldplay is "bland". With respect I would suggest that this negative observation, too, is mis-guided. There is certainly an hypnotic quality to the much of the music. It is moody and contemplative. It is not music for all occasions. It is undeniably not suitable for a pool party on a steamy August afternoon or a raucous keg party on a Saturday night. It is, however, ideal for a quiet and rainy afternoon or a romantic evening, a bottle of wine and a roaring fireplace.

Each of Coldplay's previous releases benefitted from repeated spins. Viva La Vida is no different. In wine terms it is more akin to Bordeaux than it is to California Cab. It is subtle rather than obvious. At first glance there would appear to no song or songs that leap out as singles or heavy rotation material. However, after a few listens over the weeks since its release several cuts emerged to me as standouts.

Is Coldplay's music "Pretty, lovely, fine, fair, comely, pleasant, agreeable, acceptable, adequate, satisfactory, nice, benign, harmless, innocuous, innocent, largely unobjectionable, safe, forgettable" as suggested in Pitchfork's review of the debut cd or is it "tastefully crafted, tuneful, and affecting" as described in Y Music's review of the follow up? I don't think that there is a world of difference between the opinions of the band's fans and those of its detractors. It all depends upon what you are seeking.

This cd in an absolute classic. It may not have as many hit singles as previous three Coldplay albums, but it works as an album better than those albums(parachutes is close though). The title track, strawberry swing, and death and all of his friends are three of the best songs Coldplay as ever written.

I recommend Coldplay to anyone that can appreciate beautiful melodies in the mode of The Beatles because to me nobody out there writes melodies as good as Coldplay. Chris has a real gift. The music is beautiful as well. Their lyrics ,on the other hand, are their real weakness, but they're still serviceable. Ultimately, there is a reason why this band is one of the most successful bands of the 21st century: they write great songs that many types of people can enjoy. Buy it.

By late 1986 U2 had delivered several great albums before they solicited the services of Brian Eno. They were a two dimensional alternative, anthem based, angst rock band up to that point. A damn fine one as I remember. Feeling frisky and experimental they stepped bold and hired brain Eno to help discover their inner glory. On the Unforgettable Fire Eno unlocked the key to their potential to deliver a mysterious, cryptic opus that turned U2 from a band of 4 great musicians to what would become the most prolific group of musical artist still rocking this world way past that 20 year moment ago. The world has never been the same.

On Viva la Vida, Eno pulls the same hat trick and Coldplay go from contenders to champions. Their previous three albums all had their fair smattering of fair/good/great songs executed in a path somewhat akin to their mentors and predecessors. There is a point though in each career where and when band's of significance click, all things coming together, their appeal exceeding past the hardcore fan base.

On Viva la Vida, that moment for Coldplay has arrived. This awesome album being their contemporary equivalent of the Radiohead - In Rainbows. After hearing the broad vision and subtle discovery of hidden jewels contained in these songs, I expect nothing less than their own Joshua Tree next round. This is a band in high flight and cosmic orbit. Catch them now as they cross that embarkation where fact and fiction, truth and rumor separate and all power boosters have long fallen by the way side. All grown up, Coldplay are in deep space shining on and sounding like heavenly hosannas. Enjoy and take time to thank the silent, invisible 5th member - Brian Eno. His ability to unlock treasure chest of what's already within your reach is unprecedented.