Post by ledvedderman on Jun 4, 2008 14:15:26 GMT -5
I went into this album not expecting very much at all. I'm a light fan of Coldplay. I'm one of those where I enjoy their music, but I don't know if I would go see them in concert. Musically, I think they are fantastic, but X&Y really turned me off because of how terrible the lyrics were. Luckily, Chris Martin has improved as a lyricist, and the musicianship has improved 10X since their previous album (something I didn't expect upon hearing "Violet Hill").
The album begins with "Life in Technicolor", an instrumental jam that originally had lyrics but were pulled at the last minute. The song carries itself on its own without lyrics very well.
"Cemetaries of London" is part one of possibly the best back to back album tracks from Coldplay. The song is vintage "Parachutes" Coldplay with the magic touch of Brian Eno attached to it. Part two is the beautiful rhythmic "Lost". Lyrically it isn't fantastic, but musically it is a home run.
"42" starts off as a quiet piano Martin number for the first 90 seconds and then kicks into a drum pattern that easily could have been on "Amnesiac" by Radiohead with some great guitar work by Buckland before a full band outro of "You didn't get to heaven but you made it close". Next up is "Lovers in Japan/ Reign of Love", two seperate songs on one CD track (I've always hated this, especially in the middle of an album". "Lovers" has a great jangly piano riff through the whole song with some more Radiohead incluenced drum work. "Reign of Love" is possibly one of my favorite songs on the album. Some really beautiful piano work through the whole song. I really don't know what to compare it to that they have done in the past. It reminds me of an old b-side that I cannot put my finger on right now. This song might have benefited more in a later track position on the album, it kind of slows the album a bit after "42" and "Lovers in Japan".
"Yes" is another two song/one track disc on the album. It's outro is called "Chinese Sleep Chant". "Yes" begins with a beautiful string intro, and the strings show up again as a bit of a pre-chorus in their own right. Great slide guitar work through this song. "Chinese Sleep Chant" is a fantastic number. I don't know why, but it reminds me of "Cuttooth" by Radiohead. Maybe I can just hear Thom singing "A little bit of knowledge will destroy you" over the music.
Next up are the two songs we all know. "Viva La Vida" is truly a masterpiece. Why this wasn't the official first single is beyond me. It blows "Violet Hill" out of the water. I love the use of strings through this song, and am curious how they pull this off life. (I'm not sure if they use samples or not). "Violet Hill" is something I would expect from X&Y. Musically, it is fantastic, but I think the lyrics are beyond weak. I don't know how much I agree with this being so late in the tracklisting. I think it would have been a great fit as the first true "song" on the album after "Life in Technicolor". I love the distorted guitar in this song though, it really is a change of pace for them.
Next up is "Strawberry Swing". I've heard people compare this to "In The Summertime" (that old 70's song, youtube it for the video itself). The guitar is very George Harrison-esqe though the whole song. It's just a nice little summer song.
"Death and All His Friends" is a true Coldplay song. It is the perfect album loser. Starts off with just Chris on piano and the song kicks in full band nearly two minutes in. Great piano/guitar riff through the song before a couple bars of power chords. A true masterpiece to close an album which hasn't happened since "Parachutes". The hidden track is "The Escapist" which is just basically "Life In Technicolor" with vocals before the climax of the song comes to be heard.
Overall- I don't know if I'm blown away because my expectations were so low, or if it is because this truly is a great album. It ranks very high as far as Coldplay albums go.
Favorite songs though are: Cemetaries of London, Lost!, 42, Reign of Love, and Viva La Vida
The album begins with "Life in Technicolor", an instrumental jam that originally had lyrics but were pulled at the last minute. The song carries itself on its own without lyrics very well.
"Cemetaries of London" is part one of possibly the best back to back album tracks from Coldplay. The song is vintage "Parachutes" Coldplay with the magic touch of Brian Eno attached to it. Part two is the beautiful rhythmic "Lost". Lyrically it isn't fantastic, but musically it is a home run.
"42" starts off as a quiet piano Martin number for the first 90 seconds and then kicks into a drum pattern that easily could have been on "Amnesiac" by Radiohead with some great guitar work by Buckland before a full band outro of "You didn't get to heaven but you made it close". Next up is "Lovers in Japan/ Reign of Love", two seperate songs on one CD track (I've always hated this, especially in the middle of an album". "Lovers" has a great jangly piano riff through the whole song with some more Radiohead incluenced drum work. "Reign of Love" is possibly one of my favorite songs on the album. Some really beautiful piano work through the whole song. I really don't know what to compare it to that they have done in the past. It reminds me of an old b-side that I cannot put my finger on right now. This song might have benefited more in a later track position on the album, it kind of slows the album a bit after "42" and "Lovers in Japan".
"Yes" is another two song/one track disc on the album. It's outro is called "Chinese Sleep Chant". "Yes" begins with a beautiful string intro, and the strings show up again as a bit of a pre-chorus in their own right. Great slide guitar work through this song. "Chinese Sleep Chant" is a fantastic number. I don't know why, but it reminds me of "Cuttooth" by Radiohead. Maybe I can just hear Thom singing "A little bit of knowledge will destroy you" over the music.
Next up are the two songs we all know. "Viva La Vida" is truly a masterpiece. Why this wasn't the official first single is beyond me. It blows "Violet Hill" out of the water. I love the use of strings through this song, and am curious how they pull this off life. (I'm not sure if they use samples or not). "Violet Hill" is something I would expect from X&Y. Musically, it is fantastic, but I think the lyrics are beyond weak. I don't know how much I agree with this being so late in the tracklisting. I think it would have been a great fit as the first true "song" on the album after "Life in Technicolor". I love the distorted guitar in this song though, it really is a change of pace for them.
Next up is "Strawberry Swing". I've heard people compare this to "In The Summertime" (that old 70's song, youtube it for the video itself). The guitar is very George Harrison-esqe though the whole song. It's just a nice little summer song.
"Death and All His Friends" is a true Coldplay song. It is the perfect album loser. Starts off with just Chris on piano and the song kicks in full band nearly two minutes in. Great piano/guitar riff through the song before a couple bars of power chords. A true masterpiece to close an album which hasn't happened since "Parachutes". The hidden track is "The Escapist" which is just basically "Life In Technicolor" with vocals before the climax of the song comes to be heard.
Overall- I don't know if I'm blown away because my expectations were so low, or if it is because this truly is a great album. It ranks very high as far as Coldplay albums go.
Favorite songs though are: Cemetaries of London, Lost!, 42, Reign of Love, and Viva La Vida