Coldplay "Viva La Vida" (Album Review)

This past Tuesday saw the release of the 4th studio album from Coldplay, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends."  It has been 8 years since the band released their debut album "Parachutes." I certainly do not think anyone could have predicted this kind of large scale success back in 2000. I have been a fan since I first heard "Yellow" but at the time they did not strike me as having the potential to be much bigger than any of the other similar bands coming from the UK at the time. "Parachutes" still holds up tremendously well and is a classic debut album in my opinion. "Yellow" might be the only big single off that cd but "Don't Panic" is an amazing album opener that gained more notoriety when it appeared on the soundtrack to the film "Garden State." "Shiver" is also a fan favorite and the best imitation of a Jeff Buckley song ever. 

In 2002 they released their 2nd album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head." The first single "In My Place" was a great lead single but when they released "Clocks" it seemed to take them to another level. "Clocks" is still probably my least favorite Coldplay single but something about it spoke to a mass audience in a way none of their previous songs had managed to do. It became one of those singles that just grows and grows until 6 months later it's on the iPod of every soccer mom and 40 something lawyers and doctors. This is not necessarily a bad thing as most critics would have you believe, but it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on a band and surprisingly Coldplay seemed willing to embrace it. This is what separates them from all the bands that attempt to sound like them such as Keane or The Fray. Whereas those bands might show some similarities they border on alternative adult contemporary and could never pack an arena like Coldplay. Chris Martin made it cool again for a lead singer to be able to sit at a piano and sing like with emotion, so I would much rather have people rip them off than all the Pearl Jam rip offs that flooded radio in the late 90's and early 2000's. 

Critics always talk about U2 being the biggest band in the world and U2 have really consistently held the spot minus the bump in the road that was "Pop" since the mid 80's. After the run of singles and the tour for "Rush" was over Coldplay looked like the only legitimate heir to U2's throne of critically proclaimed biggest band in the world.

As a huge fan of both U2 and Coldplay it was interesting to see their career paths taking a similar route. Coldplay is reaching their U2 like status in a much shorter route but the similarities are apparent now more than ever. Their last album "X&Y was a solid album but really just a continuation of "Rush." The lead single "Speed of Sound" sounded suspiciously like a souped up version of "Clocks," and personally I like the song much more, but the song was indicative of the lack of growth the band displayed on "X&Y." "Fix You" and "Talk" went on to be hit singles as well and the album and tour were successful in continuing the bands rise to being a worthy challenger to U2. 

However with such a stature comes the inevitable back lash. One of my favorite comedies "40 Year Old Virgin" has the famous "You know how I know you are gay" line about Coldplay and for as many people that love them there are equally as many who hate them and write them off as a boring stadium ready Radiohead rip off. All these criticism come with the territory of the massive success they have achieved in the past 8 years and with Chris Martin marrying Gwyneth Paltrow in 2003 it only makes them more of a target for music snobs and haters. 

A couple months ago the band released the song "Violet Hill" as a free download on their website. The site had so many downloads that it crashed. The song is definitely a departure and was a surprising choice as "first single." It signaled that we were about the hear a new and improved Coldplay.  Ready to challenge themselves now that they had attained their stadium status they hired legendary (U2) producer Brian Eno to help them craft an album that will undoubtedly be called their "Achtung Baby" by many critics. The comparisons are fair and pretty obvious. You could say that "Parachutes" was Coldplay's version of U2's "The Unforgettable Fire," they just skipped out making their versions of "Boy" "October" and "War." The following albums "A Rush of Blood to the Head" and "X&Y" add up to "The Joshua Tree" and now the band is experimenting with new sounds yet keeping their melodies and stadium friendly sound which is exactly what U2 did with "Achtung Baby."

While "Violet Hill" was the first song released to the public from the album and even the first to have a video, 2 if you count the online version, the band does not consider it the first official single. "Viva La Vida" arrived on iTunes and immediately became the smash hit and is now the #1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, a FIRST for the band and the first for ANY British band since Def Lepard in 1988!!!  The song still does not have an official video but its success has to partially be attributed to the "commercial" for Apple and iTunes that is on TV every 10 seconds. In todays world where MTV rarely plays videos going the route of the Apple promo spot has proven to be a stroke of genius. "Viva La Vida" explodes out of the speakers unlike any song to be heard in a long long time. It is an instant classic that will surely be an amazing encore anthem in their live shows for years to come. 

I have had the cd since Tuesday but only last night while lying in bed listening to the album on my iPod (substitute the shitty head phones for my Bose tri-ports) did I truly realize that this is a CLASSIC.  Sure a band can set out to try new things and expand their sound, work with new producers and attempt something like this, but rarely does it all come together in such a perfect way. Brian Eno along with (Arcade Fire) producer Markus Dravs and Rik Simpson have helped the band achieve a new sound that will still be both massive audience and critically friendly. Sure not everyone will love this album, when the hell does that ever happen? Music taste of the average listener are so fickle that many people can't name the artist who sang their "favorite song" a year ago. But there is no doubt in my mind that Coldplay have crafted a true album that nears perfection and while "Parachutes" is a classic debut in my mind and "Rush" will forever be known as the album that took them to another level, "Viva La Vida" is the album that allows them to shatter their safe image while still maintaining their anthemic melodies and possibly gain some respect from those who have since written them off. 

Besides the aforementioned tracks "Viva La Vida" and "Violet Hill" the other 8 songs on the album all work together to really give the listener a beautiful 45 minute experience. 

The lead song "Life In Technicolor" is an instrumental that ties the album together at the beginning and end. Their is a full version with lyrics online that I have yet to hear but Chris Martin said they went ahead without the full version because it fit within the concept of the album and worked to tie things together better than just as a regular song. He also stated with his typical dry sense of humor that "people can only stand a guys voice for so long." On that topic, one of my main complaint about the last album is that Martin sang in a high register far too often. However on this album he changes it up and not only is it the band that experiments with new sounds but Martin is constantly changing his voice and the register in which he sings in. 

 Track 2 is "Cemeteries of London" which is an interesting choice for the album opener that I questioned at first until last night. This song particularly has a U2 influence especially in the guitar work. The song will definitely not be a single but sets the mood for the album and makes the following track "Lost" sound even more amazing due to the contrast of the 2 songs. 

"Lost" is one of my favorite songs on the album. The drums and hand claps are definitely a new sound. Chris Martin has appeared on 2 hip hop tracks in the last year or so "Beach Ball" with Jay-Z and "Homecoming" with Kanye West. As soon as I first heard the drums and claps I imagined Kanye or Jay or both jumping on the track with ease. It might seem out of place in the mix of the album but it would certainly work as a b-side to the single which I absolutely hope this is the next single. I can't wait to hear this one live. Unfortunately I have to wait til November now as the the concert in KC I have tickets to got postponed. 

"42" is the next track and starts off like a Coldplay song you might have heard before. But at the 1:33 mark something changes that tells you this is not the Coldplay your Mom loves. The song transforms into possibly the hardest song the band has ever written. Then Chris comes back to the mic to sing a beautiful melody. "You didn't get to heaven but you made it close." Indeed!

"Lovers In Japan/Reign of Love" is a 2 for 1 special as Martin describes and has even more of a U2 feel than "Cemeteries." It has that building "Where the Streets Have No Name" feel to it without sounding like a rip off. This is a feel good anthem that I can already hear as being one of their better live songs. "Reign of Love" is tacked on at the end, as somewhat of an announced "hidden track" and is a quiet little lullaby that fits nicely within the albums structure. 

"Yes" follows with 15 seconds of beautiful strings and then drums and what sounds like a weird violin completely changes the song and Martin sings in as low of a register as he possibly can. Something that critics and fans like myself were pushing for more of on this album as I mentioned earlier. 2 of my favorite Coldplay songs off the top of my head are "Til Kingdom Come" and "Don't Panic" both songs where Martin does not sing in his typical famous falsetto. 

Coldplay really brought something new to this song as the strings and "violin" along with the guitars create a very unique soundscape. It does not stop there as the unlisted "Chinese Sleep Chant" comes crashing in to take this track even further away from the norm. 

The next 2 tracks are "Viva La Vida" and "Violet Hill." Originally I was surprised to find these 2 songs this far along in the albums track listing, especially "Viva." Anyway enough has been said about these 2 songs already.  Although I'd still like to get some explanation about "Viva's" lyrics.

"Strawberry Swing" is a lovely song that uses an african pop guitar sound from Johnny Buckland and tribal sounding drums to bring the song to life. 

The album closes with "Death and All His Friends" followed by a reprise of "Life in Technicolor." "Death pulls a similar trick they used on "42" as is starts out as a quiet ballad with just piano and a guitar before transforming into an anthemic sing along. This is an amazing album closer to say the least!

Coldplay have really exceeded my expectations with this album. When I heard they were working with Brian Eno I was excited but cautiously optimistic. This album is everything a fan could hope for and more. 

10 of 10

Click on the Title Link to take you to a video with Chris and the band from the AT&T Blue Room!