Music : Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends (Gatefold Digipack)

Rating: - Great stuff
Coldplay have made some great songs. It's not an easy thing to keep a band going for nearly 10 years and still keep the music interesting, but quite frankly, they've nailed it.

The album itself isn't particularly original for coldplay, you have the lively uplifting music and the slightly depressing songs. Either way you look at it though it's really great stuff. Maybe not coldplay's finest music, but they're good enough that you want to listen to it again and again.

Obviously the best tracks are Viva La Vida and Violet hill, but there are some hidden gems here as well. There's the lovely Lost? and the strangely uplifting Life in Technicolor which includes no Lyrics.

Not all the tracks are especially memorable, not that they're bad songs or anything, but I don't see myself remembering Cemeteries of London ten years from now. But Viva La Vida is a good enough song to remember for the rest of your life. It's rhythm, it's lively nature and well fitted lyrics will make you glad you bought the album. As for Violet Hill, it's been played on the radio so many times, it's rather pointless for me to describe it because everyone has heard it by now.

It doesn't quite reach the standard of the album a rush of blood to the head or maybe x & Y, but anyone can appreciate the result of this album. If you don't have it already, this album is highly recommended.

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Rating: - Fusion
First 1/2 of X&Y + Second 1/2 of Viva La Vida = masterpiece. Still waiting for the album that's ALL brilliant!

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Rating: - Is it just me?
Is it just me or is this album a little well how can I pout it "a did of a rip of". What do I mean? Well don't get me wrong I am not a massive Cold Play fan, love some songs others OK, but when listening to some of these song I just feel I have heard them before, like "42" a bit of the Beatles/John Lennon? Sorry to be sad but 27 second in Imagine? did they just copy and paste that in.

Cemeteries of London well sorry but even though I like it, it smacks of a mix between Del-Amitri and well is that a bit of good old Chris de-Burgh's Ferryman in there too?

Life in Technicolor a pretty good song but a little Kenny Chesney. I can go on as some song have bits of Genesis in the 70's. Again I say I think the Album is OK, but I think the pressure these guys were under to push out a great album has resulted in a mash of sound from other people's hits, perhaps the pressure was just too much this time. Still await the next one. Buy it but be prepared for that nostalgic that sound like competition!!!

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Rating: - The next one is scheduled to be their 'Joshua Tree' !
Well, it takes a few listens to get 'into' VLV. But it's well worth persevering, as eventually it shows itself as a very fine record. But I don't believe (or perhaps I should say I hope it's not...) the record that Coldplay are forever remembered for as the character 'Prospekt' wrote on the Coldplay.com blog during the albums recording.

The reason I say that is because I just don't think it's a classic album. There are so many uncanny similarities to U2 with this record. The most obvious one is the use of Brian Eno to produce it. And just like the first time U2 used him, here too he has pushed and expanded the Coldplay sound to break them free of the 'old' sound that was starting to get them into a rut. He's done a fine job, crafting some great and some just merely good songs.

But no, this isn't Coldplay's 'Joshua Tree'. It is however their 'Unforgettable Fire'. And there is no shame in that as that was a great album, and the start of a new era of greatness for a band.

And we all know which album followed it ;). So next time lads is your scheduled time to make hopefully THE album that you will be forever remembered by.

That is of course so long as the uncanny similarity to U2's career development continues!

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Rating: - Parachutes volume 4
Coldplay have actually made one album, then re-written it 3 times. This is just as disappointing as the last venture. Though at least they havent blatantly stolen tunes from other bands on this collection (Computer Love by Kraftwerk being the most notorious riff on the last album).
Given I have already reviewed Parachutes, theres not much more to say other than how bored I was listening to this rubbish, 3 times to see if it had anything to offer ....... and it doesnt.