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

Rating: - Superb!!
I bought this album last week, and it has been on my pc/mp3/cd player constantly since.this is to me the best coldplay album so far (and i've been a fan since before the release of Parachutes). To really appreciate this album, you need to come to it not expecting a "yellow" "clocks" or "Fix you", and just take it for what it is. While there are "old" coldplay elements within this album, to me personally it sounded more like a Doves album...interesting and catchy music, with many layers, and lyrics that do grab you on 2nd and 3rd listen.

do not approach this album expecting more of the same. approach it with an open mind and patience and you will not be let down!

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Rating: - Oh Dear !
Well it would have been hard to top X and Y but after their time out I was hoping for something at least being close ....but not this .The first 2 albums were great ,X and Y was awesome and this was ... well totally disappointing .Music to listen to if you need to get to sleep ,it lurches from one meandering track to another .Melodies that catch your attention are largely missing and my attention was regained briefly near the end of the CD when I recognised the recent top 40 single .If Chris Martin and co plan on sticking around in the industry for the next couple of decades they really need to improve on this with their next album .Sorry guys I'm very disappointed !

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Rating: - Coldplay's best album so far
All the previous Coldplay albums had a few good songs on each album but a few boring songs as well, they seemed incomplete - this is the first time Coldplay have created an album were all the songs are listenable from start to finish. Eno's atmospheric sound binds the album together. (PS R_adio heeead fan!!!)

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Rating: - Waiting To Be Amazed And Left Dumbfounded
This would have been a superb Coldplay album had I been told it was a collection of B-Sides and Rarities. However, this isn't. It is their brand new album that has taken months to produce.

Now let's be honest the album isn't exactly awful but it passes you by without you noticing. Strange deep singing here and guitar twangs there and Oh! It has ended. Having seen some of this live at the BBC Gig it works mixed in with their previous classics. But on its own it falls short of the greatness you expect from a Coldplay album.

So buy it but don't expect to be having it on rotation for a month in your car. 4 listens and you place it in the glovebox for another day.

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Rating: - Too safe by far
Coldplay have always stood out from the other groups of their generation. Their early work was outwardly simple, with Chris Martin's vocals leading the melody and the music following his melancholy harmonies. However, with continued listening it was clear that there was a sophistication to the songs that really underpinned them. Parachutes lead to Rush of Blood, and the formula held up. X and Y showed a move towards a more mainstream commercial sound, but there were enough of the familiar Coldplay constructions to keep everybody happy; I don't see any of that in Viva La Vida. A couple of songs hint at the Coldplay of old, but too many of them upstage Chris with intricate orchestration and his vocals have been displaced as the centrepiece of the music. I don't know if this is commercialism, because a successful band should not be led towards the middle of the road, but the impression is that Coldplay have moved away from their roots.