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

Rating: - A difficult album to review...
I don't even know where to start with this review! In my opinion the album is best understood with a careful reference to their earlier material.

If you are familiar with their first EP, "Blue Room", as well as several of their b-sides from the "Parachutes" and "Rush of Blood to the Head" single releases, you will notice that Coldplay liked to experiment with different sounds and the way that they were produced (E.g., "Only Superstition", "Easy To Please", "1:42").

These songs are, in my opinion, in stark constrast to the main body of material found on their parent albums. Either way, for those who discovered it, it was obvious (and perhaps a positive feature of their music) that Coldplay liked to dabble musically.

This is the first thing to consider when listening to their latest album, "Viva la Vida". A large part of the album obviously has been created by the band being given licence to focus more on the creation of new sounds, their arrangement, and how to present them.

These new ideas were perhaps the most accessible to the general listener from the release of their third album, "X&Y". I thought that experimentation was used to adequate effect on "X&Y"; on "Viva la Vida" it is certainly more masterful.

Opinions aside, the point to the general listener is to expect to hear a slightly less "commercial" Coldplay.

Indeed, there isn't a "Yellow", "Clocks", "The Scientist" or "Fix You" -- but, where the album lacks the instant "stadium fillers" it more than makes up for it in the production of the tracks it has to offer (in particular, "Yes" and "Death and All His Friends").

If you liked "Parachutes" and "A Rush of Blood to the Head", you will certainly hear similar musical influences in "Viva la Vida". For every "Daylight" or "Low", there's a "Yes"; for every "Everything's Not Lost" or "Amsterdam", there's "Death and All His Friends". Arcade Fire fans may also see hear similarities with "Lovers in Japan".

Where Coldplay break new ground with this album are with tracks "Violet Hill" and "Viva la Vida", the latter a truly outstanding example of their musical experimentation; this is Coldplay at their most progressive to date, and it's little wonder the album takes its name from such a track.

To the general listener: if you're not prepared for a bumpy ride, then don't buy this album. Might I suggest you stock up on a back catalogue of b-sides from their "Rush of Blood to the Head" and "X&Y" singles if you want something a tad more older Coldaplay (E.g., "One I Love", "Crests of Waves", "Animals", "Murder", "Things I Don't Understand", "World Turned Upside Down").

To me, that's a shame, 'cos you are missing out on a real gem of an album.

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Rating: - Actually this is their best album!
Ok - this is another album I thought I wouldn't bother with but I just couldn't resist and again I'm glad I did. I own all the previous albums but always find that I only occasionally play them - particularly X&Y - because whilst they are all good and have some outstanding tracks, over ten/eleven songs I find I get tired of the vocals. But this album is different - ok, it's definately still Coldplay, not a huge radical departure and yet it is. Whether this is due to Brian Eno being on board, I can't say but the album is a joy to listen to from start to finish - the instrumental opening 'Life in Technicolour' (yes, I have seen the spelling mistake), 'Lost!' which somehow reminds me of Arcade Fire and 'Viva La Vida', traditional song structures and soaring singles have been dumped in favour of songs more melodic and interesting. I love it. I know it's been trendy to diss Coldplay but don't let that get in the way of the music - this really is great!

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Rating: - Another classic album from a band who see the bigger picture
The thing I've always loved about Coldplay is how they consistently write albums in such a way that you just want to sit down and listen to them as a whole. Viva la Vida is full of great songs woven together through clever musical interludes - some with lyrics, some without - all working together to tell a larger story. The number of tracks on the CD is ten, but three of these double up into two songs. Only with "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" is this credited on the CD sleeve, but the other two are shown on Wikipedia as being "Chinese Sleep Chant" at the end of "Yes", and "Life in Technicolor" reprise "The Escapist" at the end of the album.

By now everyone will have heard the fantastic "Viva la Vida" and "Violet Hill", but the best track on the album surely has to be "Cemeteries of London", which has "Ivor Novello Award" written all over it. When this song finishes, the excellent "Lost!" comes on, and it just fits perfectly, and the same can be said of "42". You can see that a lot of thought has gone into the track placements.

Thanks for not selling out, Coldplay - only a British band could have come up with something as good as this, and I'm glad to see success in America has not gone to your heads or influenced your direction!

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Rating: - How will it be remembered?
If the cultural intelligensia have the story correct Coldplay have now become pretentious over-hyped boring. Chris Martin recently stormed out of a BBC interview after he was asked about his meaningless lyrics (sounds pretentious doesn't it?) and the album was not well received by cultural and musical art critics, the western world over. Apparently, it is too much like their earlier material. Too bland, too meaningless, too middle class, too fingers-down-the-throat sickly.

Well, are the experts correct? That's a hard one to answer as we are all entitled to our opinions. Yes, the songs are written with a similar structure to their earlier material with moody basslines, anthemic melodies, and subtle riffs. There is nothing over complicated here so why then does it work so well? Probably because as writers the band work damned hard to produce tuneful, emotional music and they do it exceptionally well.

Just as Mozart and Beethoven wrote music of their time, which is recognisable the world over, so too Coldplay write music, which everyone recognises for much the same reason. All great bands have a signature 'tone', a sound that instantly identifies them to the listener and on this album Coldplay do not divert from their existing formula. I have only just listened to the whole album back to back and I am very pleased with what I heard. So much so that I am seeking out guitar tabs and chords for the songs so I can learn the tracks for myself. A very rare occurrence, I promise you.

That said the album isn't quite as good as a Rush of Blood, which is my favourite but given that this is their 5th album (if you include Live 2003) they have done a superb job and I take my hat off to them. It is, I feel, a lot better than X&Y and marginally better than their debut Parachutes, which could be because of the experienced craftsmanship, musical maturity and of course the Eno influence.

As time goes by we will look back on the Coldplay back catalogue and pick out our favourite albums. Many people will put this one at or close to the top of their list. Don't listen to the critics, don't download for free, go out and buy this album, it really is worth every penny. And I can't say that about many bands these days. Now where's my guitar?

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Rating: - Another great album from Coldplay
Brilliant blend of tracks in this album. The first track is a 2 and a half minute intrumental which is remaniscent of many of "Mutemath" tracks. Viva la Vida, Lost, Lovers in Japan and Violet Hill are my favourite tracks on the album. This album then is not as clean and crisp as X & Y or Rush of Blood to the Head but it is one great CD