Coldplay - Viva la Vida
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Free Music Notes for Viva la Vida
Free Music Review: Really grows on you...
Hit: 5 Stars
I really liked their last effort, X & Y, and both albums had to take a few listens to grow on me. The album is a bit of a departure from not just Coldplay work, but from popular music of this type in general. First off, it starts off with a soaring instrumental of which I had hoped that they had come up with lyrics for it so that I could actually sing along to it. Still, I appreciate its beauty and it's a nice way to 'ease' into the album.
Second, a number of the songs are essentially mash-ups of what seems like two completely different songs. At first, I felt like Coldplay was cheating me out of a fully-developed set of songs as what would seem like a perfectly good song for 3+ minutes would evolve into something completely different. I realized that I was getting more than my money's worth with all interesting styles they had mixed together with some of these songs reminding me of a mini version of Side B of The Beatles' Abbey Road.
All of the songs are catchy and there really are very few low points on the album. The highlight for me is the song Viva La Vida, where Coldplay combines a thumping string section with their own instruments very effectively. Death and All of His Friends / The Escapist finish off the album and this is another example of a song that switched direction after a few minutes when I could have eaten up more of the first part. Death and All of His Friends has a quick chorus that is sang only twice and it would have been nice to have heard it fleshed out more. All in all, though, this was an album worth giving a chance and worth buying.
Free Music Review: Much more diverse than previous efforts...
Hit: 5 Stars
Love it from start to finish. The variety present on this album is what really draws me in - just when I thought Coldplay had settled on a sound, they released this, which incorporates shoegaze (Sleep Chant), Middle Eastern (the strings on Yes), newage (Reign of Love), ambient (Life in Technicolor) and all kinds of other influences into the new songs. Thank you, Brian Eno and Jon Hopkins, for the ambient flourishes. Also, thank you, Arcade Fire, for providing inspiration for some of the tracks.
My favorites thus far:
Viva La Vida - the "Roman cavalry choirs" line is so striking and evocative.
Lovers in Japan - when he sings "to see what I'm AAALLL about" might be my favorite single Coldplay moment, ever.
Reign of Love - pay attention to this one. It tends to get lost in between the heavier tracks but this is the understated beauty of the album.
Chinese Sleep Chant - I love Ulrich Schnauss/Hammock/nu-shoegaze and this taps into that vein quite well. Something a little different for Coldplay. Very dreamy and ethereal.
Violet Hill - such a driving and strong track!
Lost - the underlying "shaky" drum rhythm is very unique.
I also love all the historical Europe imagery - cathedrals, choirs, castles, kings. I'm sure they are metaphors for our current political situation but they still paint a fantastic and very visual picture. The anti-political songs are cliché by now but Coldplay are taking a new approach to it and I can appreciate that.
Just a great album. Can't wait to see them in August!
Free Music Review: Just great!
Hit: 5 Stars
I bought this album because I heard Viva la Vida (the track) on TV and I've liked Coldplay's music up 'til now. I am very glad that I did.
This is a fantastic piece of work. It's more upbeat than their earlier stuff, a little more driving and a little more produced.
I've only had the album for two days and I've played the heck out of it. First run through was a bit tentative, but the songs grow very quickly on you. Lyrically, they're really interesting, and they all have good musical layers. After a few listens I'm still finding my ear caught by new tidbits. "Strawberry Swing" is the weakest track to my mind, simply because it deviates from the feel of the rest of the album without good reason. But it's quirky enough to redeem itself.
Of course this is all a matter of opinion, but if you like Coldplay and maybe wished they were a little more upbeat and full-sounding, Viva will be your dream come true. All I know is that listening makes me real happy.
Edit 6/27/08: After a week or two I'm still really enjoying this album. One quirk that I've noticed about Viva La Vida is that it sounds way better through a set of decent headphones. Somehow all the little details come out differently, they're more apparent and impressive. It still sounds good through speakers, but it's just a weird phenomenon that I've noticed with regards to this album. While I appreciate the difference in clarity and focus that headphones make, I'm not usually quite as partial to headphones. The effect just seems exaggerated here.
Free Music Review: Breathtaking!
Hit: 5 Stars
I've been a Coldplay fan since the beginning--when "Yellow" broke in the US and "Parachutes" was released in 2000. While I fell in love with the music, I never liked the production on "Parachutes" and "A Rush of Blood to the Head". It wasn't until the live album in 2003 that people got to hear what a full sound they have and how hard they rock live! While "X & Y" was recorded better, and has a lot of really good songs, to me it doesn't have a good, overall feel to it.
Then along came "Viva la Vida." Oh my gosh. I can't even express how much I love this album. From the beginning with the almost instrumental "Life in Technicolor" to the rousing ending of "Death and All His Friends", the soft moments in between like "Chinese Sleep Chant", Chris doing more with his low octave, so many great songs! Sure, Brian Eno added his ethereal Eno thing to it, but I feel he just provided a beautiful showcase for a brillant record. It's definitely album-oriented rock, one that doesn't have individual, catchy, radio friendly tunes--you need to listen to it beginning to end to get the feel of it.
Even though some fans (I believe a small percentage) don't like it, I personally think it's the best we've seen of them. And I think the claims that Chris and the band made a record for the critics, are trying to be something they're not, etc. is ridiculous. Without knowing them personally of course, I believe that all along they've made music with a lot of honesty and integrity.
Bravo Coldplay!
Free Music Review: Perfect!
Hit: 5 Stars
Coldplay is possibly the most notible band of the first decade of the 21st century. They have all the uniqueness that allowed them to be compared to the legends of the music industry even putting them on the same pedistil. Now their new album Viva La Vida may actullay be the record that sets that in stone.
I always say that whenever a decade comes and goes there is an album and a song that stands out as the greatest I think Coldplay may actually take the win in both catagories. Viva La Vida is nothing but perfect. It is a calming experimental masterpiece. Each song is incredible, the new progressive direction this band has taken paid off tremendously. It is an album you can listen to strait through and a few times over, thanks to its' "Dark Side of the Moon" feel of having the end track ending the same as the first tracks' begining. I hear there are people trash talking this album already, but why? What makes a band great is trying something new with each new release and Coldplay really uses many different styles of music to express their want to evolve. Hey it worked for The Beatles, The Police, Pink Floyd and U2, just to name a few of the rock gods. If you are not up for change my advice is just listen to the old Coldplay records, but give a good listen because you will notice a difference in each one. There are good changes and bad changes its good to know a band like Linkin Park was the one that made the band change and Coldplay made the good one. This album sets the stage for Coldplay to claim their rock immortality