Coldplay has dreamed of building an elaborate imaginary war zone of thoughts about the cons and pros of living and death alongside their values and has packaged the dream into their fourth studio album: Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. Well, the hardest part is that you are big and you’re in the spotlight. No matter how hard you strike, you are responsible for each little step you make. Now that you’re leading a band called Coldplay and have claimed the “best band in history” title, you are bound to build up a milestone in each subsequent step you make. And how overwhelming might that become! With Viva La Vida, Chris Martin and friends are expected to be taken much more seriously than they ever were. There’s no space to talk about “fixing” or “talking” or “spies coming out of the water” or “birds flying st the speed of sound”, so they come out playing using a more abstract approach this time.

 

You no longer hear Martin giving you pieces of advice and he no longer sings in his famous falsetto. In fact on the contrary, if you just have experienced listening to “Yes!", you’ll hear the most masculine baritone Chris Martin ever. It’s true that big bands can only be experimental to some extent and it’s quite risky returning after three years with such diverse equipment. The Brian Eno recipe has combined Coldplay’s own trademark with a colorful exquisite amalgamation of soundscapes both from the epic past and the state-of-the-art contemporary. Coldplay’s talent is spontaneously speckled throughout the 46 minute long play and therefore there’s no huge gap between the quality of one work and the mediocrity of another. And for inspirations (which is wrongly translated as "pilfering" in some places), yes there’s a lot.

 

In fact Coldplay could never come up with something like “42” if there was no Radiohead and also there wouldn’t be any hidden track sounding like My Bloody Valentine in “Yes!” if they never thought of the word. Yes folks, human beings get inspired sometimes. If it wasn’t for Chris Martin’s brutally honest confessions on how they stole from Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill” for “Speed Of Sound” and how the Neil-Young+Yellow-Pages mixture brought the song “Yellow” to the public ear, no one had dared to blather lunatic comparisons. But the truth about the inspirations for Viva La Vida is where the Travis-ish side of the band vanishes into thin air. If they had used their Travis side, you would probably wind up listening to something similar to Parachutes.

 

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends is a revolutionary step towards musical climax and Coldplay has experienced it their own way, which is not bad at all. Most of their routines are no more here. Chris talks about life and death, but not like an ordinary citizen, he’s become the modern age Jeanne d’Arc. Although it’s not sunny clear, but by the second and third tries, you’ll realize it’s not just a simple talk of life and death issues, but in between the lines, it’s an anti-religious bulletin! Not quite what they were talking about so far is it? They are talking about redemption from everything pre-assumed.

 

And this all sounds vague until Chris Martin brings it all up on the surface in “Viva La Vida” when he sings the chorus: “I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing, Roman cavalry choirs are singing, Be my mirror my sword and shield, Missionaries in a foreign field, For some reason I can't explain, Once you'd gone there was never ever an honest word, And that was when I ruled the world” that’s the album’s hot core and how beautiful and victorious Martin shouts it all out. “Life In Technicolor” is not only the album’s opener. With some slight modifications, the sound returns at the album’s end and Chris Martin sings The Beatles “The End” (from Abbey Road) again with a slight modification: it’s darker. So by this repetition, Viva La Vida is best heard through an infinite loop. And then comes the exquisite sound of violin added to the band’s sound, the Arabic short solo on “Yes!” and the start of “Viva La Vida”. No other instrument deserved such glorious moments. If there was anything concept the band could ever do, it would be Viva La Vida.

 

I cannot compare this album to Parachutes, nor to A Rush of Blood to the Head and nor to X&Y. Viva La Vida need its own ears. And don’t get fooled by the mixed reviews you’ll probably read. Big bands have always been involved with mixed thoughts. If you have stayed a genuine loyal fan, Viva La Vida is impossible to disappoint. But if you’re inspecting the bricks and low-points and writing them all down to use as evidence against them, go ahead! Nothing is stopping you. But don’t start writing your notes right after the first listen, please. It only takes a superficial lunatic.

 

http://thiswinkis.blogspot.com/2008/06/coldplay-viva-la-vida-or-death-and-all.html

StereOpinions: Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends (20080610)

 

 

Here is CSMB's first installment into the StereOpinions feature of the site. Let us begin with Coldplay's newest, and fourth studio album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends.

 

From the opening notes of Viva, the first thing you will notice is that it is not your typical Coldplay album. It has it's reminiscent moments along the way but overall it is a new sound for the foursome that is complete with new twists and turns...and a lot of Radiohead. Let's walk through it. And remember, you can listen for free over at IHeartMusic.

 

Viva's opener, Life In Technicolor, is an instrumental tune with a rhythm unlike anything else Coldplay has written to date - and what's the instrument? A mandolin? And what's that shout at end of the track? Sounds just a little bit like something The Police would sing. The second track, Cemeteries Of London, holds the first moment that I heard Radiohead in this album. This time it's in the production. That chant is very reminiscent of Arcade Fire, isn't it? That makes sense though, I mean, according to Chris, they're the greatest band in history.

 

Moving on, the third track, Lost!, kills me, and not in a good way. That hand clap! Why the hand clap? Why not a drum beat? In my opinion, the hand clap, besides making it sound like it was recorded somewhere in the nineties, immediately compromises the integrity of a song. Other than that clap, this song isn't bad. In fact, the album includes a bonus acoustic version of the song that makes it sound like anything off of their older albums. The fourth track, 42, brings the boys right back to their Radiohead influence. It begins like something off the end of Parachutes, and then the entire middle section of the song sounds like it could have been lifted right off of OK Computer, until they swing it back to that classic Coldplay sound at the end.

 

Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love is one of my favorite tracks on the album. The instrumentation on Lovers is very well chosen for the song and the transition between tunes is seamless. Reign Of Love sounds like a tune they would have kept tantalizingly short on one of their old albums - like Parachutes or Life Is For Living. Producer Brian Eno tacks this one onto another song and sends it to a whole new atmosphere with some spacey touches here and there. Well done. Yes! begins like a typical Coldplay song until it reaches the chorus where a wild violin awaits. The sound it makes could have been straight off of Dave Matthews Band's The Last Stop. Then after four minutes of the best, yet completely un-Coldplay, minutes of the album, the boys completely switch up the sound/tempo and finish the song out with another three minutes of Radio-heavy influenced sounds.

 

Now comes the two tracks you already know and love. The half-title track, Viva La Vida, is your classic Coldplay. Out of any song on the album, this one strays the least far from anything the band has done in the past. That being said, it's different enough to fit perfectly into this album. Violet Hill follows the same tune; however, the more I listen to it, the more that distorted guitar feels out of place.

 

The very beginning of this next song, Strawberry Swing, song sounds like some folky tune out of the sixties. I thought it was something by The Band at first. The impression soon faded as the song progressed, and I realized it sounded a lot like the electric mandolin that Boyd Tinsley completely overused on Dave Matthews Band's last studio album, Stand Up. There's something about that instrument that's unnecessary - just like the hand clap - I feel like there's always another instrument that can be put to better use in its place. More strings would have sounded nice in this case. That being said, this might be the only Coldplay song I'm driven to listen to in the summer.

 

The album's closer, Death And All His Friends, is a beautiful little tune to end the album. It starts off quietly like all Coldplay's album closers tend to, but unlike the rest, it kicks into an anthemic ending which fades into a reprise of the spacey Life In Technicolor, complete with lyrics and beautifully placed horns.

 

Overall, the production and new sound to the album are very refreshing to hear. In fact, I think the attention they attract takes away from Chris Martin's vocals and lyrics. His vocals definitely play more of a compliment on this album rather than the leading spotlight on their previous three. I also found myself not paying as much attention to the lyrics of the album. On the other hand, the bonus tracks (acoustic version of Lost! and Lovers In Japan) illuminate Chris' lyrics much more and help you realize that they are another part of this album.

 

In the end I think it's the right direction for Coldplay. They didn't create some crappy formulaic record but they didn't create some experimental album that was too overblown. I think they've branched out in a brand new direction but they've done so in a way that won't alienate old fans. Hopefully, Chris & Co. will work with Eno again. Maybe they've got a vision and this will be their way of easing the Coldplay-faithful into their transcending new sound... but who knows?

 

Sidebar: Remember when Viva's track list was released? It looked like a page out of TV Guide. Well, we looked back on it. It turns out that the songs don't really match up with the projected TV Shows too well. But that Seth MacFarlane's Family Guy spin off mentioned turned out to not be so far off.

 

http://certain-songs.blogspot.com/2008/06/stereopinions-coldplay-viva-la-vida-or.html

This probably sums up the last 10 days. Well written!:o

 

And don’t get fooled by the mixed reviews you’ll probably read. Big bands have always been involved with mixed thoughts. If you have stayed a genuine loyal fan, Viva La Vida is impossible to disappoint. But if you’re inspecting the bricks and low-points and writing them all down to use as evidence against them, go ahead! Nothing is stopping you. But don’t start writing your notes right after the first listen, please. It only takes a superficial lunatic.

dunno is this have been posted..its from the BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/release/2h54/

 

Paradoxically everything that fuels cynicism about the stadium-proof nature of Coldplay is also what makes them undeniably great. Yes, if you find huge choruses that contain wordless exhortations, ponderous one note bass lines and vaporous lyrics that convey nameless heartache to be the very tools of Satan, then Viva La Vida has much to wind you up. If, however, you're one of their millions of fans then it's an unqualified triumph. The rest of us (and EMI, for whom, allegedly, their very future depends on this selling by the shedload) can also rest easy. For, by bringing Brian Eno onboard as sonic nurse, Coldplay have managed to effortlessly make a record that's accomplished and yet pulls off the same trick that U2 managed when they employed the bald one - massaging their sound into something different enough to keep the formula (and make no mistake it IS a formula) fresh.

Two years in gestation, with a break in the middle to do a bit of cultural tourism (and touring) in South America, Viva La Vida wrong foots you by starting with Life In Technicolour; an instrumental that reeks of Eno's ambience while also utilising something that sounds suspiciously like a zither. The world music tropes are limited however. Cemeteries Of London may have an off-kilter rhythmic undertow and Lost! seems to sport bongos in its mix, yet it's the plaintive voice with its vague sense of regret, the lifts from minor key piano forays into vast, pumping rock and also a strident optimism that people are going to come here for. The band deliver all this in spades: 42 and Death And All His Friends most notably.

Elsewhere it's that patent (and potent) mix of upbeat and fatalistic that reminds you why the band hit the bullseye every time. Only on Strawberry Swing does Chris' chirpiness start to grate.

 

It all sounds so easy, yet when you imagine the pressure on all concerned to deliver the goods, it's little short of miraculous. Again, cynics may argue that it's Eno's fourth world fairy dust that sugar coats songs that really don't live up to Martin's promise of a very different sound. The string/brass mutations that bolster a track like Viva La Vida may not be a million miles from his mates, The Arcade Fire, but I bet they'd donate several limbs to conjure tunes so sweetly melancholy. Any way you look at it, this is a massive album. Get used to it, you'll be hearing it a LOT over the next two years.

Sounds like Radiohead? I'll grant them that the middle of 42 sounds slightly reminiscent of Radiohead, but seriously... I wouldn't be listening to Coldplay if they sounded like Radiohead, because Radiohead is ass.

Sounds like Radiohead? I'll grant them that the middle of 42 sounds slightly reminiscent of Radiohead, but seriously... I wouldn't be listening to Coldplay if they sounded like Radiohead, because Radiohead is ass.

YEP its funny cause i love coldplay and i dont like radiohead i think if they are the same i would like both not only cp.

Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

 

Through some logic beyond my cynical vision, the masses are rabid for this new Coldplay album. When the Yellow hitmakers released the first single Violet Hill as a free download on April 29th, 2 million people downloaded it in a week. The song is good, a promising indication of the band's evolution. So, still not swallowing the '50 million Elvis fans can't be wrong' pill, I downloaded the leak last night with skepticism on high.

 

See, I badly wanted to hate this album. I'm no fan of Coldplay, and had every intention of declaring instrumental electro-pop opener "Life In Technicolor" the best song on the record, for the simple fact that Chris Martin's pillowy melodic annoyance is mercifully absent. The entire thing could be a backing track for an old Death Cab For Cutie song, and that's really not a bad thing. But goddamnit, the 'oooh oooh''s around the two minute mark (which appear in more epic form three minutes into title track "Viva la Vida") are subtly and beautifully epic in a way that bands don't seem to know how to put together anymore.

 

Coldplay have apparently taken lessons in grandiosity this time around, with Martin setting out to explore a decidedly lower singing range and Jonny Buckland's guitar work taking on a more majestic tone than on any of their previous work. Electro wizard producer Brian Eno has helped the band build a surprisingly organic-sounding album with Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. It's full of shimmering synth meanderings, string sections and soaring piano movements that weave tightly with Martin's ruminative obsessions with duality (couldn't even decide on one name for the record), delivered in a much more evolved manner than I certainly wanted to give them credit for.

 

The haunting atmosphere intro to "Cemeteries of London" sets the tone for an impressive, rising sound with underlying tones of, uh, Riverdance? Buckland’s searing solo minimalism pierces the thick rhythmic fog while Martin lays a darker variation of the standard platinum-megnet melody, conducting a backup chorus that's eerie and Gaelic as well.

 

"Lost!" - Stomping handclaps and funked out church organs lend a gospel air to this one, building to a crescendo that's disappointingly lacking in mojo, and even reeks of Radiohead theft.

 

If you want to talk about rising sounds however, "42"'s a good place to start. Pensive piano chords are the backdrop to Martin's shotgun-in-the-mouth fagcore vocals, making for an underwhelming suicide theme song until about 90 seconds in when the pace changes and things pick up rapidly. That's when shit gets epic, bursting with energy and more of those fucking handclaps.

 

"Lovers in Japan" starts off with gleaming pianos in outer space before bursting into a galloping arena-pop piece that would serve as a great show-closer. The song takes you into the narrated moment, and it's a lot more heterosexual than the bonus acoustic version.

 

"Reign of Love" is a dreamy roll through heaven's flowerbeds, delicate and distant. There's a beauty to this song that truly threatens to make me a fan of this band, but Yes is wounded, middle-of-the-road and never really goes anywhere. Nice guitars, but otherwise skiptastic.

 

"Chinese Sleep Chant" is hazy, with lyrics you can't understand, but it's oddly hypnotic. Feels like staring out the window of a fast-moving train after breaking up with your girlfriend. But you did the breaking up, not her.

 

Are you sick of "Violet Hill" yet? Because it's going to be on all kinds of commercials and "Remember the 00's" compilations until nuclear armageddon hits.

 

"Strawberry Swing" is pretty and captivating in a light, Beatlesque kind of way, but it sticks to safe ground and feels half-hearted. No room for that if you're trying to make an epic album.

 

"Death and All His Friends" is another rising tide, and an impressive reminder that the band's live show will hit a new high with these songs. But after the wave crashes the song rolls back out to sea, allowing "The Escapist" to glide in on translucent wings to close the album with a reprise of the opener. Pretty pianos and pulsing synths give way to Martin singing And in the end/ We lie awake and we dream of making an escape, before the song lifts into the stratosphere.

 

On their fifth release, Coldplay occasionally veer perilously close to U2's turf ("Lovers in Japan," "42"), but they do so sparingly. My only real complaint here is the overall sense that Coldplay are trying to be all things to everybody with this record, and it results in a bipolar atmosphere that lacks a sense of direction. Are we celebrating life and spiritual evolution? Or mourning the cost of revolution? You never can quite tell.

 

Biased premonitions aside, however, Coldplay's fifth offering is unpretentious enough to take its name from a painting by Frida Kahlo (it translates to "live the life"), even though the cover art features the French painting Liberty Leading the People, which about as pretentious as they come (I told you the album was bipolar). It's good enough to satiate the devoted, and although it won't move mountains or part the seas, it's probably enough convert a good amount of new blood.

 

Overall, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends qualifies as an epic musical piece. it's an album by a band who's harnessed a winning formula and pushed it to a new level, adding some flair along the way.

 

Crave Online Rating: 7.8 out of 10

 

http://www.craveonline.com/articles/music/04650664/coldplay__viva_la_vida_or_death_and_all_his_friends.html

Some great stuff there :D!

Drowned In Sound (has it already been posted? - I can't find it sorry...)

 

http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/3445666

 

Not a great review really.

Drowned In Sound (has it already been posted? - I can't find it sorry...)

 

http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/3445666

 

Not a great review really.

 

Chris is a millionaire? Check.

 

Chris is married to Gwyneth Paltrow? Check.

 

Something about Radiohead? Check.

 

All these reviews are the same formula. And ironically enough, they criticize Coldplay for being formulaic!

Bingo

The fucking first one crave on line what kind of shit is that [i badly wanted to hate this album] thats the trouble with most of these reviewers they dont like coldplay and therefore dont give it a fair listen and spend most of the time talking about emi or u2 or radiohead when all you want to no is ,is it any good. The only review i trust is my own

once again i say when it comes to real time music there shouldn't be any things like:

 

 

Chris is a millionaire,

he is married to a hollywood actress or what ever.

 

 

 

because everything the other person obviously wants is music.

 

they want to listen music and have some good time.

 

for this there shouldn't be such comparisions.

I think a lot of you are missing the point when it comes to the Radiohead-Coldplay comparison. First of all, nobody is saying they sound alike - because they don't (except for a few sections in songs on the new album). Radiohead has a huge influence on the band and there is NO denying that. But influence doesn't mean they sound the same, they're two completely different things. So just b/c you like Coldplay, doesn't mean you will like Radiohead.

 

Also, take it from someone who is both a big Coldplay fan and Radiohead fan that there absolutely are parts of the album that sound just like Radiohead. In fact, Chris admits that he "plagiarizes" off Radiohead in an interview with Rolling Stone in the Smoking Section from last October while they were writing the album:

 

Martin loves technology as much as Kip Dynamite — he and the band have spent hours on their computers referencing their favorite works, for their own sordid purposes. “We can be working on something and go, ‘We should steal this from My Bloody Valentine and this from Rammstein and this from Jay-Z’s first album, and then listen to this classical piece by Holst,’ ” he says. “It’s a plagiarist’s paradise. We used to just be able to steal off Radiohead. Now we can steal off everybody.”

 

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/10/05/smoking-section-coldplay-counting-crows-and-albert-hammond-jr/

 

 

And on top of all this review business - keep in mind what they are --> one person's personal opinion. They're writing what they think. Take it for what it's worth, don't have a conniption over it.

So which is it? Are they inspired by Radiohead or are they stealing from Radiohead?

 

I mean, you could just as easily say Chris Martin is inspired by his children Apple and Moses when he writes great music - because they, like Radiohead, have no real effect on the final sound of the Coldplay songs!

 

Radiohead are not the Gods they are made out to be. Chris Martin is profusely friendly to Thom Yorke and crew in his interviews, but I never see the feelings reciprocated. Forgive me if I'm unimpressed with the character of that band and its lovers.

Hey believe me when I say I'm no Scott-Tenorman-Radiohead-Dead-Beat. And I don't make them out to be the God's that everyone else does. In fact, I think I have a pretty objective view on this whole thing.

 

Anyway, I put "plagiarizes" in quotations b/c I don't believe he's actually stealing from Radiohead - that would be very much illegal. All I'm saying is the band is influenced by Radiohead - in a musical sense. I don't get why that is so hard to understand or believe. It's not a bad thing at all. Every band is influenced by a billion other bands - whether they know it or not.

 

And yes, Chris is probably very much influenced by his children, but they influence him in different ways - maybe lyrics or emotions for an album. He's not listening to chord progressions, tones, and sounds that they've recorded in the past and saying "Wow, I really like what they did here, maybe we can do something like that on that new song we've been working on."

 

Lastly, the character of both of these bands has absolutely NOTHING to do with this. Why does it matter if Thom doesn't reciprocate Chris' admiration for his music? Maybe he doesn't even like Coldplay. The beauty of it is that it doesn't matter. And there's no reason to forgive you for being unimpressed with Radiohead's character. It's your opinion.

Who does Thom Yorke idolize? Has he ever admitted in interviews that he enjoys other bands and gets ideas from their music? I honestly don't know, but I very seriously doubt it.

 

And yes, it's just my opinion. I think more highly of Chris Martin and his music because Radiohead have never given me a reason to care very much about them. They're too political, too holier-than-thou, too monotone/depressing... so that makes it all-the-more frustrating to hear them constantly compared with Coldplay.

 

Maybe one day we can start inferring that Radiohead takes ideas from Coldplay's songs. But I'm sure they'd never admit it.

the only thing i want to say is he is inpsired by a lot of bands!

 

not just radiohead ok!

 

like when you listen to Lost what they say is they're inspired by Blur "sing"

Strawberry swing like he said some bands in interviews which are african

and beatles

Lovers in Japan mostly by Tokyo in Japan

 

 

they're inspired by a lot of bands "my bloody valentine","U2","radiohead",

there are more to say.

 

not just radiohead.

 

a lot of bands they used to listen to.

Strawberry Swing sounds like Coldplay's take on Amadou & Miriam (an excellent African band, for those who haven't heard!)

zavvi.co.uk wrote this:

 

There're plenty of reasons why Coldplay are uncool. From the "music for bed-wetters" jibes when they first emerged at the turn of the century, to the Chris 'n' Gwynnie 'n' Apple celebrity love-in. Chris Martin's lyrics are a regular cause of wincing in this listener as he desperately trawls his muse for profound thoughts and anxiety to express about what is, let's face it, a comfortable and apparently happy life. Musically, they have refined their sound to accommodate the easier bits of Radiohead, the bombast of U2, the epic grandeur of the Bunnymen over the course of the last three albums. Now, on their fourth, they aim for the arty poise of Arcade Fire with the help of rent-an-idea producer Brian Eno. Die-hard fans are unlikely to notice any significant difference. The tunes are still there, ready for the stadia of the world and there is a welcome toning down of the Martin falsetto throughout. Standout track "42" ('Those who are dead are not dead but just living in my head'- whatever that means) is destined for lighters-aloft moments galore this year but there are plenty of other hits-to-be, notably "Lost", "Lovers In Japan" and "Yes". I didn't expect or want to enjoy the album but the truth is, that Coldplay are the real guilty pleasures of the moment. How many people, listening on their own in the car, can resist turning the radio up when Coldplay come on? Few would admit it but they are huge because they are good at what they do. This album is occasionally dreary but mostly it sounds magnificent; there I've said it.