Coldplay: Worst to Best

 

Britpop rockers get their albums ranked.

 

While a few other bands actually beat Coldplay to the punch when it came to pioneering the anthemic Britpop melancholy they have perfected (namely Travis and Embrace, both of whom released their debuts long before Coldplay did), it's Chris Martin and company -- Jon Buckland on guitar, Will Champion on drums, Guy Berryman on bass -- who have risen to the top of the heap to become arena rock superstars of the current millennium.

 

Coldplay has remained rather old school in their approach to crafting and releasing albums. They have more or less adhered to the classic two year schedule, dropping a new album every two years, touring in-between. To this end, even though their music has pervaded all corners of pop culture, from movies to television commercials and ringtones, they still have managed to contain their over saturation to a degree.

 

Of late, the band have invaded the realm of videogames -- their music is featured in the newly released Guitar Hero 5. We thought it'd be a good time to take a look at their discography -- we're sticking to studio albums here -- and rank them from worst to best.

 

 

 

#4: X&YTo wit, the album's premier single, "Speed Of Sound" unfolds like an eerie remix of "Clocks" minus the wonderful piano riff that propelled that song. Martin flexes his crooning abilities in full on tracks like "What If," which is dominated by plenty of "oooh-oooh's" underscored by searing arena rock ballad guitar flourishes and an emphatic swelling of strings at the conclusion. Then there are tracks like "Fix You" and "Talk," which are great, but feel a tad repetitive. While the tight production and overwhelming musicality of the songs on X&Y cannot be denied, the overall effect is one of "been there, done that, but hey, we're doing it again!"

 

 

#3: Parachutes Parachutes, Coldplay's debut album is unapologetically sensitive. "I never meant to cause you trouble, I never meant to do you harm," sings Chris Martin. Recorded before Martin's squeeze Gwyneth Paltrow and world-conquering ambition entered the picture, it's a heartbreakingly sincere collection of songs -- delicate, breathy, and, at least in the case of "Yellow," impossible to ignore. In addition to "Yellow," Parachutes spawned the singles "Shiver," and "Trouble." The album was a hit with critics and ultimately achieved massive commercial success -- it's been certified seven-times platinum in the UK, and two-times platinum in the States.

 

 

#2: Viva La VidaFollowing much hype and circumstance, Dr. Dre's latest As evidenced by the lavish production on "Viva La Vida", Coldplay showed they hadn't given up on their orchestral pop sound. Rather, they took the fragile acoustic sounds of Parachutes, the edgier side of A Rush Of Blood To The Head, and the silky sounds of X&Y and cobbled together the best bits of each to expand upon for a more worldly direction for the band. The album tears open with a dazzlingly beautiful two-and-a-half-minute instrumental piece, "Life In Technicolor." They had gone from indie darlings to stadium rock geniuses to an emasculating punch line of The 40 Year-Old Virgin in just three albums. On their fourth, they triumphantly returned as rock royalty.

 

 

#1: A Rush of Blood to the Head Building on the success of their first record, Parachutes, 2002's A Rush of Blood to the Head introduces some new sonic elements to Coldplay's repertoire -- there's a much greater emphasis on piano and guitar. Critics and fans praised the record as even better than band's debut. And it spawned four hit singles, "In My Place," "The Scientist," the once-ubiquitous "Clocks," and "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face." A Rush of Blood to the Head was awarded the 2003 Grammy for Best Alternative Album, and "Clocks" picked up the Record of the Year honor the following year.It's sold over 11 million copies worldwide.

 

http://uk.music.ign.com/articles/103/1030918p1.html

I agree, very accurate, just change x and y and prachutes of position (depending on my mood)

Interesting.

Isn't this article kind of old? I've seen this quote before:

 

They had gone from indie darlings to stadium rock geniuses to an emasculating punch line of The 40 Year-Old Virgin in just three albums. On their fourth, they triumphantly returned as rock royalty.

I think Parachutes should be #2 and Viva #3

This article could almost be re-titled "Suck it, bakeryboy!" :p

:lol:

Thats pretty different from what Ill do.

But it sall good :D

I wonder where LP5 would go? :wacko:

Aww, I love X&Y, but their points for each album are good. I think it's just too hard to determine Coldplay's worst album - non of them are particularly 'bad', but one has to come last of course.

I disagree with this article, but who cares? Everyone's got an opinion.

Aww, I love X&Y, but their points for each album are good. I think it's just too hard to determine Coldplay's worst album - non of them are particularly 'bad', but one has to come last of course.

 

Agreed.

I don't agree with the order, but the points are good.

Agree with the article. I don't hate X&Y BUT I don't think it's their best. It's all relative.

Quite accurate but i feel Viva And Parachutes should swap!!

Good points :thumbsup:

Parachutes - "heartbreakingly sincere collection of songs" *listening to Parachutes for the 13917500542th time* :D

Great article! Agree with everything you say although I'd put Parachutes at no.4 and X&Y at 3, even though X&Y is my favourite album, I don't think it's their best. I say that because X&Y was the first Coldplay album I got, as a birthday present in 2005. Therefore, it's very special to me!

All come on first place for me.

Hmm :)

 

4: Parachutes

3:X&Y

2: Viva

1: A rush of blood...

I agree with the articles list.

 

1. AROBTTH

2. VLVODAAOHF

3. Parachutes

4. X&Y

I agree, very accurate, just change x and y and prachutes of position (depending on my mood)

 

this is what I do. It's an accurate description. I think I would put them on that order, too. I would also soemtimes interchange Viva La Vida and A Rush of Blood depending on my mood too. I think those two are their best albums.

And , unlike many people and critics, I don't hate X&Y, in fact I like it very much but I think the other ones are better.

Completely and utterly wrong, IMO.

 

1) X&Y

2) Parachutes

3) VLVODAAHF

4) AROBTTH

 

I just realised, that's the inverse of what the review wrote. Haah.

4 X&Y

3 Parachutes

2 Rush of Blood to the Head

1 Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

1. Parachutes

2. AROBTTH

3. Viva

4. X&Y

4.Parachutes

3.X&Y

2.VLV

1.AROBTTH

 

This is what I think right now..It changes within seconds..

1. Parachutes

2. AROBTTH

3. Viva

4. X&Y

 

I completely agree with your ranking :D