LP7- "A Head Full Of Dreams"

[Strawberry Swinger]

Listened to some of the songs. Won't go into the empty, flaccid production of Up & Up and various other faults but I will reserve all my praise for Birds.

 

That is just supreme and indication that they can be great if they want to be.

 

Exactly. Just my thoughts.

[EasySuperstition99]

This!

+ Blow Out IMO

 

My favourite album by them is by far OK Computer with second being by far Kid A:nice:

In your opinion? If you don't like Blow Out you're on something. That song was a hint to the genius that was to come.

[Strawberry Swinger]

X marks the spot does not deserve to be listened to

 

Hahahhaha brilliant! :D

 

 

As for Radiohead, In Rainbows is their absolute masterpiece, best work imo, and my favorite album of all time. :)

 

Off I go folks, to listen to Birds before bed... <3

Go wild while the hater strawberry is asleep.

[EasySuperstition99]

Hahahhaha brilliant! :D

 

 

As for Radiohead, In Rainbows is their absolute masterpiece, best work imo, and my favorite album of all time. :)

 

Off I go folks, to listen to Birds before bed... <3

Go wild while the hater strawberry is asleep.

In Rainbows is a work of art.

[ColdplayingfromKansas]

You know what i find interesting about the Viva era? It has SOOO MUCH CONTENT! I mean, it's definetely the biggest and most open era of Coldplay. After the first album, there's actually room for ANOTHER 2 album's worth of content just from the demos and the EP, and the unreleased songs! It's crazy how much stuff got through there!

 

One of the things that I find truly stunning about the Viva era is that when you take the album, the ep, the various b-sides and standalone singles (like Lhuna), exclusive live tracks (like Don Quixote and The Dubliners), and the leaked demos, we have more content by far than from any other era. Just doing a quick count based on what I have in my iTunes library . . . that's 28 songs. At least (I know I'm probably missing some). I know that some people maybe don't hold the album in as high of favor as I do, but take a look through the song roster for the Viva era and find one song with cheesy lyrics, one song with bad production, one song that's boring or that seems too "safe." If you find one, let me know :P

 

Now, I know that no band on earth can be expected to emulate a particular type of genius over and over again. That's fine, sometimes people and circumstances just line up perfectly and allow something beautiful to happen that can't ever be replicated. Whatever. MX comes along . . . okay, a little poppy for my taste, UAtW seems a little safe, DLIBYH could have had some better production choices. Can't really expect another Viva, after all. No biggie. They'll reinvent themselves again for LP6 like they did with LP2 and LP4. GS comes along . . . um, okaayy, some real cheese moments, Another's Arms ruined by production, everything sounds like a Top 40 artist tried to rewrite Parachutes. Big swing and a miss for me, but Chris is going through some rough stuff, everything will work out for LP7.

 

Aaaaand AHFoD gets here and just . . . bad production. Bad production everywhere. The anticipated Rebirth that happens every other era (and which has already been delayed by the unplanned Ghost Stories) has been gagged, blindfolded, and stuffed in a closet by weird unnecessary Top 40 tricks and poor mixing. One song just sounds so blatantly un-Coldplay-like that I wonder if it was written by the real life equivalent of the apes in the AoaL video (and yes, I am talking about X Marks the Spot, how did you know? :awesome: ). If I tilt my head and squint a little, I can see some decent songs clinging to life under it all.

 

Have I enjoyed what I have heard of AHFoD? Of course. Will it relieve me of my "Oldplay" bias and take a spot in my top four albums? Not at this point, no. It, unfortunately, completes what has become Coldplay's "problem trio" (cheesiness/too much Top 40 influence, blandness, production). Granted, many will disagree with me I'm sure, but the big problem with MX was the bad execution of pop influences, the big problem with GS was the blandness, and now the problem with AHFoD is the production.

 

To sum up this rather long and rambling post . . . hopefully as Coldplay continue to reinvent themselves and gear themselves up for LP8 (if and when it may come), they take into consideration the thoughts and concerns of some of their biggest fans. Our whining and complaining may seem mean-spirited at times, but that's only because we've invested so much in this band that we want to see them succeed with creating musical masterpieces that we know they are capable of. We don't expect (or want) ARoBttH 2.0 or Viva 2.0, but we want to see you create magic again.

 

 

Nothing against any of you who rank MX or GS among your favorites. Musical tastes are different and we all value different things in our songs. It's what makes the world go round, after all :nice:

 

[brandonp27]

INITIAL thoughts (we will see in a couple of weeks) :

 

AHFOD: Euphoric 80s rock; very U2ish (love it)

Birds: HLH and Lovers in Japan combined with a dash of Arcade Fire and Indie Rock (Love it, love it, love it!)

HFTW: A good Beyoncé song, an odd Coldplay song (can't get over the "drunk and high" lyrics even though they are metaphorical "life's a drink and love's a drug", but I love the arcade synths at the end, and I can't lie this has been the song that's been stuck in my head)

Everglow: I think it's very pretty, honestly.

AOAL: Funky disco music; gotta love it

Fun: It's like Mika doing a cover of Viva la Vida; Tove Lo actually makes a nice contribution; one of the better moments on the album; the "didn't we have fun?" lyrics are nice and definitely come from the original "Fun" which was given to Natalie Imbruglia (would have been a great fit here too and I'll just continue to wish that Coldplay redo "Lukas" and "Fun").

Kaleidoscope: nice transition (intro of it perhaps Radio Waltz?), nice poem; I wish more "Amazing Grace" was also included.

Army of One: I expected more since the snippet was pretty intriguing. I love the chopped up vocals, the electronic organ is also nice. I think it's only problem is that it's repetitive, yet if you listen close, the melody very much resembles Coldplay's older works.

X Marks the Spot: At first I was like "what the heck" then I was like "okay" then I was like "cool"; it sounds like Chris reading off some rhymes he got from Jay-Z and Katy Perry's lyricist; other than that, the music (especially that guitar) is actually pretty cool.

Amazing Day: the production is similar to the live version which is nice; the strings are quite gorgeous

Color Spectrum: a nice reprise of AHFOD intro and Kaleidoscope

Up&Up: saddened by the shallow production; it sounds like it features the Blue Man Group banging on pipes to make the "bloop" sounds, the chorus is not as euphoric, but at least the choir is audible. The guitar solos are still prominent which is nice; the ending is excellent though, very much like Charlie Brown's soft piano ending. Coldplay's album closers are all amazing.

 

So, overall, I like the album. It's pretty fun to listen to, and some stuff gets stuck in your head. I'd say there are very high points and low points, at times you'll love it, and at times you'll just hate it. Yet, isn't living life like that? If this album aims to portray life and all it's ups and downs, I'd say it does it perfectly.

[coldplaykb]

One of the things that I find truly stunning about the Viva era is that when you take the album, the ep, the various b-sides and standalone singles (like Lhuna), exclusive live tracks (like Don Quixote and The Dubliners), and the leaked demos, we have more content by far than from any other era. Just doing a quick count based on what I have in my iTunes library . . . that's 28 songs. At least (I know I'm probably missing some). I know that some people maybe don't hold the album in as high of favor as I do, but take a look through the song roster for the Viva era and find one song with cheesy lyrics, one song with bad production, one song that's boring or that seems too "safe." If you find one, let me know [emoji14]

 

Now, I know that no band on earth can be expected to emulate a particular type of genius over and over again. That's fine, sometimes people and circumstances just line up perfectly and allow something beautiful to happen that can't ever be replicated. Whatever. MX comes along . . . okay, a little poppy for my taste, UAtW seems a little safe, DLIBYH could have had some better production choices. Can't really expect another Viva, after all. No biggie. They'll reinvent themselves again for LP6 like they did with LP2 and LP4. GS comes along . . . um, okaayy, some real cheese moments, Another's Arms ruined by production, everything sounds like a Top 40 artist tried to rewrite Parachutes. Big swing and a miss for me, but Chris is going through some rough stuff, everything will work out for LP7.

 

Aaaaand AHFoD gets here and just . . . bad production. Bad production everywhere. The anticipated Rebirth that happens every other era (and which has already been delayed by the unplanned Ghost Stories) has been gagged, blindfolded, and stuffed in a closet by weird unnecessary Top 40 tricks and poor mixing. One song just sounds so blatantly un-Coldplay-like that I wonder if it was written by the real life equivalent of the apes in the AoaL video (and yes, I am talking about X Marks the Spot, how did you know? :awesome: ). If I tilt my head and squint a little, I can see some decent songs clinging to life under it all.

 

Have I enjoyed what I have heard of AHFoD? Of course. Will it relieve me of my "Oldplay" bias and take a spot in my top four albums? Not at this point, no. It, unfortunately, completes what has become Coldplay's "problem trio" (cheesiness/too much Top 40 influence, blandness, production). Granted, many will disagree with me I'm sure, but the big problem with MX was the poppiness, the big problem with GS was the blandness, and now the problem with AHFoD is the production.

 

To sum up this rather long and rambling post . . . hopefully as Coldplay continue to reinvent themselves and gear themselves up for LP8 (if and when it may come), they take into consideration the thoughts and concerns of some of their biggest fans. Our whining and complaining may seem mean-spirited at times, but that's only because we've invested so much in this band that we want to see them succeed with creating musical masterpieces that we know they are capable of. We don't expect (or want) ARoBttH 2.0 or Viva 2.0, but we want to see you create magic again.

 

 

Nothing against any of you who rank MX or GS among your favorites. Musical tastes are different and we all value different things in our songs. It's what makes the world go round, after all :nice:

Great post! Viva was the best! But I am enjoying this album for what it is :)

[Doolittle2008]

In Rainbows is my favorite too. I also love HTTT, Amnesiac, OK Computer, TKOL

 

Btw: 15 steps has the best bassline of all time.

[FJK_12]

One of the things that I find truly stunning about the Viva era is that when you take the album, the ep, the various b-sides and standalone singles (like Lhuna), exclusive live tracks (like Don Quixote and The Dubliners), and the leaked demos, we have more content by far than from any other era. Just doing a quick count based on what I have in my iTunes library . . . that's 28 songs. At least (I know I'm probably missing some). I know that some people maybe don't hold the album in as high of favor as I do, but take a look through the song roster for the Viva era and find one song with cheesy lyrics, one song with bad production, one song that's boring or that seems too "safe." If you find one, let me know :P

 

Very true. Viva was their peak. This make me think though that there must've been stuff which didn't make it onto the last 3 albums which could've been great, and was otherwise replaced with songs which fit the theme of the album instead.

 

And about the bad production - it baffles me how one of the biggest bands in the world ends up with terrible production. Surely they have the resources to make the best produced album possible.

[WeddingDom]

Am I the only one who thinks the solos in Up&Up are not as prominent as they should be? Also, they're not so special.

[cp3176]

I think it's time I shared my opinion on the ALBUM ITSELF, where it ranks, and the song rankings as well.

 

Overall, I think AHFOD is a very good album, that flows very well, and has a very interesting concept behind it. I am a MASSIVE fan of @CP-EST's (if I remember correctly) interpretation of it. I honestly think that's it, it makes so much sense, and from now on I'm listening to the album as if it's that. Such a great interpretation. Anyway, this album is very good! I am very pleased with it! Even though production fails at times, for the most part I enjoy it and it's very rich. The album starts to drag on after Adventure of a Lifetime (but that was on my first listen and I was tired that day so things have probably changed for the better, that was just what it felt like when my tired mind listened to it that day) but as a whole it's very nice. And experimental -- WOAHHHH! This is arguably Coldplay's most experimental album, in my eyes. Even more so than Viva. I'm surprised no one is talking about that, as it is very experimental. It doesn't feel like anything Coldplay's done before either. It has a different structure and feel as compared to previous, I don't know what it is... but it just feels different. Alright, again, generally, very good album, flows nicely, and there are some very good songs on this album. On to the song rankings!

 

The Stars:

1) Birds

2) Amazing Day

3) Everglow

4) A Head Full OF Dreams

 

Enjoyable:

5) Up&Up

6)

7) Fun (feat. Tove Lo)

 

Good:

8) Adventure of a Lifetime

9) Kaleidoscope

10) Army Of One

11) Hymn For The Weekend

 

Meh, not my cup of tea:

12) X Marks The Spot

 

I find it funny that literally EVERYONE is tearing apart X Marks The Spot. I don't tear it apart, just not my cup of tea however. I thought HFTW was going to be the POC of this album. As it turned out, it actually was. In this case. AHFOD both has a PoC and an ASFOS (even though I like both of those songs, those seem to be hated by most): HFTW (PoC) and XMTS (ASFOS). It's just that ASFOS is the more hated one it seems like, and it's a shame that now in thie album there's two generally hated tracks. Hopefully this trend doesn't continue on for the future. It's almost like a bad trend is continuing: PoC is bad, ASFOS is badder, and XMTS IS THE FREAKING WORST!!!!!!!!!!! Lol. It's sad that this is happening. At least a lot of people consider this to be the best of the poppy albums (Newplay).

 

Speaking of album rankings, here's my final word... *DRUMROLL*

 

Unfortunately, for me, it didn't beat MX. Still #1 for me. :( But it still is a VERY enjoyable album! In my opinion, it bridges the "stars" of Coldplay's discography with the "Very enjoyable, but not the ones written during a time where Chris was in his prime" albums.. Here is what I mean, and I actually do mean it literally:

 

1) Mylo Xyloto

2) A Rush Of Blood To The Head

3) X&Y

4) A Head Full Of Dreams

5) Parachutes

6) Ghost Stories

7) Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends

 

There you have it. It's bridging the gap between the stars and the enjoyable ones.

 

So there you have it. My opinion on all Songs, and the song rankings, and where the album fits in Coldplay as a whole. :D

[Kingzilla]

For me, this ranks between Ghost Stories and AROBTTH.

 

1. viva

2. AROBTTH

-

-

-

3. AHFOD

-

4. Ghost stories

5. Parachutes

-

6. MX

7. X&Y

[ColdplayingfromKansas]

Very true. Viva was their peak. This make me think though that there must've been stuff which didn't make it onto the last 3 albums which could've been great, and was otherwise replaced with songs which fit the theme of the album instead.

 

*Petitions for Coldplay's next three albums to be made up of nothing but old Viva outtakes :awesome: *

[FJK_12]

 

1) Mylo Xyloto

2) A Rush Of Blood To The Head

3) X&Y

4) A Head Full Of Dreams

5) Parachutes

6) Ghost Stories

7) Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends

 

 

Surely not viva last ahah :P

[FJK_12]

*Petitions for Coldplay's next three albums to be made up of nothing but old Viva outtakes :awesome: *

 

haha yes please! Off topic but I think that it is criminal that Famous Old painters was not released. If I ever meet Chris that is the first thing I shall ask him.

 

Just to remind everyone :)

[video=youtube;1jvRFbfI11Y]

[EasySuperstition99]

The rant @ColdplayingfromKansas just posted I 99.9% agree with. After Viva everyone expected something even greater then they disappointed lots (not me not as good tho) then people like oh just an experiment they'll get back on track but then the divorce happened and Chris had to make his break up album that was pretty nice actually, but then people were like alright ready for the stadium rockers but thEN AHFOD leaks and im like better than MX and Ghost Stories but its not Viva (close tho). 2000-2008 was great, 2012-now pop experiments that were good sometimes but not the best. They said this album is the end of a chapter for them, so I think pop (though good sometimes) is over after this AHFOD era. But the next chapter, I just feel like it's gonna be Kid A crazy. They just need a breather.

[Strawberry Swinger]

Why so much hate for Ghost Stories? :( I absolutely loved the album. I think it is better than both MX and AHFOD.

[Famous Old Painter]

Is there a list somewhere of all the Viva era tracks? I wanna make sure I've heard them all.

 

Death Will Never Conquer came up on shuffle yesterday. I totally forgot that song existed!

[cp3176]

To sum up this rather long and rambling post . . .

 

 

Nothing against any of you who rank MX or GS among your favorites. Musical tastes are different and we all value different things in our songs. It's what makes the world go round, after all :nice:

 

Lol that's not a very long post compared to my review :lol:

 

@ the spoiler: I LOVE MX, and am not very effected by your post at all! It's all good, we have different opinions :) For me, MX is just so... amazing. Gorgeous. Beautiful. Don't know what to say about it. Every song except Major Minus (IMO) is just perfect. I really just don't know. The higher more colorful notes I LOVE, production is GREAT except in DLIBYH. It differs enough from radio pop for me to enjoy it and at least doesn't talk about "getting drunk and high" and is much more mature than that :laugh3: It's just the perfect album for me... don't know what it is. :D

 

 

X Marks the Spot: At first I was like "what the heck" then I was like "okay" then I was like "cool"; it sounds like Chris reading off some rhymes he got from Jay-Z and Katy Perry's lyricist; other than that' date=' the music (especially that guitar) is actually pretty cool.[/quote']

 

Finally! Praise for XMTS! :lol: :laugh3:

[cp3176]

Same! I'm a huge Radiohead fan (I'm a Radioplayer) AND THIS SONG IS JUST PURE LEGENDARY:heart:

 

Do you like Radiohead, cp?:D

 

I haven't gotten the chance to look up Radiohead's discography just yet as the only songs I've heard from them are "No Surprises" and "Creep" (I discpvered the latter one at "Worst Radiohead performance ever" :laugh3:) but from those two songs I can safely assume I will love Radiohead :D

 

 

Surely not viva last ahah :P

 

LOL I knew somebody was going to say something about me putting Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends last :laugh3:

 

To be completely honest with you I switch every day between Ghost Stories and VLVODAAHF's spots. Something VLV is better, something it's GS that's better. Just consider that a tie for now. :lol:

 

I think it's mostly because Ghost Stories is so great when listening to at night that brings it up a notch...

[IcebatofvalikinRRBZ8]

I haven't gotten the chance to look up Radiohead's discography just yet as the only songs I've heard from them are "No Surprises" and "Creep" (I discpvered the latter one at "Worst Radiohead performance ever" :laugh3:) but from those two songs I can safely assume I will love Radiohead :D

 

 

 

 

LOL I knew somebody was going to say something about me putting Viva la Vida or Death And All His Friends last :laugh3:

 

To be completely honest with you I switch every day between Ghost Stories and VLVODAAHF's spots. Something VLV is better, something it's GS that's better. Just consider that a tie for now. :lol:

 

I think it's mostly because Ghost Stories is so great when listening to at night that brings it up a notch...

I agree with Ghost Stories better at night! :D

[42Escapist]

So, I finally gave in and listened to Everglow (not the full leaked album, though). Here are my thoughts:

 

I agree with every single comment about the song being like an improved Up In Flames. The production is similar but thankfully the electronic drums aren't annoying. The lyrics are better, the vocals sound better, everything sounds better. I hear some Magic in Everglow except this time they went for more of a piano ballad. Jonny has a solo towards the end (yay!) and overall the song could've fit very well on GS. It feels more natural than most of that album, though, and isn't so artificial. I'd take it over all but maybe 3-4 GS tracks. Gwyneth's "Heys" don't bother me (though the extent her contribution should've been made clear beforehand) and even though my hopes for the album's overall production are fading fast, I don't believe Stargate ruined this track. I am pleasantly surprised that I enjoy Everglow. :) I like it enough that I'd rate it about an 8.5 out of 10.

 

My current ranking:

 

1. Up&Up live version (9/10)

2. Amazing Day live version (8.5/10)

2. Everglow (8.5/10)

3. AHFOD live version (8/10)

4. AOAL (7/10)

[42Escapist]

So, I finally gave in and listened to Everglow (not the full leaked album, though). Here are my thoughts:

 

I agree with every single comment about the song being like an improved Up In Flames. The production is similar but thankfully the electronic drums aren't annoying. The lyrics are better, the vocals sound better, everything sounds better. I hear some Magic in Everglow except this time they went for more of a piano ballad. Jonny has a solo towards the end (yay!) and overall the song could've fit very well on GS. It feels more natural than most of that album, though, and isn't so artificial. I'd take it over all but maybe 3-4 GS tracks. Gwyneth's "Heys" don't bother me (though the extent her contribution should've been made clear beforehand) and even though my hopes for the album's overall production are fading fast, I don't believe Stargate ruined this track. I am pleasantly surprised that I enjoy Everglow. :) I like it enough that I'd rate it about an 8.5 out of 10.

 

My current ranking:

 

1. Up&Up live version (9/10)

2. Amazing Day live version (8.5/10)

2. Everglow (8.5/10)

3. AHFOD live version (8/10)

4. AOAL (7/10)

[stuartjo]

My opinion goes like this.

 

1. AHFOD : Okay, very much like U2. Especially the guitar part sounds a lot like Where The Streets Have No Name. NOT my favourite album opener though. Still can't beat Politik and Life in Technicolor.

 

2. Birds : I can hear The Strokes' Under Cover of Darkness at the end. LOVED the guitar.

 

3. Hymn For The Weekend : This is exactly what I was worried about. Just a normal pop music, without their identity. Remind me of Maroon 5. WORST song on the album, or probably, the worst of their entire discography.

 

4. Everglow : Sam Smith-ish ballad pop, especially the tone of piano and the drum, and of course, the clap. And then, the guitar comes out. The end of the story. One of my favourite.

 

5. Adventure of a Lifetime : One of the best song on the album. Cool guitar riff.

 

6. Fun : ?????

 

7. Kaleidoscope : It would have been much better without the sample of POTUS. But the songwriting itself is great.

 

8. Army of One / X Marks The Spot : ?????????????

 

9. Amazing Day : Very well produced. Better than what I heard on Global Citizen. Chris sounds amazing on this song.

 

10. Colour Spectrum : WHAT IS THIS?? On MX, Mylo Xyloto and A Hopeful Transmission had a main theme going through. But Colour Spectrum is just... a sound.. or .... I don't know. It doesn't have anything to do with Amazing Day nor Up&Up.

 

11. Up&Up : It's somewhere between R&B pop and British rock and roll with the touch of gospel. I love the track. Two awesome guitar solos? Oh yeah.

 

 

Overall : I love you, Jonny.

[ColdplayingfromKansas]

Is there a list somewhere of all the Viva era tracks? I wanna make sure I've heard them all.

 

Death Will Never Conquer came up on shuffle yesterday. I totally forgot that song existed!

 

I will give this a shot. Just gonna list the b-sides, unreleased, live-only, etc.

 

 

 

A Spell A Rebel Yell

Bloodless Revolution

Death Will Never Conquer

Don Quixote (Spanish Rain)

Famous Old Painters

First Steps

Goodbye & Goodnight

Lhuna

Lost?

Lukas

Solid Ground

St. Stephen

The Dubliners

The Fall of Man

The Goldrush

The Hardest Part / Postcards From Far Away (found on LRLRL live album)

The Man Who Swears

 

I feel like I'm missing one or two of the demos :thinking:

 

 

My opinion goes like this.

 

7. Kaleidoscope : It would have been much better without the sample of POTUS. But the songwriting itself is great.

 

Overall : I love you, Jonny.

 

I actually kind of like the sample, but to each their own :awesome:

 

And seconded :nod: