Short summary on my opinion of AHFOD:

When I first listened to the album as a whole, I wasn't convinced, it didn't flow well, the production is too much. But afer 2-3 listens I'm starting to appreciate is more and more, and I even think this album is becoming pretty good in terms of doing things different, and not being as mainstream as GS/MX. You definitely hear so many different influences and I love this. It's like everything they've ever done put together in these songs + new/experimental things: which I really like now.

 

Track opinions:

AHFOD: Good opener, U2ish but still a lot of CP elements. Festive, happy, and I especially love the parts from 2:30 and further, goosebumps and makes me want to jump, I can't wait to experience it live!

8/10

Birds: Amazing! One of the best songs in years really, it's like Viva meets MX meets something entirely new. Absolutely love it, althoug I do not like the sudden ending, whish it was a bit longer.

9/10

HFTW: wasn't sure in the beginning, so many different sounds, sounds very Beyonce/Mainstream at first listen, gets better when you listen to more layers. Jonny's guitar makes up for a lot on this one. The lyrics, well, nothing special. I guess they needed a hit on this album to ;) For me it's a bit PoC part 2 but maybe slightly better.

6/10

Everglow: what a beauty, again I love how each instrument shines, especially Jonny. Beautiful, mellow ballad. It can't be compared with The Scientist but it's actually a nice try and fits very well in the album. I do wish the drums were acoustic though.

7,5/10

AOAL: Fun, colourful, dancy, lyrics not that good, funky

7/10

Fun: I was afraid that this one was going tooo poppy, but I actually was suprised it isn't. It sounds alternative, their voices melt very good together. I love how you can hear elements of the song 'Fun' and 'Lukas' which were given to Natalie Imbruglia. Good, solid song.

7,5/10

Army Of One: Nice, reminds me a bit of a The Script song. Not very experimental or new, but it's overall a nice song.

7/10

X-Marks The Spot: well at first I was like: WTF? Can we forget this ever happened, now I'm a bit less WTF but still I'm not sure what to think of it, it sounds so childish, like a very mainstream tried song, these lyrics just mehh.

4/10

Amazing Day: Beautiful, but I like the live version better, mostly because of the annoying electronic drums in the studio version. 7/10

Up&Up: A bit dissappointed by the studio version, live it flows better, drums are better, the guitars are clearer. Up&Up is my second favorite album closer with DAAHF. Really great song, thank you Noel, I love the voices. Only wish the studio version was a bit clearer. Amazing song.

9/10

 

Overall verdict: 7,2/10 for me.

Good album.

 

Highlights: AHFOD, Birds :heart:, Fun, Up&Up

Jonny really shines on this album, Guy as well.

Will needs to play the real drums live ;)

Chris' voice can surprise me sometimes, it sounds so beautiful in some parts, gives me goosebumps every time :)

 

Dislikes: too much production at some times, X-Marks The Spot, HFTW not sure about this one

 

Album position:

Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

A Rush Of Blood To The Head

A Head Full Of Dreams

Mylo Xyloto

Ghost Sories

X&Y

Parachutes

Does anyone know where one can find all of the links the the digital album booklets? Thanks

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

 

What do you mean by production? :thinking: When I think of what disappointed me, a few things come to mind. Foremost is Chris' lyrics/oohs/woohoos on several songs. Next is the suppressing of one of the solos on Up&Up. That's on Stargate and is production choice. The third is how the electronic drums don't work as well on Up&Up and Amazing Day live. But percussion is up to Will, that's not a production aspect as far as I know. He chose to use electronic drums like on GS/Up in Flames/Lost!.

 

I hear next to no production on this album and I've listened to it 10+ times. There are synthy sounds here and there and the disappointing guitar but that's all I can tell.

i'm not one of those Oldplayer nazis who only likes the first 3 albums

Today I learned I’m a nazi for liking classic Coldplay.

Stargate definitely ruined it, why are they so obsessed with that horrible snare/clap sound? The production in general is quite bad, the bass is WAY too loud.

This x10000!! I honestly can’t stand to hear this electronic clap sound anymore. It sounds so incredibly generic and cheap.

 

Ok, now let’s go on to my review of the album. I’ve tried to be fairly unbiased and not hate anything just because it’s synthpop, nor praise it just because the name Coldplay is written on the album.

 

AHFOD: 7/10

Nice opener with a groovy baseline. I would have preferred a wider production with a rawer sound.

 

Birds: 8/10

One of the best songs on the album. It's far from being in their top ten but it's a creative song reminiscent of their past days.

 

HFTW: 1/10

If you like contemporary R’n’B, you’ll like this one. I can’t stand music like that. It’s the obligatory uninspired chart single made for the mass market. On the same level as PoC.

 

Everglow: 6.5/10

Calm piano ballad. A bit repetitive but okay as a more introspective counterpart to the mainly danceable rest of the album. Could have been better with a less prominent drum beat in the verse.

 

AOAL: 7/10

Funky song with Daft Punk feeling. I like that it's really lively without feeling artificial.

 

Fun: 4/10

Can’t really connect to it. Maybe it will still grow on me.

 

Kaleidoscope: 7/10

Fairly creative interlude, but unfortunately not a full song.

 

Army of One: 6.5/10

IMO not as bad as everyone says. I really like the organ/synth sound. Unfortunately it doesn’t use its potential to burst open into a strong organ-backed chorus. This lack of a distinct chorus is the big weakness of the song, as was the case with Always In My Head.

 

X Marks the Spot: 2/10

I would honestly pay money to see the reaction of the Oldplayers on this forum listening to this song the first time. I guess it must have looked like this: :o

Needless to say that it's really sad to see a band who have written songs like Death and all his Friends write garbage like this. I have to say the beat isn’t actually the worst thing. I think it would even work on a hip-hop track with a good rapper (Swimming Pools by Kendrick Lamar has a similar beat). But Chris trying to rap is just pathetic and sounds awful. And the lyrics have never been cringier.

 

Amazing Day: 6/10

I remember I didn’t like the song, when I first heard it live. In the meantime it has grown a bit on me. The album version sounds better. It’s not an extraordinary song, but maybe it will grow on me even more. The “Us Against The World” of this album.

 

Colour Spectrum: 5/10

unnecessary interlude

 

Up&Up: live 9/10, album 7/10

This could have been the strongest song on the record if it weren’t for the production. I get the idea of the song starting with this stripped-down sound, but with the first chorus a rhythmic piano accompaniment should have started to really let the song gain some momentum. The idea of this song is similar to “Hey Jude” - a great rock hymn with a long coda that builds up & up (sorry for that one :laugh3:). Unfortunately, the overly clean production and the electric drums stop the song from really taking off. I’m expecting this to be a great song played live.

 

 

Overall: 6/10

As expected, Coldplay’s journey through mainstream pop continues. For people who have loved their classic sound this is really sad because, as many have mentioned before, music in the style of Stargate and Co. just feels so incredibly artificial and soulless. It may be suitable to dance to, but I would never sit down with a glass of wine after a stressful day to listen to some Avicii. Unfortunately Coldplay move more and more into that direction with their newest creations like HFTW and XMTS.

The main word I would use to describe this album is mediocre. There are some alright songs on the album but nothing outstanding. Maybe after a long hiatus they will come back again with an inspirational LP8. Until then I guess I’ll have to wait for the upcoming Radiohead album for some good new music.

What do you mean by production? :thinking: When I think of what disappointed me, a few things come to mind. Foremost is Chris' lyrics/oohs/woohoos on several songs. Next is the suppressing of one of the solos on Up&Up. That's on Stargate and is production choice. The third is how the electronic drums don't work as well on Up&Up and Amazing Day. But percussion is up to Will, that's not a production aspect as far as I know. He chose to use electronic drums like on GS/Up in Flames/Lost!.

 

I hear next to no production on this album and I've listened to it 10+ times. There are synthy sounds here and there and the disappointing guitar but that's all I can tell.

 

IMO the production is worse than that of other Coldplay albums but it's still not bad. Problems are: Everglow, end of Fun, end of X Marks The Spot, and Up&Up ruined. I agree with you for the most part.

To me, nothing on this entire album is as bad as A Whisper. I'm just going to say it: in my opinion X Marks the Spot is better than A Whisper. That song fucking sucks.

To me, nothing on this entire album is as bad as A Whisper. I'm just going to say it: in my opinion X Marks the Spot is better than A Whisper. That song fucking sucks.

 

What don't you like about it? :thinking: I'd say it's one of the weakest songs on ARoBttH but it's nowhere near their worst song imo.

IMO the production is worse than that of other Coldplay albums but it's still not bad. Problems are: Everglow, end of Fun, end of X Marks The Spot, and Up&Up ruined. I agree with you for the most part.

 

X Marks the Spot was a lost cause from the start. I don't hear anything on Everglow and on Fun there's some. I wouldn't call Up&Up ruined, personally. It's not the 10/10 song it should've been, it's merely an 8.5 for me. There's still great lyrics, great guitar and an interesting song structure.

Today I learned I’m a nazi for liking classic Coldplay.

 

Up&Up: live 9/10, album 7/10

I’m expecting this to be a great song played live.

 

As expected, Coldplay’s journey through mainstream pop continues.

 

1. Well you're only a nazi if you only like the first 3 albums and nothing else. If you like somethings else which you seemingly do, you're not quite a "nazi" as under @kaisin's terms.

 

2. I COMPLETETLY agree. In fact, this is probably going to be the best song from the album played live. This had the potential to be the best song on the album, however even if it wasn't ruined by production and electornic drumbeats Birds is still a better studio song.

 

3. Sorry, but most of Coldplay's "pop" is anything but mainstream. Just saying. (PoC is the only one that you can really call "mainstream pop" (that's undeniable, even though it does differ a little bit) and HFTW comes in second place for that type of song but honestly that song is so creative and experimental instrumentally that it can seperate itself from the general category of "mainstream pop". :P)

To me Coldplay have never been about music virtuosity or incredible lyricism. Sure every album has had songs that I think will be classics to me many years in the future, but to me Coldplay has and probably will always be about the feeling I get and the moments I've had while listening to them. Last night me and my wife listened to the album for the first time, and when it was over we were left glowing. We slow danced to amazing day and had a very deeply profound moment, especially considering everything we've been through in the last year, it was a very uplifting moment that we'll always remember. I think Coldplay accomplished exactly what they wanted with this album and I'm so thankful that they did. We can discuss production, chord progression or song structure till the cows come home, but I think the emotions Coldplay has provoked in many of us goes beyond any of that. Just my two cents [emoji111]

X Marks the Spot was a lost cause from the start. I don't hear anything on Everglow and on Fun there's some. I wouldn't call Up&Up ruined' date=' personally. It's not the 10/10 song it should've been, it's merely an 8.5 for me. There's still great lyrics, great guitar and an interesting song structure.[/quote']

 

On Everglow, I feel it's a little too clean for the Newplay-style production. Sure, it's still a great and gorgeous song with the production it does have but it takes away the magic a little bit. Just a little bit though. Not a lot. Up&Up lost most of it's energy in the sing-along because of the stupid production and electronic drumbeat. It dropped from the 7.5-8.5/10 song that is the live version to the 6.5-7.5 rating it has now IMO. That was my first listen though, maybe it'll change but for me the electronic drums pretty much ruin the sing-along's energy.

^ I feel like I'm the only person in the world who likes A Whisper :lol:

 

What do you mean by production? :thinking: When I think of what disappointed me, a few things come to mind. Foremost is Chris' lyrics/oohs/woohoos on several songs. Next is the suppressing of one of the solos on Up&Up. That's on Stargate and is production choice. The third is how the electronic drums don't work as well on Up&Up and Amazing Day live. But percussion is up to Will, that's not a production aspect as far as I know. He chose to use electronic drums like on GS/Up in Flames/Lost!.

 

I hear next to no production on this album and I've listened to it 10+ times. There are synthy sounds here and there and the disappointing guitar but that's all I can tell.

 

At this point, I'm completely blaming the production choices on Stargate because, well, they're the producers :lol:

 

The main problems I have found are:

 

1) Too many random little "pop" effects that don't serve any purpose in the song whatsoever. Things like extra reverb on Chris's voice, weird noises that only pop up once or twice and are never heard again, etc. Stuff like that can be done well, but in my opinion that just didn't happen on any of the songs

 

2) Mixing of the instruments is just plain bad. The most grievous of these is on Up&Up. The piano is barely audible and NOEL GALLAGHER'S GUITAR SOLO IS REPRESSED WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT. Drums seem too loud, etc. Combined it just zaps all the energy from what was supposed to be a great buildup (compare it to the live version, which nails that buildup). I've only listened to the album once, but from what I remember, Fun, Army of One, and X Marks the Spot had some problems like that too.

I think what they tried to do with U&U is have the first 2 choruses emptier and then hit you with full chorus on the last double.

 

Yeah thats what i was hearing

^ I feel like I'm the only person in the world who likes A Whisper :lol:

 

 

 

At this point, I'm completely blaming the production choices on Stargate because, well, they're the producers :lol:

 

The main problems I have found are:

 

1) Too many random little "pop" effects that don't serve any purpose in the song whatsoever. Things like extra reverb on Chris's voice, weird noises that only pop up once or twice and are never heard again, etc. Stuff like that can be done well, but in my opinion that just didn't happen on any of the songs

 

2) Mixing of the instruments is just plain bad. The most grievous of these is on Up&Up. The piano is barely audible and NOEL GALLAGHER'S GUITAR SOLO IS REPRESSED WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT. Drums seem too loud, etc. Combined it just zaps all the energy from what was supposed to be a great buildup (compare it to the live version, which nails that buildup). I've only listened to the album once, but from what I remember, Fun, Army of One, and X Marks the Spot had some problems like that too.

 

Just so u know the leaked clips are not full quality, so its kinda hard to really judge the mixing at this point until nxt friday

^ I feel like I'm the only person in the world who likes A Whisper :lol:

 

 

 

At this point, I'm completely blaming the production choices on Stargate because, well, they're the producers :lol:

 

The main problems I have found are:

 

1) Too many random little "pop" effects that don't serve any purpose in the song whatsoever. Things like extra reverb on Chris's voice, weird noises that only pop up once or twice and are never heard again, etc. Stuff like that can be done well, but in my opinion that just didn't happen on any of the songs

 

2) Mixing of the instruments is just plain bad. The most grievous of these is on Up&Up. The piano is barely audible and NOEL GALLAGHER'S GUITAR SOLO IS REPRESSED WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT. Drums seem too loud, etc. Combined it just zaps all the energy from what was supposed to be a great buildup (compare it to the live version, which nails that buildup). I've only listened to the album once, but from what I remember, Fun, Army of One, and X Marks the Spot had some problems like that too.

 

1. You must have spent a ton of time on this comment because that "A Whisper" comment was about 4 comments up. :lol:

 

In my opinion. A Whisper is good. But it's one of the worse songs of Coldplay IMO. It's the second-worst on AROBTTH after Daylight.

 

2. I SO AGREE WITH YOU ON Up&Up. I am glad to see that someone is in fact as mad as me when it comes to the production and electronic drumbeat. They surpressed the solo's, I mean that's just not fair. This song would be MUCH better if it was like the live version.

To me Coldplay have never been about music virtuosity or incredible lyricism. Sure every album has had songs that I think will be classics to me many years in the future, but to me Coldplay has and probably will always be about the feeling I get and the moments I've had while listening to them. Last night me and my wife listened to the album for the first time, and when it was over we were left glowing. We slow danced to amazing day and had a very deeply profound moment, especially considering everything we've been through in the last year, it was a very uplifting moment that we'll always remember. I think Coldplay accomplished exactly what they wanted with this album and I'm so thankful that they did. We can discuss production, chord progression or song structure till the cows come home, but I think the emotions Coldplay has provoked in many of us goes beyond any of that. Just my two cents [emoji111]

 

Amen

To me, nothing on this entire album is as bad as A Whisper. I'm just going to say it: in my opinion X Marks the Spot is better than A Whisper. That song fucking sucks.

 

Wow, that really is controversial! :stunned:

 

3. Sorry, but most of Coldplay's "pop" is anything but mainstream. Just saying. (PoC is the only one that you can really call "mainstream pop" (that's undeniable, even though it does differ a little bit) and HFTW comes in second place for that type of song but honestly that song is so creative and experimental instrumentally that it can seperate itself from the general category of "mainstream pop". :P)

 

Well, I think we disagree here. HFTW is IMO a typical pop-r'n'b song like any other on the radio. Also I think it's fair to say that today's Coldplay belong equally well in the mainstream pop genre as Maroon 5.

Well' date=' I think we disagree here. HFTW is IMO a typical pop-r'n'b song like any other on the radio. Also I think it's fair to say that today's Coldplay belong equally well in the mainstream pop genre as Maroon 5.[/quote']

 

I think we must agree to disagree then :D There's a few songs that are as pop as mainstream but in my opinion that Coldplay touch is too much to call it mainstream, they're still original enough with their own sound. :D

^ I feel like I'm the only person in the world who likes A Whisper :lol:

 

 

 

At this point, I'm completely blaming the production choices on Stargate because, well, they're the producers :lol:

 

The main problems I have found are:

 

1) Too many random little "pop" effects that don't serve any purpose in the song whatsoever. Things like extra reverb on Chris's voice, weird noises that only pop up once or twice and are never heard again, etc. Stuff like that can be done well, but in my opinion that just didn't happen on any of the songs

 

2) Mixing of the instruments is just plain bad. The most grievous of these is on Up&Up. The piano is barely audible and NOEL GALLAGHER'S GUITAR SOLO IS REPRESSED WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT. Drums seem too loud, etc. Combined it just zaps all the energy from what was supposed to be a great buildup (compare it to the live version, which nails that buildup). I've only listened to the album once, but from what I remember, Fun, Army of One, and X Marks the Spot had some problems like that too.

 

They are. :nod: But they're also producers who the band was willing to work with and everyone signed off on the album. :thinking: It's hard to blame the problems here like that I feel. They knew what they were getting. Stargate said they didn't feel comfortable producing an album for a band. Chris shouldn't have pushed the issue, he doesn't respect anyone's boundaries.

 

1) None of that bothers me actually. But I do see what you're seeing.

 

2) This is the main problem- Up&Up. Other than that I don't notice anything too egregious.

 

My question is- why did they have to produce every song? HFTW, X Marks the Spot it makes sense on. Why not ease them into it? They said themselves they've never worked with a band before. Chris said Stargate, Guy and Will were all uncomfortable. They should've let them do just 2-3 tracks and then meditated on it. You can have a guest producer for a couple songs- that's not uncommon. Timbaland only did True Love IIRC.

Reading all these reviews are making me happy and anxious at the same time. I can wait. I can wait. I can wait. :sad:

Just so u know the leaked clips are not full quality, so its kinda hard to really judge the mixing at this point until nxt friday

 

Really? :thinking: You're the first one I've heard say this. I thought we got the leak from a CD rip that someone managed to get when Walmart put it out early?

 

1. You must have spent a ton of time on this comment because that "A Whisper" comment was about 4 comments up. :lol:

 

I usually get distracted by something or other while typing up a comment and get ninja'd by like five people :lol:

Wow, that really is controversial! :stunned:

 

 

 

Well, I think we disagree here. HFTW is IMO a typical pop-r'n'b song like any other on the radio. Also I think it's fair to say that today's Coldplay belong equally well in the mainstream pop genre as Maroon 5.

 

Maroon 5 is 184739291482 times more pop than Coldplay!! I haven't listened to this album but I'm pretty sure one poppy song does not put Coldplay into Maroon 5 bubblegum pop category imo

To me Coldplay have never been about music virtuosity or incredible lyricism. Sure every album has had songs that I think will be classics to me many years in the future, but to me Coldplay has and probably will always be about the feeling I get and the moments I've had while listening to them. Last night me and my wife listened to the album for the first time, and when it was over we were left glowing. We slow danced to amazing day and had a very deeply profound moment, especially considering everything we've been through in the last year, it was a very uplifting moment that we'll always remember. I think Coldplay accomplished exactly what they wanted with this album and I'm so thankful that they did. We can discuss production, chord progression or song structure till the cows come home, but I think the emotions Coldplay has provoked in many of us goes beyond any of that. Just my two cents [emoji111]

 

+10000000000 :smug: :wacko: :heart:

They are. :nod: But they're also producers who the band was willing to work with and everyone signed off on the album. :thinking: It's hard to blame the problems here like that I feel. They knew what they were getting. Stargate said they didn't feel comfortable producing an album for a band. Chris should't have pushed the issue, he should've respected everyone's boundaries.

 

1) None of that bothers me actually. But I do see what you're seeing.

 

2) This is the main problem- Up&Up. Other than that I don't notice anything too egregious.

 

My question is- why did they have to produce every song? HFTW, X Marks the Spot it makes sense on. Why not ease them into it? They said themselves they've never worked with a band before. Chris said Stargate, Guy and Will were all uncomfortable. They should've let them do 3 tracks and then meditated on it. I feel like things were rushed a little.

 

I think the point I'm trying to make is that, regardless of who's fault it was, we still ended up with a sub-par end product :P

 

As for the bolded part--I agree. I feel like the band should have gone with Stargate on the tracks they knew they wanted to have that pop sound and gone with someone who had some experience in producing with a band for the others. Pop-style production on tracks like Everglow and Up&Up just don't work that well, in my opinion.

 

Granted, I know very little about the process of producing albums, so maybe splitting the production tasks up like that would have just been too much work :shrug:

So i finally listened to the leaked album so i will review it (I may change some ratings after more listens)

 

1. A Head Full of Dreams (10/10) :

This record alone .... it gives me energy than most of the MX album :rolleyes: !!!!

The moment i heard the snippet i knew this will be great.

Everything is amazing about this record : the music, lyrics, guitar part, production, chorus ..... EVERY-DAMN-THING.

It becomes one of my fav songs but i wished if it was longer.

 

2. Adventure Of A Liftime (9/10) :

while i see alot of people dislike this song i find it beautifull dance and upbeat song with a great guitar riff .... just like AHFOD song it's full of life and one of the brilliant songs in the album.

i think i will never get bored from it .

 

3. Fun (feat. Tove Lo) (9/10) :

This track surprised me because i expected it to be bad ... well i was very wrong.

First you have that beautifull guitar riff at the start ..... and then the song start to build up and trasform to an upbeat song ..... also Tove Lo did great job with the vocals not to mention the great lyrics in this track.

 

4. Up&Up (8/10) :

What attract me here is the guitar solo and it was STUNNING :guitarist: + great chorus .... but i agree that production is poor here but anyway its still a great song and i can take it anytime.

 

5. Hymn For the Weekend (7/10) :

The moment i heard that this song will feature beyonce i though it will ends up like PoC ..... but i was happy to discover that she has a little part in this song.

Also The ending part of this song is what i love the most .... even tho i don't like this type of songs alot but it was really well made.

 

6. Everglow (7/10) :

Gorgeous song but very melodramatic .... some parts are good some parts are bad but again i love the guitar riffs here.

 

7. Amazing Day (6.5/10) :

Nice simple song .... a bit oldplay but for some part it gets boring.

 

8. Birds (6.5/10) :

I love the guiter part .... but the rest are nothing really special.

Still its a nice song to hear and its not bad at all.

 

9. Army of one (6/10) :

boring and those back vocals effects killed it for me ..... as a coldplay song this is less that normal ..... but i may change my mind on it.

 

10. X Marks the Spot (-99999999999999.99 / 10) :

This is my friends the worst peice of music coldplay every done.

How bad it is ??? bad enough to know that chris going semi hip-hop here ....... so yeah :facepalm:

I will try to forget that this track exists.

 

I won't rate Kaleidoscope and Colour Spectrum because they are just transition but i love them ^_^

 

 

Album rating (7.5/10) : I actually love this album alot and i think its alot better than GS and MX.

The transition between songs are not really good and there are some parts i hate like electronics drums on Up&Up ...... but still this album has alot of strong parts and its definitely a worthwhile Album :dazzled: .