LP7- "A Head Full Of Dreams"

[HowCouldIForget 246]

^ 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.

[getithom 423]

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

[ColdplayingfromKansas 773]

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:

[Jaytheblue 92]

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

[WeddingDom 117]

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:

[ColdplayingfromKansas 773]

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:

[Cold003 23]

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: .

[ColdplayingfromKansas 773]

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

 

You can do it! :D

 

I know /r/Coldplay is doing the 7 albums, 7 days thing. Maybe give that a shot to distract yourself?

[Jaytheblue 92]

You can do it! :D

 

I know /r/Coldplay is doing the 7 albums, 7 days thing. Maybe give that a shot to distract yourself?

 

I'm doing it! I've already listened to parachutes it's exciting!

[ColdplayingfromKansas 773]

 

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 find it really funny that almost every single person on this forum just instantly decided that X Marks the Spot is the worst song Coldplay has ever done :lol:

[Car Kids 153]

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.

 

Just didn't click with me. Coldplay has probably a hundred songs and one of them HAS to be my personal last you know? And for me it's that one. I think it disrupts the album in context and it's just droning and not enjoyable to listen to.

[getithom 423]

You can do it! :D

 

I know /r/Coldplay is doing the 7 albums, 7 days thing. Maybe give that a shot to distract yourself?

 

I'm in the middle of writing my review for X&Y so I have that going for me! :wiseguy:

[AMDB9 4693]

I'm trying so hard to resist listening to the album more than I already have for the next 5 days. It's hard because Fun has been stuck in my head all day

[EasySuperstition99 125]

Can someone tell me what the main show was for the Viva tour. I want to know the viva tour equivalent of Twisted Logic Tour live at Air Canada Center and Mylo Xyloto Tour live at Stade de France

[ColdplayingfromKansas 773]

^ Good question (I would like to know myself!)

 

It's kind of hard to pin down because the guys never did any recordings for a live DVD like they did with ARoBttH, X&Y, MX, GS. Maybe the show where they recorded the Lost! music video? Or Melbourne 2009?

 

EDIT: Poster below me says Tokyo. I think that's the one I was trying to think of :nod:

[AMDB9 4693]

Can someone tell me what the main show was for the Viva tour. I want to know the viva tour equivalent of Twisted Logic Tour live at Air Canada Center and Mylo Xyloto Tour live at Stade de France

 

Not 100% sure, but I believe it was in Tokyo

[cp3176 2252]

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.

 

major minus and 1.36 still worse

[Ghost0012 30]

imo GS felt too overly produced and I hate another's arms no song can get any worse than that

[getithom 423]

Not 100% sure, but I believe it was in Tokyo

 

Yeah, I'd go with Tokyo or Melbourne like Kansas said.

[Ghost0012 30]

GS is a night album which shows with the cover lol Parachutes is a day album Arobtth is for sleeping as it tends to make me sleepy sometimes,, X& y is he space futuristic album. Viva is the art album so artsy. MX is the electronic period so jumpy and fun . GS is the sad depressed night album. AHFOD??

[AMDB9 4693]

There was a documentary I started watching on Youtube and never finished, but the film crew was following the band around, and I think they mainly focused on the Tokyo show

[cp3176 2252]

You can do it! :D

 

I know /r/Coldplay is doing the 7 albums, 7 days thing. Maybe give that a shot to distract yourself?

 

I'm doing it! I've already listened to parachutes it's exciting!

 

*plays Parachutes* Works out well, since it's also the right time of day (night) to listen to it. :D

 

ALRIGHT, IM SO DOING THIS!!! I'VE STILL GOT TIME TO FIT IN PARACHUTES, ANYONE DOING THIS WITH ME????:D

[mikaeeljan 8]

everyone else is doing it so I'll give my two cents as well:

 

 

AHFOD: 8.5/10

Personally liked it a little more live, but it's still a solid album opener in the studio version.

 

Birds: 8/10

This one is really cool- at first when I heard the kaleidoscope clips I thought this was gonna be bad, but it really did surprise me. Guitar is beautiful and most of Chris' singing is nice too. Some of Chris' vocal melodies were a bit weird imo, and I really hope that they changed the ending because it's kinda weird and abrupt.

 

HFTW: 4.5/10

Meh *next song*

 

Everglow: 9/10

This one resonated with me for some reason, really enjoyed this. The piano melodies are absolutely BEAUTIFUL (Already learned em) and it's really the "feels" song of this album. Nicely done

AOAL: 7/10

Funky Monkeys

Fun: 8/10

First I didn't like it- but a couple listens and this is now one of my favorite songs. <3 tove's voice under Chris' sounds amazing. I like the cool riff in the beginning too (a lot of really nice riffs imo) good collab overall- Production kinda lowered my rating for this one, like a lot of the rest.

Kaleidoscope: 7/10

Wish there was more to this other than instrumentals and a poem (while it is a nice poem). "what could have been" is really what the title should be

Army of One: 7.5/10 or 8/10

A lot of you surprise me with this one- I enjoyed it! The organ was a nice touch, kind of reminiscent of Fix You but not entirely. Had a nice beat and I think it'll continue to grow on me.

 

X Marks the Spot: 3/10

 

Chris pls stop

Amazing Day: 6.5/10

I dunno- this is the song I'm sort of on the fence about whether to like or not. Has nice moments and there are others where I just can't feel it. Cool bass line in the beginning, perhaps another that will grow on me.

Colour Spectrum: 8/10

 

Interlude- Coldplay seems to be pretty good at these

Up&Up: 8.5/10

 

Production got me like :\ I really really REALLY (I can't emphasize) how much I enjoyed this (along with many of the rest of you) live and how much I was let down but the damn production on this one. Hopefully the leaked version ends up being a bit different than the final one we'll get in a week. Nonetheless, still an excellently done song. The guitar solo still gives me goosebumps and some of the lyrics have the same effect. Only reason this isn't 9/10 because of production effects.

OVERALL: 7.5/10 or 8/10

Enjoyed this album more on the second listen around and it's definitely a step over Ghost Stories. More high points than low points (XMTS and HFTW basically), along with the majority of this whole thing being nice and upbeat. :)

[mikaeeljan 8]

major minus and 1.36 still worse

 

I don't like Major Minus either yoooo finally someone else who shares. You also think MX is really good right? I think we're on the same page haha!

[AMDB9 4693]

*plays Parachutes* Works out well, since it's also the right time of day (night) to listen to it. :D

 

ALRIGHT, IM SO DOING THIS!!! I'VE STILL GOT TIME TO FIT IN PARACHUTES, ANYONE DOING THIS WITH ME????:D

 

I did it earlier....waiting for AROBTTH tomorrow!