Kaleidoscope EP

[frostbitepanda]

I also keep a little mental tally of "favorite moments" like short little guitar licks or the way a singer vocalizes a particular line. There were a couple of those moments on this EP--something which, again, hasn't happened for several albums now. For A L I E N S it was when Chris sings the second "Fly if you / Want to / That's alllll-riiiiight" and "All the E.T.s / Are phoning home." Chris seemed sort of stuck in a rut singing-wise for AHFOD, but he's back in fine form for KEP.

 

I also do this, and I think you hit the nail on the head as to why I like this song so much. Chris' vocal performance really stands out. One of the biggest reasons I have not been as big of a fan of theirs in recent times is because I've felt that something in their production style is stifling Chris' voice. And, say what you will about Jonny's (brilliant) guitar work and Will's (fantastic) drumming and backing vocals, and Guy's (groovy) bass work, but we're all fucking here because of Chris' unusual voice. Coldplay songs carry so much weight because of the rawness of his voice. Sometimes it's gets a bit... creaky, for lack of a better term-- like it almost hurts for him to be singing. That is a big, big element that has been missing from a lot of the songs they've been releasing lately (and honestly, a huge reason why I dislike X&Y so much). The vocal performances are flat, and sometimes his voice is even mixed much too softly into the production! It's maddening!

 

The production for AICTAIY I think is also excellent. I'm not really sure where some people are coming up with their criticisms for it, but I think it's brilliant. And, once again, we have a vocal performance that is much more like the Chris Martin of old. But the really, really awesome thing about this song that just gets me so excited is that it's such a perfect nod to their older sound, while also sounding very new. When I listened to it for the first time I thought to myself "Oh my god! listen to that classic Buckland guitar!" "Holy shit, Guy, get it!!" "Fuck! there's the piano!!" and then there this huge Coldplay crash, but it all sounds very new and fresh all the same. Uhg, I just love these two songs so much.

 

Hypnotised really grew on me. I like it a lot, although it suffers from some shoddy mixing at the end there. They other two-- Miracles is such a huge disappointment. I like the beginning-- the guitar work is fabulous, but then they had to ruin it. Like, why? And SJLT is not only a terrible embarrassment of a song anyway, but it's a waste of space on what would otherwise be an amazing EP. It's just a live version that was not recorded well and is only slightly more palatable than the original. :/

[coldplayisawesome]

in the past ten hours (with about six of those spent sleeping) i've listened to the whole thing like six or seven times :no_mouth:

i'm just digging this whole thing, maybe i'll jump on the review train later :P

[ColdplayingfromKansas]

I also do this, and I think you hit the nail on the head as to why I like this song so much. Chris' vocal performance really stands out. One of the biggest reasons I have not been as big of a fan of theirs in recent times is because I've felt that something in their production style is stifling Chris' voice. And, say what you will about Jonny's (brilliant) guitar work and Will's (fantastic) drumming and backing vocals, and Guy's (groovy) bass work, but we're all fucking here because of Chris' unusual voice. Coldplay songs carry so much weight because of the rawness of his voice. Sometimes it's gets a bit... creaky, for lack of a better term-- like it almost hurts for him to be singing. That is a big, big element that has been missing from a lot of the songs they've been releasing lately (and honestly, a huge reason why I dislike X&Y so much). The vocal performances are flat, and sometimes his voice is even mixed much too softly into the production! It's maddening!

 

Exactly! I don't know how to explain this well, but for me listening to Chris sing is just a different experience from listening to any other singer. I love Florence Welch, Bono, Matt Bellamy, Brandon Flowers, etc. etc. but I can only listen to them for so long before I just get fatigued of their voice and I have to turn it off. That has . . . never happened listening to Chris sing, and I don't know why. When Chris's voice is at its best I can listen to it happily for hours and hours.

 

Really, that's probably one of the biggest reasons Coldplay has remained my favorite band for all these years. When Guy, Jonny, and Will are firing on all cylinders and Chris nails the vocal part--there's nothing like it.

[frostbitepanda]

Really, that's probably one of the biggest reasons Coldplay has remained my favorite band for all these years. When Guy, Jonny, and Will are firing on all cylinders and Chris nails the vocal part--there's nothing like it.

 

I agree so much. There is really nothing like it. :)

[I ran away]

Completely agree about the importancd of Chris's vocals and singing style. His voice is second to none especially when he croons and draws out the words, with a bit of falsetto in it somewhere (recent example: ALIENS). That's why I always think his great voice is wasted when he sings in style

[Major Cooper]

IAnd, say what you will about Jonny's (brilliant) guitar work and Will's (fantastic) drumming and backing vocals, and Guy's (groovy) bass work, but we're all fucking here because of Chris' unusual voice.

 

Every single opinion is to be respected. And I totally respect as quoted.

My opinion... Coldplay will never be the same without all four of them. Yes, Chris always has the option to go solo, and it will for sure be a majestic journey on its own. But that will be a totally different era on its own. We will always look back to when they were Four. Even a movie with the biggest star won't be as much of a great production without the vital roles of the most significant supporting casts.

I am here because of the contribution of all four of them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[frostbitepanda]

Every single opinion is to be respected. And I totally respect as quoted.

My opinion... Coldplay will never be the same without all four of them. Yes, Chris always has the option to go solo, and it will for sure be a majestic journey on its own. But that will be a totally different era on its own. We will always look back to when they were Four. Even a movie with the biggest star won't be as much of a great production without the vital roles of the most significant supporting casts.

I am here because of the contribution of all four of them.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I did not mean to imply that the other three don't contribute to my love for them. The band would not be Coldplay if even one were to disappear. But, Coldplay would be nothing without Chris' voice. On the other hand, Coldplay would also be nothing without Jonny's guitar, Will's drumming/arrangements, and Guy's bass work. You can't really parse them out, but, when I first heard Coldplay, what first dragged me into my love for them, was Chris' voice. I think that's what I was really trying to say.

 

Their best songs are definitely when all four of them are firing in sync with one another and all their contributions are allowed to really shine through (see: my comments about AICTAIY).

[RealRece]

I listened to this EP the instant it came out yesterday. I love all of the tracks! I don't think that they smoothly connect with each other/transition well together, but I love them anyway. The only part that really annoys me about all of them is the fact that SJLT is so low quality still...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Major Cooper]

I did not mean to imply that the other three don't contribute to my love for them. The band would not be Coldplay if even one were to disappear. But, Coldplay would be nothing without Chris' voice. On the other hand, Coldplay would also be nothing without Jonny's guitar, Will's drumming/arrangements, and Guy's bass work. You can't really parse them out, but, when I first heard Coldplay, what first dragged me into my love for them, was Chris' voice. I think that's what I was really trying to say.

 

Their best songs are definitely when all four of them are firing in sync with one another and all their contributions are allowed to really shine through (see: my comments about AICTAIY).

 

I totally get it, of course... :) It's like the first time you saw a certain quality of the person that you end up being with. There's always that initial something that sparks your interest. In an ideal circumstance (If things are meant to be), as you begin to know the person better, you realize that the one specific feature is actually only the tip of the iceberg. You see more vital factors that just draws you in deeper to say, this is the complete package. :)

No worries, you were not wrongfully interpreted. Without opinions/ideas, there wouldn't be challenged minds which leads to greatness.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[coldplayisawesome]

I did not mean to imply that the other three don't contribute to my love for them. The band would not be Coldplay if even one were to disappear. But, Coldplay would be nothing without Chris' voice. On the other hand, Coldplay would also be nothing without Jonny's guitar, Will's drumming/arrangements, and Guy's bass work. You can't really parse them out, but, when I first heard Coldplay, what first dragged me into my love for them, was Chris' voice. I think that's what I was really trying to say.

 

Their best songs are definitely when all four of them are firing in sync with one another and all their contributions are allowed to really shine through (see: my comments about AICTAIY).

 

we get dragged in because of Chris but stay for all four of them :D

[AMDB9]

Yes, Chris always has the option to go solo, and it will for sure be a majestic journey on its own.

 

"If all I'm on Earth to do is solo, then what a lone, poor shoe"

[WeddingDom]

Has anyone noticed there are a few differences between both A L I E N S (lyric video) and A L I E N S (EP)???? In the video, there's a little pause between the lyrics "all the E.T.'s are phoning home" and "watching my life...". Also, during "a patch, a corner", in the EP you can hear Chris singing "oh we just wanna get home...".:p

[zzz]

ALIENS: The best song of the AHFOD era, clearly was recorded and produced in another one. How do we know? Because its perfect. Unlike the above songs, it has no production faults. Every element of the song: the twangy, otherworldly guitar, the plucked acoustics, the shrieking strings, crunchy 5/4 drums--its all perfectly mixed. The lyrics are a bit too odd at times, but they are easy to forgive. The story the song is telling is not only important and emotional in the real world, but fun and fantastical in galaxy far away. Chris' voice is great, and the outro with the strings might be the prettiest thing Coldplay's ever put on record. I can't talk this song up enough. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll get something like it again, but at least we can savor this one.

5/5

 

Yes, very much!. My biggest problem with their songs released after the Viva era is Chris' voice mixing. I often have huge trouble understanding what he's actually singing. I know he can mumble a bit sometimes but that's not it. His voice is so crisp and clear in ALIENS it makes my head spin. Which makes it my absolute fav of this EP

[lennyrott1]

I didn't notice that! But I do prefer the ambient intro on the music video, so I'm going to rip that from Youtube to replace it on my EP. It's a much smoother transition from MSS.

[I ran away]

Has anyone noticed there are a few differences between both A L I E N S (lyric video) and A L I E N S (EP)???? In the video, there's a little pause between the lyrics "all the E.T.'s are phoning home" and "watching my life...". Also, during "a patch, a corner", in the EP you can hear Chris singing "oh we just wanna get home...".:p

Yes, noticed that ! There are a few small differences. I'll stay with my Youtube rip of the video, it's perfect :)

[ARushOfDreamsToMyHead]

For some reason I think of how ALIENS came to be. Was probably an extra song in the VLV era, could've been meant to have been on Prospekt's March with piano and typical Viva flair. Then it got shifted into the MX Era, got revamped to the more electronic sound, but got lost in the shuffle of the GS Era. Re-emerged in the HFOD era and now we're here.

[buckinglory]

When I'm listening to Hypnotised and All I Can Think About Is You I really can feel old Coldplay and I'm so happy and glad that they did not completely abandon this old sound. I need to listen to ALIENS and Miracle about 100 more times to start really liking the songs, but I'm on my way :). Something Just Like This is already one of my favourites in recent days. It really grew on me during the concert :). It's really awesome to be excited about new Coldplay release again :)

[LeftrightleftArchi]

For some reason I think of how ALIENS came to be. Was probably an extra song in the VLV era, could've been meant to have been on Prospekt's March with piano and typical Viva flair. Then it got shifted into the MX Era, got revamped to the more electronic sound, but got lost in the shuffle of the GS Era. Re-emerged in the HFOD era and now we're here.

 

It was actually after viva I think. During the first Mylo sessions before they Eno left and the band went electronic.

 

Brian had a sound going for the band. It wouldn't have been too different from Viva, but it could have made a smooth transition. Tracks like A L I E N S, Moving To Mars, and Major Minus all have the same type of sound that I think Eno was trying to get the band into. Its kind of sad we will never see that version of Mylo Xyloto.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[wilkesy]

Such a pointless idea to put the version of SJLT on. It sounds like a youtube rip.

At least tone the crowd down a bit. Spoils the flow of the E.P.

[A Spell a Rebel Yell]

Such a pointless idea to put the version of SJLT on. It sounds like a youtube rip.

At least tone the crowd down a bit. Spoils the flow of the E.P.

 

Not a fan of them putting that song on the EP, but it makes sense on a business point of view as it is obviously a song many people seem to like. So all in all, at least we can just skip it if we don't wanna listen it lol. Overall I am really pleased with this EP as it's a bonus they didn't really had to make and some tracks are simply great. Come to think of it, they have already made so many classic songs; and as someone who truly appreciates they're older songs, I'm just glad they seem to still have the motivation to take their talents to new heights. Who knows what they'll be producing some years from now. As a fan though, I do wish they would make a purely acoustic album of all their classics (and some forgotten ones like.. I ran away :P), I'm sure many would appreciate that.

[wilkesy]

They should have either stuck a toned down crowd on, or just done a Coldplay cover in the studio. Hell, they must have the individual tracks from the original recording, so even if they softened the synths down a bit.

I don't know many people who like odd live tracks scattered into a shuffle playlist. Always scares the c*** out of me when the crowd kick in.

[coldplaykb]

I was hoping cause its called Tokyo Remix that they would have recorded the direct line in from the instruments. Would have sounded better imo. I know they have Wills drums recorded because of that gig Chris and Jonny did alone. They played SJLT and had Will's drums as a backtrack. I was really hoping for a "live" studio version. Crowd is a bit loud, but I'm happy that I can actually hear Jonny's solo!

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Coldplaying mobile app

[MC01Coldplay]

I was hoping cause its called Tokyo Remix that they would have recorded the direct line in from the instruments. Would have sounded better imo. I know they have Wills drums recorded because of that gig Chris and Jonny did alone. They played SJLT and had Will's drums as a backtrack. I was really hoping for a "live" studio version. Crowd is a bit loud, but I'm happy that I can actually hear Jonny's solo!

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Coldplaying mobile app

 

The drums in the Tokyo Remix really bother me though. The snare sounds so thin and high pitched he might as well have just kept the clap. And I wouldn't really have minded the live version if it was at least varied instrumentally. (also the crowd is loud as fuck too)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jc90]

yeah, i replaced the album version with the live version.

[WeddingDom]

I'll do the same. The live version is not so bad but it's just not my thing right now.