Just listened the album 20 times now. A lot of tracks have growing on me. My album ranking:

 

1. EL

2. VLVODAAHF

3. AROBTTH

4. X&Y

5. GS

6. Parachutes

7. AHFOD

8. MX

Just listened the album 20 times now. A lot of tracks have growing on me. My album ranking:

 

1. EL

2. VLVODAAHF

3. AROBTTH

4. X&Y

5. GS

6. Parachutes

7. AHFOD

8. MX

You’re probably the first person who have ranked EL on top! Lol.

Wild thought: what if the acoustic guitar parts are mostly Jonny's doing (wishful thinking)? That would explain why we ''hear'' him so little on the electric guitar.

but we literally have no evidence that chris is the one playing the acoustics in the album, maybe what we hear is all Jonny, we need to see how they play the songs live on the 22nd

 

 

 

It's very possible Jonny does some of the acoustic work (and I'm guessing he will have no choice but to be doing a lot of acoustic live for this album?)

 

But I think it's pretty clear that Chris wrote the acoustic for WOTP/POTP, since it sounds like Chris felt a song "come through him" (as he would word it) and pulled out his cellphone to record a demo of it and that's what we hear on the album. Also pretty clear that Guns and Old Friends is just Chris on acoustic I would think...

 

Jonny definitely has quite a few good electric guitar bits on the album that are clearly him, like Church, Trouble in Town, Orphans, and Champion of the World.

 

Maybe that little acoustic riff in Eko was written by Jonny? And then Chris mirrors the riff on the piano? I'm not sure. But again, a song like Eko is so minimalist that it really seems it's mostly Chris, especially since he writes the melody and lyrics 95% of the time.

 

But if Jonny plays some of those songs live on acoustic, that doesn't necessarily mean he wrote it instead of Chris. I'm curious to know.. would be a good question for the band.

It's very possible Jonny does some of the acoustic work (and I'm guessing he will have no choice but to be doing a lot of acoustic live for this album?)

 

But I think it's pretty clear that Chris wrote the acoustic for WOTP/POTP, since it sounds like Chris felt a song "come through him" (as he would word it) and pulled out his cellphone to record a demo of it and that's what we hear on the album. Also pretty clear that Guns and Old Friends is just Chris on acoustic I would think...

 

Jonny definitely has quite a few good electric guitar bits on the album that are clearly him, like Church, Trouble in Town, Orphans, and Champion of the World.

 

Maybe that little acoustic riff in Eko was written by Jonny? And then Chris mirrors the riff on the piano? I'm not sure. But again, a song like Eko is so minimalist that it really seems it's mostly Chris, especially since he writes the melody and lyrics 95% of the time.

 

But if Jonny plays some of those songs live on acoustic, that doesn't necessarily mean he wrote it instead of Chris. I'm curious to know.. would be a good question for the band.

When is the Q&A happening?

It's very possible Jonny does some of the acoustic work (and I'm guessing he will have no choice but to be doing a lot of acoustic live for this album?)

 

But I think it's pretty clear that Chris wrote the acoustic for WOTP/POTP, since it sounds like Chris felt a song "come through him" (as he would word it) and pulled out his cellphone to record a demo of it and that's what we hear on the album. Also pretty clear that Guns and Old Friends is just Chris on acoustic I would think...

 

Jonny definitely has quite a few good electric guitar bits on the album that are clearly him, like Church, Trouble in Town, Orphans, and Champion of the World.

 

Maybe that little acoustic riff in Eko was written by Jonny? And then Chris mirrors the riff on the piano? I'm not sure. But again, a song like Eko is so minimalist that it really seems it's mostly Chris, especially since he writes the melody and lyrics 95% of the time.

 

But if Jonny plays some of those songs live on acoustic, that doesn't necessarily mean he wrote it instead of Chris. I'm curious to know.. would be a good question for the band.

I think it's hard to know who wrote what. Like we see Charlie Brown on piano in early versions, but ended up with Jonny on guitar. Seems it came from Chris.

 

I personally don't mind the band contributions, or lack there of for some of you, on this album. Coldplay has said that they serve the song primarily. Not who does what. To me, that comes out clearly. Like Chris said in an interview recently, a song is done after each member of the band contributes or decides not to. I love most of the songs in their composition on this album. Their song writing skills shine through a lot! And everyone has their moments, to varying degrees. But where they shine, it's glorious!

It's very possible Jonny does some of the acoustic work (and I'm guessing he will have no choice but to be doing a lot of acoustic live for this album?)

 

But I think it's pretty clear that Chris wrote the acoustic for WOTP/POTP, since it sounds like Chris felt a song "come through him" (as he would word it) and pulled out his cellphone to record a demo of it and that's what we hear on the album. Also pretty clear that Guns and Old Friends is just Chris on acoustic I would think...

 

Jonny definitely has quite a few good electric guitar bits on the album that are clearly him, like Church, Trouble in Town, Orphans, and Champion of the World.

 

Maybe that little acoustic riff in Eko was written by Jonny? And then Chris mirrors the riff on the piano? I'm not sure. But again, a song like Eko is so minimalist that it really seems it's mostly Chris, especially since he writes the melody and lyrics 95% of the time.

 

But if Jonny plays some of those songs live on acoustic, that doesn't necessarily mean he wrote it instead of Chris. I'm curious to know.. would be a good question for the band.

I'm positive everyone is there in Eko. There's that piano, I hear two acoustic guitars, and I can hear a bass guitar.

 

As for Old Friends? I know Chris can play acoustic guitar pretty well but then again it could be him or Jonny.

 

On a slightly different note, I wonder about When I Need A Friend. Could that just be Chris and Jacob Collier?

Coldplay apparently sampled the song Los Angeles, Be Kind by Owl John for Champion Of The World. It's an amazing song.

Coldplay apparently sampled the song Los Angeles, Be Kind by Owl John for Champion Of The World. It's an amazing song.

Yup they did. It was pointed out by someone a few pages back. :)

Coldplay apparently sampled the song Los Angeles, Be Kind by Owl John for Champion Of The World. It's an amazing song.

Ooooh! I had never heard that song before, and now that I have listened to it... I guess I need to listen to more Frightened Rabbit now! :D That song is amazing, indeed!

Ooooh! I had never heard that song before, and now that I have listened to it... I guess I need to listen to more Frightened Rabbit now! :D That song is amazing, indeed!

The Pedestrian Verse! One of their favorites of mine. :D

Unpopular opinions:

I think the reason why Coldplay chose to place BrokEn between 2 cohesive tracks is because it LITERALLY BREAKS THE FLOW and makes it BROKEN! Makes perfect sense to me

 

 

You make a good point, and after listening to the album a few times, it makes sense as a break between two very emotionally dark tracks. The only thing I would say is that after hearing the album in its entirety a few times, I'm hearing "BrokEn" as a really cool bonus track style song at the end of the album. It's pretty uplifting, and I think after the 'Hallelujah' of "Everyday Life" the track, it would be a really good track a la "Death Will Never Conquer" type track. In fact, Proskpekt's March plays out just like that with a track like "Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground", which is one of my favorites of theirs.

 

Now for my track rankings! The album took a few listens to really grow on my, and I'm not completely sold on the flow of the album either, or the fact that so many tracks are so short. I agree with people that Orphans just seems so out of place in this album and I feel like it could have waited for the next project or been released separately, because in the flow of the album, after Guns, it seems to change the tone completely.

 

Tracks:

SUNRISE

Sunrise 8/10 - A beautiful intro to the album, and as with the rest of the tracks, it gets better with each listen, and it flows into Church pretty seamlessly. I still don't believe it feels as cohesive with the rest of the album as the previous openers (AIMH, AHFOD, MX, LiT, Square One, Politik, Don't Panic).

 

Church 8/10 - There's a lot to like about this song, I think Chris's melody for the verse is interesting, and something that I haven't heard before in their music. The woman's voice is so great and I think if the lyrics were better I'd be playing this song more than I do right now.

 

Trouble in Town 9/10 - This track started out great and has gotten better with each listen. I love the way it builds and ends, and I love the snippets I don't know why they are so jarring for other people, it just adds so much gravity and realism to their music which I love (and is missing in most music they write).

 

BroKen 6.5/10 - Like I said before, I'm not sure about placement of this song in the album, considering how Trouble in Town ends and Daddy begins. I think it's better as a bonus track at the end of the album, but considering how different each song is I guess it's fine (with more listens it gets easier to listen to and makes sense as a break between two deeply emotional songs).

 

Daddy 8/10 - I always love hearing Chris's low voice and the Famous Old Painters style riff on the piano is just so chilling. It feels like I've heard this song before, it's that familiar. I think it's a highlight from the album for sure, but not a track I can listen to over and over like the others.

 

WOTW/POTP 8/10 - I actually love the voice memo aspect of this track, and I wish this track was a full track but I think it's a sweet little interlude (again) between two big tracks. It's good to see ideas like this coming to the forefront in the album, things they wanted to release but couldn't find a way to until this album. I think they are finding their groove again and finding that balance between Pre-Viva and Post-Viva sound that really works well.

 

When I Need A Friend 8.5/10 - A hauntingly beautiful chant. When I heard about Annie Mac's Jo Wiley's (thanks @dylanww73) thoughts on this track I had really high expectations, which this didn't fulfill, but after a few listens I started ignoring that assumption and listening purely to the track and I really love how unique it is as a part of their catalogue. It's a good closer to the first half and I love the snippet in Spanish at the end.

 

Interludes - weird that they are split up this way but I put them together and it sounds much better now. Works well to create a space and location and fits the album theme of using different voice memos and field recordings.

 

SUNSET

Guns 9/10 - wow just love how angsty and fast-paced and wow wow. The lyrics really stand out in this one and I do think if it was a full song it would ruin the way it's packaged so perfectly here. Love the "stop!" and the string bends at the end and the "fucking crazy". The chorus does seem like something Chris would make and the beginning melody feels like it breaks the gritty feel but when he comes back down with "maybe I'm crazy too" it saves the song.

 

Orphans 8/10 - I loved this song when I first heard it and I still love to listen to it to give me energy to take on the day. Such a poppy song and yet it's produced really well and sounds much better than some of the tracks on AHFOD. I still have gripes about lyrics when it comes to Chris's pop songs though. Surprisingly (or not surprisingly) the sound they create usually trumps any bad/cheesy lyrics (as with "Daddy" on this album). I loved the video and I think given a few years I won't really care about the lyrics as much as I did the first few listens.

 

Eko 8.5/10 - From first listen I fell in love with the guitar part and how it sounds uniquely Coldplay and somehow ethnic in nature. I have yet to see the lyrics but I think I'm going to love them. Love the "in Africa" part and how it feels so warm and inviting.

 

Cry Cry Cry 9/10 - Not sure why some people don't like this track, but it has really grown on me. I love jazz and with each listen I'm getting more into the jazz of this track. It sounds like this is one of the tracks Jacob Collier worked on (the "dum dum dum" vocal harmonies make it obvious). I love the weird childlike timbre of the second voice (sounds like Chris's voice altered in some way) and the jazzy piano and vintage nature of the track itself lends to this vibe.

 

Old Friends 9/10 - I didn't think we would get a track like this again, but wow I just love how much it fits in their Parachutes/AROBTTH era. I would like to read the lyrics but it seems like such a dark and emotional song and I love the harmonies in the guitar and the melody. Like the other tracks it took a few listens to grow because of how different it is to the other tracks.

 

Bani Adam 7.5/10 - It is kind of weird how the track splits in two with the second half fading in like that. I love the classical piano style and I love that it's something he's been playing on tour and finally put into an album track. Again, after a few listens I love the way it builds and lead to COTW.

 

Champion of the World 8/10 - There has been such rave on this forum about this song and I was simultaneously unsurprised and bewildered when I first listened. I do hear it as a track off of X&Y and their earlier stuff, so it makes sense that so many fans would love the return to form and the beautiful happy-sad element to it. I didn't really find anything special in the track until just now listening to it actually, and thinking more about the lyrics than the "catchiness" of the song. I love the guitars on this track, but parts do sound a bit compressed to me. Will's singing is always great to hear. I think what did it is just hearing the way it ends.

 

Everyday Life 9/10 - This track gave me chills when I first heard it (wasn't really in love with the live version) but I did agree with people that it ended way too soon. The strings are just so similar to Peter Gabriel's version of "Heroes" it gave me chills. The only part of the song that turns me off is the chorus of "Hold tight for everyday life", it just seems like too much. I do love how meditative it is and how it ends before seemingly returning to a climax (made me listen on repeat so many times).

 

The tracks that stand out right now in my ears - Sunrise/Church, Trouble in Town, Arabesque, Guns, Eko, Cry Cry Cry, Old Friends

Tracks that are sure to grow - Bani Adam/COTW, When I Need A Friend, WOTW/POTP, BrokEn, Daddy

 

Overall I think my album rankings would still go

 

1. Viva

2. Parachutes

3. AROBTTH

4. MX

5. Everyday Life

6. X&Y

7. Ghost Stories

8. AHFOD

I listened to Life Is Beautiful again for the first time in a while and just realized how much it fits in lyrically with Everyday Life. It would have been a good companion to the more uplifting songs like Champion of the World.

Haven't logged in a while, but just had to come back and say this album is simply grand. I already can't stop listening to this and I feel like it will also keep growing on me. Thanks coldplay.

 

btw, I'm really loving Champion of the World, Trouble in Town, When I need a friend, Church, Sunrise, and Guns. I also love that climax part from Arabesque, peak moment for sure in my opinion.

When I heard about Annie Mac's thoughts on this track I had really high expectations, which this didn't fulfill

 

Probably cos they were Jo Wiley's ;)

Cry Cry Cry has a jazzy feel to me, and it feels like something Norah Jones would be good on too

Finally listened to it! Here's my first impression of every song (with rankings). Sorry it's so out of order:

Everyday Life(6/10): Of course it's been out for a little while now, but I think it's growing on me. Not the best song I've ever heard and it doesn't really go anywhere, but a pretty song nonetheless.

Champion of the World: (9/10): Chris's voice sounds good here and I love Will's part. I swear I heard a Speed of Sound influence for a second. Seems to have a similar complexity that skirts the line between happy and sad that some Arcade Fire songs have (or even Bittersweet Symphony), which I really like. I don't remember most of the lyrics so forgive me if I'm not interpreting the song right and it's more one or the other. I'm excited about this one!

Bani Adam(5.5/10): I've always been a fan of Chris's piano playing, so I really like the first part. The second part isn't bad (it's an Arab poem?), but it seems a little random combined with the first part and I don't like how abruptly it ends lol. Not something I see myself listening to regularly, but a pretty good song overall.

Old Friends: (3/10): I could see how other people could like this song, but I've never been a big fan of their more minimalistic slow tracks (honestly I don't love See You Soon and it sounds like that to me, but I'm happy for all the people that wanted a song like that). It does redeem itself a little with the ending, but maybe I just have low expectations for endings after Bani Adam haha.

Cry Cry Cry(6/10): The beginning surprised me. Not quite the genre they usually go for somehow and I kind of expected to hear another Old Friends based on the title. It's a cool song but not amazing or anything. Slightly reminded me of a Steve Lacy song or something which I never expected from Coldplay in a million years.

Eko (2/10): I'm just not really a fan of this one. Doesn't go anywhere and I feel like it's very Chris-centric, which isn't always a bad thing but I feel like the rest of the band could have added a lot to this song (I think I hear a little bass but there could be way more, and I'm not sure if Will and Jonny play at all)

Orphans (7.5/10): I'm an Oldplayer but I actually like this song for the most part. I love the happy/sad thing, the guitar at the end, and don't get me started on the bass:heart: . AHFOD could have greatly benefited from this song, but I guess it is more political and dark in a way that wouldn't have worked as well on the album. I will say that I kind of cringe when Chris sings "I wanna know when I can go back and get drunk with my friends".

Guns (7.5/10): I love that they could finally make a song this political and angsty and Chris's low voice. Not something that's incredibly catchy to me, but the extra .5 is solely because A Thousand Splendid Suns is my favorite book:laughing:.

Sunset: I'll have to wait for the album because the leak I was listening to split it up into a million parts and it was hard to get a feel for it. From what I heard, seems to work in the context of the album though.

When I Need A Friend (6/10): Kind of hard to rank. It's beautiful and I could see how it'd be perfect for listening to in certain situations, but not all the time. I take Spanish and I always enjoy trying to understand it in music, so I liked the ending.

Arabesque (7/10): I like this song, but maybe not quite as much as everyone else. It's a really interesting song and the end is amazing and reminds me of Politik, my favorite song by them, but I still feel like a lot of the interesting things in the song aren't done by the four of them, which isn't a bad thing but long brass solos aren't why I listen to Coldplay. And there's something as a whole that's lacking, but it's hard to describe. I'd still say this is a good song.

WOTW/POTP (3.5/10): It's not bad but I don't really see why they put this on the album without adding to it a little more. I don't want to comment on this one too much, since I can be bad at appreciating demos and there is a certain beauty to them.

Daddy (4.5/10): Pretty but not my thing (like Old Friends). I did like it a little bit more than Old Friends since it's kind of touching, even for someone not into this type of song. Sounds like a lot of other songs they have, but did a good job with that concept.

BroKen (5/10): I don't know much about gospel music, so this one is hard to comment on. I like that they tried out so many different styles and genres on this album, even if they're not what I expected.

Trouble In Town (8/10): Mysterious song that kind of reminded me of Daylight which makes me excited just to be able to type:). I LOVE Jonny and Guy's part at the end-it's like Chris felt bad for taking over many of the songs and let them do their thing there:D. My only complaint is that I think the argument in the middle of the song could've gone at the beginning (before Chris starts singing).

Church (5.5/10): The beginning sounds kind of like a happier Everyday Life. I can't really tell with one listen if it sounds like another forgettable AHFOD track or of it's something I'll like. Good ending.

Sunrise (7.5/10): It's really pretty and makes me think of sunrise. I'll have to listen to it then!

Overall, it's a good and very interesting album, definitely better than AHFOD! It's not like anything they've done before, and I'm torn between thinking that's a good thing and a bad thing. I sort of just want another AROBTTH or X&Y but those albums are old now (in the context of their career) and it is interesting hearing them try out new things (with some influence from their older music). I think they executed this a lot better than some of the other "Newplay" albums since it's not just a bunch of cheesy pop songs. I'm not into it like their old music, but it's definitely not bad. As someone who thinks that the public perception of Coldplay can be WAY too Chris-centric, I didn't love that about this album. I think Will, Jonny and Guy all have so much talent to offer even if they don't show off (both through their musical parts and in person) and this album didn't utilize that for many of the songs. Hopefully it'll be different live. I can't wait to see the live performance and I'm impressed that they made a good album while being so low-key about it!

'Trouble in town' is another great song that should have been worked on a bit more. On a personal level there is a part there that is an instant turn off for me for some reason. When the second verse begins and Chris sings 'Trouble in town' someone (Will?) goes 'aah-aaah'. It's such a tiny insignificant thing but I hate it. :)

Interesting. Cause for me that part took the song to another level. It gave me goosebumps. It my favorite part of the song.

'WOTW/POTP': I like most Coldplay demos that are out there. Ironically, I did not care for the only one that was deemed worthy of an official release. I mean, it just sounds a bit lazy to me.

 

'Champion of the world' sounds very AROBTTH/X&Y. As a song it's ok, but it made me realize that I wouldn't mind if Coldplay went back to that mindset for an album or two.

 

'Guns': awesome. Once again, they just had to go ahead and include a poppy refrain, diluting the raw-ness a little bit, but I really like the song anyway.

I'm sorry you didn't like the album. Personally I love most of it but I agree with the passages I quoted enough.

About Trouble in Town, like @shred said, I actually love Will's "Aaaah"s :)

 

And btw I saw a lot of people here saying they don't like the voice sample in Trouble in Town...to me, it fits perfectly with the eerie atmosphere of the instrumental and i love it how Chris softly continues singing underneath it (I don't understand what he sings, something with "...sorry ?". I think the voice sample makes the song even more special.

I'm sorry you didn't like the album. Personally I love most of it but I agree with the passages I quoted enough.

About Trouble in Town, like @shred said, I actually love Will's "Aaaah"s :)

 

And btw I saw a lot of people here saying they don't like the voice sample in Trouble in Town...to me, it fits perfectly with the eerie atmosphere of the instrumental and i love it how Chris softly continues singing underneath it (I don't understand what he sings, something with "...sorry ?". I think the voice sample makes the song even more special.

Loved the voice sample in it and unlike the other songs, it actually fits in really well.

 

But it could do without the children singing at the end. Didn’t think it was necessary.

I downloaded the album the other day and I love it!! (Dont worry, I've already pre-ordered the album from Target, so I did buy it already)

 

Anyway this album is so different from the others, in a good way. I'd say it's my 2nd favorite album with Viva being the best album they have ever done in my opinion.

I just wish they didn't waste 6 damn tracks on interludes!!! Makes no sense. They could've filled those 6 tracks with actual songs, which I'm sure would've been awesome. I don't like Broken. Too gospel for me. I've listed my favorite tracks below:

1. Daddy

2.Champion Of The World

3.Church

4.Bani Adam (Incredible piano composition!)

5.Everyday Life

6.Arabesque

7.When I need a Friend

8.Trouble In Town

9.Old Friends

10.Cry Cry Cry

11.Orphans

 

The other tracks I don't really like. Anyway, I really hope their next album is better than them all!

So finally an album that made me wanna discuss stuff here again.. been a while. :)

https://media.community.com/v/335de05a-1044-4bcd-af41-ed3b34ac63cd/6474dc9e-458c-41b6-92c1-8c425e98829b.mp4

 

Coldplay rehearsal in London

 

(I got this from the Coldplay text messages, this is for people outside the US and Canada :))

https://media.community.com/v/335de05a-1044-4bcd-af41-ed3b34ac63cd/6474dc9e-458c-41b6-92c1-8c425e98829b.mp4

 

Coldplay rehearsal in London

 

(I got this from the Coldplay text messages, this is for people outside the US and Canada :))

Thank you very much for this!

 

 

 

I wonder how much money they have to pay for the monthly phone bill. (LOL)

 

 

https://media.community.com/v/335de05a-1044-4bcd-af41-ed3b34ac63cd/6474dc9e-458c-41b6-92c1-8c425e98829b.mp4

 

Coldplay rehearsal in London

 

(I got this from the Coldplay text messages, this is for people outside the US and Canada :))

Thanks for sharing!

Any ideas on who's filming?