The Race (unreleased song)

[I ran away]

23 hours ago, TheLostColdplayer said:

Hi guys, I've been listening to the leaked version of "The Race" and, to me, it doesn't sound like any other song from Ghost Stories. I mean:

1) the production is not that minimalist, with a lot of echoes and vocal treatments, as well as a beat that does not seem to match that of GS;

2) the lyrics are not sad and reflective and resemble more those from AHFoD as they seem to refer to falling in love rather than going through a breakup (particularly those from the chorus);

3) the bridge "My heart is beating, the beat won’t stop I started sinking, drinking every drop" reminds me of "X Marks the Spot", in the way Chris sings on it;

4) references to kaleidoscopes were common in the AHFoD songs but not in those from GS.

So I was thinking, are we sure that the leaked version is really the original song from GS and not an early reworked version for AHFoD? It's just an hypothesis...

Also I can't remember the film edit of the song, have you managed to find it somewhere? ?

I used to think it was from the GS sessions, but now i think it's very reasonable to assume it's from the AHFOD sessions.

[TheLostColdplayer]

1 hour ago, I ran away said:

I used to think it was from the GS sessions, but now i think it's very reasonable to assume it's from the AHFOD sessions.

Yes, it might be. I was also considering the fact that the production style is closer to that of Stargate rather than that of Paul Epworth and Coldplay. Moreover, Will and the rest of the band considered "A Sky Full of Stars" to be a bit too energetic for Ghost Stories, which was meant to be a very personal and intimate record with a stripped down sound (I'm almost citing the Beats interview). So it seems unlikely to me that at the beginning of the recordings they had considered this version of "The Race" as the album opener...

[BackupHero]

Is this old news? On Saturday someone on the Reddit posted a link to the AHFOD demo with Merry Clayton (minus any Whatever it takes lines) which is notably different than the GS one. Anyone else here listen to it? 

Edited September 20, 2021 by BackupHero

[ColdBry]

3 hours ago, BackupHero said:

¿Es esta vieja noticia? El sábado, alguien en Reddit publicó un enlace a la demostración de AHFOD con Merry Clayton (menos cualquier línea de lo que sea necesario) que es notablemente diferente a la de GS. ¿Alguien más aquí lo escucha? 

I heard it, similar to GS version but with some changes

 

[The Jordanator]

6 hours ago, BackupHero said:

Is this old news? On Saturday someone on the Reddit posted a link to the AHFOD demo with Merry Clayton (minus any Whatever it takes lines) which is notably different than the GS one. Anyone else here listen to it? 

Yes this is legit and it is an AHFOD. Actually all the leaked demos of The Race are from AHFOD era (I have my sources on this ?) Further to this, The Race was going to be called Kaleidoscope during AHFOD but the guesthouse poem is what made the final cut and The Race version that we’ve heard in full was scrapped. No idea about the ‘Whatever it takes’ version tho.

A fan also spoke to Phil Harvey today about any updates on The Race and he had nothing to share so I guess we’ll be waiting a little while yet for its release. 

 

 

[Doomotron]

On 9/21/2021 at 7:03 AM, The Jordanator said:

No idea about the ‘Whatever it takes’ version tho.

This was the version in the AHFOD documentary, and I believe it was the first one to be leaked. It's also my favourite.

[LelieJens]

9 hours ago, Doomotron said:

This was the version in the AHFOD documentary, and I believe it was the first one to be leaked. It's also my favourite.

I'm fairly sure the whatever it takes version hasn't been leaked?

Edited September 23, 2021 by LelieJens

[TheLostColdplayer]

On 9/21/2021 at 8:03 AM, The Jordanator said:

Yes this is legit and it is an AHFOD. Actually all the leaked demos of The Race are from AHFOD era.

Thank you so much for your details! My heart (and my ears!) kept telling me that those versions could not be from GS!

So the next step would be to ask ourselves: what did the original song sound like??

[ColdBry]

Also there´s a lost name of the final AHFOD The Race version

 

[alexix7]

Just heard that 2nd version of song on Youtube. What i dont like is that the part ,,my heart is beating..." was ommited, but on the other hand, last minute is better with great Jonnys guitar 

Edited October 18, 2021 by alexix7

[Doomotron]

19 hours ago, alexix7 said:

Just heard that 2nd version of song on Youtube. What i dont like is that the part ,,my heart is beating..." was ommited, but on the other hand, last minute is better with great Jonnys guitar 

Is this the AHFOD documentary version?

[The_Blue_Room]

3 hours ago, Doomotron said:

Is this the AHFOD documentary version?

As far as I can tell there are 3 versions:

1. AHFOD doc version. Includes the "whatever it takes" line, only a minute-long snippet from the doc itself is available.

2. First leaked version, with the "my heart is beating" bridge but no "whatever it takes", about 5:00 long

3. Second leaked version (the one Alexix is talking about), without "my heart is beating" or "whatever it takes", but with extra vocals and guitar, about 4:30 long

[GarbageOffice]

Oh wow I didn't even know there was a new version out there until now. The ending when Johnny's guitar joins is great, but frankly I would just drop the "kaleidoscope" repetition and change the verses entirely. The overall production feels empty and I hope that's just because of the demo version. I still prefer the AHFOD documentary version - the instruments are so vibrant and the "whatever takes" part is awesome. The song has so much potential. Hopefully we get to hear the final version in MOTS vol. 2.

[Doomotron]

1 hour ago, The_Blue_Room said:

As far as I can tell there are 3 versions:

1. AHFOD doc version. Includes the "whatever it takes" line, only a minute-long snippet from the doc itself is available.

2. First leaked version, with the "my heart is beating" bridge but no "whatever it takes", about 5:00 long

3. Second leaked version (the one Alexix is talking about), without "my heart is beating" or "whatever it takes", but with extra vocals and guitar, about 4:30 long

That's annoying, I only have two of them. Do both the second and third versions have the Kaleidoscope lyrics?

[GarbageOffice]

Phil just confirmed that "The Race is coming very soon" during the stationhead broadcast. He also mentioned that "Aurora is currently having some problems joining the spheres" - could it be?!

[only.your.imagination]

18 minutes ago, GarbageOffice said:

Phil just confirmed that "The Race is coming very soon" during the stationhead broadcast. He also mentioned that "Aurora is currently having some problems joining the spheres" - could it be?!

Good to know! Thank you for the info

But were the two things related when he said that? I mean, were the fact that The Race is coming very soon and problems with Aurora tied in his sentence? Or were these two separate things?

[marcofratini]

Guys, please someone can explain me the whole story about the race? I know I’m very very late? from what I’ve understood, it’s an unreleased song from GS story, but I don’t know more. When did it came out first? Thanks

Edited November 4, 2021 by marcofratini

[Doomotron]

3 hours ago, marcofratini said:

Guys, please someone can explain me the whole story about the race? I know I’m very very late? from what I’ve understood, it’s an unreleased song from GS story, but I don’t know more. When did it came out first? Thanks

Someone else will probably answer this better but from what I've seen, the song was first known about on Ghost Stories, where its lyrics feature in the artwork, but was first heard in the A Head Full Of Dreams documentary, and had a copyright date of 2018. This is likely the latest version of the song. Two leaks of it were released which have little in common with the AHFOD version, and may well be an entirely different song. We're not allowed to send links to them, but all three versions occasionally appear on YouTube. They're often taken down quickly though, which could suggest Coldplay still have an interest in releasing it.

[The Jordanator]

11 hours ago, marcofratini said:

Guys, please someone can explain me the whole story about the race? I know I’m very very late? from what I’ve understood, it’s an unreleased song from GS story, but I don’t know more. When did it came out first? Thanks

I tried to post some information about it here which explains its background and evolution in the AHFOD recording sessions, but it seems like the moderators haven’t approved this since it’s based off leaked material ?

[marcofratini]

Cool. Thanks guys! 

[Doomotron]

Good (?) news - videos of The Race on YouTube have been taken down. This applies to the two 'full' versions of the song, and not the AHFOD documentary version (yet). It's bad if you wanted to listen to the song, but it's great for those who want it released, because it shows Coldplay/the record labels still have interest in it. Other unreleased songs, like A Ghost, Life Is Beautiful and many more haven't been touched in comparison.

[marcofratini]

Sorry for this question. If anyone have the full leaked version of the race, could you send me in pm? I don’t know if this is allowed, so I’m sorry if it’s not.

[Saaapho]

The Race has 6 (maybe 7?) versions that we have heard.

GS DEMO: Appears in 2018 Doc "Whatever it Takes" feat. Merry Clayton

Magic Official Release (Just a theory but it checks out so far)- Similar guitar, drums to GS DEMO version

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 1- Rough recording of first verse with only a beat and some piano

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 2- Instrumental, more developed with piano, synth, strings

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 3- Leaked July 2020, Chris singing on rough instrumental, 5:00

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 4- Identical to D3 but with an extra 20 seconds of guitar at the end

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 5- Leaked Q2 2021, more developed song, similar to D2's instrumental. Feat. Merry Clayton, was set to be lead single on A Head Full of Dreams before it was scrapped from the tracklist

 

This is all we have so far. I think the Whatever It Takes version (GS demo) is too similar to Magic's official release, and THAT is why they won't release it. It would be very obviously a Magic demo. I think the version we do get will be barely even close to the original.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Saaapho
Messed up year for D5 desc

[Doomotron]

3 hours ago, marcofratini said:

Sorry for this question. If anyone have the full leaked version of the race, could you send me in pm? I don’t know if this is allowed, so I’m sorry if it’s not.

I don't think it is allowed, sorry. That said, all three versions occasionally appear on YouTube, but you need to download them pretty quickly as they get taken down within a few weeks.

Oh, and even if it was allowed, my hard drive has failed so I currently cannot access the files.

[Doomotron]

On 11/9/2021 at 3:23 PM, Saaapho said:

The Race has 6 (maybe 7?) versions that we have heard.

GS DEMO: Appears in 2018 Doc "Whatever it Takes" feat. Merry Clayton

Magic Official Release (Just a theory but it checks out so far)- Similar guitar, drums to GS DEMO version

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 1- Rough recording of first verse with only a beat and some piano

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 2- Instrumental, more developed with piano, synth, strings

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 3- Leaked July 2020, Chris singing on rough instrumental, 5:00

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 4- Identical to D3 but with an extra 20 seconds of guitar at the end

AHFOD Kaleidoscope Demo 5- Leaked Q2 2021, more developed song, similar to D2's instrumental. Feat. Merry Clayton, was set to be lead single on A Head Full of Dreams before it was scrapped from the tracklist

 

This is all we have so far. I think the Whatever It Takes version (GS demo) is too similar to Magic's official release, and THAT is why they won't release it. It would be very obviously a Magic demo. I think the version we do get will be barely even close to the original.

When you say 'Magic official release' do you literally mean the song Magic? If so, they sound nothing alike, and even if they did, this is the same band that released Proof and Gravity, which are almost identical, and Speed Of Sound which was just Clocks 2...