For a band trading in supposedly inoffensive rock music, Coldplay have an extraordinary capacity to offend. There's the malarkey that goes with Chris Martin, the lively, idiosyncratic, tabloid-magnet frontman who is married to Gwyneth Paltrow. Then there's Coldplay's music. In a genre demanding risk and ingenuity, Coldplay have frequently been laden by rock critics and fans alike with the dreaded "safe" tag.
The band's biggest crime, according to naysayers, is they sell records. Tens of millions of them. If they are embraced by the masses who swallow Nickelback and Lady GaGa, they can't be any good then, can they?
Last year, that perception began to change slightly. By employing veteran musician and producer Brian Eno for their fourth album, Viva La Vida, Coldplay shifted their sound and delivered one of their best records, one that at least compensated for their bloated third album, X&Y.
Read the full preview article in the first of the Australian live threads (Burswood Dome, Perth) at the Coldplay Live forum here
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