jc90

Yes, the live lounge http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/index.php?threads/2015-12-03-coldplay-live-lounge.105338/

nope, its the right place :) I believe its a radio audio stream, so should be the same links as the earlier Live Lounge show here: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/index.php?threads/2015-12-03-coldplay-live-lounge.105338/

Only Coldplay could get Blue Ivy and Brian Eno as guest vocalists. Their seventh album may be their boldest - working with Rihanna's producers Stargate. That's why the joyous title track sounds like 1985 U2 meets 2015 Max Martin. After the gloomy Ghost Stories, this is Coldplay's poppiest album yet, without becoming Maroon 5. That's Blue Ivy's mum Beyonce on Hymn For the Weekend(with added Avicii) as Chris Martin sings "I'm feeling drunk and high, so high" on a radio-ready hit. Gwyneth Paltrow sings on ballad Everglow, because it's about how she and Chris Martin remain close while Tove-Lo elevates Fun. And the stoner R&B vibes of hidden track X Marks the Spot could actually be a Rihanna song. 3.5/4 Source

COLDPLAY’S LATEST LP FALLS SHORT OF ITS GRAND ASPIRATIONS Coldplay’s biggest hits have tended to fall into the categories of surging rock tunes or earnest piano ballads, and the band’s seventh studio album has no shortage of either. “Everglow” finds frontman Chris Martin showing off a deeper and more nuanced vocal range, as he seemingly comes to terms with his divorce, while the title track highlights Edge-like, reverb-coated guitar jangle. But the U.K. quartet’s most interesting moments, historically, have explored the intersection of modern pop sounds and cerebral electronic music. That’s also the case on A Head Full of Dreams, which retains the adventurous spirit of 2011’s Mylo Xyloto while possessing a contemporary production sheen, thanks to co-producer Stargate (Rihanna, Katy Perry). The somber piano instrumental “Kaleidoscope” andViva La Vida-esque “Colour Spectrum” sample Barack Obama singing “Amazing Grace;” “Army of One” features some slick retro electro-pop production before seguing to the grooving hip-hop jam “X Marks the Spot;” and the measured “Fun” is an ’80s Euro-pop throwback featuring wistful vocal harmonies from Tove Lo. Highlight “Up & Up” has equally huge guest stars—vocals from Merry Clayton and guitars from Noel Gallagher—though their contributions are barely discernible between the mincing orchestral samples, clattering ice-drop rhythms and burbling electronic touches. Even more disappointing is “Hymn for the Weekend”: Not only are Beyoncé’s vocals buried and thin-sounding, but the song’s analogies between love and debauchery are cringeworthy. It highlights the album’s main downfall: Coldplay’s new music doesn’t measure up to its sonic ambitions and marquee collaborations. A Head Full of Dreams overflows with good intentions and intriguing ideas, but lacks focus and cohesion. 3/5 Source

Oh sam the record man. I'm a bit far from DT for that

damn that is old school. I don't even think there is an HMV near me. Iunno where to get my copy this Fri...think just a Walmart will do?

Listening Links: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1 http://www.yourmuze.fm/webplayer/bbc-r1 http://tunein.com/radio/BBC-Radio-1-988-s24939/

Here's a countdown: http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20151203T20&p0=250&msg=iHeartRadio+Album+Release+Show&font=slab&csz=1

Countdown for this event: http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20151203T1945&p0=136&font=cursive&csz=1

I believe this is the first show in the 3 straight days of shows. And it begins at 10 local time Here's a countdown http://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/generic?iso=20151203T10&p0=136&msg=Coldplay+Live+Lounge&font=serif&csz=1

Dont forget to post here when you get your copy! http://coldplaying.com/forum/index.php?threads/a-head-full-of-dreams-unboxing-myheadfullofdreams.105346/

We're trying to get them back. We've just got this new forum so things aren't all back yet.

Ahaa, thanks!

old forum and crashes or new forum and stability?

There's no shortage of shine on Coldplay's seventh studio effort. In case you couldn't tell from the kaleidoscopic, technicolour album cover, it's heavy on happiness. It's consistently uplifting and bright, and its best moments feature powerful orchestral sweeps, a surprisingly adept disco hook and even some gospel. But the lyrics are often so cringe-worthy that A Head Full Of Dreams comes off like that one friend of yours who's so positive you want to punch him. For example, the line "Oh, angel sent from up above / You know you make my world light up" opens Hymn For The Weekend, primed with a Beyoncé guest vocal and head-nodding piano line. While Army Of One harkens back to the streamlined Britpop that made Coldplay huge, with soaring, organ-fuelled pop that ends too soon, after a short silence it becomes "hidden" track X Marks The Spot, all ill-advised hip-hop/R&B hybrid. Noel Gallagher's phoned-in guitar solo on closer Up & Up only contributes to the album's bloated-ness, but the song also sounds grand and beautiful. Everyone loves a great smile, but A Head Full Of Dreams doesn't have any teeth. 3/5 Source

Is Coldplay’s seventh album their last and best? A Head Full Of Dreams is our seventh thing and the way we look at it is like the last Harry Potter book or something. Not to say there might not be another thing one day but this is the completion of something.” These are the words with which Chris Martin, the face of the still incredibly popular band Coldplay, announced the release of their new album. Not surprisingly, immediately after the interview the rumors about the end of the band started. Whether it is their last album (for a while) or not, is it their best so far? Coldplay is without a doubt one of the most iconic acts in the world of popular music over the last ten years. Their albums always sell millions and tracks like ‘Yellow’, ‘Fix You’, ‘Clocks’, ‘Viva La Vida’ and ‘Paradise’ have definitely become modern day classics. Of course it is a hard task to top their previous work again and again and this showed when the subdued album Ghost Storieswas met by a lukewarm reception. The good news is that A Head Full of Dreams is a lot livelier and instantly catchy, but at the same time it seems unlikely that any of the brand new songs will become as universally praised as the above mentioned. Coldplay kicked of the promotion for this era with the single ‘Adventure of a Lifetime’, one of their lightest, most poppy and catchy efforts to date. Nothing wrong with that of course, but not very memorable at the same time. The album is opened by the title track which sees Coldplay return to what they do best: the big pop band sound that will fill arenas and will be played on radio over and over again. Chris Martin and his men have a real chance at a big hit with the tune ‘Hymn For the Weekend’ though. They described it as their take on Flo-Rida like party tracks and they asked Beyoncé to sing with them. The result is a hypnotic and irrestibly catchy song with an ‘oh-ah’ chorus. Beyoncé sounds heavenly and the result is way more interesting than anything Flo-Rida ever released. Coldplay goes back to their roots on the gorgeous ballad ‘Everglow’ which is performed from the heart like only Chris Martin can. Definitely one to please the fans who have been following the band for years. The Tove Lo duet ‘Fun’ is a strong pop tune with a relatable story about the end of a relationship, but they could have definitely done more with the Swedish pop star’s raw vocals than just use her as a background. Overall the second part of the record is weaker with some interludes and hidden tracks (‘Kaleidoscope’, ‘X Marks The Spot’ and ‘Colour Spectrum’) that seem a bit out of place as they do not really add something to the whole bunch. Luckily the album (and therefore maybe their career as a band, at least for now) ends on a high with the epic and anthemic closer ‘Up&Up’ where Noel Gallagher comes in for a guitar solo as well. It shows they still have it in them to create a unique sound with potential classics. A Head Full of Dreams is a solid effort and probably their most poppy to date, but it lacks the uniqueness and anthems that made them one of the biggest bands in the world. Source

Review: Coldplay - A Head Full of Dreams *** Obama, Beyoncé and daughter, Gwyneth Paltrow and Noel Gallagher join Coldplay for their “farewell” album. It’s star-studded for sure but it's also pop painting by numbers with all the hallmarks of typical - if not classic - Coldplay With uncommon haste for a massive rock/pop act, Coldplay follow up last year’s crestfallen Ghost Stories with an album fit to burst with happiness, vitality and joie de vivre. Rock’s new man Chris Martin has emerged from the wreckage of his break-up with Gwyneth Paltrow as an even newer man - reborn in the light of self-determination and moving ever forward, a bit like a sensitive pop shark. What this means lyrically - and lyrics were never Martin’s strong point - is that A Head Full of Dreams is all about “miracles at work”; there are imprecations to “c’mon! Start over”; and there are joyful exclamations that “life is a dream and love is a drug.” In fact, just in case you were in any doubt about just how damn happy Chris baby really is these days, there is a song called Fun and another song called Up & Up, which features Noel Gallagher, a man who once might have excoriated Coldplay as posh boy rockers, dusting off the old riff from Champagne Supernova. So Martin still sounds like a trendy Vicar in a Tory stronghold or an over-excited leader in a zany jumper at an eighties youth club. Musically, Coldplay take no real leaps of imagination either: the production, from Norwegian duo Stargate and regular collaborator Rik Simpson, is bejewelled and glittering. The default setting of widescreen exotic shimmers and waves of mass euphoria are all here. As are Jonny Buckland’s Edge on Benylin guitar chimes and chirps. The jump out songs are Hymn for the Weekend, featuring Beyoncé’s honeyed vocals, and the propulsive new single Adventure of a Lifetime, which pulses with a real dance floor rush and includes one of Buckland's finest guitar figures in an album full of spiralling riffs and short solo bursts. This being Coldplay, there is also bit of silly affectation on the otherwise perfectly serviceable Birds and Chris still uses his elongated falsetto “ooohhh-ooohhhs” and “ahhh-ahhhhs” a lot and, yes, he also still sounds like he has a head cold. Martin is at his best on the album’s most tender moment, Army of One, a lovely electro dream of a song echoing with hand claps and subtle drumming. We are, however, brought straight back down to earth with the dreary piano plod of Afterglow, which features lyrics from Gwyneth Paltrow and sounds like a leftover from Ghost Stories.Kaleidoscope is a real curio - essentially a two-minute sound collage featuring a line from Afghani poet Mewlana Jalaluddin Rumi and a snippet of President Obama singingAmazing Grace at the funeral of a Charleston shooting victim, Clementa Pinckney. Kaleidoscope is a thought-provoking and moving moment on an album of platitudes and half-formed aspirations. Along with Obama, and Gwyneth’s lyrical input, Martin has invited just about everyone to party with Coldplay on A Head Full of Dreams. His current girlfriend, English actress Annabelle Wallis, and Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s kid, Blue Ivy, crop up for backing vocals onUp & Up and it’s one of the best songs here, locking into a very decent groove before gospel harmonies a la Primal Scream push Coldplay into something that may even pass for genuine euphoria. As the title suggests, A Head Full of Dreams is an explosion of Technicolor-drenched fantasy and possibility but gauche sentiments and a hidebound refusal to change the musical script means Coldplay rarely do anything to truly surprise or delight. It sounds like this is as far as Martin’s choir can go without some kind of radical rethink. Like their avowed heroes U2 back in 1989, maybe they’re off “to dream it all up all over again”. Not a bad idea because if this is, indeed, their last album Coldplay do not offer either a sense of an ending or a new beginning. Source

dont let the post above you fool you. some of us may rank X&Y low, but thats only because some album has to be last. It doesnt mean we dont like it, just less than others. Actually, I think most of us rank it high. That post doesnt represent the general consensus of the forum

Admit it: Coldplay is really fun on 'A Head Full of Dreams' Saying you’re a huge Coldplay fan has historically been like saying ketchup is spicy and vanilla ice cream really gets a bum rap. The band has never been cool—in 2008 Rolling Stone deemed frontman Chris Martin "The Jesus of Uncool,” and Aaron Sorkin’s saccharine use of “Fix You” (is there another use?) in “The Newsroom” simultaneously helped ruin the song and the show. The British pop-rockers’ fans, of which there are boatloads, know this: You're more likely to hear "I'm a huge Coldplay fan except for 'X&Y’" or "I'm a huge Coldplay fan but I think Chris Martin is kind of a dork" than total, unabashed fandom. That's both understandable and a shame, as underneath the "wuss-rock" tag meaner critics have assigned Coldplay over the years is a surprisingly solid band. From its stellar 2000 debut "Parachutes" (songs like "Don't Panic" and "Yellow" still particularly hold up) to 2014's understated "Ghost Stories," Coldplay has consistently churned out totally sincere and effective stadium rock. Even the band's critically-panned albums like "X&Y" (about which even Martin admitted, "We were bigger than we were good") have some worthy moments like "Low" and "White Shadows" There's also a lot to love on Coldplay's seventh and probably final album "A Head Full of Dreams" (out Friday). Where its predecessor “Ghost Stories” was a dour and moody autopsy of a divorce, the new album happily takes a more uplifting, resilient tone. There's lead single “Adventure of a Lifetime,” whose Chic-esque guitars and fittingly adventurous electronic atmospheres make it one of the most sonically interesting things the band's ever produced. Beyonce joins anthem “Hymn for the Weekend,” which continues Coldplay’s fondness for having a pop star guest on a rousing single--Rihanna assisted "Mylo Xyloto" cut "Princess of China," and Avicii appeared on "Ghost Stories" lowlight "A Sky Full of Stars"--and is the best of the bunch. Tove Lo guests on the middling “Fun,” which is just that and nothing more. Where Coldplay's previous attempts at crossing over to dance-pop seemed contrived and pandering (Worth repeating: "A Sky Full of Stars remains so cringe-worthy), much of this effort feels organic and legitimately fun. The propulsive space-rock on the opening title track and the thumping drum machine rhythm of "Birds" best showcase this progress. Of course, Martin’s lyrics always have the subtlety of a lovelorn teen's diary, but matched with the band’s bombastic, grandiose compositions, there's enough affecting heartstring-tugging to yank away some if not all of your cynicism. When Martin sings, "Oh, I can feel my heart beating/’Cause you make me feel/Like I'm alive again” on “Adventure of a Lifetime," you can feel it too. (Well, I can.) You’d know lines like "Sat on a roof, your hand in mine, singing/'Life has a beautiful, crazy design” (from “Amazing Day”) were from Martin without ever hearing the song. Other times, though, like the overwrought reading of Rumi’s poem “The Guest House” and a sample of President Obama’s “Amazing Grace” speech on interlude “Kaleidoscope,” it ventures into irredeemable self-parody. While Coldplay earnestly wearing its heart on its sleeve can make the band seem corny, that’s also its most powerful weapon. The band’s most successful songs ("Clocks," "Yellow") are big enough to capture grand yet simple and broadly relatable emotions. When you hear a melody as potent and cathartic as closer “Up&Up,” which is something only a band as massive as Coldplay could pull off, the first thing that comes to mind probably isn't, “I wish this was less on-the-nose and obviously resonant!” At least, it shouldn’t be. Source

lol, that graphic!

Miracles was included in the Japanese release, but the song itself has been out for a while now http://coldplaying.com/forum/index.php?forums/miracles-2014.185/

Doing some work behind the scenes before the actual release and promo of the album. If not, the forum may crash again like with the leak

Review: Coldplay’s New Album, ‘A Head Full of Dreams,’ Is Blissful and Bittersweet After darkness, light: Coldplay has wallowed and Coldplay has wept, but there comes a season for renewal. “A Head Full of Dreams,” the band’s seventh studio album, courts the communion of the dance floor, along with the good will of its allies and fans. Blissful even at its most bittersweet, it’s an album on which three songs make lyrical references to diamonds — as in, “We are diamonds” — and every surface contentedly gleams. The subtext is no secret here. Coldplay’s frontman, Chris Martin, has been closely watched since the end of his marriage to Gwyneth Paltrow last year, which gave us both the indelible euphemism “conscious uncoupling” and a muted, mournful album, “Ghost Stories. “A Head Full of Dreams” flings back those heavy curtains while mindfully saving a space at the table for Ms. Paltrow: That’s her voice buried in the mix on “Everglow,” a Bruce Hornsby-esque piano ballad about the spark that endures between the uncoupled. (“This particular diamond,” the ever-gallant Mr. Martin sings, “is extra special.”) A less inert song called “Fun” recalls the good times in a tone more reflective than raw; the Swedish pop singer Tove Lo joins Mr. Martin on the song’s chorus and in a hopeful upturn at the end. Coldplay long ago diversified its sound, moving on from the ashes of Britpop toward a more global and electronic style — and now, on the title track and on “Adventure of a Lifetime,” a chiming iteration of disco. Rik Simpson, a longtime band associate, produced the album with Stargate, the prolific Norwegian duo, and there are also flickers of hip-hop in its sound. So “Army of One” pairs a patently Martinesque melody with a booming, processional beat. A not-so-hidden track called “X Marks the Spot” was produced by Daniel Green, who has obviously heard “Swimming Pools (Drank)” by Kendrick Lamar. And “Hymn for the Weekend” features both a love-as-intoxicant metaphor and, in a leveraging of strategic interests, Mr. Martin’s friend and fellow Tidal co-owner, Beyoncé. Mr. Martin, who has rediscovered the radiant properties of his voice, gilds a lot of lyrical treacle and borderline nonsense here. But on “Amazing Day,” he articulates a philosophical worldview: “Life has a beautiful crazy design.” In a similar vein, “Kaleidoscope,” which has earned some attention for its interpolation of Barack Obama singing a hymn of resilience, more prominently features a voice-over by Coleman Barks, reading his translation of a Rumi poem. That poem, “The Guest House,” presents joy, depression and other emotions as visiting guests: “Welcome and entertain them all!” Mr. Barks intones. (He leaves out the next part: “Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,/who violently sweep your house/empty of its furniture.”) It’s not hard to picture Mr. Martin seizing Rumi’s insight like a lifeline. And it’s easy to trust the optimism he exudes on the album’s anthemic closer, “Up&Up,” even if that title seems suspiciously ripe for commercial tie-in with the in-house Target brand. “See a pearl form, a diamond in the rough,” Mr. Martin sings. “See a bird soaring high above the flood.” The additional vocalists on the song include Beyoncé; the veteran backup singer Merry Clayton; and Mr. Martin’s current girlfriend, Annabelle Wallis. Noel Gallagher shows up to play a guitar solo. But in the end, everything falls away, leaving Mr. Martin alone with a simple bit of advice: “Don’t ever give up.”

Coldplay will release its seventh studio album, “A Head Full Of Dreams,” on Dec. 4. The follow-up to 2014’s “Ghost Stories” sounds far more energetic from the outset thanks to the lead single, “Adventure of a Lifetime.” That’s not a coincidence. Lead singer Chris Martin told me the album is reflective of the band’s current temperament. “It’s really the sound of us being comfortable with being in Coldplay, if that makes any sense,” Martin said. “We’re very grateful to be here and we’re not really worried now … I get it that our music isn’t for everybody and I think once we let that go, it’s very liberating and so we feel free to be the band we really dreamed of being.” Any artist needs to feel comfortable in his or her own skin, so perhaps it makes more sense that Coldplay didn’t tour behind the last album, opting instead to begin work immediately on new material. “There’s a real hunger in the band, and a real fire to get going,” Martin revealed. “For some reason, the album we just made is feeling really fun to play in rehearsal and it makes sense with some of the older songs too. “I’d say the set list will be sort of, colorful, and so will the look of the whole thing.” As of press time, U.S. dates for the band’s forthcoming tour have not been released. Coldplay shows in Europe are on sale and some South American concerts have been announced. “I was watching a band called The Flaming Lips in 1999, and Wayne (Coyne) was speaking to the audience like we were his friend,” Martin recalled when I asked him about the rapport he develops with the crowds for whom Coldplay performs. “And I’d never seen anybody do that before. I’d always sort of felt like you had to be detached somehow or pretend you were on a slightly higher level – which works for some people, great. But for me, it doesn’t work.” Coyne later instilled in Martin the confidence to simply speak on stage as he normally would to anyone. Self-admittedly it sounds “clumsy and awkward” at times, but always authentic. That authenticity was last visited in Philly when Coldplay brought the Mylo Xyloto tour to the Wells Fargo Center. The band played back-to-back nights in July 2012. As for the album that the quartet will support on the road, it features a number of collaborations. Coldplay enlisted the help of Beyonce, Tove Lo, Noel Gallegher and Merry Clayton for different tracks. Avicii, the superstar DJ who produced “A Sky Full Of Stars,” for the band returns and assists with “Hymn For The Weekend,” the song on which Knowles sings. But perhaps most meaningful for Martin is the feature at the end of “Adventure,” – a number of people were in the studio yelling “Woo-hoo!” at song’s conclusion, including his children, Apple and Moses. “I know that we had to get permission from their parents,” he joked about the kids’ involvement. “Luckily, we are their parents!” Listen to “Ralphie Tonight” weeknights from 7 p.m. to midnight on 97 BHT. Source

yeah, we're just kinda beefing things up for the new release. hope everyone can bear with us