Bad_Replicant

My happy little Ghost Stories family. The alternate Oceans is the Live Lounge version with the outro from the album mixed in. Edits can be found here: http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/threads/100140-Ghost-Stories-Edits-Alternate-Cuts

Can anyone direct me to a hi-res image of the artwork for the Target edition?

Nice. Why didn't they sequence it like this??

My personal alternative tracklist, with minor audio editing in places to create transitions between songs: Always In My Head Magic Ink All Your Friends (slight dovetailing into Midnight at the end) Midnight O Part 2 (titled 'O' in this version. Small ending transition into Another's Arms) Another's Arms Oceans A Sky Full Of Stars O (titled Fly On in this version. Edited so O fades in as the last chord of Fly On is still ringing)

Sometimes I think I'm hearing "Haunting me... haunting me... haunting me...", but I'm sure it's probably something else entirely.

This. Personally, remaining oblivious to the critical reaction when MX came out made that experience more fun. It is cool in a way to see this dividing people rather than just being universally accepted with open arms, though. In any case, I can see the general opinion towards this album improving with time. It may take a few years, but I think the appreciation will grow.

I'd say tom's right. The production on All Your Friends is far closer to the album tracks, with Ghost Story being in more of a category of it's own. As for whether AYF's production is more or less electronic than the abum's, it has about the same ratio of traditional instrumentation vs. electronic elements as songs like Always In My Head or Magic do. Given that, I also wouldn't call GS (album) fully synthesizer based in comparison to All Your Friends. It's certainly heavy on electronics, but barring Midnight there are "regular" elements at work throughout - their prominence in the mix just varies from track to track.

Places where pirates hang out for $200, Alex.

I find that True Love (least liked song for me) can be swapped out nicely for All Your Friends. I even did a bit of quick editing to create the same transition into Midnight at the end. Works really well.

All Your Friends sounds like it would be right at home on this album to me. :laugh3: Checking out the others now.

Always In My Head - Brilliant, brilliant opener. It was my favorite of the new material when I first heard the live version, and it's still my favorite favorite here. Establishes the MO of the album - heartbreak and electronic lullaby - perfectly. Loaded with atmosphere, with everyone in full form. Lyrics are right on par with the music. O - Probably one of the most genuinely affecting pieces this band has recorded. Extremely simple, but immensely powerful. The reprise of the heavenly instrumental that opens the album is a nice bookend as well, VLV style. I'll admit to being a little perplexed as to why this part of the track apparently takes the title slot instead of the first (Fly On), but hey, I'm not complaining... :lol: Another's Arms - To me this and Midnight are where the album is at it's bravest. Haunting and brooding. I love the way Chris's voice is processed at certain points, and the 'sighing' synth parts give it a wonderful edge. Almost the perfect antithesis of the huge, anthemic, falsetto-laden side of the band that made them famous. Midnight - What a reintroduction to Coldplay this song was. Again, I love how they played with Chris's voice here. The slow buildup of tension bleeding into the waves of fluttering synthesizer is amazing. One of the simplest, yet moodiest, and most surprising things they've released. A bold move for a band with a firmly established sound if there ever was one. As a side note, this track definitely wins for coolest part of the visual album. Ink - Somewhat uninspired lyrics are helped by one of the more exotic sounding productions the band have put together since the VLV era. Lots of very interesting sounds and textures at work together, and beautifully so. Extremely catchy. Oceans - I really want to rank this one higher, but the studio version just doesn't hit me the way the BBC Live Lounge performance did. Still a nice return to a more Parachutes-esque, stripped back arrangement. Love the synth strings at the close. A Sky Full Of Stars - Possibly the strongest vocal performance on the album. The heavy dance vibe never bothered me to the extreme it seemed to with many others, and it serves as a nice final, explosive expression of the electronic motifs built up throughout the record. A lower ranking partially due to a bit of excessive replay syndrome while waiting for the album. (See also - Magic) Magic - Another song I appreciate a lot from a production standpoint. For some reason this tends to be one that's harder for me to get into for the first minute or so, but by the time it really gets going I'm absorbed by it. I liked it when it came out, though it's definitely better when heard in context with the entire album. True Love - This is the one I've had the hardest time getting a firm grip on. There's something odd about the progression here from a Coldplay standpoint, though it is interesting. As someone else mentioned here, Johnny's guitar part at the end sounds a bit off until he bends the notes to the pitch where they should be. I get what he's going for, not sure about the execution. The string-plucking synth sound that runs throughout rubs me the wrong way somehow as well, though it becomes more tolerable as the mix gets more dense. Another song that builds quite nicely mood-wise, though.

This is amazing. :shocked2:

Fair enough. I'd still call it a minor detail when it basically comes down to a person judging something they're hearing, but I see your point. Maybe he went through some sort of accelerated Journalism for Clowns program? There's a closet full of big, floppy shoes in that house, man. I can feel it.

My only "big" gripe is the take that was used for Oceans. I mean, I get it. Obviously there was something they liked about the off kilter-ness of it, probably done very spur-of-the-moment in a single go. But that first radio performance we heard was just so... perfect. That being said, I'm sure I will grow to appreciate it more over time. I do wonder how different reactions would be to the album overall had they just dropped it out of nowhere instead of playing most of the songs live beforehand.

I don't know if I'd call knowing the exact release date of an album an important factor in a critical analysis. :lol: Seriously though, who cares. I didn't read a thing about Mylo Xyloto after it came out, never felt a need to, and I'm sure the relationship I grew to have with that album was probably better for it. I didn't even realize until recently that it wasn't as well-received critically as Viva La Vida had been. Any album that's not AROBTTH is always gonna have a few people saying "THIS REKERD IS TEH SUXORS, BURN IT!!!!". I dig Ghost Stories, and right now that's all I'm concerned with. Be merry!