With all of this background information, before listening to the album, I was skeptical. The band's first album, Parachutes, has always been my favorite and although the other albums were nowhere near disappointing, there is always that fear that they have reached their peak at the beginning and will continue downward.
I am happy to say that I was not disappointed by the album, however I don't think it exceeds any of Coldplay's past efforts. After a few run-throughs of the album, I like it. There are some standout songs, and some parts of the album I may need a little more time with. Perhaps I will grow to love it, but at this point I would say this album ties bands 2005 release, X&Y as my least favorite out of the 4.
I am happy, however, that the band made some changes to their overall sound, with a more electronic feel, starting with the intro, "Life in Technicolor." They also added some new elements to their percussion, and definitely had more layers and complexity, not only to their music but to the overall theme and packaging (when opening up the paper case, you find the CD in yet another paper sleeve, ???). I also really love the orchestra element added in to a few of their songs. It would be interesting to see them live now, to see if they bring an orchestra or strings section with them, or how they adapt without this element.
One of the biggest complaints of X&Y was the similarity of some songs to the 2002 release Rush of Blood to the Head, and lack of creativity in the new songs (Like "Clocks" and "Speed of Sound"). I felt this with some songs in X&Y, however the second half of that album, including songs like "A Message" "Swallowed in the Sea" and "Kingdom Come" were some of the most beautiful songs the band has done.
They continued on this album with the same kind of "building ballads" if you will. That is what I have always loved about Coldplay, their ability to make a beautiful, simple ballad, and have it build with Chris Martins unique voice and a assortment of instruments, and end up kind of rocking. That definitely continues into Vida la Vida, with songs like "Cemeteries of London" "Violet Hill" and "Death and All His Friends". Out of these, "Death and All His Friends" is definitely my favorite. The piano part is really gorgeous and I think the kind of shouting/singing chorus is actually kind of nice. The way the song builds and fades makes it worth the 6 minutes and 19 seconds. I also really enjoyed Martin's vocals on "Cemeteries of London".
As far as rocking goes, Viva La Vida. is lacking. The two songs I think achieve rocking status, (for Coldplay, mind you) are "Yes" - which has an almost country feel with an orchestra at the beginning, and turns to an electronic rock session at the end, and the iTunes commercial song "Viva La Vida" which I happen to really like. After listening to the whole album, I think I can say it is my favorite song. It is a little disappointing that my favorite song was the single, but I'm getting over that fact.
However, true to Coldplay form, there are some hidden, beautiful songs on this album. The odd title of "Lovers in Japan / Reign on Love" makes perfect sense the first time you hear it, because it is really 2 songs in 1. The beginning of the song, "Lovers in Japan" definitely has a Japanese feel and a nice beat. Then the fade out to the ending, "Reign on Love", is a beautiful little ballad with a nice piano part.
The lightest, most simple song on the album is "Strawberry Swing", another favorite of mine. Martin sings "it's such a perfect day", and reminds us that summer won't last forever (remember those days of walking to class in 0 degree weather with winds that could push you over!!!) and to try and enjoy it, despite all of the flooding and relax. (I'm sure that's EXACTLY what the band meant.) It pulls in a similar strings section to "Viva La Vida", and is really quite a lovely tune.
These last 2 songs from this album were my least favorite. "Lost!" provides a cool percussion and rhythm, but that's about it. For some reason, the rhyming in "42" really bugs me. The slow tempo combined with "Those who are dead are not dead they're just living in my head" makes me hit the NEXT button every time. If you can make it past the first minute and a half, the song is actually quite exciting, but so far I've only made it past once.
Overall, I like this album, and think I will grow to really love some parts, however I feel that some parts are completely forgettable. I'm glad Coldplay has changed their sound around so every album doesn't contain the same 10 songs, although those 10 songs are great. I like the electronic feel they have going with the album, and as always they have included a few hidden treasures.
SONGS TO CHECK OUT:
Lovers in Japan / Reign of Love
Yes
Viva La Vida
Strawberry Swing
Death and All His Friends
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