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When Coldplay sampled Kraftwerk on their third album, X&Y, it was a signifier for the British band, telegraphing their classicist good taste while signaling how they prefer the eternally hip to the truly adventurous; it was stylish window dressing for soft arena rock. Hiring Brian Eno to produce the bulk of their fourth album, Viva la Vida, is another matter entirely. Eno pushes them, not necessarily to experiment but rather to focus and refine, to not leave their comfort zone but to find some tremulous discomfort within it. In his hands, this most staid of bands looks to shake things up, albeit politely, but such good manners are so inherent to Coldplay's DNA that they remain courteous even when they experiment. With his big-budget production, Eno has a knack for amplifying an artist's personality, as he allows bands to be just as risky as they want to be -- which is quite a lot in the case of U2 and James and even Paul Simon, but not quite so much with Coldplay. And yet this gentle encouragement -- he's almost a kindly uncle giving his nephews permission to rummage through his study -- pays great dividends for Coldplay, as it winds up changing the specifics without altering the core. They wind up with the same self-styled grandiosity; they've just found a more interesting way to get to the same point.
Gone are Chris Martin's piano recitals and gone are the washes of meticulously majestic guitar, replaced by orchestrations of sound, sometimes literally consisting of strings but usually a tapestry of synthesizers, percussion, organs, electronics, and guitars that avoid playing riffs. Gone too are simpering schoolboy ballads like "Fix You," and along with them the soaring melodies designed to fill arenas. In fact, there are no insistent hooks to be found anywhere on Viva la Vida, and there are no clear singles in this collection of insinuatingly ingratiating songs. This reliance on elliptical melodies isn't off-putting -- alienation is alien to Coldplay -- and this is where Eno's guidance pays off, as he helps sculpt Viva la Vida to work as a musical whole, where there are long stretches of instrumentals and where only "Strawberry Swing," with its light, gently infectious melody and insistent rhythmic pulse, breaks from the album's appealingly meditative murk. Whatever iciness there is to the sound of Viva la Vida is warmed by Martin's voice, but the music is by design an heir to the earnest British art rock of '80s Peter Gabriel and U2 -- arty enough to convey sober intelligence without seeming snobby, the kind of album that deserves to take its title from Frida Kahlo and album art from Eugene Delacroix. That Delacroix painting depicts the French Revolution, so it does fit that Martin tones down his relentless self-obsession -- the songs aren't heavy on lyrics and some are shockingly written in character -- which is a development as welcome as the expanded sonic palette. Martin's refined writing topics may be outpaced by the band's guided adventure, but they're both indicative that Coldplay are desperate to not just strive for the title of great band -- a title they seem to believe that they're to the manor born -- but to actually burrow into the explorative work of creating music. And so the greatest thing Coldplay may have learned from Eno is his work ethic, as they demonstrate a focused concentration throughout this tight album -- it's only 47 minutes yet covers more ground than X&Y and arguably A Rush of Blood to the Head -- that turns Viva la Vida into something quietly satisfying. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Gone are Chris Martin's piano recitals and gone are the washes of meticulously majestic guitar, replaced by orchestrations of sound, sometimes literally consisting of strings but usually a tapestry of synthesizers, percussion, organs, electronics, and guitars that avoid playing riffs. Gone too are simpering schoolboy ballads like "Fix You," and along with them the soaring melodies designed to fill arenas. In fact, there are no insistent hooks to be found anywhere on Viva la Vida, and there are no clear singles in this collection of insinuatingly ingratiating songs. This reliance on elliptical melodies isn't off-putting -- alienation is alien to Coldplay -- and this is where Eno's guidance pays off, as he helps sculpt Viva la Vida to work as a musical whole, where there are long stretches of instrumentals and where only "Strawberry Swing," with its light, gently infectious melody and insistent rhythmic pulse, breaks from the album's appealingly meditative murk. Whatever iciness there is to the sound of Viva la Vida is warmed by Martin's voice, but the music is by design an heir to the earnest British art rock of '80s Peter Gabriel and U2 -- arty enough to convey sober intelligence without seeming snobby, the kind of album that deserves to take its title from Frida Kahlo and album art from Eugene Delacroix. That Delacroix painting depicts the French Revolution, so it does fit that Martin tones down his relentless self-obsession -- the songs aren't heavy on lyrics and some are shockingly written in character -- which is a development as welcome as the expanded sonic palette. Martin's refined writing topics may be outpaced by the band's guided adventure, but they're both indicative that Coldplay are desperate to not just strive for the title of great band -- a title they seem to believe that they're to the manor born -- but to actually burrow into the explorative work of creating music. And so the greatest thing Coldplay may have learned from Eno is his work ethic, as they demonstrate a focused concentration throughout this tight album -- it's only 47 minutes yet covers more ground than X&Y and arguably A Rush of Blood to the Head -- that turns Viva la Vida into something quietly satisfying. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
more albums by this artist
See all-
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- A Rush Of Blood To The Head
- Released 2002
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- X&Y
- Released 2005
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- Parachutes
- Released 2000
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- Prospekt's March Ep
- Released 2008
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listener reviews
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When it's just a few bars...
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- By BenHeath
- 9/19/2009 21:18:22
- Many songs sound very similar. Artists, when working, may independently contrive works that are very much alike in some ways, but rearranged, and not for the whole duration of it.
Coldplay has settled out of court and will now have to pay unspecified royalties to Joe Satriani for plagiarization of his If I Could Fly with their Grammy-winning Viva La Vida. Compare the two songs:
It's not just a few bars, and then it's rearranged, it's the whole duration of the song. I have a lot of respect for Coldplay. There is the possibility that they really did write the song without ever having heard If I Could Fly, and simply settled out of court to get shut the problem up quickly because there's really no defense to this. It's just a bigger possibility that they outright plagiarized someone like Joe Satriani and didn't get away with it. - Be the first person to rate this review!
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genial
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- By kageroudo
- 8/26/2009 03:14:50
- es un disco que tienen que escucharlo
- Be the first person to rate this review!
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Ah, yes, Coldplay...
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- By jayCLAYM0RE
- 8/7/2009 02:11:08
- What can be said about this album that hasn't been said already?
... that's what I thought.
Visit their official site and download the FREE live album LeftRightLeftRightLeft ! - 2 out of 2 people
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you really can't top Coldplay.
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- By playingthekeys
- 6/10/2009 01:40:41
- i really hadn't started listening to coldplay until about a year ago when my friend got me into it, and i am so glad she did. this album's just amazing. i love the progression over the years; they started off as a regular band, though amazing, and now they've officially made their music something distinct and different with the use of bells, for example. five stars.
- 1 out of 1 people
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:D
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- By mikenation94
- 4/6/2009 23:19:59
- Just plain amazing every track..its dark, and i like that..i jus tlove the sounds heard throughout the album..its great..
- 1 out of 1 people
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Just Getting Better
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- By Lifelongringer
- 12/2/2008 21:08:44
- I have all of their albums and have loved them since i heard Yellow, and Green Eyes. Every cd keeps getting better and music keeps growing. A lot of the words are weird and don't seem to make sense but after listening to them so much you start to see the depth that their music really has.
- 6 out of 6 people
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Live The Life
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- By socialbeanbag
- 11/8/2008 00:51:17
- Viva La Vida translates into "live the life"...and what a life it is. As Coldplay dives into the darkness of the theory of eternal damnation, kings losing theirs kingdoms, and revolutionaries, guerrillas and terrorists alike, you can't help but smile and feel a little better after listening to this album. Does that mean "Viva fans" are a little twisted? Maybe, but so is this life. Viva La Vida...Viva Coldplay!
- 1 out of 2 people
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The best CD ever
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- By MotoZombie
- 10/30/2008 22:34:33
- This CD is awesome. I just heard Coldplay for the first time on SNL the other night. They played "Viva La Vida" and I ran out, bought the CD and haven't stopped listening since. It's awesome.
- 3 out of 3 people
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My reviews...
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- By RedfreakRockstr
- 10/28/2008 04:53:49
- I never really liked coldplay until this album... this album is a new style, much darker, and much more enjoyable than the "yellow" nonsense before. I love this stuff!
- 2 out of 2 people
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Musical Sensation....
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- By A Bogere
- 10/21/2008 04:29:28
- This album is by far my favorite for this year..and for many years to come... the way they play it creates a unique soundstage in your to ears... i just love it ill be collecting all there other albums.
- 2 out of 2 people
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- 1 - 10 / 24
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