Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone Records
Release: 2008
Length: 00:45:07
Rating: 3/5
After rounding off a so-called trilogy with their first three albums, “Parachutes” (2000), “A Rush of Blood to the Head” (2002) and “X&Y” (2005), the British rockers Coldplay took a slightly different road with their fourth, “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends”. They handed production to two seasoned old hands: Brian Eno, famous for working with top-tier artists like U2, Genesis and Massive Attack, and Markus Dravs (Björk, Arcade Fire). Martin’s “missing” falsetto got replaced by guitar experimenting, or “distortion”, and a light dash of blues. Still, the record sounds unmistakably “Coldplay-ish”. The lyrical themes are pretty much what you’d expect: love, politics, war, peace, religion, God, death. Typical for Martin and his sidekicks. As usual, you can hear other musicians’ influence on this album too. Just to name a few: U2 (especially in Buckland’s guitar), My Bloody Valentine, Arcade Fire, Blur. The comparison that sticks out most is with guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, whose song line from “If I Could Fly” off “Is There Love in Space?” Coldplay allegedly “stole” — though the guys flatly deny it. Whatever the case, the album ranks among the best-selling British albums of last year. It hit the shelves in mid-June, and in November it was followed by a “deluxe” double-album edition, “Viva la Vida – Prospekt`s March Edition”, which contains eight previously unreleased tracks written during the recording sessions.
Coldplay were more than obviously looking for inspiration in the visual arts this time, as the title, the cover and even the booklet show. The title “Viva la Vida”, a Spanish phrase meaning “long live life”, was borrowed by the gentlemen from a painting by the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. The cover is taken up by Eugène Delacroix’s 1830 painting “Liberty Leading the People”. To top it all off, they dressed up the accompanying booklet too, which, besides their “scribbles”, holds just one group photo. No lyrics and no other info. Modest.
The forty-five-minute journey through a more mature and one of the best Coldplay albums kicks off with the shortest track, the instrumental “Life in Technicolor”, whose twist is that it doesn’t cut into your ear with a guitar but with a traditional Persian “santur” (an instrument similar to a harpsichord). But here’s the first “weakness” already. The song is incredibly similar to the MGMT single “Kids” (“Time to Pretend EP”, 2005). Never mind that, the BBC used the tune as the soundtrack to its coverage of the Beijing Olympics, as well as for the weather forecast and reports on the English Premier League. “Cemeteries of London” conjures up an English countryside ballad and Victorian journeys. Sprawling meadows, rivers and hills simply appear before your eyes. That’s hardly surprising, since Coldplay announced before the album’s release that there would be more emphasis on “visualization” this time. Martin’s vocals are backed by light drum taps, syncopated acoustic guitar, hand claps and, to close, piano. A similar, slightly gloomy mood continues in “Lost!”, only here the hand claps are backed by church organ. With a song that has spiritual lyrics, sadly it can’t be any other way. And just when you expect the guitars to finally cut loose on the fourth track, “42”, it doesn’t happen. At least not at the start. Martin’s “whining” goes on until the middle of the song, then the rhythm picks up and the electric guitar finally joins in. “Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love” is two songs in one. Even though the title doesn’t suggest it, the first one has a strictly military theme. In the second, the rhythm calms down a bit and turns more blissful. The guitars are replaced by Martin’s piano playing. The longest track on the record is “Yes”, which has the most romantic opening of all the songs on the album, thanks to the violins. It also holds a so-called “hidden” track. “Chinese Sleep Chant” isn’t listed on the sleeve and you’ll only hear it about four minutes into “Yes”. You can’t miss it, because the guitars finally bite into an almost spotless record up to that point. And the theme of “lust” hadn’t been used until now either. Hallelujah. The heavily accentuated guitars almost completely overshadow Martin’s vocals this time. The title track “Viva la Vida” probably carries one of the most pompous openings. The strings and bells fit the rock-religion theme that Coldplay created themselves. At the same time, it’s one of the few songs on the album with a “singalong” chorus. The first single, “Violet Hill”, can also be counted among the brighter spots. The distortion of the guitar riffs and Martin’s at times squealing vocals are what we miss a bit on the new album. In “Strawberry Swing” we once again hear a sound unusual for a rock album, African plucked instruments that nicely fill the “space” between Martin’s keyboards. The tenth and last song is “Death and All His Friends”. A fairly calm track that says its piece in the title alone, it also holds the “hidden” “The Escapist”, built on gentle percussion sounds. You couldn’t expect more than that, since there are only two slightly faster tracks on the whole album: “Viva la Vida” and “Violet Hill”.
The “deluxe” album “Viva la Vida – Prospekt`s March Editon”, released in November, contains, besides the regular record “Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends”, an EP with eight tracks. “Life in Technicolor” isn’t just instrumental this time, it’s almost half again as long. You could even say Coldplay kicked themselves in the shins by leaving this version off the album. The piano piece “Postcards from Far Away”, just under a minute long, is followed by “Glass of Water”, in which Buckland again played around with “distortion”. If “Rainy Day” seems like one of the bouncier tracks at the start, the violins soon bring it back down to earth. “Prospekt`s March/Poppyfields” is a song built mainly on Martin’s singing rather than on instruments. They only chime in enough to prettify the whole thing a little. On “Lost+” Jay-Z joins Coldplay, and his vocals overshadow everything a bit, only for Buckland’s guitar to “cut through” at the end. “Lovers in Japan” shows up on this record too, but it’s the Osaka Sun Mix version, with a bit more of an electronic “feel”. The EP closes with the ballad “Now My Feet Won`t Touch The Ground”. Almost like listening to Jack Johnson.
The latest studio album from the Brits Coldplay has been selling like hotcakes ever since its release last summer. Is the different approach and the change of producers to blame? Or is it mostly that Coldplay showed how to live and survive on the edge of your abilities? The risk obviously paid off, and the Grammy surely won’t slip away.
Lineup
Chris Martin – vocals
Jonny Buckland – guitar
Guy Berryman – bass
Will Champion – drums
Production
Brian Eno, Markus Dravs
Track list
»Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends«
1. Life in Technicolor
2. Cemeteries of London
3. Lost!
4. 42
5. Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love
6. Yes
7. Viva la Vida
8. Violet Hill
9. Strawberry Swing
10. Death and All His Friends
»Prospekt`s March EP«
1. Life in Technicolor ii
2. Postcards From Far Away
3. Glass of Water
4. Rainy Day
5. Prospekt`s March/Poppyfields
6. Lost+
7. Lovers in Japan (Osaka Sun Mix)
8. Now My Feet Won`t Touch The Ground
