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album reviews

Coldplay

Parachutes 8 ( 2000 )
Don't Panic / Shiver / Spies / Sparks / Yellow / Trouble / Parachutes / High Speed / We Never Change / Everything's Not Lost

"bones sinking like stones....we live in a beautiful world." My thoughts regarding Coldplay when I first acquired this album was that it was an impossibly accomplished set for a debut. Rather akin to U2 going straight to 'The Unforgettable Fire' and missing the first three albums altogether. The comparison isn't as entirely as ridiculous as it first seems. U2 of 'Joshua Tree' had all these elegant guitar lines, and Coldplay also have elegant guitar lines. They have a very different approach to U2 in every single other way, however. Singer Chris Martin sounds a little Thom Yorke, a little Jeff Buckley too, actually. Mostly he sounds like himself, and usually he sounds beautiful. The lyrics I quoted at the start of this piece were taken from 'Don't Panic', and yeah, both the vocals and guitar are utterly beautiful. It's a song to take solace from, draw comfort from, be quietly awed by. The transition to second song 'Shiver' is a work of genius in itself. A lot of great albums have great transitions between songs, and the first half of this album at least also has genuinely great song transitions! You may not care so much about sequencing, just care about how many good songs are here. I like songs flowing easily into each other, or alternately, opposites deliberately placed next to each other for certain other effects on the listener. 'Shiver' has a vocal that could be Jeff Buckley influenced, the soaring vocals are a joy over a reasonably guitar rock based instrumental track. And then, another great transition to the desolate haunting beauty of third song, 'Spies'. I'm often filled with some kind of sense of wonder when listening to this, upon reaching 'Spies' you are often well and truly immersed in this album. It sounds unimaginative of me to call the vocal here spine-chilling, but it really is. Acoustic guitar opens 'Sparks' for another change in texture as far as this album progress is concerned. A warm, intimate vocal, another genuinely lovely sound. 'Yellow' wraps up a pretty flawless first half of the album. You may have heard this song, it's been everywhere since this record came out. Funny thing, though. Even with severe over play as far as music tv and radio is concerned, the song still sounds fresh. The guitar sound here is a throwback almost to the early nineties UK indie scene, a wall of noise but with in-built melodic beauty at the same time. 'Yellow' was pretty much an instant classic that was hard to ignore.

The second half of the album opens well, Piano a feature of 'Trouble', another nicely melodic song, a fine piece of writing. The title song moves back to acoustic guitars and a problem rears its head. Coldplay start to repeat themselves. The tone of the vocals, the sounds of individual elements of the songs. Like an old seven inch single with an a-side and a b-side, the b-side usually plainly inferior, except this time played out over an entire album long side. 'High Speed' sounds very Verve circa 1993, especially the rhythm section, whilst 'We Never Change' is just lacking in melodies or beauty, if compared to any of the first four or five songs. The closing 'Everything's Not Lost' is a Piano led, a mellow seven minute song, rather ponderous and hardly a highlight. So, the albums tails off badly. In fact, after 'Trouble' the album may as well end right there for all the good it does in continuing. But, the first half of this record is so good, the album still gets a good grade overall. I mentioned the fact I considered this an impossibly accomplished debut? It certainly is in performance and sound. In an unfortunate other way it's also a typical debut, ie, flawed. But, just dig those first songs!

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Readers Comments Simon B slb23@shaw.ca A good debut from a good English band. Great music. (Musically like a combination of THE BENDS era Radiohead and late 80's/early 90's U2). Chris Martin has a good voice, but it's stronger on their most recent album (A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD). My only complaints are: 1. The somewhat simple (but still effective) lyrics. 2. The title song ("Parachutes") is too short. 3. "Everything's Not Lost" is too long (and repetitive). 7.5/10 Dan cadman danielofcadman@hotmail.com Its been a while since this release and since I had relistened to it. Following the glamour of Coldplay and Chris Martin I had lost my fondness to their music. But this a great album. Martin has a voice like no other. If you can download any of their accoustic versions it really reflects his quality. howil saigon_hanoi75@hotmail.com Parachutes, on first listen left me (pardon the pun) very cold. But repeated plays will ultimately reveal the glowing beauty of the album. For me best song is Sparks...that gentle guitar line and complex chords sequence is a strange juxtaposition but eventuates into a song of epic proportions in terms of sentiments Jocelyn jocethomas79@hotmail.com Hey I just recently came in contact with your site and absolutely lover your reviews on Coldplay. I love XY but Parachutes is my overall favorite. I saw them last Friday in Concert here in Indiana and was just completely blown away. Do you live in America? While reading your review I noticed your not too fond of Twisted Logic I love that song. Keep up the good work on your reviews!

My first exposure to the new Coldplay was watching them perform lead single 'In My Place' on Top Of The Pops. Chris Martin seemed wired, pissed off, weary. Seemed on the verge of falling apart altogether. I was impressed by his passion, also impressed by the song even though it's really just 'Parachutes' stuck in a blender and taken out the other end to produced a new four minute Coldplay single. First song 'Politik' is good though, but only really when it gets to the three and a half minute mark and the 'ugliness' of the opening sequence has finished. A wash of beautiful keyboards and Chris Martin singing wonderfully, the guitars come in full of elegance. It's a sad, serious song, difficult to 'enjoy' in a sense, difficult to love, more something to admire for it's achievement, something to gaze upon and say, 'yeah, that's pretty good.''God Put A Smile Upon Your Face' is horrible, average, half-formed although wonderfully produced and very well performed. Let's put it this way, I don't like the lyrics, don't like the changes or melodic sequences. I like the bass playing, feel the vocals are a little rough. Still, the next two songs more than make up for that. 'The Scientist' is a thing of sheer wonder akin to 'Spies' from the previous album, although this time aided by a string arrangement, a lyric that seems so real and personal, very emotional. A truly beautiful song. 'Clocks' is also easily on a par with the very best of 'Parachutes' and features some of the best vocals on the entire album, too. And, yeah, I was dreading the second half of this album given past experience. 'Daylight' opens things well, though. The string arrangements throughout this album are impressive actually, although never over-done for one second, and the songs certainly don't rely on them, are just enhanced by them, which is how it should be, of course.

'Green Eyes' is nicely put together and with another lyric that seems to have been drawn from personal experience. I don't know if it was, but here's a little story for you! My very own mother worked for a while as a cleaner for none other than Coldplay's manager. Everytime I met my mother she'd be full of Coldplay stories. One time she happened to mention the fact that Chris Martin hadn't written a lot of new songs, because he was too busy with his new girlfriend. I don't know if any of this is true! Blame Mrs Carol Denning if it isn't! It was silly, my entire family fell head over heels in love with Coldplay circa 'Yellow' and the success of the debut album. I don't actually know what any of them think of this album, apart of my brother Phil, who likes it, although perhaps not as much as he liked 'Parachutes'. And, there you go. Personal stuff out of the way! 'Warning Sign' is another nice, if not terribly exhilarating song, but it really still is a good song. There is no obvious drop for the second half of this album, even as a whole the album doesn't contain as many great songs as the debut. It also doesn't contain as many weaker songs. 'A Whisper' opens with a slightly different guitar sound, lo-fi chords, "whisper, whisper, whisper" repeated by Chris Martin. It's interesting, faster tempo than other songs here and another song enhanced by a subtle but totally effective string arrangement. The title song is is another serious thing akin to 'Politik', although still very much a good song. The closing 'Amstersdam' is Piano led for the most part and a song too many for me, even though the full band come in for the songs close and some of the vocals are very nice indeed. In some ways, this 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' album just isn't easy, even though the sound of the album certainly isn't dissonant or challenging or anything like that. It's a strange thing, something about the overwhelming tone of sadness that permeates the record, and a sadness that's very hard to get a grasp on.

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Readers Comments agustin aguxeneize@msn.com Man you think you know lots about music, try to compose what chris and his band does and then critize!!! Im from argentina and no one listens to coldplay much, but a rush of blood to the head is an exellent album. Songs like daylight, god put a smile upon your face, in my place, green eyes, etc are great!!!!! Coldplay fills every gig in UK, and with this knew album there gonna do that again. The islands are ours man, your queen sucks, Aguante Argentina. OASIS and COLDPLAY RULES!!! Write be back please, you can swor all you want James james_leicester@hotmail.com I was not a fan of Coldplay until I heard this majestical album. Sure the album falls down a bit in the mid section, but some of the songs on here are fantastic. 'Clocks' is simply stunning, the repeating piano figure almost hypnotic. I believe this album is worth more than 7 and a half. maximgeeroms@hotmail.com This album is the best I've ever heard. Clocks, In My Place and The Scientist are one of the greatest hits of the last years, especially in Europe. And the other songs are sure not that bad. They're not as super as Clocks etc, but more worth than almost every modern song. This album diserves a 9.5 at least! Nicole cojocarurn@hendrix.edu COME ON, MAN! Coldplay is absolutely amazing!!! 7 1/2 is really low for Coldplay. I would, at least give it a 9 1/2, a 9.99. Their songs are incredibly beautiful... 'Clocks', 'Rush of cold blood to the head', 'Scientist'--- 3 amazing songs! Coldplay rules... I saw them in concert and they were great... double d cartha.donovan@abbott.com I like coldplay a lot, but an album which has 4 great songs and the rest filler material should not have got the blind public acceptance that it did. We ARE allowed to critisize chris martin you know. 710 (because the good songs are so good) john,co.kildare john.j.doyle@nuim.ie my emotions towards this album will always be tarnished by seeing coldplay in concert at the end of 2002, and listening to chris ramble on about how he queued for ages outside hmv to buy the new david gray album, and the cheers that went up from the psuedo indie tabloid radio types who seemed to all at once envelope me in a hitchcockian [thats a real word,cos i said it is ok?!]swarm, made me realise "WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING HERE?! COLDPLAY ARENT THE BAND FOR ME!" i felt like a pub darts player showing up at rugby training. still when all is said and done, "politik" is a masterpiece, and this album doesnt leave you short on a few modern gems. its just that a rush of blood to the head is more of a Q magazine or hot press idea of a perfect album, as opposed to a mojo or uncut classic. i agree with adrian's rating. desmond jones www.suz_nyl@hotmail.com This was the first Coldplay album I bought and I think it´s a good one,even though it doesn´t reach the same level as Parachutes. I feel very annoyed about this agustin-guy,or whatever he calls himself. We shouldn´t judge him too strongly (he was probably drunk when he wrote it) but I just want to say that I think he´s an incredibly annoying person and I would also like to know what this "swor" he mentioned is. To the reviewer I say "keep up the good work". Nick hockey_eh_24@hotmail.com Hit the nail on the head with this one. It's a solid cd, and a love a few of the songs, but it really doesn't deserve much more than a 7.5. Maybe an 8. However, you also give the Bends an 8, and I consider that a slightly better album. Dan j4triv@lycos.com Went into this knowing very little about the band, aside from having liked "The Scientist" and "Clocks", and, Lord, was this lame. "Politik" is a good start, but much of the rest of the album is a mindless drone of mediocre emoting and horrible music, save for "Clocks". "God Put a Smile on Your Face" is so godawful that it ruins "The Scientist" which sounds more draggy than resonant following "God Put Nausea in My Stomach". And naming the album after the process of getting an erection is just lame; not as bad as David Coverdale naming his band after his penis (you didn't really think "Whitesnake" was about an albino reptile, did you?), but still sadly juvenile. 3/10. Btw, the New York Mets (an American baseball team, for those who don't know) have taken to using "Clocks" as the music they play when fans file out of the stadium…but only after losses. ("Taking Care of Business" plays, somewhat predictably, after victories.) What are they trying to say— "We pla! yed so badly that even Coldplay looks good in comparison"? "You thought you were depressed? Well, now you can suffer through this, too!"? (And "Clocks" is still a favorite of mine, but after suffering through the rest of this dreck, I'm all for any bashing opportunity that presents itself.)

Well, well, well. EMI's shares fell at news of the delay to this albums release. Such was the perceived importance of the third Coldplay release. Chris Martin sensibly knew the importance of this third Coldplay album also, and took his time. Apparently, around 60 songs were written and whittled down. This is good, as it means X & Y mostly avoids that '2nd half is rubbish' thing that went down with the first two Coldplay albums. And, and, and?! Well, Coldplay finally have pushed their sounds forwards instead of sideways, aka 'Rush Of Blood To The Head'. We've acoustic strumalongs, we've layering of instrumentation that isn't just bass, guitar and piano. We've songs carefully constructed musically, but not so much so that thought hasn't also been put into making the songs last repeated listens. Obviously, Coldplay always had some level of potential for this, witness 'Yellow'. Lyrically, Chris Martin stays with his own tried and trusted formula for making up lyrics that stick to simple words, strong emotional words and stringing them together in a way that is suitably vague, if hardly Bob Dylan. Still, 'Square One' pushes all the right buttons, the opening electronic sequence revealing the time Chris has spent listening to Kraftwerk. It's simple and he sings beautifully over the top. Then, the drums come in and it's quite thrilling actually adding these to the fairly spooky electronic theme. Then, a pause of sorts. Then, the guitars. These guitars sound epic in a 1980s U2 kind of way, as opposed to the guitars on previous Coldplay albums, which were usually overshadowed by the Piano sounds. Plus, these lyrics are clearly actually about something! "line one on the first page", etc, etc. Chris writing about himself and his own creative process. 'Square One' is easily one of the best songs on the album and kicks things off in fine style. 'What If' follows this and keeps up the standard. It's a typical Coldplay ballad, in essence. Just done so well and retains the epic quality of the guitar sound.

Highlights, highlights, highlights. Actually, a lowlight and a highlight arrive right together at the end of the album. 'Twisted Logic' tries far too hard to be 'an epic album closer', the guitars revert to earlier Coldplay style. Actually, 'Twisted Logic' sounds much like an average album track from 'A Rush Of Blood'. If you liked that, you'll like this. Far, far, far better though is the acoustic, almost folky sing-a-long of 'Til Kingdom Come', the 'hidden' bonus track right at the very end of the album. This one song is proof enough of all the thought that's gone into this record. 'Square One' and 'Til Kingdom Come'? Neither sound like anything from previous Coldplay albums. That's a huge plus point, for me. They have to evolve, and they have. 'Fix You' must surely be released as a single to follow-up the Crazy Frog beaten 'Speed Of Sound'. 'Fix You' is almost perfect. It rivals all their best songs, i'd actually rate it as my own personal favourite ever Coldplay song. It sends chills through me in a way that 'With Or Without You' by U2 used to do when I was younger. The arrival of the guitars and drums after the three minute mark? Perfect, perfect, perfect! 'Speed Of Sound', the first single, initially underwhelmed me but repeated listening reveals a song that actually is quite cleverly constructed. Highlights of the second half of the album include 'The Hardest Part', another song that mixes sounds so well and another song that's quite clearly been written so well. No lyrics of a T.S.Eliot quality, but then, who has lyrics like that anyway?? They serve their purpose perfectly well. True, 'Swallowed In The Sea' has lyrics that appear to be especially trite. This song followed by the trying too hard 'Twisted Logic' threatens to send the album off the rails. Luckily, 'Til Kingdom Come' is enough to pull it back.

In summary then? Not perfect, but easily the finest Coldplay release so far and enough to out-sell the 16 million copies worldwide that 'A Rush Of Blood' sold. EMI will be happy, then.

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Readers Comments Simon Hollingsworth simonhollingsworth11@hotmail.com Hello Adrian! I would have to strongly agree to your review on ‘X&Y’. Personally I felt under whelmed by the album when I first bought it – in contrast to how ‘Rush of Blood...’ was instantly satisfying. In addition I was slightly concerned that some of the songs did echo the U2 ‘style’ a bit too much for my liking. However it has grown on me and I would concur that this does definitely dwarf the other two albums. With ‘X&Y’ I would always believe that you would love and understand the songs that little bit more the NEXT time you listen to them. Great reviews on the whole Denning site! Ilya i.grigoriev@gmx.de Improvement. Growth. Songwriting. Blissful Vocals. This album screams all that. You know, if people are actually buying this album in millions... perhaps there's still hope in people ;) P.S.: "Square One", in parts, sounds somehow reminiscent of the Russian band "Kino". The vocals would have been much more gruff though. It's a wondrous song! Jono Butow imepkunious_jono@hotmail.com Could not agree more with that review. When i first purchsed X and Y i slapped it into my CD player. I wasnt a great Colplay fan at that stage but it was the Epic, lyrical, magicalness of coldplays sound that took me aback. "Fix you" Also my all time favourite song came at the right time for me.... sounds corny but i was sitting on the bus thinknig about life as per usual. things getting me down going nowhere and then BANG the guitars come in at the 3 minute mark and gave me the inspiration to change whatever the hell i was doing in my life. the stagnant pool of creativity has now become dynamic :) If a song can do that to anybody then i rate it above anything else in this world. Daniel dsteedman@vinidex.com.au I was not really a coldplay fan until I heard "Fix You" while in a lounge at Singapore Airport. I was so impressed I bought the album and have been mightily impressed. While not Abbey Road it is a sign that Martin and co are on the road to a truly great rock album. Could album number 4 be their equvalent of the mighty Joshua Tree? I am keen with anticipation! Thom Fisher thomfisher@hotmail.com Hi Adrian I agree with your review although after listening alot I now rank "the hardest part" as one of the top tracks.The album seem's to draw you into a track which you think is your favourite until you listen to another a number of times and your favourite changes again. I suppose the last three tracks are (at the moment) the weakest for me, but overall a fantastic album. Is it possible for it to get better than this for album 4? P.s my son still prefers Speed of Sound as his favourite. Jameswm walkerwyatt@optusnet.com.au Funny as a mid-30s bloke I always considered the 60s and 70s music hard to beat and don't listen to a lot of the modern stuff. Unfortunately I have allowed the amount of cr@p aimed at 14yo girls to influence me, but happily for some reason decided to buy a coldplay album recently and started off at X + Y, without ever having heard any of their other stuff (don't get the chance to listen to much radio). Got to say the album is incedible so I have since toddled out to buy Parachutes (Shiver the real standout track there). As someone heavily influenced by older artists like Beatles, Billy Joel, the Police, Queen, Simon & Garfunkel and 80s Aussie pub rock, I have thoroughly enjoyed listening to coldplay and my 6 and 4 year olds won't let anything else go into the car's CD player at the moment. The whole family sings along to the extraordinary Fix You, and I personally rate Talk, White Shadows and What If as the other real highlights. I like the last 3 tracks a fair bit too ! and overall, I can only imagine that those heavily criticising the album are some form of music snobs, who think that they are on some higher level. I personally don't need music to change or shape my life; I have enough to worry about and listen to music to relax and escape a bit. A wonderful listen and overall clearly superior to Parachutes which, Shiver excepted, does not have the depth of X + Y. CtraK Pah. Sounds, actually, like the band spent a year in the studio before discovering U2's latest had dropped, then proceeded to rip it chapter and verse. Well, whilst conveneniently ignoring "Vertigo", because Coldplay is simply too cripplingly polite as a band to do such a number. And also, of course, without any real meaning; Martin doesn't write lyrics to even evoke any abstract meaning, it seems, merely to add vocals to a song. Bought Rush of Blood after this came out with slight dejection, because having been on an upward trajectory they've now completely shot backwards. If this is the way they're going Rush of Blood will, average as it is, be the best they get. Essentially, they've become a weaker, meaningless version of U2 for anyone who finds U2 waaaaay too edgy. Ditto, really, for Keane, Snow Patrol etc. It's a shame, because U2 are a great band, and they just don't need to be diluted by endless bands offering pale imitations. andrew.koole kooleboy127@hotmail.com I completely disagree. X&Y is by far the most disappointing album coldplay has released. Where Parachutes and Rush of Blood triumphed in intimacy and lyrical content, X&Y fell for the sake of filling a stadium. The last three tracks belong in a list of coldplays greats, along with the end of 'fix you,' but other than that, X&Y was a mistake.