Coldplay – Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

The album is very good but it is a pity that the pressing of this vinyl does not match the talent of Coldplay. The sound is certainly warm but it lacks separation between the instruments. It's a bit flat. On the other hand, what happiness (anyway) to own this album in vinyl format.

You should know that Chris Martin (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jonny Buckland (guitar), Guy Berryman (bass) and Will Champion (drums, percussion) known as a quartet of a rock band named Coldplay is already changing to a better form; from only an average modern indie group with one hit wonder to a speaker activists and agents of changes spoken through their wiser wisdom lyrics on melancholic sounds. Viva La Vida is an album that created to celebrates the variety moments and relationships among we – the humans. Songs like Life in technicolour, Yes, Strawberry Swing or 42 are ambiguosly relates with the stories from the couragous and devastations or simply beginning to the tremendous inventions are all celebrated here. Removed thus suspicious minds,put them in a jar and let it be buried before you decided to listening to this one.

I understand the negative comment posted on this page and all i can say about this negative comment is that i wouldn't be happy if i would have to analyse and think so much while listening to a record
Also i would be happy if i could write and express such beautiful music.

Coldplay's best album. Lots of beautiful tracks mixed together with just the right amount of poppy-ness. The church and military themes add a nice aesthetic.

This is truly a terrible piece of work.
And marks the moment that Coldplay really did believe their own hype - even U2 took more than 4 albums to get this pretentious. The hollow righteousness and ridiculous musical references, the production, the cover art, the title all conjure up two over-riding themes - the military and the church. If I wasn't being reminded of Remembrance Sunday (with its military hymns), I was suddenly in Church. There is a sense of modernised religious songs or hymns to several tracks.

Maybe Martin et al really do feel that they have transcended to some other plane and have become the celestial know-it-alls they sound like, but ultimately you are left with the feeling that you have just listened to the pseudo-intellectual drivel of someone trying hard to say something intelligent when they do not really know what they are talking about.

Full of grandiose lyrics, military motifs and references ranging from Jerusalem bells ringing, Roman Cavalry choirs, cemeteries and soldiers fighting on, to military drum beats, gospel hand claps and Chinese lullabies it all just feels completely hollow. Rather than feeling that you have listened to someone with something to say, or a least a heartfelt ion for their subject matter (ion gets respect from me, even if not my agreement) you know that all these references are used for dramatic effect (or simply finding long words that rhyme).

And if they are not prattling on about something they once read in a book at University, they are still lonely, and low, and heartbroken - jeez you would have thought marrying Gwyneth would have helped Martin move on to a place where he could write dance-hall numbers about how great his wife's ass is, but nope, we are still getting the dirge about the girl he broke up with when he was writing "Parachutes".

Musically do not expect anything different from what you have already heard. Even the hand of Eno cannot deliver on the music front, but I guess he was not given to much to work with in the first place. Yes the production is crisp and tight and you can pick out Eno's touches, including U2-esque guitar effects and the depth of sound on certain tracks, but if you didn't know he was involved would you spot it? I doubt it actually. All the Coldplay cliches are there and this really does pick up where they left off with X&Y, only they have become even more pretentious.

The only good thing about this album is that they may well have disappeared so far up their own backsides that there is a a good chance they may never find their way out - lets hope so.