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From the Vault...
01/02/2022
#1811 |
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info
Coldplay
"X&Y"
© Capitol Records
Year of Release: 2005
Rating:
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track listing
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Square One
What If
White Shadows
Fix You
Talk
X&Y
Speed Of Sound
A Message
Low
The Hardest Part
Swallowed In The Sea
Twisted Logic
Til Kingdom Come
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Coldplay
"X&Y"
Coldplay debuts this week, with their 2005 release, X&Y. Since their debut in 2000, Coldplay is one of those bands, where they do
get popular early in their career, and then they get more popular, yet their popularity takes a different approach as in their beginnings
(example: U2). Therefore, the band's popularity gets to be that familiar phrase, "Their popularity gets to them." What is interesting to read
was that Coldplay would take some time off, prior from their release before X&Y - A Rush Of Blood To The Heart (2002). Lead singer
Chris mentioned, "We really feel that we have to be away for a while and we certainly won't release anything this year, because I think people are
a bit sick of us." This is how the popularity "gets to them." Some say a sellout, making a "deal" where "this is going to take you into the next
frontier." That frontier is that popularity, where people (fans) are going to love your more, or hate you more. "People are a bit sick of us."
You're either liked or disliked, You like them, and the most famous line about liking a band - "They're OK." The one song that caught my attention
(and everyone else's) was the hit single from their debut Parachutes, "Yellow." Chris Martin's voice has a good range, and when he
is singing in the upper range, another artist comes to mind in comparison: Dave Matthews (Dave Matthews Band; DMB).
Also, in learning of X&Y, in working with the album's producer, Danton Supple, many songs during his producing sessions were discarded, due
to the band's dissatisfaction with them. The album cover is a combination of colours and blocks, which is a representationof the Baudot code.
And with comparing Dave Matthews, another band to compare (in sound) on X&Y is U2. There is a lot of comaprison to U2 throughout the album.
Definitely on the album's opening track, "Square One." "What If" is a mellow track, and is "ok" (meaning there are other tunes better).
"White Shadows" is also U2'ish, and the pleasant "Fix You" is DMB'ish. Both U2 and DMB gets "Talk" -- U2 in sound, DMB in vocals.
The title track compares to DMB, yet the orchestration on this track gets compared to the later Beatles (Sgt. Pepper/Magical Mystery Tour).
And if the comaprison to U2 is definitely there, it definitely is, on the hit single (there were , "Speed Of Sound." U2's "Beautiful
Day" is definitely "heard" in this song. (This is my "bad habit" - where as I listen to a song, I hear another.) "A Message" has a nice
mellow guitar into, then it builds into another U2-sounding tune. And (like comparing "Beautiful Day"), another U2 song I hear in "Low,"
is the early U2, as in "I Will Follow."
On "The Hardest Part," this defines the "Coldplay Sound." There are slight resemblances to U2 and DMB, and the word slight is best to describe.
Very slight. Chris Martin's voice is the standout. Then there's another 180 on the next track - "Swallowed In The Sea" compares to Ray Davies and
The Kinks. Martin's voice easily is compared to that of Davies, and this could easily have been recorded by Davies and his band, The Kinks. "Twisted
Logic" has a mystery vibe about it, and it's own sound. (Good to say that it's not compared to those two bands I've mentioned before.)
The last track is not listed on the back of the CD, yet it is mentioned in the booklet, and on the CD - "Til Kingdom Come." It is a very good
acoustic track, and was meant to be a duet of Chris Martin and Johnny Cash. It was to be included in Cash's American recordings, yet Cash had passed away
before he could place his vocals on this track. It would have been (another) good song for Cash, as his American Recording albums definitely made his
comeback in his much later years.
Coldplay has released ten albums, from 2000 to 2021. X&Y became their first #1 album. Their second #1 album was Viva La Vida (2008),
The title track would become their first #1 hit. Mylo Xyloto would become their third #1 album, released in 2011. Their fourth #1 album was in
2014, Ghost Stories. Their current album is 2021's Music Of The Spheres. One of the tracks from that album, was the teaming up of Coldplay
and the boy band BTS - "My Universe." Now, this is where we can see where the popularity "gets to them", or "letting their popularity get to their
heads." Today's boy bands are way different than the boy bands of the past. Better? No. It's just an odd combination of two different artists, and the
result is a #1 hit. And does anyone remember Coldplay's performance at the Superbowl 50 Halftime show, in 2016? A good performance? No. They weren't the
main performance, thankfully, Bruno Mars was. And for the many newer music artists, Bruno Mars is exceptional, where many, many other newer performers are
just plain not. I can hear many of you saying, "Wait a minute, what about the combination of Run DMC and Aerosmith?" THAT was exceptional. THAT was when
music in general was GOOD.
As for X&Y, being compared to other popular bands can be a blessing. Both U2 and the Dave Matthews Band are good comparisons. Coldplay does have
their own sound, yet you can't help to recognize the comparisons. Like "Yellow" (from Parachutes) to Dave Matthews, and "Speed Of Sound"
(to U2), Coldplay is a "hit-or-miss" to music fans. Coldplay is a "good band." "Yellow" stood out for me, when asked "What Coldplay song do you remember
the most?" "Square One" and "Speed Of Sound" are the two songs that standout the most (for me) on X&Y. For Coldplay, they are a good band,
and I can say (like others), that they "ok." Other Coldplay albums will be reviewed. And to be curious, I'm wondering if there will be another outstanding track
(or more), that stood out as "Yellow." We will see.
Coldplay is a "good band." Not the best band, and not the worst either.
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intellectual property of
Capitol Records
and is used for reference purposes only.
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