Ann 2
Alain
JennYColdplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends Album Review
July 14th 2008 17:28
Release date: 12 June 2008
Genre: Alternative Rock
Length: 45:53
Number of tracks: 10
Label: Parlophone, Capitol
Writer: Ann 2
After a two-year absence from the charts, Coldplay is back with their highly anticipated fourth album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. Since they started to write material for this album during their 2007 Latin American tour, their sound has picked up some Hispanic influences along the way especially on the drums which are really noticeable this time around, along with the addition of claps and tambourines. So, without further ado, here's a track-by-track review of Viva la Vida.
The album starts off with Life in Technicolor, a 2-minute-and-a-half instrumental in which the instruments rise in crescendo one after the other. It's a nice introduction to the album since it gives an idea of what to expect for the rest of the tracks.
The second track is Cemeteries of Lodon and picks up where Coldplay left off with X&Y. It starts with Chris Martin softly singing the first verse while some light guitar, bass, and keyboard play in the background. Then, the instruments rise up once he gets to the chorus. The song really shows the Latin influence that integrated their music while touring and recording in South America. The drum pattern is closer to reggaeton than rock, and I don't think that they had claps on their previous albums. It reminds me of U2's “Vertigo” without the guitar riff.
The claps continue on Lost! where the drum pattern sounds like a distorted version of Queen's “We Will Rock You.” It's a track that really slow things down after Cemeteries of London. At first listen, Chris Martin's voice is the only thing that saves this song from disaster but it could certainly grow on you with multiple listens. The drumming is really annoying, though. Fortunately, there's also a nice guitar riff at the end of the song.
The third song of the album called 42 brings the old and new Coldplay together in a single track. The song starts off in classic Coldplay style with Martin singing as he plays the piano. Then, the song goes in a completely different direction as the bass guitar and drums combine to make a funky beat.
Lovers in Japan / Reign of Love follow 42. I really don't understand this new trend of artists putting two songs into one. Lovers in Japan and Reign of Love are two completely different tracks, and yet, they count as one. Lovers in Japan is a high-tempo song which isn't as great as Cemeteries of London. Once again, you really notice the drums in this song. The bass drum is okay but the rest doesn't quite fit with the song. The keyboard loop is great though, and it's too bad that it gets drowned out by the guitars. Reign of Love is a slow song with a keyboard as the main instrument. It's really the opposite of Lovers in Japan, probably this album's version of “Swallowed in the Sea.”
Yes is another track that contains two songs, Yes and Chinese Sleep Chant. Yes takes Coldplay to a place they have never been before. It features Middle-Eastern-like strings between the verses and the chorus, and Chris Martin drops his falsetto voice for a more deeper tone. It really differs from their previous work and takes awhile to get into. The instruments take center stage on Chinese Sleep Chant as Martin's voice telling us to sleep sounds like a distant echo. It's the best song of the album so far.
The second single of the album, Viva la Vida is the kind of song that stays stuck in your head for days and days. The fact that it's always playing on the radio right now doesn't help very much as you'll find yourself singing along and still whistling the song long after it's finished. On that track, Coldplay dropped the guitars, choosing a cello instead as the lead instrument. It's different but great nonetheless.
Violet Hill is the album's first single and I was hugely disappointed when I first listened to it. I kept wondering where had my Coldplay gone, hoping that the album wouldn't be as bad, but the song quickly grew on me after a couple of listens and I now consider it one of Coldplay's best singles.
Music video of Violet Hill
Strawberry Swing is another good song. It's not as great as, say, Viva la Vida, but it doesn't lower the quality of the album.
The final track Death and All His Friends brings a fitting conclusion as it brings the album to a full circle. The song is classic Coldplay as it starts with Martin singing over a nice keyboard rhythm. The guitar takes over the second part of the song which fades into the hidden track called The Escapist which has the same notes as the beginning of Life in Technicolor, the album's first track.
Once again, Coldplay came out with a great album. Some songs might take a couple of listens to really appreciate them but they're all worth it. After a first listen, I would probably give this album a 3.75/5 but now that I've listened to a couple of songs several times, I'll rate it as 4.25. My recommended tracks are Life in Technicolor, Chinese Sleep Chant, Viva la Vida and Death and All His Friends.
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