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Coldplay: Viva la Vida or
Death and All His Friends- Who the hell would have thought
that Coldplay had it in them? Sure, the very tired sounding X &
Y did have it's moments of grandeur- such as the towering,
anthemic chorus of personal favorite "White Shadows" and
the catchy, though hardly eye opening, "Talk." Yet it
didn't prevent many of us from wondering if we would see the band
release 5 more X & Y
clones in the next 10 years. Would the band choose complacency
and milk their powerful niche all the way to the bank or grow some
balls and do something unexpected? I think we all realize that
Coldplay is no Radiohead. There are just too many fragile, emo
teenagers eager to burn their allowances on maudlin, easy to digest
records. Besides even if they had the balls to give away potential
millions and do a musical 180, Coldplay doesn't have the creative
ability to create a Kid A. However the band's pre-release
behavior shows that they have learned some things from their brainy
British counterpart. Facing a dire crossroads in their careers,
Coldplay did what Coldplay does best. They took a middle road. You
would have to be stupid not too. Surprisingly, though, the result is
quite successful. This record will undoubtedly sell 10 million
records, just like the others did. However, don't be surprised if
this record garners some of the highest critical acclaim of the
Brits' career. Viva la Vida is a strong, reformed record.
Viva la Vida is crisp,
dynamic, and fun, where X & Y felt
tired, sappy, and generally unappealing. First single, "Violet
Hill" was a terrible choice, as it is perhaps the weakest song
on the album. However, Coldplay quickly righted the ship with
euphoric, powerful second single, "Viva la Vida." The rest
of the album shows profound Latin American influences, as promised,
as well as some unexpectedly strong drumming and strings. The songs
are resolute, meaningful, and unexpectedly immediate. Also,
though they are nowhere near as melodramatic as most of X &
Y, they elicit a much stronger emotional response. Coldplay
finally get it in their heads that often times less is more. What we
have here is a genuine candidate for Coldplay's strongest album yet.
Time will tell whether its lasting appeal rivals that of the
formidable A Rush of Blood to the Head. My guess is that it
will be a strong second in Coldplay's discography. Coldplay has woken
up folks, they have roused their army of bed-wetters who cried to the
sound of X & Y and put them onto the streets,
(tepidly) pleading for revolution!
TRC Minireview rating: 7.1
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