For some of us, Coldplay have turned into the band we ‘love to hate’.
Popularity and success maybe? No, I think it’s a lot more than that. Something
to do with blandness I believe.
Some three years ago, after a bashing from the US press, principally, they decided
to take a long break, with a view to re-inventing their music. So now we get
Viva La Vida, subtitled Death And All His Friends. Grand eh?
Just like the CD artwork of Eugene Delacroix’s masterpiece Liberty Leading The
People (1830). Pity the album doesn’t have all the same trappings. Ultimately,
Viva La Vida is a tad pretentious. It’s as if they’ve gone out of their way
to make a change, for change’s sake, and a drastic one at that.
Much was expected of their fourth, and for, me their difficult album. In truth,
this is a transitional period for Coldplay, and we knew it would be after
X&Y’s panning.
There was never any doubt that it would zoom to the top of the UK charts in the
first week, with Play.com getting its biggest pre-orders ever, with copies
being sold at one per minute. Viva La Vida (to us ‘Long Live Life’) is a
rather confusing sort of album. The LP artwork is a starting point. The painting
by French artist Eugene Delacroix is called People Leading The People.
The LP title is from another painting by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Confused?
Me too. Then we get word that the starting point for the music is from an
early Blur song ‘Sing’. Ok, we get the picture – running out of ideas? There
are also musical reference points such as Radiohead, Arcade Fire, My Bloody
Valentine, Tinariwen, and yes, even Pink Floyd. On the latter, they’re surely
deluded.
So keen to impress, they elected to experiment with different sounds, such as
taking acoustic guitars into churches in Spain and Latin America, trying to
assimilate a Hispanic feel, but not sound. Confused again? Me too. So, we can
assume that this isn’t Coldplay actually being, well, Coldplay. A bit of a
‘steal’ maybe?
There is a very grand and opulent beginning – Life In Technicolour, which
the credits tell us uses a large sample of Light Through The Veins
by Jon Hopkins, who provides additional production. To their credit though,
they have brought a new sense of adventure, even if it’s sort of indirectly forced
upon them. We don’t get anything as direct as the superb Clocks or Fix You, as this is far more expansive, if in a contrived way.
One thing hasn’t changed, well only a little, is Chris Martin’s register, even
if he tries to hide his often nauseating falsetto. So the reinvention is almost
complete, almost. Instead of Martin’s piano as a feature we’ve got new percussive
stylings characterised on Life In and Cemeteries, all of course
geared (brilliantly) for their forthcoming ‘arena’ world tour. If fact, these
two could be a U2 track with Buckland doing sterling Edge-like jangly riffs.
It may also be something to do with Brian Eno’s association with, er, U2.
Snippets of the past emerged right at the end where Martin can’t resist some
ivory tinkles. Lost! (appropriate me thinks at this point) is equally
big on handclaps and organ, chugging along at a cool pace. Maybe those churches
had some influence too. Messy 42 could have been left out as it’s that percussive
formula returning on a drab track, and oh, the piano’s back, whereas Lover In Japan
has, (here we go again), U2 arena riffs and soaring chorus.
Of all the tracks, Yes has something near Coldplay originality with sweeping
Eastern flavours, though it never builds into anything significant or awesome
like Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir. The title track is a whopper, sounding
like Coldplay of old, with new bits, surely the work of Eno. Single Violet Hill
(which is near Abbey Road) lends itself to a Beatles rhythm, and the band's
first anti-war protest song, hasn’t done much in the UK charts either, peaking
at #8, not going to #1 in any of the significant world charts.
The album’s serious low point is the disastrously muddled, and appropriately titled
closer Death And All His Friends.
Despite all the apparent adventure, and expectation, Viva La Vida does
not totally deliver the goods. Shame.
1. Life In Technicolour
2. Cemeteries Of London
3. Lost!
4. 42
5. Lovers In Japan / Reign Of Love
6. Yes
7. Viva La Vida
8. Violet Hill
9. Strawberry Swing
10. Death And All His Friends
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
