Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 424
 Absolutely GORGEOUS and MASTERFUL music! June 25, 2008
CQ DX (Ohio, USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
'Coldplay' are unquestionably at their most creative peak right now. Just like other great 'progressive' bands they draw some influences from (The Church, Rush, XTC, Radiohead), they have retained elements of their recognizable signature sound of previous 'albums', yet have managed to expand their musical forays in a slightly different direction later in their career. There is a good mix of uptempo, and slower, more introspective and ethereal music on 'VLV'. Brian Eno's 'footprint' is clearly evident here, and that is a good thing. There is much texture and layers here without the whole thing sounding 'overproduced' or pretentious. Frankly, this is a MASTERPIECE, and unlike ANYTHING i've heard since first listening to all kinds of music way back in the 70's while in high school. Sonically, the CD sounds excellent as well, with much less 'compression' and good dynamic range. Play it on a good set of cans (headphones) or thru a high quality sound system, and you'll be amazed (MP3's/iPODs are convenient, but pale in sound quality compared to a good CD or LP record)!
It's one of the more loveable albums June 17, 2008
Mashrur Arefin (Dhaka, Bangladesh)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Was eagerly waiting for this album since long. Getting an album in hand on its release day is not easy when you are sitting in a country like Bangladesh. Advance order system came of help. However, that's a long, different story altogether. Coming to the heart of the matter: the single "Violet Hill" was available in the net for last 2 months or so; downloaded that and got hugely inspired to get the full album in hand. Today listened to it, all 10 songs and gave the album a 5 star rating.
Coldplay was not in my list of favorite bands of 2000s though I liked Parachute a lot. My favorites from current decade are: The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Interpol, Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, Audioslave and of course Elbow; and to some extent Death Cab for Cuties, Foo Fighters (ESPG album), Radiohead (for their best album so far i.e. In Rainbows which came during this decade), Weezer, Mew and Wilco. The list can actually get a little longer than this because I am someone who lives in music (more specifically in Indie & Alternative rocks)thorough & thorough. Music is not a mere passion for me, it's something (in fact the only thing) that keeps me going. My "lifeblood", to say the least (borrowing from Manic Street Preachers' album name - they are another great band from the Britpop era and if you have not listened to their newest relase titled "Send Away the Tigers", which was released during this decade, you have truly missed something).
To come back to the point, I have somewhat resisted myself all along from putting Coldplay in the list of my favorites (thereby listening to them a lot less than I listen to my favorites). But no more. After devouring Viva La Vida, now I know why Mr Martin deserves all the hype and media attention that his band - luckily - recieve always.
Coldplay to me was always something like: typed, too subdued for my taste, something where same pattern / same format gets repeated, and something which takes long time to get into. And there was also this stupid comment I heard in Copenhagen in 2006 from a bookstore owner: "Coldplay? You like Coldplay, huh? They are a gay band, man." This got into my head (nothing wrong if somebody is a gay or whatever, but somehow this comment from a music buff uttered in a foreign land on a foggy winter morning got seriously into my head and made me prejudiced towards Coldplay).
Today I am throwing away all those and putting in Coldplay in my list of favorites. It's an honor they have done to me, to the millions of other music lovers like me, by producing and releasing such a stunning collection of songs where all 10 tracks are loveable ones and none of the 10 tracks takes more than just one listening to fall in love with. "Violet Hill" still remains the best and after 3 listenings, I think "Yes" is a great song. I think this album will be hailed by all pundits as the best album Coldplay has produced so far. Congratulations to Brian Eno also. He showed why he is the Brian Eno (to me he however is the creator of one of my all time favorite songs "By This River".) Viva Coldplay!!!
Coldplay have just become interesting June 18, 2008
P. Hudson
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is Coldplay's 'The Unforgettable Fire'. The whole album has a lush sonic palette akin to that classic U2 album. Indeed the instrumental opener 'Life in Technicolour' definitely has the feel of 'A sort of homecoming'. That song, 'Cemeteries of London', 'Lovers in Japan', 'Reign of Love', 'Chinese sleep chant', '42', 'Lost!' and 'Death and all his friends' will appeal to the experimental ansd avant-garde fan. In short, these are the songs by which this album will really come to be judged. Of course they're still obviously by Coldplay (indeed 'Violet Hill', 'Yes' and 'Viva la Vida' are pretty standard Coldplay) but they're far more original, sonically lush and interesting. If you thought Coldplay were boring before, I would urge you to lay aside your prejudices and listen to this album. It is genuinely good - not great - and I suspect will come to be seen as a brilliant departure for the band. I have a feeling this may be 'The Unforgettable Fire' to their 'Joshua Tree'. I always liked certain tracks by the old Coldplay - 'Don't panic', 'Spies', 'Everything's not lost', 'Clocks', 'The Scientist', A whisper', Square One', 'A message' - in short, the moody songs alluding to something more grandiose and interesting - but felt constrained by some terribly lazy songs and bad ones - 'What if?' and 'Twisted Logic' for example. Now I can honestly say I am a fan of them. They're now in the same league as Radiohead and the early U2.
Standout tracks: 'Lost!', 'Death and all his friends', '42', 'Lovers in Japan' and 'Chinese Sleep Chant'. Weakest tracks (sorry Coldplay obsessives!): 'Violet Hill' and 'Yes'.
INcredIBle!!!...great cd! June 18, 2008
R. Hood (MISSISSIPPI)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
why is there negative reviews for this album?.....listen to it a few times before making judgment.......the first time i listened to it online i wasnt that impressed at all.....then i listened to more samples adn said screw it ill buy the cd and WOW ...it grows on u fast.....some fans may be put off sure........but theres plenty of gorgeous tracks on here...beautiful stuff like "life in technicolor" ... "LOST"...the great "viva la vida"...and another standout "Lovers in Japan"..which is simply gorgeous.........i still gotta really finish the cd ive skimmed thro a couple songs but i had to post something to let people who love Coldplay know that this cd is wonderful...get it and give it a try
I simply don't understand... June 18, 2008
M. SEBOURN (Searcy, Arkansas)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Why so many negative reviews for an album that is solid all the way through?
In some ways this is classic Coldplay, in some ways it's something totally different. It's mainstream, but it's intelligent, and it's obvious that the band put forth their best effort with it.
A classic case of fans having a preconceived mindset of what a band's album should be before it's released.
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