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Viva La Vida

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To say there has been a lot of anticipation for Coldplay's fourth album, Viva La Vida, is an understatement. Having enlisted legendary leftfield producer Brian Eno, borrowed their album title from a painting by renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and made tantalising remarks about sonic reinvention, the world has been curious (to say the least) to hear what the `new' Coldplay might sound like. Viva La Vida definitely makes some departures from the band's usual formula, which happens to be one of the most commercially successful rock-pop blueprints of recent years. The plangent chords, emotive melodies, stadium-rock rhythms and universal lyrical concerns remain, but Martin and co. have gone out on several limbs here, incorporating instrumental tracks ("Life In Technicolour"), using subtle North African and Latin elements ("Yes", "Strawberry Swing"), and overhauling previously strict verse-chorus-verse structures in favour of slightly more avant arrangements. The old Coldplay still shine through (see tracks like "Violet Hill" and the title song) but even their classic sound feels more muscular and confident. The band's new flourishes, cosmetic and self-conscious as they may be, are enough to make Viva La Vida a welcome break from the old routine --Danny McKenna

People en Español
Cuando Coldplay anunció con bombo y platillo que su cuarto disco, bajo el ambicioso título de Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, vendría acompañado de la producción de Brian Eno, dos escenarios se convertían en posibilidad: o se trataba de su peor álbum o la obra maestra de su carrera. Afortunadamente, la producción de Eno no lleva a la banda británica a imitar a U2 por ningún momento, y en cambio, el grupo liderado por Chris Martin presenta el mejor disco en su trayectoria, ofreciendo un sonido distinto, en el que por fin se alejan del pianito hartante de sus primeros tres álbumes y suenan como lo que siempre prometieron ser: una de las mejores bandas del mundo. "Life In Technicolor," "Viva la Vida," y sobre todo el tema "Lost!," representan a Coldplay en su momento cumbre. --Ernesto Sánchez (People en Español People en Español)

Amazon.com

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Album Description

Coldplay release their fourth album "Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends" on Parlophone. The album comprises 10 brand new tracks, recorded in London, Barcelona and New York with producers Brian Eno and Markus Dravs. "Viva La Vida" follows the hugely successful album "X&Y", which has sold 10 million copies since its release in 2005.

Viva La Vida - customer reviews:

A Beautiful, Masterful Pop Album -- NOW I'm A Fan - Rating: 5 out of 5
- 0 people found this review helpful (from a total of 0)
It's really weird how the same music can affect different people in such radically different ways. The varied opinions of VIVA LA VIDA on this forum are striking. I've never really considered myself to be much of a Coldplay fan (was always more into Radiohead, by comparison) but - wow! - they really won me over on this one. I took a liking to it immediately.

Every song here is top quality and every song is expertly composed and orchestrated. Major props to Brian Eno who's production style is clearly evident. The musicians are never flashy - every instrument serves to compliment Chris Martin's superb vocal melodies. Chris has grown quite a bit as a vocalist and he sings in surprizingly different ways throughout the album.

Even though there are no mind-blowing solos or proggy freak-outs to be heard, the arrangements are sophisticated and reveal greater depth upon repeated listens. The instrumentation and musical textures are varied and engaging, yet the songs breathe naturally. Nothing feels contrived or forced.

No song on VIVA LA VIDA sticks out or dominates like previous pop juggernaut "Clocks;" rather, the album works as a cohesive whole. As with most any group, echos of influence can be detected, yet the album still feels original rather than derivative. "Cemetaries of London" employs a rythm reminiscent of an old sea shanty while "Yes" makes use of a Middle Eastern sounding violin before it launches off on an exuberant alt-rock tangent to close out the track. Meanwhile, "Violet Hill" sounds kinda like the best Supertramp or updated old-school Genesis song you've never heard. And the beautifully orchestrated "Strawberry Swing" is "feel-good" music of the highest order. In fact, this whole album feels so good it practically makes me high. This despite some of the rather dark subject matter including politics, religion and death. I also love the luminous opening instrumental track whose synthesizer reappears at the end of the last song, a nice way to bookend the album and add to its cohesiveness.

Coldplay had some great hit songs on A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD, but I didn't know they (along with Eno and some other first-rate producers) could make an entire record this fantastic. I expect to be listening to VIVA LA VIDA years from now. Highly recommended.

AN ASIDE: yet another FN CD booklet with scrawled, obscured, incomplete and barely legible lyrics and other writing. This highly annoying practice has been around for decades and why anyone ever thought it was a good idea in the first place is beyond me. I'm also not too crazy about the cover, taking a classic painting and trashing it with graffiti. But that doesn't bother me nearly as much as the junky words all over the inside of the CD booklet. C'mon people: either publish your lyrics legibly and in their entirety or don't publish them at all. Don't make us strain our eyes trying to figure out what, if anything, you're trying to say in print. CD booklet rating: D

Great - Rating: 5 out of 5
- 0 people found this review helpful (from a total of 0)
No time to write details ... it's just a fabulously infections, well-written, well-played, and great sounding CD. the title track is the best song of this century thus far.

another good cd! - Rating: 5 out of 5
- 0 people found this review helpful (from a total of 0)
just as the title states another good album by cold play. I am always excited when they come out with another album because I love to hear what new direction they were willing to try.

Cold on ColdPlay - Rating: 2 out of 5
- 0 people found this review helpful (from a total of 0)
The title track from Viva La Vida is a catchy, main-stream performance that is easy to listen to. All of the other tracks seem to be an attempt by Chris Martin & the gang to be different, or for their music to "evolve". Simply put, it is just hard to listen to, and has little of the layered construction that all of their previous albums displayed. So, like the Scissor Sisters, when the next Coldplay offering comes out I will preview it before making a purchase.

Viva la vida, baby - Rating: 4 out of 5
- 1 person found this review helpful (from a total of 1)
Every so often a band comes along that breaks new ground and spreads life messages with unfaltering confidence and high artistic vision, and, once making it big, never sacrifices its artistic integrity. The first of these was the Beatles in the 1960s. U2 rose up in the 1980s. In the 1990s, Radiohead rose and was set to become the next of these bands. But when their fourth album, 2000's "Kid A," broke too much ground for mainstream listeners to handle, those listeners twirled around to face Coldplay, a fresh-out-of-college English band that had just released their debut, "Parachutes." Since then, music fans have been heralding Coldplay as the next big thing, the band that could rise up and lead the music world like Radiohead and U2 have been doing.

But they've been like that brilliant student who never quite applies his or herself to the schoolwork, the student who is trying to do his or her best but just can't. Their debut was good, their sophomore effort, "A Rush of Blood to the Head," was excellent (ranking on "Rolling Stone"'s list of the 500 greatest albums in history), and their third album, 2005's "X&Y," was very good, though not a whole lot more than the band trying to sound like U2 (lead Chris Martin's biggest influence). The band needed a teacher. For their fourth album, they hired Brian Eno as producer - the most brilliant move they could ever have made. Eno produced the most brilliant and groundbreaking albums of David Bowie, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, and, yes, U2. He's just what the band needed.

So now we have Coldplay's fourth album, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends." As promised, it's the beginning of a new era for the band. Whether that era is one to be cheered or ignored is up in the air. While some will appreciate the band's more complex, refined, and much more inspired style, evident on songs like the ethereal "Cemeteries of London" or the soul-grabbing title anthem, "Viva La Vida," others will lament the fact that, on those same songs, Martin sounds like he's dying not to make Coldplay go down in history via originality but to go down in history via playing U2's similar-looking cousin. The fact of the matter is that Martin looks nothing like Bono - he's not even Irish. That's where Eno comes in. If Martin has asked him to dress them like Bono, Eno has smiled and said, "Alright, I'll do it," and done it just enough to convince Martin that it's been done. In fact, though, Eno has added some stylistic flare to separate Coldplay from their idols.

Those less-tolerant listeners may find "Viva La Vida" a cold listen, though the quality of Eno's warm production is undeniable. But for those who are willing to try to understand Martin's U2-bound aspirations, there's a lot to "Viva La Vida," particularly in beautiful pieces like the instrumental opener, "Life in Technicolor," the sensational and rock-sturdy "Lost!" (the group's own "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"), the forementioned title track, or the mind-bending psychedelic "Chinese Sleep Chant." Coldplay still isn't in the same league as Radiohead or U2 -- they're too afraid of upsetting anyone -- and, heck, they may never be in that league, but regardless, "Viva La Vida" is an excellent album. More importantly, it's a softly-cooed lover's whisper of wonderful things to come.

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