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Album Review
by SaschaS
7-6-2005
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| Coldplay: 'X&Y' is third step 2 great... |
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Coldplay: 'X&Y'
(Parlophone)
Coldplay’s third step on the hollow fame’s moving walkway
Listening to this star on the British radio the other month, when he dragged along Steven Spielberg [who is his wife Gwyneth Paltrow‘s godfather], reminded me of our first meeting, back in the mid-2000, and how it became - well, all so out-of-proportion. It was the time when this fresh band were trying to be heard above the noise of the dying Brit-pop scene and were embarrassed to be sent - no, not even stretched limousines but - taxis to collect them from their humble abodes for rides to promotional duties.
Coldplay were telling stories of travelling on the London underground and buses and overhearing people talking about their independently released song. That was then but now their third album, ‘X&Y’, follows 16 million global sales, Chris Martin is married to an Oscar winning actress with whom he has a baby and has become known as a spokesman for a Fair Trade/Cancel The Debt/Make Poverty History campaigns and a number of other charitable causes.
And the view from the fool’s hill… Must be very frightening/bewildering/intrusive in extremis and the probable reason for Martin’s outburst about shareholders being the evil of the contemporary music business. It was his reaction to the pressure which had nothing to do with creativity, a strike against expectations his band had to shoulder from the label bosses who cited Coldplay [and Gorillaz although Damon Albarn is somewhat ‘protected’] as the reason for the end-of-year profit downturn.
Then, being beaten to the Number One spot by Crazy Frog is certainly humiliating. [The ringtone novelty also remained at No.1 for the second week whilst Coldplay’s single dipped to the 7th position.] Martin is truly a caring person, a concerned musician who is using his status to make people become aware of certain issues that are fair bit beyond ‘binge drinking’.
But, the tribulation is that is not about music anymore, it is about celeb-tainment, emotional striptease and all-round banality. It is also about ersatz-fame and things stars do, like lashing at the photographers. Occasionally Martin rocks… soft rocks. Coldplay’s ‘X&Y’ is refinement and enhancement, a product of members who have had to deal with greater and wider experiences and, in the singer’s case, the hollow of fame.
Songwise, there are rudiments of established sonics but also elements of neo [for them] - like The Beatles-que ending on ‘What If’, or Pink Floyd-ness on ‘Square One’, Kraftwerk's riff ['Computer Love'] makes a surprise appearance on 'Talk', or taking on U2 epic terms on few tunes. There is still plenty of beloved trademark sounds for fans never to complain - ‘What If’ simply rings out like a classic on the initial spin! - but the band is not ready to hang about the zone marked ‘redux’.
‘X&Y’ will sell regardless of what the critics decree and its popularity will be judged by the fans’ word of mouth, loyalty and need for more Coldplay music. The interest is certainly present when, despite huge security operation, the album got leaked online a week ahead of the official release. Or, the estimated 100,000 copies sold yesterday. [For more info Link to News on the left.]
And yet, as Chris Martin hinted, it may be their last album. Let’s hope not… But then, Noel Gallagher - one of Martin’s friends and a fan - claimed that Oasis had three [great] albums in them… five albums ago!
8/10
SaschaS
7-6-2005
Coldplay’s album ‘X&Y’ is released 06 June 2005 by Parlophone
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