1 Politik
2 In My Place
3 God Put A Smile Upon Your Face
4 The Scientist
5 Clocks
6 Daylight
7 Green Eyes
8 Warning Sign
9 A Whisper
10 A Rush Of Blood To The Head
11 Amsterdam

Guy Berryman - Bass
Jonny Buckland - Guitar
Will Champion - Drums, Percussion
Susan Dench - Strings
Richard George - Strings
Phil Harvey - Band Manager
Peter Lale - Strings
Anne Lines - Strings
Chris Martin - Guitar, Vocals
Laura Melhewish - Strings
Leo Payne - Strings
Audrey Riley - String Arrangements, Strings 

After touring in support of their debut album, Parachutes, Coldplay was personally and professionally exhausted. Frontman Chris Martin insisted he was dry; by the time they closed their European tour in summer 2001, he hadn't written a song in months. The U.K. music press immediately pounced on the idea of Coldplay calling it quits, but somewhere lurked the beauty of "In My Place." The spirit and soul of this ballad allowed Coldplay to pull it together to make a second album. What came from such anguish and inquisition was A Rush of Blood to the Head. Coldplay has surely let it all go on this record. Acoustics are drowned out by Jon Buckland's riveting guitar work, and vocally, Martin has sharpened his falsetto, refining his haunting delivery. It's a strong album; you can feel, hear, and touch the blood, sweat, and tears behind each song, and that's exactly what Coldplay was going for. Co-producer Ken Nelson and mixer Mark Pythain (the team behind the blissful beauty of Parachutes) allowed Coldplay to make an album that's initially inaccessible, but that's what makes it intriguing. Lush melodies and a heartbreak behind the songs are there, but also a newfound confidence. From the delicate, shimmery classic "In My Place" to the piano surge of "The Scientist," Coldplay exudes an honest passion. The disco haze of "Daylight" and the love-drunk ballad "Green Eyes" are divine examples of solid lyrical arrangements, but "Politik" and the stunning guitar-driven "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" project a nervy edge to the band. Echoes of early post-punk showcase Coldplay's ballsy musicianship. Don't fret -- it's not exactly rock & roll, but Radiohead, Echo & the Bunnymen, and the Smiths aren't exactly rock & roll either, and they're well loved. "Yellow" didn't follow the rock formula, but it sold well, and similarly A Rush of Blood to the Head might not instantly grab listeners, but it's not tailored that way. It pushes you to look beyond dreamy vocals for a musical inner core. Regardless of the band still being in their mid-twenties, they've made an amazing record, and if it ends up being their last, A Rush of Blood to the Head didn't sugarcoat anything. It's a bittersweet design no matter what. ---MacKenzie Wilson, AllMusic Review

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01 Don’t Panic.
02 Shiver.
03 Spies.
04 Sparks.
05 Yellow.
06 Trouble.
07 Parachutes.
08 High Speed.
09 We Never Change.
10 Everything’s Not Lost.

Guy Berryman - Bass
Jonny Buckland - Guitar
Will Champion - Drums
Chris Martin - Vocals

The London foursome Coldplay were early critics' darlings in their native U.K., showcasing melodic pop on a slew of EP releases and constant live shows just after the spark of the new millennium. Not as heavy as Radiohead or snobbish as Oasis, Coldplay were revealed on Parachutes as a band of young musicians still honing their sweet harmonies. Combining bits of distorted guitar riffs and swishing percussion, Parachutes was a delightful introduction and also quickly indicated the reason why this album earned Coldplay a Mercury Music Prize nomination in fall 2000. Frontman Chris Martin's lyrical wordplay is feminist in the manner of Geneva's Andrew Montgomery, but far more withered. The imagery captured on Parachutes is exquisitely dark and artistically abrasive, and the entire composition is tractable thanks to gauzy acoustics and airy percussion. Coldplay's indie rock inclinations are also obvious, especially on songs such as "Don't Panic" and "Shiver," but it's the dream pop soundscapes captured on "High Speed" and "We Never Change" that illustrate the band's dynamic passion. This basic pop was surely a refreshing effort in the face of big productions like the Spice Girls and Westlife. Parachutes deserved the accolades it received because it followed the general rule when introducing decent pop songs: keep the emotion genuine and real. And Coldplay did that without hesitation. ---MacKenzie Wilson, AllMusic Review

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1. Life in Technicolor II - 4:06
2. Postcards from Far Away - 0:48
3. Glass of Water - 4:44
4. Rainy Day - 3:26
5. Prospekt's March/Poppy Fields - 3:39
6. Lost+ (con Jay-Z) - 4:18
7. Lovers in Japan (Osaka Sun Mix) - 3:58
8. Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground - 2:29

Emily Bart-Smith - Vocals
Guy Berryman - Composer, Group Member
Will Champion - Composer, Group Member
Markus Dravs - Producer
Brian Eno - Producer
Phil Harvey - Group Member
Jay-Z - Vocals
Chris Martin - Composer, Group Member
Kelly Pratt - Brass
Davide Rossi - Strings
Rik Simpson - Mixing, Producer
Andy Wallace - Mixing

Released as part of a Viva la Vida special edition and on its own as an EP -- thereby illustrating a concern for fans that's almost unheard of among these big-budget special editions -- Prospekt's March is an addendum to Coldplay's Eno-produced 2008 album, offering a little bit more of the same spacy thing. Often, it's a variation on what was on the album itself, as three of the eight songs here are remixes, none particularly different than the originals (not even Jay-Z's cameo on "Lost" feels sudden or surprising). Of those other five songs, "Postcards from Far Away" is just a small snippet of atmospheric keyboard, leaving this at a mere four tracks -- all good, all holding their own with the main text of Viva la Vida. Best of these is the surging drama of "Glass of Water," which feels as if it could have fit neatly into the album itself, but "Rainy Day" has a nice percolating electronic beat along with simpatico staccato strings, and "Prospekt's March/Poppyfields" earns much of its portentousness through its latter section, all of which makes up for the slightly unfinished feel of "Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground." None of this is major but it is enjoyable, worthwhile for the devoted -- and it's nice they can get it separately instead of plunking down cash yet again for a deluxe edition. --- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

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01. Life In Technicolor
02. Cemeteries Of London
03. Lost!
04. 42
05. Lovers In Japan/Reign Of Love
06. Yes
07. Viva La Vida
08. Violet Hill
09. Strawberry Swing
10. Death And All His Friends
11. Lost (Acoustic Version)

12. Lovers In Japan (Acoustic Version)

Paradoxically everything that fuels cynicism about the stadium-proof nature of Coldplay is also what makes them undeniably great. Yes, if you find huge choruses that contain wordless exhortations, ponderous one note bass lines and vaporous lyrics that convey nameless heartache to be the very tools of Satan, then Viva La Vida has much to wind you up. If, however, you're one of their millions of fans then it's an unqualified triumph. The rest of us (and EMI, for whom, allegedly, their very future depends on this selling by the shedload) can also rest easy. For, by bringing Brian Eno onboard as sonic nurse, Coldplay have managed to effortlessly make a record that's accomplished and yet pulls off the same trick that U2 managed when they employed the bald one - massaging their sound into something different enough to keep the formula (and make no mistake it IS a formula) fresh.

Two years in gestation, with a break in the middle to do a bit of cultural tourism (and touring) in South America, Viva La Vida wrong foots you by starting with Life In Technicolour; an instrumental that reeks of Eno's ambience while also utilising something that sounds suspiciously like a zither. The world music tropes are limited however. Cemeteries Of London may have an off-kilter rhythmic undertow and Lost! seems to sport bongos in its mix, yet it's the plaintive voice with its vague sense of regret, the lifts from minor key piano forays into vast, pumping rock and also a strident optimism that people are going to come here for. The band deliver all this in spades: 42 and Death And All His Friends most notably.

Elsewhere it's that patent (and potent) mix of upbeat and fatalistic that reminds you why the band hit the bullseye every time. Only on Strawberry Swing does Chris' chirpiness start to grate.

It all sounds so easy, yet when you imagine the pressure on all concerned to deliver the goods, it's little short of miraculous. Again, cynics may argue that it's Eno's fourth world fairy dust that sugar coats songs that really don't live up to Martin's promise of a very different sound. The string/brass mutations that bolster a track like Viva La Vida may not be a million miles from his mates, The Arcade Fire, but I bet they'd donate several limbs to conjure tunes so sweetly melancholy. Any way you look at it, this is a massive album. Get used to it, you'll be hearing it a LOT over the next two years. ---Chris Jones, BBC Review

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1 	Mylo Xyloto 	0:42
2 	Hurts Like Heaven 	4:02
3 	Paradise 	4:37
4 	Charlie Brown 	4:45
5 	Us Against The World 	3:59
6 	M.M.I.X 	0:48
7 	Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall	4:00
8 	Major Minus 	3:30
9 	U.F.O. 	2:17
10 	Princess Of China (Featuring – Rihanna)	  3:59
11 	Up In Flames 	3:13
12 	A Hopeful Transmission 	0:33
13 	Don't Let It Break Your Heart 	3:54
14 	Up With The Birds 	3:45
15	Charlie Brown (Live @ Glastonbury 2011)	4:48
16	Life Is For Living (Live @ Glastonbury 2011)	2:30
17	Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (Live @ Glastonbury 2011)  4:40

Guy Berryman – bass guitar
Jonny Buckland – lead guitar
Will Champion – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Chris Martin – lead vocals, keyboards, guitar
+
Michael Brauer, Mark "Spike" Stent - Mixing
Rosie Danvers -	Cello
Mary Hammond - Vocal Coach
Luis Jardim – Percussion
Ted Jensen, Bob Ludvig – Mastering
Davide Rossi – Strings

Coldplay finally surrender to their essential good nature on Mylo Xyloto, their fifth album and first to ditch all pretense of brooding melancholia. Which isn’t to say the band doesn’t drift along on some pleasingly spacy atmospheres conjured by longtime producer Brian Eno: there’s still a veneer of classy disaffection that inevitably dissipates due to the relentless sunniness of Chris Martin and company. Eno's echoes and ambience -- the only things that still mark Coldplay as anything resembling progressive -- positively sparkle when they meet the band’s bright, chipper melodies, yet Coldplay's innate good manners restrain the album, keeping it just this side of a rush of candied pop. Such politeness can verge on the dull -- criminally so when they bring Rihanna in for “Princess of China,” a duet so toothless she may as well have stayed home -- but Mylo Xyloto has a leg up on other Coldplay records for this simple reason: they’re no longer attempting to mimic U2's portentous piety. They’ve embraced their schoolboy selves and are simply singing songs of love and good cheer, albeit on a grand scale that somehow seems smaller due to the group’s insuppressible niceness. ---Stephen Thomas Erlewine, AllMusic Review

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