Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends (Gatefold Digipack)

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk review
To say there has been a lot of anticipation for Coldplay’s fourth album, iViva La Vida/i, 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. iViva La Vida/i 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 iViva La Vida/i a welcome break from the old routine--iDanny McKenna/i

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Customer reviews

review by: Secret blabbermouth date: 2009-06-14 rating:
Disappointing
Disappointing. Most of the songs are unmemorable. I particularly hate the "sing la la las" which sound lame.

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review by: date: 2009-06-13 rating:
another good one
consistency is good in a band. if you like coldplay you'll like this offering.

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review by: angry-nun date: 2009-05-28 rating:
You didn't get to heaven but you made it close
OK, I'll admit it, I wasn't a big Coldplay fan before. I mean, they were obviously clever, but their work lacked that certain zing - very much early-millenium miserablist droning with little to distinguish them from half a dozen other bands. br / br /This, though... this is different. Very different. The music swoops, dives, circles round and swoops again. Instruments and influences get dragged in from all over, and blended beautifully. There is not a duff track on this album. br / br /At last, an album of real, intelligent rock songs packed with passion and imagination. They're confident of their material and it shows: how many other bands would open their album with an instrumental? And ideas burst out all over. Where the old Coldplay would have dragged one riff out for four minutes, here we find pieces like '42', which is less a track and more a microscopic album in its own right.The transformation is amazing. br / br /Best album of the 21st century so far. Bar none. br /

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review by: lowcol date: 2009-04-26 rating:
Am I missing something?
Call me a bluff old traditionalist, but I thought that Coldplay were a band that produced rather beautiful tunes with melancholic ditties. Why is it that I can't seem to find any on this album then? br / br /AAdmittedly the title track has grown on me, but only after hearing it several thousand times on airplay. As a song, the lyrics are interesting, but the music is really poor. Compare it with 'Yellow' or 'The Scientist' for example. br / br /I only bought the album because I had heard/seen 'Life in Technicolour' on Youtube (one of the best videos ever), and I thought that actually maybe this album does have some good material. It really is a track that is worthy of the Coldplay name. But guess what....the single version is not even on the album. Instead we basically, just get the intro - no lyrics. br / br /Very disappointing.


review by: date: 2009-04-11 rating:
Best Coldplay album so far
This album is very well composed. It has a continuous sound through all the tracks, which makes the album feel whole. The songs are not very varied, but it makes a good background music. The songs are also high quality, of course. I used to be a luke warm coldplay enthusiast, but this album is the best I've heard from them so far. Recommended!

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