The overall rating of a review is different from a simple average of all individual ratings.
Advantages:
Some lovely songs, very mellow and emotional . With mostly great lyrics, and brilliant music throughout, this really is one of the must - own albums of the new century .
Disadvantages:
A few rather duff lyrics, and it won't be appreciated if you are too cynical about the hype that surrounds the band . Don't be, or you'll miss out
Recommendable
Yes:
Detailed rating:
Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency of tracks
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Value for Money
How does it rate alongside the competitionOutstanding
Welcome watchers of illusion to the castle of confusion......Read more in my remarkable(ish) new HTM...
Welcome watchers of illusion to the castle of confusion......Read more in my remarkable(ish) new HTML profile........
Member since:10.03.2001
Reviews:15
Members who trust:13
On first hearing, I wasn't so sure about whether or not Coldplay were the brilliant band that the music press had led me to believe, although when I listen to the album now I am not sure why I felt this way. I think it may be that I was less than astounded by their breakthrough single, Yellow, but now I have grown even to love that track. I bought the album after Yellow's release, fuelled by the great reviews that it had recieved, but was rather too cynical about the band to enjoy it on first listening. I heard the first track, Don't Panic, which is currently recieving a lot of radio play, and loss interest immediately, my cynical mind dismissing the song as rubbish because of the rather lacklustre lyrics ("We live in a beautiful world, yeah we do, yeah we do"). This led me to give up almost immediately on the album, not concentrating on what I was listening to and only listening up to about track four before being distracted by something else and not hearing the rest.
Thank God then, for the release of the single Trouble, an absolutely fantastic song, without which I would still be ignorant to the brilliance of the band, and of course, the album. When I heard the song at first, on the radio, I was astounded, but unaware of the fact that it was Coldplay I was listening to. It was not until a few days later when I was watching Top of the Pops (sorry) and saw the band perform the song that I made the connection. The next day, after a hard day at work, I dug out the album once more, this time to give it the hearing it deserved. I was taken aback, the beautiful songs completely mellowing me out, and giving that tingly, hairs-on-the-back-of-the-neck-standy-uppy moments. I loved it.
So now I can appreciate the album for what it is, a brilliantly smooth collection of bittersweet guitar rock. Or is it pop? It's certainly popular, but whenever we brand anything as "pop" people immediately decide that it is rubbish. Well this should not be the case: we should try to look past simple labels and actually listen to the music before deciding it is rubbish, especially in a case like this. Like I so blatantly didn't, and nearly missed out on one of the best new bands of the new century. I call it pop because it is, in the true sense of the word, but looking a little closer you can see that this is a lovingly crafted little album, especially when you consider that it is a the band's debut. I think it's great, my personal favourites on the album being Spies, Parachutes, Yellow (having now realised what a good song it is, with some nice lyrics) and of course, the subliminal Trouble. Every song has its own charm though, and you really do need to hear them to appreciate them. Coldplay are obviously very talented, and if this is what they start out with, imagine what we can look forward to.
Coldplay should be appreciated for helping towards, hopefully, another period of great British rock, or Britpop. It happened in the mid-nineties with Oasis, Blur, Pulp and the rest, but now that most of those bands have sadly fallen from the limelight we can look forward to seeing more of the likes of Coldplay, Travis and JJ72 (are they officially British or Irish?I can't remember) leading the way for a new wave of Britpop bands. Here's hoping.......
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Nice op :-)
I'm thinking about buying this - I think I'll just get it off Ebay so that if I don't like it, I've not wasted £15! I love Trouble, and Yellow, but I'm not sure if that is enough!
Take Care,
Fairy Kitty
=^-^=
Shufflebum 21.05.2002 17:16
This is one of my list of must buys. I kepp hearing it and think it gets better all the time. Great review. Rach x
julietta 31.08.2001 14:44
And yet another fab review here! Yes, this is a classic album that I never get tired of listening to - it's a good one for the car, for after the pub or for Sunday mornings - I will never get fed up of hearing these songs!
Music doesn't come more touching than Parachutes. With their debut single alone, the ... more
emotion-fortified "Shiver", Coldplay proved they could shift between elated and crushed in a breath as singer Chris Martin poured out music's oldest chestnut (uncondit...
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Music doesn't come more touching thanParachutes. With their debut single alone, the ... more
emotion-fortified "Shiver", Coldplay proved they could shift between elated and crushed in a breath as singer Chris Martin poured out music's oldest chestnut (unconditi...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Accoustic harmonies and easy to listen to songs.Sincere and heartfelt lyrics. A really nice album. Disadvantages: I didnt like it as much as X&Y or A Sudden Rush of Blood to the Head.
SpookyMoon 29.05.2009 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Parachutes - Coldplay
Mar 25th, 2001
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