Coldplay 'Parachutes'

1. Don't Panic 2. Shiver 3. Spies 4. Sparks 5. Yellow 6. Trouble 7. Parachutes 8. High Speed 9. We Never Change 10. Everything's Not Lost

http://www.coldplay.com/

Over last Christmas I succumbed and bought a TV satellite system

So whats that got to do with music

Well I suppose not much but flicking through the channels one night I came across this band singing a song called 'Trouble'. I sat listened and something immediately grabbed me about it. Haunting melodious piano riff - slide guitars and this guys fragile soft voice - it could almost be a distant cousin of Floyds 'Comfortably Numb'…Umm interesting…So I waited until the credit at the end to see who it was - Coldplay.

Now I've seen this name all over the place - boardings - press adverts - My God wasn't the album even Number 1 in the UK charts….!!!

It just showed me how much over the past few years that I've relied solely on internet review pages etc in the fields of music I'm mainly interested in - completely ignoring what was happening in the 'mainstream' - I mean wasn't that just Spice Girls / Boy bands and instantly forgettable one hit wonders

So where the hell did this come from?

Anyway I again succumbed - I actually went into a mainstream CD shop and parted with some real money.
So what did I get?

I tell you - an intelligent haunting album of great rock numbers. Every song is a potential classic.
Rock numbers? - Well rock numbers played as acoustically as it is possible to play a stadium filler
(Brushed drums, acoustic and electric guitar (set on Vol mark 2)) and not much else.
Sounding like a stripped down Radiohead (with a better singer) Coldplay have produced one of those classic melodious rock/pop albums that you know they will find impossible to repeat or surpass - I feel sorry for them in some ways….

So you hear Radiohead Anything else? - Floyd (a lot) - Roy Harper -The Smiths - U2 (circa Joshua Tree) - Neil Young.

But its not real Prog? - NO - Or Jam? - NO but its great I just love it and Ive got to admit its dominated my CD player for weeks.

But its NOT Prog or Jam ! - LOOK I KNOW - Hey just listen to it - take my word on this. Its rather good J


Ian Oakley January 2001

PS - OK I'll throw another one for all you Prog heads - It's a little like Porcupine Tree … Ok satisfied….