An Album Review: "Viva la Vida" by Coldplay

The objective for this assignment was to write a positive review on something that I love.  Predictably, I chose a Coldplay album. 

An Album Review: “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay

What a decade it has been for that small rock band from the south of England.  From “Yellow” to “Clocks” and “The Scientist,” Coldplay has been ruling the airwaves and our headphones.  The quartet’s fourth studio effort, “Viva La Vida,” demonstrates that this band has only gotten better with age.  The sounds, music, and overall concept of this latest release shows that a rock album can still have a single, unifying theme.  “Long live life” is the Spanish translation of “Viva La Vida” and each track contains this passion.  It proves that humans are still capable of generating something truly beautiful.

With a run time of 45 minutes, this album is intended to be listened to in one sitting and I believe that this is fairly reasonable to ask of the general public.  However, in the age of iTunes and file-sharing, the average listener rarely finds the need to buy entire albums.  With the variety of music on “Viva La Vida,” I do not feel that Coldplay is asking too much.

Opening the album is the achingly beautiful “Life in Technicolor.”  With a soft melody that rises like the sun over a mist-covered mountain, the song crescendos out of silence to a triumphant climax marked by the sound of crashing drums and a choir of voices.  The main melody is carried by zithers and keyboards, accompanied by acoustic guitar.  These instruments meld with the lush, ambient warbles created by none other than the legendary Brian Eno.  The only thing more remarkable than the array of instruments on display is the fact that this is an instrumental piece.  Quite a statement for the opening track of a rock album.

Having worked with U2, David Bowie, Talking Heads, and Ultravox (just to name a few), Brian Eno has become one of the best producers in the industry and this is worth mentioning because the production on “Viva La Vida” is top notch.  Each song has a unique sound, but a great cohesive quality is maintained.  Every single instrument present on the record sounds like it should.  The balance is superb and this is especially important when you consider the variety of sounds on this album.   

The tasteful use of exotic instruments pervades many of the tracks and each song carries its own character and personality.  The sound of tribal drums and hand-claps provides the rhythmic foundation for “Lost!,” an incredibly catchy song with references to the music of African tribes.  “Just because I’m losing, doesn’t mean I’m lost,” sings Chris Martin.  A true statement about what it means to be content in any situation.

With heavy references to the stadium rock of U2, “Lovers in Japan” features a driving beat and Chris Martin’s trademark falsetto vocals.  The piano, with a “honky-tonk” tone, is completely absorbed in Jonny Buckland’s reverb-soaked guitar tones.  The resulting texture, combined with Brian Eno’s signature ambient sound, is so rich and full. 

The two singles on this album, “Viva La Vida” and “Violet Hill,” showcase the maturity of Coldplay and their willingness to break down musical barriers.  The sounds of a full string orchestra punctuate the title track and the standard rock and roll drum set is replaced with two timpani drums and a massive bell.  But this doesn’t mean that Coldplay has forgotten their fans.  The chorus to “Viva La Vida” triumphs with “ohhs” that channel the energy of a football match (that’s soccer to American readers).  “Violet Hill,” with lyrics expressing discontent with the state of politics, contains elements of the blues and serves as Coldplay’s first anti-war protest song.  Buckland’s typical soft guitar tones are replaced with a gritty distorted sound that provides a fitting soundtrack to the anger expressed in Martin’s lyrics. 

This album has so much more to offer as well.  A piano postlude following “Cemeteries of London,” is reminiscent of Chopin or Ravel.  Hidden tracks bejewel the album and bring to mind the days when people would listen to entire albums with track-listing in hand, surprised when an unknown track would appear at the end of another.  The album comes full circle when “Life in Technicolor” is reprised as “The Escapist” (a hidden track) at the album’s closing minutes.   Coldplay, a self-proclaimed “heavy soft-rock band,” is changing the very definition of what is considered rock and roll.

What a decade it has been; what a decade indeed.  Long live Coldplay.