What Do I Know, Show Me The Right Way To Go (Parachutes - Coldplay)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Parachutes - Coldplay
Date:	11/11/04 (121 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very good album for people of all musical Tastes

Disadvantages: I almost let the overplaying of Yellow ruin it for me.

It was back in 2000 when Coldplay started to make a name for themselves. The debut single “Yellow” was being overplayed to death on the radio and TV and I found it was really starting to grate. It got so bad in fact that I put off buying the album deciding that Coldplay weren’t really worth bothering with and that one song was enough for me. A few months later I happened to hear a different track on the radio and thought that I might actually like it, so I acquired a copy off a mate.

They met at University and from there Chris Martin and the rest of the band decided they wanted to take on the world. Although Chris seems to have also made it his personal crusade to save the Earth as well. That’s getting ahead of myself though. They played a number of gigs around London and eventually seemed to catch someone’s eye and that someone decided to release a few of their tracks. From there things just kept getting better for Coldplay and “Yellow” became an internationally known track.

As I have already said it took me a while to get into Coldplay and the aforementioned single did put me off them a little. It was the follow up singles and a few of the album tracks that convinced me this album was worth owning. My opinion of it seems to vary depending on how I’m feeling at the time. The down side I found to the album was the repetitive nature of the songs. After you get past track 8 it all starts to sound the same, so its luck there are only 10 tracks overall.

One of the main advantages of Coldplay’s music is probably how simple it is. They use a lot of looping piano tracks that really set the tone for the album. Of course the main focal point of the album is the guitars. Whilst accompanied by the piano they create quite a soothing Indie track. The drums also play a part in creating quite an atmospheric, slow sound to the album, which is also a bit of a let down. They aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and that’s because a few of their songs can be described as drab but at the same time still sounding reasonably good.

It’s that point that makes the album a love it or hate it affair. There are times where this album can ruin a good mood and that detracts from the overall brilliance of certain tracks. I find Martin’s vocals to be superb in places and certain tracks that sound totally fantastic because of this. There are, however tracks like “Yellow” that sound a little whiney and out of tune. It is a brilliant chill out album but certainly doesn’t offer something for all occasions.

There are some brilliant tracks on the album and that is one of Martin’s plus points, he can certainly write some brilliant tracks. The likes of “Spies” really jump out at you from the earlier parts of the album. It has quite a slow start, which builds slowly off the back of the guitars. It’s tracks like this where Martins vocals really shine through and show the better side of Coldplay. I would have to say this is one of my favourite tracks on the album with “High Speed” a close second.

I’ve already mentioned my dislike for “Yellow”, which to this day I still find incredibly hard to listen to. That’s despite everyone’s insistence that it’s a great track, I just cant enjoy it. Other than that there aren’t any bad tracks on the album, it just becomes a little bit samey after a certain point. It has made a real name for Coldplay and given them a launching platform for something brilliant. If my moods right then this album really can have me buzzing.

It is now almost 5 years since Coldplay released this debut album and in all honesty it hasn’t aged at all. There really are a few classic tracks on the album and I think if the singles hadn’t been as overplayed I would have been able to enjoy it much earlier. It almost seems that Chris Martin’s activities away from the band are overshadowing the music but at the end of the day this album speaks for itself. There will be a lot to come from Coldplay and hopefully it’ll focus more on the positives they can draw from this album.

Available from www.dvdplus.co.uk for £6.87

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