Reviews of "Viva la Vida"

Pitchfork:
"these wuss messiahs fattened up with X&Y, a startlingly bland affair that even forced eternally level-headed New York Times critic Jon Pareles to dub them "the most insufferable band of the decade."" - ("A Case Against Coldplay," June 2005)

" Ever self-deprecating, Martin offered his band's thesis to MTV a couple weeks ago: "We look at what other people are doing and try and steal all the good bits," he said. "We steal from so many different places that hopefully it becomes untraceable." That last bit is probably wishful thinking."

*pastiche - a work of art that is clearly derived from multiple styles

"The record's violent, revolution-themed artwork is misleading. Viva is more like a bloodless coup-- shrewd and inconspicuous in its progressive impulses."

Rolling Stone:

"And while the experimentation makes this their most musically interesting album to date, its political messages are too vague to be heard amid its outsize hooks."

"the set reflects some of the diversity of the band's global fan base, which made 2005's X&Y a Number One record in countries as far-flung as Lebanon, Chile, Malaysia and Thailand, as well as in the U.S. and the U.K."

" Coldplay's desire to unite fans around the world with an entertainment they can all relate to is the band's strength, and a worthy goal. But on Viva la Vida, a record that wants to make strong statements, it's also a weakness. Sometimes, to say what needs to be said, you need to risk pissing people off."

Rolling Stone: "The Jesus of Uncool: Chris Martin"

"On our last album, we took a real beating from some people (see NY times article), and by the end we felt like no producer would really want to work with us, basically. We were bigger than we were good — we were very hungry to improve on a basic level. So I asked Brian Eno, "Do you know any producers who could help us to get better as a band?" And he said, "Well, I don't mean to blow my own trumpet, but I might be the man." He goes, "Your songs are too long. And you're too repetitive, and you use the same tricks too much, and big things aren't necessarily good things, and you use the same sounds too much, and your lyrics are not good enough." He broke it down."

What I think:
- It always takes me a long time to warm up to a new Coldplay album. I really dig their stuff overall, and they're one of my favorite bands.
- I'm very excited about their show this summer. I went to the X&Y show at Riverport in St. Louis and it was probably one of the most beautiful and artistic concert experiences I've had. They had these huge yellow transparent balloon/ball things that the crowd bounced around. It was awesome.
- My favorite song off the album (my mom's, too) is "Viva la Vida," it's gorgeous.
- I can hear a lot of U2 in this album, more than any other they've put out. And that's okay.
- Final thought: bass player Guy Berryman is ridiculously hot.