Disc #46: Coldplay (Parachutes)

Artist: Coldplay
Album: Parachutes
Released by EMI Records in 2000

I was fleeting with the idea of not even listening to this album before writing the review, only for the fact that I know it so well. It is possibly the most listened-to album in my collection (unfortunately, I haven't kept track of that sort of thing over the years, as I would love to have those stats handy). Since I love it so much, the obvious decision was to listen to it, and it has made me realize what a fool I would have been not to. If you have this album in your possession, listen to it any chance you get.

To the reader: as one of my most listened-to albums, this could also be one of the longest reviews to date. Now that I've included the disclaimer, let's start at the very beginning; the first time I heard their big hit off this record, "Yellow", on the radio. I loved it right away, but who was this band? I initially wrote them off as a no-name group with a catchy hit and a career that would never get off the ground.

It wasn't until about six months later that I heard more from them. A few of my corn picking buddies had the album, and it frequented the CD player that summer (2001). I fell in love with the album quickly, and it wasn't long before I purchased it myself, not that I really needed to own it, because I heard it all the time. However, I just wanted to have it for myself. In those days, I always went to sleep with music on. For the next few years, it was always a toss-up between "Parachutes" and John Mayer's "Room for Squares" as to which album would lull me to sleep that night.

Now on to the music. My first suggestion is to listen to it yourself before reading the review. I think you'll be able to appreciate it more if you do. If you already have it, put it on right now. If you don't have it, go get it, download it (or however you Internet thieves do things these days) or borrow it from me. I'll wait until you do that.




Seriously, go do it now, then come back an read this. It will still be here when you get back, so just do it.





I'm not joking. Listen to this awesome album. Trust me, it will be worth the time and resources spent acquiring the disc.



See? You're welcome. Now we can talk about the music together. It's much more beneficial for you this way. The first track, "Don't Panic", was my favourite for a long time. I love the way it fades in, and totally sets the tone for the rest of the album at very least, if not the musical style of the band for albums to come.

Three things are heard in this first song that remain evident through the rest of the album and are signature Coldplay sounds:

1) Simple guitar or piano rhythms
2) Ambient or atmospheric electric guitar sounds
3) Chris Martin's utilization of his falsetto range

Not to give too much away, but this is what will become the foundation for almost everything that Coldplay produces over the next ten years of their career. This is very significant as I believe that the success and longevity of a band in today's musical climate has much to do with that group's ability to adapt to current musical trends while maintaining some sort of common thread from album to album. If you look at the plateau of success that Coldplay sits on right now and think about how many other bands are up there with them, you can see that this is something that not many are able to accomplish. This first album, from the first note to the last, set them off in the right direction.

Every track from here to the end is solid. There's not one that I don't enjoy listening to. They are well-written, exhibiting musicality both in the rhythmic arrangements and the lead and melodic components. I think that almost every song has been my favourite on the album at one point in time or another. The recording and production value is also of very high quality.

One thing I love about Coldplay is the way that you can hear the influence of each of the musicians as the songs are played. For example, I love the bass playing in the chorus of "Sparks". This song would have been great without this nice touch, but it's probably the part of this song that I will audibly sing along with the most. In many ways, that added touch is what makes the song as great as it is.

I feel like I could review each song in detail, but I will spare you that. However, I will comment on one more track, and that is the secret track, "Life is for Living". I love this song and think that it really caps off the album well. I still don't understand what the deal is with secret tracks on albums. If it's a real song, and not just some silly or creative bit of recorded material, then just call it a track and have it on the album. Perhaps it's some sort of political thing with record labels that restricts artists to a certain number of official tracks based on a contractual agreement. Who knows. All I know is that this song fits right in with the album and I consider it to be just as much a part of the disc than any other tune.

In conclusion, there's so much more positive criticism that I could add regarding this album. The only negative thing that I would say about it is the length. Coming in at about 41 minutes, it makes for a shorter album. That being said, perhaps the length is just right. If an album is made to be too long, it can just become redundant, repetitive, and redundant. Still, I always want more when it's over. Usually, I just listen to it again to remedy my craving.

Well, I'm very excited to have reviewed this album, and look forward to reviewing several more Coldplay albums next. Now for the rating. I give this album a score of:

9.5

I know I haven't given out a 10 as of yet, but I'm still very hesitant to do so. I was fairly lenient with the scores when the experiment began, and I'm still trying to curb that trend. Still, I feel that this album deserves more than a 9 as it is one of my all-time favourites. There may be a 10 just yet...

Please join me next time as the experiment continues with Coldplay's sophomore recording on Disc #47: Coldplay (A Rush of Blood to the Head).