Coldplay recently won a Grammy award for Parachutes for Best Alternative Album. The only thing wrong with that is that Parachutes deserved to be nominated for Best Album. All of the quartet attended the University College of London. All four had been playing instruments since their early teens and been influenced by likes of Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Eric Clapton. With only their full- debut album and a few EPs they have already joined the ranks of Englands elite including Oasis, Verve, and Radiohead. They are drawing comparisons with Scotlands Travis and the late Jeff Buckley, who I recently have also taken an interest to.
This album also eamed the band a Mercury Music Prize nomination and won three Brit Awards nominations. The album was released in the U.K. in November 2000, and was released a month later in the U.S. They have released two singles off this album and they have both had tremendous success, Yellow then followed by Trouble. Many may have first heard their first single Yellow on ABC, because in 2000 it was chosen as the theme song for their sports promotion spots. This band has enjoyed almost instant success after signing with their label in April 1999.
Parachutes is a perfect balance of sadness and elation, which they are able to switch back and forth in a heartbeat. The album begins with its shortest track (2:17) Dont Panic, which starts with a sort of British folk-rock sound and evolves into a kind of spacey electric guitar piece with piano perfectly added in. Bucklands Pink Floyd resembling guitar sound blends perfectly with Martins passionate and emotional voice. That along with the simplistic lyrics gives the perfect preview and insight to what this album is really like.
Most of the songs if not all are about love, unrequited love to love lost. The album as a whole is very relaxing but has very upbeat moments. Bucklands guitar style is absolutely mesmerizing. especially along side Martins infectious voice that you cant help but sing along with. When Buckland is not playing spaced out electric guitar melodies he is playing simplistic acoustic melodies. Their are also some sound effects added in the studio that are similar to those on Radioheads OK Computer, but the album is more similar to The Bends. Unlike Radiohead, Coldplay finds a way to maintain a kind of optimistic and positive feeling found in the lyrics and in the melodies and harmonies. Which makes it appropriate for to listen to anytime, unlike some the above-mentioned artists that can seem limited to an appropriate time and place, like a rainy day.
High points on the album include the two opening tracks Dont Panic and Shiver. They give a very strong start to this album with these two tracks, which are two of the more upbeat songs on the disc. Other highlights include the two middle tracks, which are also the releases to date, Yellow and Trouble. Yellow the hardest rocking track sets you up for the apologetic and melodic Trouble, arguably the best song on the album.
This song has such a sincere and beautiful tone to it. Just like the rest of the album it has a very simple but layered sound that you cant help but appreciate. The other standouts are the two last tracks We Never Change and Everythings Not Lost. We Never Change is an acoustic slow song with very great lyrics that express a great ideology. This leads into the finally and my favorite song on the album Everythings Not Lost. This album ends with a sort of interlude at the end of the last song that almost sounds like a dedication. The whole album sounds like it was written for someone, which gives it sincere and passionate feeling. The hypnotic guitaring and beautiful melody and lyrics make this song an appropriate finally for a great album.
Every song on this album is good. To me that is a very rare thing these days. It says a lot about an album when you can put it on and not want to skip through the songs to get to the ones that you want to here. All nine songs (and one interlude) on this album you will want to listen to, and listen to again and again. When you listen to it you will see why I think that Parachutes should have been nominated for Best Album.
