Music: Parachutes (Coldplay)

Album Review: Parachutes by Coldplay

Review Notes: when listening to music in general, I pay attention to the music itself first, second, third... and lyrics only after awhile or if they are very prominent or intriguing. Thus, my reviews are based almost entirely on the melodies, singing, instrumentals, etc. with little emphasis on lyrics.

Coldplay is probably my favorite music group (in their prime) that is recording music today. I enjoy Chris Martin's singing, even if it's not the best, and I think the songwriting and instrumentation is very strong. Admittedly, however, Coldplay has been up and down a bit in quality over their four albums, and this, their first album, is one of the weaker ones. It's still a good album, but the cumulative effect of slow song after slow song takes its toll. However, the album is consistently at least decent throughout, with a few standouts as well. Unfortunately, I seem to be having trouble finding who wrote each song, although I think they are all originals and written by either Martin or Champion (?).

1. "Don't Panic"
Coldplay starts out with one of their faster songs on the album (which is not saying much) as well as the shortest aside from the "Parachutes" snippet. The drum part makes the song feel like it's even a bit more up-tempo than it really is, which helps; on the other hand, Chris Martin keeps his vocal fairly subdued for the most part. The chorus is the part of the song that stands out most, with Martin's vocal rising above the verses, and the guitar playing an echoe-y accompaniment. With its short length and subdued yet somewhat up-tempo nature, "Don't Panic" is a good introduction, if nothing too special.

2. "Shiver"
Here's another song that is not technically that fast, but the drum part, and this time the guitar also, keep a nice steady tempo. Both the instrumentals and the vocal in this song really give it a lot of energy, while fitting together very nicely. Several key changes also add a nice change up to keep it fresh for its five-minute run time. Martin really unleashes his vocal abilities here, his style changing seemlessly through the song and incorporating his trademark falsetto. As the song gets near the end, instruments and vocals alike rise in intensity before a calm finish. Definitely one of the best songs on the album.

3. "Spies"
This next song takes the tempo way down at first, starting off with the fading in and out of a wailing guitar, sounding like howl in the night. Then Martin and an acoustic guitar come in with a slightly faster, promising intro with guitars echoing in the background. The drums and bass come in with another nice steady beat, and the electric guitar takes over. The song goes between these Martin plus acoustic/guitar plus bass and drums sections, broken briefly by a neat, intense middle eight combining the two. It ends with just Martin and the acoustic, and so ends another one of the album's better songs.

4. "Sparks"
Another slower song, "Sparks" starts with its signature bass part that is excellent for conveying the relaxed atmosphere of the song. Martin enters with the acoustic, singing softly but with much feeling and detail as the drums accompany them with restraint. Martin calls on his falsetto for the chorus, accompanied by a rising keyboard part. The song is a very appropriate length; it doesn't end too quick, nor does it overstay its welcome. Thanks to the bass part and Martin's soft, unique vocals, the song stands out from the other slow ones and, again, is one of the album's stronger tracks.

5. "Yellow"
One of the band's biggest early hits, acoustic guitars are replaced by electric ones playing the familiar, simple passage with passion. As the guitars pull back, a strong drum part remains to support Martin's vocal, which is considerably higher-pitched than in the previous song. Once again, he shows his attention to detail and expressiveness. The chorus pushes the song yet higher, with backing vocals rising to the clouds accompanying Martin, before descending to the guitar part. This is a nice song, too, but here I think the slowness of the album starts to show itself. This could have been much better, in my opinion, if they had simply pushed the tempo; as it is, the vocal and instrumentals are somewhat energetic but still get bogged down by the tempo.

6. "Trouble"
Another hit, and another easily recognizable instrumental in the beginning, this time from the piano. Martin sings the first verse with only a sparse piano accompaniment, joined later in the song by a laid back instrumental. The chorus is reminiscent of that in "Yellow," actually, just slower and with a lower-pitched vocal as matches the rest of the song. Near the end of the song, Martin introduces a new, brief vocal part that's kind of neat to conclude things. Another fine song, and I really like the piano part, but at least in the context of its position on the album, it's a bit exasperating to get even slower here.

7. "Parachutes"
This little snippet reminds me of something you'd find on one of the later Beatles albums. It's OK, but at under a minute it's also easily forgettable.

8. "High Speed"
Again, the tempo is slow, although, again, the drum part at least keeps some semblance of a beat. The guitar echoe-y effects are back, although they don't fit on this track as well. I find the regular guitar part of this song much better, with its nifty chords. Martin offers up a fairly midrange vocal, and neither the verses nor the chorus are very noteworthy. Some of the sound effects and instrumentals are nifty, and are probably the strongest part about the song. Otherwise, this is a very unspectacular song, although certainly not a bad one.

9. "We Never Change"
More slow acoustic guitar playing! Martin's vocal is pretty nice again here, but the verses just feel too much been-there-done-that already on this album; plus, there's nothing backing it up here. One redeeming factor is that the lyrics on this track are some of the more interesting on the album. But musically, this is just more slow, slow, slow, with an unremarkable vocal and very minimal instrumentation. This is not a horrible song, but by the end of it, you almost start to wish that the album would either change it up or just end.

10. "Everything's Not Lost"
Fortunately, Coldplay does mix it up for the last song on the album. While this one also starts with a simple vocal backed by piano, it's clearly just an intro with an upbeat sound that promises more later. And it delivers. The intro is followed by an excellent interwined guitar and bass part, followed by the return of Martin's vocal with drums and all the rest. Not to mention, the lyrics are clear as a whistle and great. The song's development, as it grows in intensity, seems to illustrate someone's struggle to overcome a bad stretch, and reaches a climax in the middle eight (which includes the guitar/bass part), where one might imagine the darkness finally passing. The main part of the song ends very quietly, mimicking the return to stability we usually experience after a struggle. You can go ahead and skip the ending that Coldplay tacked on to this for some reason, it's not very good. But the main part of the song is excellent, certainly the best on the album.

Score: 3.5 out of 5. I guess it comes down to preference to a large degree, but this one is just too slow overall for my tastes. The fact that the quality slips a little as the slowness grinds on adds to it. However, there are no bad songs here, and when listened to as part of a mix, many individual songs come off better.

Essentials: Everything's Not Lost (definitely), Shiver, Sparks
Weaker(er) Songs: Parachutes, High Speed, We Never Change