| Product Summary | | Label: Capitol | | UPC: 00724347478628 | | Release Date: 6/7/2005 | | Buy.com Sku: 63978192 | | Item#: M2CJJW | | Buy.com Sales Rank: 2010 | Format:  CD |
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(P) 2005 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by EMI Records Ltd
(C) 2005 EMI Records Ltd This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved. (C) 2005 EMI Records Ltd
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 Watch the video for Speed of Sound now: WMA, Real, QT
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| X&Y is the third and long awaited follow-up album to Rush Of Blood To The Head and Parachutes by one of the most successful British bands of all time, Coldplay. Includes the new single Speed Of Sound and 11 other tracks.
| | Album Notes and Credits |
Notes & Personnel Info |  | Contains the hidden track, on track # 13. | | Coldplay: Chris Martin (vocals, piano); Jonny Buckland (guitar); Guy Berryman (bass guitar); Will Champion (drums). | | Personnel: Matt McGinn (guitar); Chris Tombling, Laura Melhuish, Richard George, Anne Lines, Peter Lale, Sue Dench, Audrey Riley (strings); Brian Eno (synthesizer); Robert Smith , Mark Pythian, Carmen Rizzo (computer). | | Additional personnel: Matt McGinn, Brian Eno. | | Audio Mixer: Michael Brauer. | | Recording information: Air Lyndhurst; Air Lyndhusrt; CRC; Parr Street; Sam West; Sarm west; The Hit Factory, New York, NY; TownHouse. | | Photographers: Coldplay; Kevin Westenberg; Tom Sheehan. | | After Radiohead stubbornly refused to accept the mantle of world's biggest and most important rock band by releasing the willfully strange rocktronica fusion Kid A in 2000, Coldplay stepped up to the plate with their debut, Parachutes. Tasteful, earnest, introspective, anthemic, and grounded in guitars, the British quartet was everything Radiohead weren't but what the public wanted them to be, and benefited from the Oxford quintet's decision to abandon rock stardom for arcane art rock. Parachutes became a transatlantic hit and 2002's sequel, A Rush of Blood to the Head, consolidated their success by being bigger and better than Parachutes, positioning Coldplay to not be just the new Radiohead, but the new U2: a band that belongs to the world but whose fans believe that the music is for them alone. To that end, Coldplay's third album, X&Y -- slightly delayed so it follows Rush of Blood by nearly three years, but that's no longer than the time separating OK Computer and Kid A, or The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree -- is designed to be the record that elevates Coldplay to the major leagues, where they are at once the biggest and most important band in the world. It's deliberate and sleek, cinematic and pristine, hip enough to sample Kraftwerk and blend in fashionable retro-'80s post-punk allusions without altering the band's core. Indeed, X&Y is hardly a bold step forward but rather a consolidation of Coldplay's strengths, particularly their skill at crafting surging, widescreen epics. But if X&Y highlights their attributes it also brings Coldplay's weaknesses into sharp relief. Forget the fact that they, by any stretch of the imagination, do not rock -- rocking is simply against their nature. They are a meditative band, reflecting on their emotions instead of letting them go in a cathartic blast of noise and rhythm. This isn't a problem -- after all, there have been plenty of great bands that do not rock & roll -- but their terminal politeness does cripple their music, preventing it from being as majestic as its aspirations. Coldplay is well scrubbed and well behaved, possessing a textbook education in classic rock and the good sense to never stretch any farther than needed. They are the perfect middlebrow rock band -- clean, pristine, and rational, seemingly smart since they never succumb to pounding, primal riffs, but also not weird enough to be genuine art rock. It's ambitious, yet its ambitions are modest, not risky, so their ambitions can be fulfilled without breaking a sweat. And since their sweeping yet subdued theatricality does recall the more majestic moments of Radiohead and U2, they have won millions of fans, but another crucial reason that Coldplay have a broad appeal is that lead singer/songwriter Chris Martin never tackles any large issues, preferring to endlessly examine his feelings. Like on Parachutes and Rush of Blood, all the songs on X&Y are ruminations on Martin's doubts, fears, hopes, and loves. His words are earnest and vague, so listeners can identify with the underlying themes in the songs, and his plain, everyman voice, sighing as sweet as a schoolboy, is unthreatening and unassuming, so it's all the easier for listeners to project their own emotions into the song. But for as impeccable as X&Y is -- and, make no mistake, it's a good record, crisp, professional, and assured, a sonically satisfying sequel to A Rush of Blood to the Head -- it does reveal that Martin's solipsism is a dead-end, diminishing the stature of the band. Where U2 is big in sound, scope, ambition, and intent, Coldplay is ultimately big music about small things, and even if X&Y is a strong, accomplished album, its limited, narcissistic point of view is what prevents the quartet from inheriting the title of the biggest and most important band in the world. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | After Radiohead stubbornly refused to accept the mantle of "world's biggest and most important rock band" by releasing the willfully strange rocktronica fusion Kid A in 2000, Coldplay stepped up to the plate with their debut, Parachutes. Tasteful, earnest, introspective, anthemic, and grounded in guitars, the British quartet was everything Radiohead weren't but what the public wanted them to be, and benefited from the Oxford quintet's decision to abandon rock stardom for arcane art rock. Parachutes became a transatlantic hit and 2002's sequel, A Rush of Blood to the Head, consolidated their success by being bigger and better than Parachutes, positioning Coldplay to not be just the new Radiohead, but the new U2: a band that belongs to the world but fans believe that the music is for them alone. To that end, Coldplay's third album, X&Y -- slightly delayed so it follows Rush of Blood by nearly three years, but that's no longer than the time separating OK Computer and Kid A, or The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree -- is designed to be the record that elevates Coldplay to the major leagues, where they are at once the biggest and most important band in the world. It's deliberate and sleek, cinematic and pristine, hip enough to sample Kraftwerk and blend in fashionable retro-'80s post-punk allusions without altering the band's core. Indeed, X&Y is hardly a bold step forward, but rather a consolidation of Coldplay's strengths, particularly their skill at crafting surging, widescreen epics. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine | | Although Coldplay was already big before A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD's 2002 release, nothing could have prepared the British band for the album's Grammy-garnering runaway success. In addition to becoming a full-blown rock star, frontman Chris Martin remained in the media spotlight through his marriage to actress Gwyneth Paltrow and the subsequent birth of the couple's child. What followed for Coldplay was, reportedly, a difficult and lengthy recording process where the group tinkered extensively with their signature sound and eventually arrived back at square one. | | "Square One" is, in fact, where X&Y, the band's third album, begins, with a subtle, dreamy keyboard line giving way to a barrage of razor-sharp guitar riffs and Martin's plaintive vocals. In keeping with RUSH's overall theme, the songs of X&Y aren't simply catchy singles so much as engaging and meticulously crafted tracks that fit seamlessly together. Many of the record's songs clock in around the five-minute mark, revealing that the quartet feels no obligation to create short, snappy hits; instead they take their time establishing a resonant, anthemic atmosphere, most notably on the slowly building "Fix You." It's clear on X&Y that nothing about Coldplay needed to be fixed, since this album serves as a potent reminder of the band's charms and talents. |
| | Artist Overview | | In 2000, Coldplay emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become a worldwide smash with their debut album PARACHUTES and hit single "Yellow." While oft lumped in with the Britpop crowd, they favor a more thoughtful, melodic, Travis-esque piano-centric pop approach than arena-rock chest-beaters like Oasis. Led by charismatic frontman Chris Martin, the band expanded its horizons (and its fanbase) throughout the aughts, while remaining true to its basic form. One of the only British rock bands of their era to make a major impact on the US charts, Coldplay prove that simple, memorable, straightforward pop-rock can still be striking even in the post-everything 21st century. |
| | Compilation Appearances |
| | Associated Artists and Works |
| | Technical Info | | Release Date : 06/07/2005 | | Original Release Date : 2005 | | Catalog ID : 74786 | | Label : Capitol/EMI Records | | Number of Discs : 1 | | Studio/Live : Studio | | Mono/Stereo : Stereo | | SPAR Code : n/a | | UPC : 00724347478628 |
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| | Professional Reviews | | Spin (pp.99-100)
- "By ratcheting up their guitars and still singing about everyday themes, Coldplay are recasting their nerdy-student Britpop as Important Rock Music without sacrificing the homespun vibe..." - Grade: BUncut (p.98)
- 3 stars out of 5 - "Coldplay's third album finds this remarkable band cruising into their prime...X&Y is an exceptional pop record." Mojo (Publisher)
(p.63)
- Ranked #37 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[N]o contemporary group builds a crescendo more masterfully..." |
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