A fan's guide to Coldplay CDs

Love them or loathe them, British pop rockers Coldplay have earned worldwide recognition as the rightful inheritors of U2's dubious crown. These serious lads have established themselves on a global basis as high priests of melancholy, with a host of infectious tunes to their name. Let's look at this four pieces four albums and establish the secret to their success.

Parachutes

The seven Grammy Award winning beast that is Coldplay have sold over 50 million records worldwide and it all began with their modestly titled first album.
Parachutes was released by Parlophone on July 10, 2000. The album shifted copies on the back of breakthrough single "Yellow", which stormed to number four in the UK hit parade and boasted the poetically haunting lyric, "They were all yellow to." A new century had dawned as so too had a new kind of band. Parachutes made it to the number one spot worldwide and reached double-platinum status in the States, where it was well received critically and earned a Grammy.
A modest Chris Martin had a rush of blood to the head and scoffed that the record's success defined him and the boys as the "biggest, best, band in the world."

A rush of blood to the Head

"In my Place" was the breakthrough single from Coldplay's second album and was played non-stop on the Coldplay tour prior to the album's release.
It became the lead single for the album, because apparently it made the band want to record other Coldplay hits. Many of the band's harsher critics claimed the trite lyrics, predictable melodies, and cynical formula, of A Rush of Blood to the Head, made their own blood run cold. Nevertheless, Chris Martin continued to endlessly plea in his unrelenting baritone, "I never meant to cause you any trouble, I never meant to cause you any pain." Detractors everywhere were not impressed. Upon its release in August 2002, the album won a Grammy and readers of Rolling Stone magazine were so enraptured with the British bards, they voted them the band of the year in 2003. The Coldplay news was very much a case of Coldplay viva vida.

X&Y

Coldplay's third album had a clinical, vaguely sterile title, and critics argued that the music it contained was no different. Released in June 2005, the Coldplay cd had the last laugh as it became the best-selling record of 2005 with worldwide sales of over eight million. In the wake of this album, comparisons between U2 and Coldplay became increasingly common in the Coldplay rush.

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

The fourth album was one of the fastest selling albums in UK history and secured Coldplay's position in the rock pantheon which will either depress or delight you.