The Mysterious Case of Coldplay

By now, you've almost certainly heard "Violet Hill," Coldplay's latest single. Like most Coldplay singles, it's great. However, Coldplay's problem has never been coming up with hit singles. "Yellow", "Trouble", "Clocks", "Scientist", "Clocks", "Fix You", etc., are all great songs. As far as their singles, only "Speed of Sound" is lackluster. The problem with Coldplay is that their singles are great, but their albums as a whole are only 3 stars at best. Sure they have some great songs, but they also have 7 other tracks that lack any kind of energy and it's impossible to listen to the whole thing straight through if you are trying to stay awake. They just aren't a high energy band. It's almost as if the guys from Bread tried to release a record in the style of U2.

It may sound like I don't like Coldplay. Not true at all. I love Coldplay. However, I find them frustrating because they should be a better band then they are. The rhythm section is top notch, the guitars make effective use of the minimalist style made famous by the Edge (taken from punk sensibilities and applied to rock music) and Chris Martin is a dynamic front-man and although his live vocals are occasionally weak (the live version of "Violet Hill" on MTV this weekend would not have made it out of the first round of American Idol) he can knock it out when he really needs to. For some reason it just never came together in a cohesive energetic album. The past albums just seemed to lack a certain passion. Which is why I have such high hopes for "Viva La Vida". There are strong indications that this could be Coldplay's "Joshua Tree." Recorded in churches, spiritual themes, it's the kind of thing that has energized many an artist in the past (it also nearly ruined Bob Dylan's career, but I digress). Like I say, I'm hopeful, but I'm not confident. I've just been burned by Coldplay too many times before. I absolutely want this album to be great, but I'm not paying to download it until I know it is.