Coldplay. Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends.
"Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" was along waited album and as usual, Coldplay didn't disappoint. One would wonder what those guys could deliver after such an out-of-this-world album; "X & Y". however, their talent never ceases to amaze. The album starts with an amazing instrumental track ''Life In Techicolor'' followed by ''Cemeteries of London'', you get the feeling that it's a visualization of London's earlier life, also the reference to ghosts, witches sends the feeling of being inspired by English novels. ''Lost'', there are four different versions for this song (Lost?, Lost+, Lost-, Lost@), it's kind of a dark song, and some say it's a sequence to ''Everything's not lost''. However, as Chris Martin himself assures, it's a song for ''a lament about spiritual bereftness''. ''42'' is an interesting song as it's considered to be the first Coldplay song not to have a chorus. However, the title of the song is mysterious; it could be a reference to the runtime of the entire album (42 minutes). ''Lovers, keep on the road you're on. Runners, until the race is run, Soldiers, you've got to soldier on, Sometimes even right is wrong'' need I say more? ''Lovers in Japan'' is undoubtedly one of the band's best works, it's one of the joyful moments on the disc, and it also contains a hidden track ''Reign of Love''. ''Yes'', one of the surprises of the album; something unexpected to hear from Marin, yet, his lower register is very admirable. It also contains a hidden track ''Chinese sleeping chant''. The reason for having hidden tracks not included on the album track list might be the band's will to have a ''two in one'' idea, which clearly appears in the title of album ''Viva La Vida/Death and All His Friends''. ''Viva La Vida'', song of the decade? Yes! No surprise that it won The Grammy Awards for Song of the Year in 2009. Although ''Viva La Vida'' clearly contains religious and historical references, still there are a lot of interpretations for the song. The band didn't confirm that it's a reference to the French Revolution. The title of the song is inspired by a Mexican artist Frida Khalo, the Spanish title is interpreted into ''Long Live Life''. It also won ''Best Pop Performance by a Due or a Group'' at the 2009 Grammy Awards. ''Violet Hill'', is the lead single of the album and it was downloaded more than two million times from the band's website. When first listening to ''Violet Hill'', you know you're in for a different Coldplay type. "Strawberry Swing" definitely on of the best songs on the album; it has the feelings of how music should be. ''Death and All His Friends'', what a song to finish such a great album, it's one of the best songs on the album which has a very sublime message ''Never to give up or give much attention to the bad stuff''. It also contains a hidden track ''The Escapist''.
In general, "Viva La Vida/Death and All His Friends" is one of my all time favorite albums, once again this group proves their ability to produce something special and quite different from its predecessors. However, compared to its previous release "X & Y" –my own personal favorite album of all time- "Viva La Vida" is regarded as a failure at imagination, yet, the interesting facts about the album makes it one of the best albums ever made in the history of music. Exaggerating? Well, it won Best Rock album at Grammy Awards in 2009, the album has sold over 8 million copies around the world, it is the best selling album of 2008.
