Chris Martin - Vocals, Producer, Design, Cover Photo
Will Champion - Drums, Producer, Design, Cover Photo
Guy Berryman - Bass, Producer, Design, Cover Photo
Jon Buckland - Guitar, Producer, Design, Cover Photo
Ken Nelson - Producer, Engineer
Chris Allison - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
Paul Read - Assistant Engineer, Assistant
Andrea Wright - Assistant Engineer, Assistant
George Marino - Mastering
Mark Pythian - Computer Consultant
Phil Harvey - Management
Sarah Lee - Photography
Tom Sheehan - Photography
2000 CD Parlophone
2000 CD Nettwerk 30162
2000 CD EMI 527783
2001 CS Capitol 30162
The London foursome Coldplay are constant critic's darlings in the
band's native U.K., showcasing melodic pop in a slew of EP releases and
constant live shows since the spark of the new millennium. Not as heavy
as Radiohead or snobbish as Oasis, Coldplay is a band of young
musicians who are still honing their sweet harmonies on the debut
release Parachutes. Combining bits of distorted guitar riffs and
swishing percussion, Parachutes is a delightful introduction and also
quickly indicates the reason why this album earned Coldplay a Mercury
Music Prize nomination in fall 2000. Frontman Chris Martin's lyrical
wordplay is feministic in the manner of Geneva's Andrew Montgomery, but
far more withered. The imagery captured on Parachutes is exquisitely
dark and artistically abrasive, and the entire composition is tractable
thanks to gauzy acoustics and airy percussion. Coldplay's indie rock
inclinations are also obvious, especially on songs such as "Don't
Panic" and "Shiver," but it's the dream pop soundscapes captured on
"High Speed" and "We Never Change" that illustrate the band's dynamic
passion. This basic pop is surely a refreshing effort in the face of
big productions like the Spice Girls and Westlife. Parachutes deserves
the accolades it has received because it follows the general rule when
introducing decent pop songs: keep the emotion genuine and real. And
Coldplay has done that without hesitation.
Music doesn't come more touching than this. With their debut single
alone, the emotion-fortified "Shiver," Coldplay prove they can shift
between elated and crushed in a breath, as singer Chris Martin pours
out music's oldest chestnut (unconditional yet unrequited love) with
the shakiest of voices and a backdrop of epic guitars. For 10 tracks on
Parachutes, he adds new-found meaning to the most tired and overused
rock sentiments--love found, love lost, love unrequited--over acoustic
guitars and emotionally fraught rock. And for once, all the
clichés ring true because Chris Martin genuinely sounds like a
man picking over the bones of his life, coming up with just as many
reasons to be cheerful as seriously depressed. Not that Parachutes is a
depressing album--there's too much conviction to the guitars and hope
in Martin's words for that. Instead it's a beautifully tender balance
that comes as close to perfection as anything that's come before it.
Dan Gennoe, Amazon.com
Indie guitar music hasn't sounded this true and tender for a long
while; Coldplay's debut rejects the brash clichŽs and pomp of the
cancerous Brit-pop scene, instead drawing on the intelligence,
heartache and poetic beauty of The Smiths, Radiohead and, in terms of
Chris Martin's sweetly languid vocal style, Jeff Buckley. Though the
immediate feelings communicated by this set are desperate and
emotionally fraught, there is also a deep sense of hope, exemplified by
mountainous guitars and the warm drumming of Will Champion. Alongside
majestic cuts like "Shiver" and "Yellow", the set's highpoints include
the gospel crescendo of "Everything's Not Lost" and the gorgeously
apologetic "Trouble", which pits Martin's vocals against sumptuous
piano lines and an echoing slide-guitar. Parachutes is a beautiful
album that cherishes optimism in the face of sadness.
The Rough Guide Rock
In letzter Zeit war man gut beraten, die Ohren feste mit Wachs zu
verschließen, wenn angelsächsische Sirenen wöchentlich
vom "next big thing" säuselten. Soweit alles klar.Und dann wird
man doch wieder kalt erwischt. Begrüßen Sie mit mir:
Coldplay. In der Folge des Triumphzuges von Travis und einer neuen
Melodienseligkeit kommen diese vier zwanzigjährigen Insulaner
daher, kombinieren scheinbar mühelos die Vorzüge von Embrace,
Radiohead und Jeff Buckley, verhandeln die großen Themen in zehn
Songs, sind tiefschürfend ohne emotional zu penetrieren,
schütteln mit einem beneidenswerten Gespür für Sounds
Melodien aus dem Ärmel, die sich erst nach und nach entfalten,
gestalten ihr Debut virtuos und variantenreich von lyrisch bis hymnisch
und lassen es auch noch famos von Ken Nelson (Gomez, Badly Drawn Boy)
produzieren. Läuft bei mir auf Repeat. Allemal bei diesem Wetter,
wenn Sie wissen, was ich meine.
Arnold Kant / Intro - Musik & so mehr unter www.intro.de
"I'll be waiting in line just to see if you care," sings Chris Martin,
lead singer of Coldplay, on "Shiver." That such a simple lyric is so
compelling doesn't require any fancy interpretation: We all want to
believe that patience gets rewarded every time, and that the nice guy
always gets the girl right before the credits roll. Coldplay wants to
believe that, too, as evidenced on this subtle, ambitious debut.
Parachutes is full of devotional songs that whisper their honorable
intentions in our ears like a repentant sinner's promises, while moody
sonics mostly call to mind Radiohead, though at times you can hear the
grandiose bellow of U2 and the vocal poignancy of Jeff Buckley. But
where Thom Yorke uses cool cerebralism to tell us what's wrong with the
world, and Bono employs impassioned optimism to rally the troops to
change it, Martin just wants to "live where the sun comes out." And
it's that kind of personal, unfussy sentiment that makes Parachutes so
damn likeable.
A shy, brooding bunch of Brits, Coldplay labors with hand-wringing
melodies descended from the Walker Brothers on its debut CD,
Parachutes. Frontman Chris Martin's commanding vocals are the emotional
focal point here, as he lets go like a group therapy session attended
by the triumvirate of sad, expressive singers: Mark Eitzel, Thom Yorke
and Jeff Buckley. The best Coldplay songs (e.g. "Shiver") manage to
juxtapose understated, spare instrumental backing (this band would've
fit perfectly into a corner of the late, great NYC club Siné)
with vocals that wash over the mix like a grand, sweeping indictment of
whatever ex-lover Martin has on his mind. The tunes aren't quite as
memorable as Coldplay's arrangements and formidable larynx-flexing, but
they do segue from pretty Northern-accented ruminations to diva-guy
thunderclaps, while also maintaining an air of artful sophistication.
Deborah Orr - Oct 09, 2000 CMJ New Music Report Issue: 686 College Media, Inc.
Who will be the next Radiohead? Or the next Verve, or Travis? In
England, the answer on everyone's lips is Coldplay. On its debut album,
Parachutes, this youthful quartet resembles each of the above bands.
Coldplay make straight-ahead, melodic Brit pop that strives for
significance with a capital s, even as it has a hard time shaking its
influences -- you can also hear the ethereal guitar chime of U2, a bit
of Dave Matthews' breathy folk implosion, even a misting of Roger
Waters-era Pink Floyd. More than anyone, however, the ghost of Jeff
Buckley lingers here, as the go-anywhere falsetto on songs like
"Shiver" demonstrates. Parachutes ultimately rises above its influences
to become a work of real transcendence: On songs like the unrepentantly
romantic "Yellow," the band creates a hypnotic slo-mo otherworld where
spirit rules supreme. When frontman Chris Martin moans about "skin and
bones/Turning to something beautiful," he could very well be talking
about his own band.
Bones, sinking like stones,
All that we fought for,
Homes, places we've grown,
All of us are done for.
We live in a beautiful world,
Yeah we do, yeah we do,
We live in a beautiful world,
Bones, sinking like stones,
All that we fought for,
And homes, places we've gone,
All of us are done for.
We live in a beautiful world,
Yeah we do, yeah we do,
We live in a beautiful world.
Oh, all that I know,
There's nothing here to run from,
And yeah, everybody here's got somebody to lean on.
SHIVER
So I look in your direction,
But you pay me no attention, do you?
I know you don't listen to me.
'cause you say you see straight through me, don't you.
On and on from the moment I wake,
To the moment I sleep,
I'll be there by your side,
Just you try and stop me,
I'll be waiting in line,
Just to see if you care.
(Chorus)
Did she want me to change?
But I change for good.
And I want you to know.
But you always get your way,
I wanted to say,
Don't you Shiver? Shiver, Shiver
I'll always be waiting for you,
So you know how much I need ya,
But you never even see me, do you?
And is this my final chance of getting you?
(Chorus)
Sing it loud and clear.
I'll always be waiting for you. (x3)
Yeah I'll always be waiting
And it's you I see, but you don't see me.
And it's you I hear, so loud and clear.
I sing it loud and clear.
And I'll always be waiting for you,.
So I look in your direction,
But you pay me no attention,
And you know how much I need you,
But you never even seen me.
SPIES
I awake to find no peace of mind,
I said, how do you live as a fugitive?
Down here where I cannot see so clear.
I said, what do I know?
Show me the right way to go,
And the spies came out of the water,
But you're feeling so bad cos you know,
But the spies hide out in every corner,
But you can't touch them though,
Cos they're all spies, they're all spies.
I awake to see that no one is free,
We're all fugitives,
Look at the way with it.
Down here, I cannot sleep from fear no.
I said, which way do I turn?
I forget everything I learn,
But the spies came out of the water,
But you're feeling so bad cos you know,
But the spies hide out in every corner,
But you can't touch them though,
Cos they're all spies, they're all spies.
And if we don't buy here,
They're going to find us,
If we don't buy now,
They're going to catch us where we see,
And if we don't hide here,
They're going to find us.
SPARKS
Did I drive you away?
I know what you’ll say,
You say, 'Oh, sing one you know,'
But I promise you this,
I’ll always look out for you,
That’s what I’ll do.
I say oh, I say oh
My heart is yours,
It’s you that I hold on to,
That’s what I do,
And I know I was wrong,
But I won’t let you down,
(Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah I will, yes I will…)
I say oh, I cry oh.
Yeah I saw sparks,
Yeah I saw sparks,
And I saw sparks,
Yeah I saw sparks,
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And everything you do,
Yeah, they were all yellow.
I came along,
I wrote a song for you,
And all the things you do,
And it was called Yellow.
So then I took my turn,
Oh what a thing to have done,
And it was all yellow
Your skin
Oh yeah, your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
You know, you know I love you so,
You know I love you so.
I swam across,
I jumped across for you,
Oh what a thing to do.
Cos you were all yellow
I drew a line,
I drew a line for you,
Oh what a thing to do,
And it was all yellow
Your skin,
Oh yeah your skin and bones,
Turn into something beautiful,
And you know for you,
I'd bleed myself dry for you,
I'd bleed myself dry.
It's true, look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine for you,
Look how they shine.
Look at the stars,
Look how they shine for you,
And all the things that you do.
TROUBLE
Oh no, I see,
A spiderweb, it's tangled up with me,
And I lost my head,
The thought of all the stupid things I said,
Oh no what's this?
A spider web, and I'm caught in the middle,
So I turned to run,
The thought of all the stupid things I've done,
I never meant to cause you trouble,
And I never meant to do you wrong,
And I, well if I ever caused you trouble,
O no, I never meant to do you harm.
Oh no I see,
A spider web and it's me in the middle,
So I twist and turn,
Here I am in my little bubble,
Singing, I never meant to cause you trouble,
I never meant to do you wrong,
And I, well if I ever caused you trouble,
Although I never meant to do you harm.
They spun a web for me,
They spun a web for me,
They spun a web for me.
PARACHUTES
In a haze, a stormy haze, I’ll be round
I’ll be loving you always, always.
Here I am and I’ll take my time
Here I am and I’ll wait in line always
Always.
HIGH SPEED
Can anybody fly this thing?
Before my head explodes,
Or my head starts to ring.
We’ve been living life inside a bubble,
We’ve been living life inside a bubble.
Confidence in you,
Is confidence in me,
Is confidence in high speed.
Can anybody stop this thing?
Before my head explodes,
Or my head starts to ring.
We’ve been living life inside a bubble,
We’ve been living life inside a bubble.
Confidence in you,
Is confidence in me,
Is confidence in high speed.
In high speed,
High speed.
High speed you on,
High speed you on,
High speed you on ,
High speed you on.
WE NEVER CHANGE
I wanna live life, never be cruel,
I wanna live life, and be good to you.
I wanna fly andnever come down,
And live my life,
And have friends around.
We never changed, do we?
We never learn, do we?
So I wanna live in a wooden house,
I wanna live life, always be true,
I wanna live life, and be good to you,
I wanna fly, and never come down,
And I live my life,
And have friends around.
We never changed do we? No, no,
We never learn, do we?
So I wanna live in a wooden house,
Making more friends would be easy.
Oh I don't have a soul to save,
Yes, and I sin every single day,
We never change do we?
We never learn, do we?
So, I wanna live life in a wooden house,
Making more friends would be easy,
I wanna live where the sun comes out.
EVERYTHING'S NOT LOST
If you ever feel neglected,
If you ever think all is lost,
I'll be counting up my demons, yeah,
Hoping everything's not lost,
Everything's not lost,
When I counted up my demons.
I found there was one for every day,
With the good ones on my shoulder,
I drove the other ones away.
If you ever feel neglected,
If you think all is lost,
I'll be counting up my demons, yeah,
Hoping everything's not lost.
When you thought that it was over,
You could feel it all around,
Everybody's out to get you,
Don't you let it drag you down.
'Cos if you eve feel neglected,
If you think that all is lost,
I'll be counting up my demons, yeah
Hoping everything's not lost
Singing out oh yeah
Singing out oh yeah
Singing out oh yeah
Everything's not lost,
Come on yeah, oh yeah, come on yeah,
Everything's not lost,
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Everything's not lost,
Come on yeah, oh yeah,
Come on yeah X2
Oh yeah, come on yeah,
Everything's not lost
Sing out yeah
Come on yeah X2
Everything's not lost
Come on yeah, oh yeah
Sing out yeah
Everything's not lost
LIFE IS FOR LIVING
Now I never meant,
To do you wrong,
That’s what I came here to say.
But if I was wrong,
Then I’m sorry,
And don’t let it stand in our way.
My head just aches,
When I think of,
The things that I shouldn’t have done.
But, life is for living,
We all know,
And I don’t wanna live it alone.