Where Did It Go Wrong?!

Where did it go wrong? You may think that I don't like Coldplay as I often tease them (I'm clearly punching up when I do, I know where I stand success wise). However, I did actually appreciate some of their early music, so today I'm going to look at Yellow. A classic. Where it went wrong for me, to be so crude, is when the guitars started to disappear. Now, I can barely hear any in their music. What do you think? Am I being too generous or too harsh?

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[evv]

I think Travis is one band that deserved more recognition. I always saw some similarities with early Coldplay…

[justamanchimp]

Another cool thing about this song and the reason you looked so confused trying to work out the chords, it's because the acoustic guitar Chris plays is tuned to a weird tuning where the D string is dropped to a B, and the top e is dropped to D#, and then instead of playing a normal 7th fret B bar chord, you play a B7 shape bar chord but lift off the bar to let all the other strings ring openly, including the D string dropped to a B string, and you will get the exact sound you hear on the record. If anyone has been playing the song in the normal tuning, try this and it'll blow your mind if you're like me because I was playing it with standard tuning the whole time but was never satisfied, it never carried the same vibe as the original song but could never work out why

[benedekgabor.]

What I love about the album Parachutes that it have an intimate quality. The stripped back instrumentals. Simple drumming, and bass lines. Simplistic but delayed and reverberated guitars. The soft and falsetto voice. The honest and deep lyrics. It’s just cozy music. That’s a record what you listen in the autumn when it rains all day. You make a hot coffee for yourself and just listen to the album.

[soniamcgrath]

A fantastic album, Parachutes really took you somewhere else and evoked a wide range of emotions in you. The album included a fantastic mix of mellow songs, acoustic songs, and tunes that made you shout the lyrics. It's an incredible album, and it's a shame they've shifted to pop.

[abbyhuntley]

I wish they’d kept with the more “real” sound of the guitars Chris Martin’s unique vocals. I don’t feel anything when I listen to Coldplay’s new stuff

[goport]

I loved Parachutes - there's exuberance in the vocals - Shiver's vocal is magnificent. All the songs understand space and use it well. The guitarist set out his identity with some clever use of altered tunings and capos. And the songs are good to genuinely great. A Rush of Blood I was originally disappointed for the guitar being dialled back but there really are good songs and great moments. The "nothing else compares" refrain is truly euphoric for me - uplifting and never fails to put a smile on my face (ahem). By the 3rd album they were samey, after that, shit ... and then shit squared.

[timothyjennings]

You mentioned Brian Eno. Eno's first dabble with Coldplay, Viva la Vida, was close to brilliance. You could tell they were really trying to push some boundaries and create something timeless instead of just seeking widespread appeal. I had such high hopes for the next album after that, but they clearly gave up the pursuit for critical acclaim and instead went full-blown, middle of the road mainstream, "Coldplay Feat (insert current pop artist): ever since.

[weaversarms]

Wow. An actual analysis from an actual musician. Well played

[tompark]

Not a Coldplay fan but I certainly was when the only album they had was Parachutes. Tremendous album. Everything’s Not Lost-what a tune.

[OperationBlueprint]

Honestly there is no bad song on Parachutes.

[hiddenzombie]

I always hear people talk about why they hate Coldplay (not you specifically, just in general), but rarely hear about why someone loves them. I'm happy to do so myself.

I do my best to keep up with a wide variety of genres, and bands that are massive to tiny. To me, Coldplay is the best at capturing music as a force of magic. More than any other band I can think of.

Their songs exude a sense of hope, love, and cheerful melancholy. They make it feel good to feel sad and let it all out. They make it feel good to get caught up in the wonders of life. I think they do this in a way that almost no other rock OR pop artists really do as well as they do. Just look at the powerful sing along of Viva la Vida at Glastonbury, or the catharsis of the release on Fix You, or watching them play Charlie Brown to a stadium lit up with their insane wristband tech. Their songs have gravitas and stick with you.

I almost don't lament the lack of guitars, but they do have a few tracks with them prominent. I highly recommend "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, " with a great lead lick and an excellent buildup. "Adventure of a Lifetime" as well, and "Major Minus" was an album track with a great solo I thought.

I also have to mention that they are top notch live performers. I've seen at least one thousand bads live, and Coldplay is easily top 10, maybe top 5. And I'm basing this on shows I caught in 2012, 2017, and this year 2022, so they have kept that consistency.

I just think they are the best at what they do, and have continued putting out incredible songs throughout their career (yes I like a fair amount of their newer stuff, even if it is their "worst" work admittedly). They have earned every one of those 100k records sold imo

[chrisjudd]

The parachutes album is undeniably one of the greatest debut albums ever, but they went dramatically downhill after that in my opinion. Amazing songs, but now they seem to have completely sold out and become a novelty pop act.

[UnderTheMillkyWay]

I like how at 11:42 you say this type is more for enthusiasts for the electric guitar and you immediately start the video back and Chris agrees with you by singing It's true. Perfect timing. I almost think it could have been intentional ;)

[thebatman]

They still have that ability to write stunning melodies here and there but their first 2 albums have such an ethereal, spine chilling quality to them because of the guitarwork. I still go back to them time and time again.

[localbod]

The guitars on Yellow are really classic. That bluesy dissonance has such feel and raw energy.
Parachutes was a very accomplished album.
I think Spies is the best track on it.

[trickygoose]

I think Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head are great albums while X&Y and Viva la Vida are good. After that they just went very, very bland and featureless and the lack of distinguishable instruments are a massive part of that. I wonder if the other guys in the band look forward to the early songs when they play live because they get to perform more distinctive parts?

[GregGallagher]

Hi Justin! I’ve been having a tough day and getting the alert that you uploaded a new video gave me the temporary reprieve I needed today. Thank you for doing what you do!

[AJeziorski]

I enjoyed the Eno-produced ‚Viva La Vida‘. That was the last Coldplay album I actually gave a sh!t about, in fact. But I still think it‘s start-to-finish brilliant.

[tommj]

Saw this performed live and they had these huge yellow balls bouncing around the audience, and at the absolute high point of the song one of them managed to make it's way towards the guitarist and he popped it with the guitar head's stray strings right at the moment the chord hit. It exploded with yellow stuff. Chris was so happy, giggling like a little kid.

[bifftv]

Not a big fan but the track Don't Panic is everything I love about music. Simple, melodic, short, memorable and poignant.