Music doesn't come more touching than Parachutes. With their debut single alone, the emotion-fortified "Shiver", Coldplay proved they could shift between elated and crushed in a breath as singer Chris Martin poured out music's oldest chestnut (unconditional yet unrequited love) with the shakiest of voices and a backdrop of epic guitars that rouse and tug at the heart strings. For 10 tracks on Parachutes, he comes out with these, adding new-found meaning to the most tired and overused rock sentiments--love found, love lost, love unrequited, hurting the ones you love and the struggle that is life--over acoustic guitars and emotionally fraught rock. And for once, all the clichés ring true, thanks to Chris Martin genuinely sounding like a man picking over the bones of his life and soul, coming up with equal parts reasons to be cheerful and 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

Trancendental, 14 Jun 2008
Parachutes is still my favourit album from Coldplay. This album contributed to coldplays success with great songs Shivers, Yellow, High Speed, Everythings not lost. What can I say one of the best English bands ever.

great coldplay cd/album .., 05 Jun 2008
great cd/album , got all of there cd/albums and i think they are all just great , actually they are superb & just simply powerful -- thankyou coldplay ..

see u ..

Over hyped with not much much substance, 24 Feb 2008
The songs on this album are ok but that's it they are just mediocre. There are good musicians at work here but somehow the sum of their talents adds up to something which leaves me uninspired and untouched. There are better songs on "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" but Coldplay are still overrated. Best songs by far are "Trouble" and "Shiver" but download these. Don't waste your time and money listening to anything else off this album because it won't get your blood pumping. Good music to send you off to sleep though I suppose.

Classic, but not their best, 27 Jan 2008
Emotionally unsettling and uplifting in equal measure, simple smart records are sometimes the best. Some of Coldplay's best work is here along with the souring choruses that they would perfect with the next album.

Chris Martins voice may lack the beauty of his counter parts but it works for his character, he feels vunrable and troubled and immediately identifiable that's exactly why Shiver was such an outstanding debut single. Slowly building momentum with guitars into a pure jam of uplifting chimes, only then does Chris begins crooning his tale of being unnoticed by someone whom he desires, it's a sad song, indeed and it impacts and gives you a cold shiver, similar if we must to Radiohead's Creep. Don't Panic a simple but serviceable opener feels a bit like Bitter Sweet Symphony without wings. `Spies' is probably the most interesting song on the album which like Shiver races to a climax of pure brilliance but not without first taking a murky look at the world. Sparks is a slow simple ballad in an album not short of them and then we get to Yellow.

Amazingly I hadn't heard Yellow prior to buying the album and it was immediately on constant play, the perfect love song even with a somewhat random use of Yellow (my guess is personified joy). This happy number if followed by `Trouble' a tragic ballad of guilt and uncertainty set to a haunting piano riff (its funny Coldplay were known as the piano band and Keane just mere impostors when their debut and X&Y rarely use it) The title track is little more an interlude that a simple love poem followed by High Speed and We Never Change which are decent but not single material. The albums swan song is Everything is not lost a brilliant bad day song followed by a brief hidden track which isn't separated by a long time period (like some artists...)

So why only a 4? Mainly because the last quarter slips compared to the rest of the album, A Rush of Blood to the Head is so very much better in every way for better quality of songs and consistency of good songs, fact is this is a must have album for anyone who likes emotional smart records.


"Theres nothing here to run from, cause everybody heres got somebody to lean on", 05 Sep 2007
7 years on and Parachutes still sounds great. The first time I ever heard of or saw Coldplay, was on the much missed channel 4 music show hosted by Jo Whiley. The video for `Yellow' was shown and I was hooked instantly "You know I love you so".

A lot of music fans at the time dismissed Coldplay as a poor Radiohead tribute act, but I always felt they owed more to the Verve (no bad thing and possibly benefited from their demise) but regardless of how derivative Coldplay were, `Parachutes' is possibly one of the finest debuts of the past 20 years. Coldplay hit the UK music scene just at the right time at the turn of the century, when British music was in need of a boost following the end of the so called Brit Pop movement, and they delivered to those who took the time.

Compared to their later albums this is obviously their debut album. By that I mean it has degree of honesty about it, and there is less of a commercial feel to the sound that feels more personal to the band, which is fine by me. Highlights for me are `Don't Panic', `Shiver', `Spies', `Yellow', `Trouble', `Parachutes' and `Everything's not lost'. So that's 7 out of 10 tracks on a debut, hence the well deserved 5 stars.

Some would argue that Coldplay never topped this album, personally I am not sure about that as bands or artists record different style albums at different points in their career, so maybe that's a debate for a different review, but what I will recommend is that if you have discovered Coldplay via the massive selling `X+Y' album, get Parachutes and hear where it all began. A group of university lads finding their feet and producing inspiring musical brilliance. You won't be disappointed or fail to be touched by Parachutes.

On Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head, the melodic excellence of Parachutes remains, as does the delicate soulfulness of Chris Martin's voice. But now different styles are approached, as the band develop even further beyond their debut album (and the numerous Radiohead comparisons that dogged them at first). "God Put a Smile upon Your Face", for instance, has a thumping voodoo quality, while the hypnotic "A Whisper" has a wild vocal arrangement recalling Jefferson Airplane. Beyond this, each of the 11 tracks--from the literate power ballad "In My Place" to the 60s-style mantra "Daylight"--are given room to breathe, gradually reaching an ecstatic crescendo where Martin and that huge Coldplay piano ride over a pulsing rhythm and orchestrations that are powerful but never overblown. "Give me real, don't give me fake" says Martin in the opening "Politik" and it's an appropriately uncompromising demand, for A Rush of Blood... is without doubt the most heartfelt and emotionally liberated album to top the charts in ages. --Dominic Wills

Trancendental, 14 Jun 2008
Parachutes is still my favourit album from Coldplay. This album contributed to coldplays success with great songs Shivers, Yellow, High Speed, Everythings not lost. What can I say one of the best English bands ever.

great coldplay cd/album .., 05 Jun 2008
great cd/album , got all of there cd/albums and i think they are all just great , actually they are superb & just simply powerful -- thankyou coldplay ..

see u ..

Over hyped with not much much substance, 24 Feb 2008
The songs on this album are ok but that's it they are just mediocre. There are good musicians at work here but somehow the sum of their talents adds up to something which leaves me uninspired and untouched. There are better songs on "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" but Coldplay are still overrated. Best songs by far are "Trouble" and "Shiver" but download these. Don't waste your time and money listening to anything else off this album because it won't get your blood pumping. Good music to send you off to sleep though I suppose.

Classic, but not their best, 27 Jan 2008
Emotionally unsettling and uplifting in equal measure, simple smart records are sometimes the best. Some of Coldplay's best work is here along with the souring choruses that they would perfect with the next album.

Chris Martins voice may lack the beauty of his counter parts but it works for his character, he feels vunrable and troubled and immediately identifiable that's exactly why Shiver was such an outstanding debut single. Slowly building momentum with guitars into a pure jam of uplifting chimes, only then does Chris begins crooning his tale of being unnoticed by someone whom he desires, it's a sad song, indeed and it impacts and gives you a cold shiver, similar if we must to Radiohead's Creep. Don't Panic a simple but serviceable opener feels a bit like Bitter Sweet Symphony without wings. `Spies' is probably the most interesting song on the album which like Shiver races to a climax of pure brilliance but not without first taking a murky look at the world. Sparks is a slow simple ballad in an album not short of them and then we get to Yellow.

Amazingly I hadn't heard Yellow prior to buying the album and it was immediately on constant play, the perfect love song even with a somewhat random use of Yellow (my guess is personified joy). This happy number if followed by `Trouble' a tragic ballad of guilt and uncertainty set to a haunting piano riff (its funny Coldplay were known as the piano band and Keane just mere impostors when their debut and X&Y rarely use it) The title track is little more an interlude that a simple love poem followed by High Speed and We Never Change which are decent but not single material. The albums swan song is Everything is not lost a brilliant bad day song followed by a brief hidden track which isn't separated by a long time period (like some artists...)

So why only a 4? Mainly because the last quarter slips compared to the rest of the album, A Rush of Blood to the Head is so very much better in every way for better quality of songs and consistency of good songs, fact is this is a must have album for anyone who likes emotional smart records.


"Theres nothing here to run from, cause everybody heres got somebody to lean on", 05 Sep 2007
7 years on and Parachutes still sounds great. The first time I ever heard of or saw Coldplay, was on the much missed channel 4 music show hosted by Jo Whiley. The video for `Yellow' was shown and I was hooked instantly "You know I love you so".

A lot of music fans at the time dismissed Coldplay as a poor Radiohead tribute act, but I always felt they owed more to the Verve (no bad thing and possibly benefited from their demise) but regardless of how derivative Coldplay were, `Parachutes' is possibly one of the finest debuts of the past 20 years. Coldplay hit the UK music scene just at the right time at the turn of the century, when British music was in need of a boost following the end of the so called Brit Pop movement, and they delivered to those who took the time.

Compared to their later albums this is obviously their debut album. By that I mean it has degree of honesty about it, and there is less of a commercial feel to the sound that feels more personal to the band, which is fine by me. Highlights for me are `Don't Panic', `Shiver', `Spies', `Yellow', `Trouble', `Parachutes' and `Everything's not lost'. So that's 7 out of 10 tracks on a debut, hence the well deserved 5 stars.

Some would argue that Coldplay never topped this album, personally I am not sure about that as bands or artists record different style albums at different points in their career, so maybe that's a debate for a different review, but what I will recommend is that if you have discovered Coldplay via the massive selling `X+Y' album, get Parachutes and hear where it all began. A group of university lads finding their feet and producing inspiring musical brilliance. You won't be disappointed or fail to be touched by Parachutes.


Too brilliant for words!, 28 Nov 2008
Ok, for the people who don't like this album I say - you're all mad and have no taste in music whatsoever.
For the people like myself, who absolutely LOVE this album, I say - good on you, it's obvious you have brilliant taste in music!!!
There are no bad songs on this album, they are all genius - fabulous lyrics, catchy tunes and fantastic guitar. There are a couple of standout songs for me, so here they are (in order of the listing on the CD):

Politik: Coldplay were right to choose this song as an opener, it really works for the album. It took about two listens to get into it, and then it became a firm favourite. Has a real meaning too.
In My Place: Fantastic drumming at the start and the guitars are amazing. Great lyrics!
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face: Starts off like a country song, but soon turns into familiar Coldplay material.I loved the tune especially.
The Scientist: I fell in love with this one when my cousin played it on the piano about 3 years ago. Beautiful song, astounding piano music and his voice was amazing. The lyrics were what blew me away, though, they are deep and meaningful and Coldplay manage to write about love in a way that no other band could dream of. It continues to be my favourite song in the world.
Clocks: Such a catchy tune, you will be humming this in your head within a minute of listening to it. The lyrics are really cool, this is probably one of A Rush of Blood to the Head's more upbeat songs.
A Rush of Blood to the Head: The title song is really great. It is slower than any of the previous songs I've mentioned, but it is still a fantastic song which I almost guarantee you'll love!

That said, all of the songs are brilliant and are full of Coldplay magic! Listen to this album if it's the last thing you do, you definitely won't regret it!


Their greatest album to date, 19 Nov 2008
Ive just purchased my third copy of this album (kept getting scratched in my car stereo) and i would buy it again and again. Every song from beginning to end is beautifully written, and executed. This clearly is a must have album

a saunter of blood, perhaps, 01 Nov 2008
Are Keane too hard-rocking and uncompromising for you?

Is James Blunt just too damn original and heartfelt?

Then try Coldplay! Perfection of mediocrity! (Baa baa! ...that's a trumpet)
I know... I'm mean. I don't hate this stuff. But that's the point... it's so WET. When did people like this get to masquerade as rock musicians? It's bad for you. Your children will grow up thinking this is what a rock band sounds like. Zeppelin who? no, I wanna listen to the guys who go "waaa.. waa... I'm sad and feeble..." When there's the likes of Gutter Twins, Aquila, Rufus Wainwright and The Veils out there barely making a dent, you should not be spending your money and valuable time on this.

A classic, 30 Oct 2008
Coldplay take a lot of stick - maybe some of it is deserved, a lot OTT, but all that can be said of this album is that it is a classic. One of the best albums of the decade.

the best, 13 Jun 2008
Simply the best is all that needs to be said a must have for any music collection

Coldplay were faced with a difficult choice as they set to work on X&Y. They could either follow Radiohead’s lead and use their enormous success and financial security as a springboard to a brave experimental future--or they could play it safe, repeat the tricks used on the 16 million-selling A Rush Of Blood To The Head, and consolidate their position as one of the biggest bands in the world. In truth, despite the Tetris-inspired artwork and presence of teaser track "Talk"--which steals its melody line from electro-futurists Kraftwerk’s gorgeous "Computer Love"--X&Y is more the latter than the former. Fans will be delighted by "What If?", a piano elegy that takes flight on strings, and slowly builds towards a Beatles' "A Day In The Life"-style climax, while the likes of "Fix You" and hidden track "'Til Kingdom Come"--originally written for country hero Johnny Cash--proves Martin’s skill for simple, affecting songwriting remains intact. One development, however, comes through the judicious inclusion of some rather pleasant synthesiser work--see "White Shadows", where Martin gently beseeches "Come on love, stay with me" over a gentle Eno-esque keyboard wash. Fair enough: the experimental albums can come later. --Louis Pattison

More Coldplay
A Rush of Blood to the Head (CD)	Parachutes (CD)	Coldplay: Live 2003 (Limited Edition DVD with Live CD)	Coldplay: Look at the Stars (Paperback)
Find more from Coldplay

Trancendental, 14 Jun 2008
Parachutes is still my favourit album from Coldplay. This album contributed to coldplays success with great songs Shivers, Yellow, High Speed, Everythings not lost. What can I say one of the best English bands ever.

great coldplay cd/album .., 05 Jun 2008
great cd/album , got all of there cd/albums and i think they are all just great , actually they are superb & just simply powerful -- thankyou coldplay ..

see u ..

Over hyped with not much much substance, 24 Feb 2008
The songs on this album are ok but that's it they are just mediocre. There are good musicians at work here but somehow the sum of their talents adds up to something which leaves me uninspired and untouched. There are better songs on "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" but Coldplay are still overrated. Best songs by far are "Trouble" and "Shiver" but download these. Don't waste your time and money listening to anything else off this album because it won't get your blood pumping. Good music to send you off to sleep though I suppose.

Classic, but not their best, 27 Jan 2008
Emotionally unsettling and uplifting in equal measure, simple smart records are sometimes the best. Some of Coldplay's best work is here along with the souring choruses that they would perfect with the next album.

Chris Martins voice may lack the beauty of his counter parts but it works for his character, he feels vunrable and troubled and immediately identifiable that's exactly why Shiver was such an outstanding debut single. Slowly building momentum with guitars into a pure jam of uplifting chimes, only then does Chris begins crooning his tale of being unnoticed by someone whom he desires, it's a sad song, indeed and it impacts and gives you a cold shiver, similar if we must to Radiohead's Creep. Don't Panic a simple but serviceable opener feels a bit like Bitter Sweet Symphony without wings. `Spies' is probably the most interesting song on the album which like Shiver races to a climax of pure brilliance but not without first taking a murky look at the world. Sparks is a slow simple ballad in an album not short of them and then we get to Yellow.

Amazingly I hadn't heard Yellow prior to buying the album and it was immediately on constant play, the perfect love song even with a somewhat random use of Yellow (my guess is personified joy). This happy number if followed by `Trouble' a tragic ballad of guilt and uncertainty set to a haunting piano riff (its funny Coldplay were known as the piano band and Keane just mere impostors when their debut and X&Y rarely use it) The title track is little more an interlude that a simple love poem followed by High Speed and We Never Change which are decent but not single material. The albums swan song is Everything is not lost a brilliant bad day song followed by a brief hidden track which isn't separated by a long time period (like some artists...)

So why only a 4? Mainly because the last quarter slips compared to the rest of the album, A Rush of Blood to the Head is so very much better in every way for better quality of songs and consistency of good songs, fact is this is a must have album for anyone who likes emotional smart records.


"Theres nothing here to run from, cause everybody heres got somebody to lean on", 05 Sep 2007
7 years on and Parachutes still sounds great. The first time I ever heard of or saw Coldplay, was on the much missed channel 4 music show hosted by Jo Whiley. The video for `Yellow' was shown and I was hooked instantly "You know I love you so".

A lot of music fans at the time dismissed Coldplay as a poor Radiohead tribute act, but I always felt they owed more to the Verve (no bad thing and possibly benefited from their demise) but regardless of how derivative Coldplay were, `Parachutes' is possibly one of the finest debuts of the past 20 years. Coldplay hit the UK music scene just at the right time at the turn of the century, when British music was in need of a boost following the end of the so called Brit Pop movement, and they delivered to those who took the time.

Compared to their later albums this is obviously their debut album. By that I mean it has degree of honesty about it, and there is less of a commercial feel to the sound that feels more personal to the band, which is fine by me. Highlights for me are `Don't Panic', `Shiver', `Spies', `Yellow', `Trouble', `Parachutes' and `Everything's not lost'. So that's 7 out of 10 tracks on a debut, hence the well deserved 5 stars.

Some would argue that Coldplay never topped this album, personally I am not sure about that as bands or artists record different style albums at different points in their career, so maybe that's a debate for a different review, but what I will recommend is that if you have discovered Coldplay via the massive selling `X+Y' album, get Parachutes and hear where it all began. A group of university lads finding their feet and producing inspiring musical brilliance. You won't be disappointed or fail to be touched by Parachutes.


Too brilliant for words!, 28 Nov 2008
Ok, for the people who don't like this album I say - you're all mad and have no taste in music whatsoever.
For the people like myself, who absolutely LOVE this album, I say - good on you, it's obvious you have brilliant taste in music!!!
There are no bad songs on this album, they are all genius - fabulous lyrics, catchy tunes and fantastic guitar. There are a couple of standout songs for me, so here they are (in order of the listing on the CD):

Politik: Coldplay were right to choose this song as an opener, it really works for the album. It took about two listens to get into it, and then it became a firm favourite. Has a real meaning too.
In My Place: Fantastic drumming at the start and the guitars are amazing. Great lyrics!
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face: Starts off like a country song, but soon turns into familiar Coldplay material.I loved the tune especially.
The Scientist: I fell in love with this one when my cousin played it on the piano about 3 years ago. Beautiful song, astounding piano music and his voice was amazing. The lyrics were what blew me away, though, they are deep and meaningful and Coldplay manage to write about love in a way that no other band could dream of. It continues to be my favourite song in the world.
Clocks: Such a catchy tune, you will be humming this in your head within a minute of listening to it. The lyrics are really cool, this is probably one of A Rush of Blood to the Head's more upbeat songs.
A Rush of Blood to the Head: The title song is really great. It is slower than any of the previous songs I've mentioned, but it is still a fantastic song which I almost guarantee you'll love!

That said, all of the songs are brilliant and are full of Coldplay magic! Listen to this album if it's the last thing you do, you definitely won't regret it!


Their greatest album to date, 19 Nov 2008
Ive just purchased my third copy of this album (kept getting scratched in my car stereo) and i would buy it again and again. Every song from beginning to end is beautifully written, and executed. This clearly is a must have album

a saunter of blood, perhaps, 01 Nov 2008
Are Keane too hard-rocking and uncompromising for you?

Is James Blunt just too damn original and heartfelt?

Then try Coldplay! Perfection of mediocrity! (Baa baa! ...that's a trumpet)
I know... I'm mean. I don't hate this stuff. But that's the point... it's so WET. When did people like this get to masquerade as rock musicians? It's bad for you. Your children will grow up thinking this is what a rock band sounds like. Zeppelin who? no, I wanna listen to the guys who go "waaa.. waa... I'm sad and feeble..." When there's the likes of Gutter Twins, Aquila, Rufus Wainwright and The Veils out there barely making a dent, you should not be spending your money and valuable time on this.

A classic, 30 Oct 2008
Coldplay take a lot of stick - maybe some of it is deserved, a lot OTT, but all that can be said of this album is that it is a classic. One of the best albums of the decade.

the best, 13 Jun 2008
Simply the best is all that needs to be said a must have for any music collection

x must try harder- y?, 01 Nov 2008
I notice one of the tags for this album is 'music'. Yeah!
Coldplay, whadda they sound like?
well, sort of... music, really.
Whoo! I got to get me some of that!
Yes, it's the sonic equivalent of watching paint dry...

I'm sorry. I don't HATE this stuff. But that's the point... it's so WET. When did people like this get to masquerade as rock musicians? It's bad for you. Your children will grow up thinking this is what a rock band sounds like. Zeppelin who? no, I wanna listen to the guys who go "waaa.. waa... I'm sad and feeble..." When there's the likes of Gutter Twins, Aquila, Rufus Wainwright and The Veils out there barely making a dent, you should not be spending your money and valuable time on this.

bland and totally unworthy of 5 star reviews, 29 Oct 2008
do not be fooled by the plethora of 4/5 star reviews for this album - it is not worthy of it.

and before i get accused of simply hating Coldplay i will say that Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head were both good to very good albums.

However, X&Y is not a very good album - the songwriting is predictable (not up to the standards of their first two albums), the production is dull (the added electronic sheen does make the material on offer any better), Chris Martin's singing is grating (his use of falsetto is constant and overbearing) and the lyrics are just plain bland.

I do not understand the amount of excellent reviews posted for this album (it is though somewhat balanced by the amount of bad reviews).

You people cannot be listening to enough music to have such inflated opinions of this album - try listening to Nick Cave, The Hold Steady, Field Music, Elbow, Jim Noir, Fleet Foxes, Raconteurs, Drive-by Truckers, Calexico, TV on the radio, Goldfrapp, etc., etc, and then go back to X&Y and tell me that it is worthy of 4/5 stars.

Please notice that this meant to be a review of the album and not simply an attack on Coldplay (like so many of the bad reviews posted).

open your ears and minds people.



Yawn....., 04 Jul 2008
Anyone who claims to be a Coldplay fan and likes this album, clearly hasn't listened to 'Parachutes' or 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' two good strong albums, littered with really good songs like 'Yellow', 'Shiver', 'The Scientist', 'In My Place' etc... , whereas 'X & Y' has no good songs, the only half decent thing i liked about this album was one of the videos where an old lady is doing some acrobatic tricks.

THE BEST !! , 05 Jun 2008
great album and very powerful , i love all of there music , i think they are simply great .. this cd/album is as powerful and rich as all the others they have made .. ive got there new one on pre-order .. ive had my coldplay cd/albums for a long long while now and ive only just reviewed them ..

thank u coldplay .

see u ..

AWESOME, 08 May 2008
Look, I won't waste your time with a big lengthy review - I'll ge to the point. BUY THIS! You will fall in love with every track though not necessarily straight away, most are "growers" and you may find that a year after you bought it a song you hated in the beginning has really grown on you and you love it. Don't let the whiny naysayers put you off - this is AWESOME. It's all in the title, really:)

As Greatest Hits--and particularly the busking pavement jazz of "Lovecats"--reminds us, the best Cure singles were very often tangential exercises; halcyon playtime divergences offering a Goth-free contrast to some of the weightier studiousness of some of those early albums. Or, as smudged frontman Robert Smith says of this 18-track collection, "Songs that are sung with a smile." This wasn't always true--witness the refrigerated fogginess of the classic "A Forest", the Blair Witch Project of it's day. What this compilation does is focus attention on the Cure's perennial unpredictability--the nursery school bonkers-ness of "The Caterpillar", the breathless claustrophobia of "Close to Me", the New Order-lite of "The Walk", the brass-section embellished thrust of "Why Can't I Be You". Oddly, chart-wise, the Cure's Lost Weekend began immediately after "Friday I'm in Love", their most ebullient melodic moment and the ultimate clocking-off to kick-those-heels! anthem. But at least the inclusion of two new songs "Cut Here" and "Just Say Yes" (with Saffron from Republica) indicate that the Cure remain a healthy ongoing concern. --Kevin Maidment

Trancendental, 14 Jun 2008
Parachutes is still my favourit album from Coldplay. This album contributed to coldplays success with great songs Shivers, Yellow, High Speed, Everythings not lost. What can I say one of the best English bands ever.

great coldplay cd/album .., 05 Jun 2008
great cd/album , got all of there cd/albums and i think they are all just great , actually they are superb & just simply powerful -- thankyou coldplay ..

see u ..

Over hyped with not much much substance, 24 Feb 2008
The songs on this album are ok but that's it they are just mediocre. There are good musicians at work here but somehow the sum of their talents adds up to something which leaves me uninspired and untouched. There are better songs on "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" but Coldplay are still overrated. Best songs by far are "Trouble" and "Shiver" but download these. Don't waste your time and money listening to anything else off this album because it won't get your blood pumping. Good music to send you off to sleep though I suppose.

Classic, but not their best, 27 Jan 2008
Emotionally unsettling and uplifting in equal measure, simple smart records are sometimes the best. Some of Coldplay's best work is here along with the souring choruses that they would perfect with the next album.

Chris Martins voice may lack the beauty of his counter parts but it works for his character, he feels vunrable and troubled and immediately identifiable that's exactly why Shiver was such an outstanding debut single. Slowly building momentum with guitars into a pure jam of uplifting chimes, only then does Chris begins crooning his tale of being unnoticed by someone whom he desires, it's a sad song, indeed and it impacts and gives you a cold shiver, similar if we must to Radiohead's Creep. Don't Panic a simple but serviceable opener feels a bit like Bitter Sweet Symphony without wings. `Spies' is probably the most interesting song on the album which like Shiver races to a climax of pure brilliance but not without first taking a murky look at the world. Sparks is a slow simple ballad in an album not short of them and then we get to Yellow.

Amazingly I hadn't heard Yellow prior to buying the album and it was immediately on constant play, the perfect love song even with a somewhat random use of Yellow (my guess is personified joy). This happy number if followed by `Trouble' a tragic ballad of guilt and uncertainty set to a haunting piano riff (its funny Coldplay were known as the piano band and Keane just mere impostors when their debut and X&Y rarely use it) The title track is little more an interlude that a simple love poem followed by High Speed and We Never Change which are decent but not single material. The albums swan song is Everything is not lost a brilliant bad day song followed by a brief hidden track which isn't separated by a long time period (like some artists...)

So why only a 4? Mainly because the last quarter slips compared to the rest of the album, A Rush of Blood to the Head is so very much better in every way for better quality of songs and consistency of good songs, fact is this is a must have album for anyone who likes emotional smart records.


"Theres nothing here to run from, cause everybody heres got somebody to lean on", 05 Sep 2007
7 years on and Parachutes still sounds great. The first time I ever heard of or saw Coldplay, was on the much missed channel 4 music show hosted by Jo Whiley. The video for `Yellow' was shown and I was hooked instantly "You know I love you so".

A lot of music fans at the time dismissed Coldplay as a poor Radiohead tribute act, but I always felt they owed more to the Verve (no bad thing and possibly benefited from their demise) but regardless of how derivative Coldplay were, `Parachutes' is possibly one of the finest debuts of the past 20 years. Coldplay hit the UK music scene just at the right time at the turn of the century, when British music was in need of a boost following the end of the so called Brit Pop movement, and they delivered to those who took the time.

Compared to their later albums this is obviously their debut album. By that I mean it has degree of honesty about it, and there is less of a commercial feel to the sound that feels more personal to the band, which is fine by me. Highlights for me are `Don't Panic', `Shiver', `Spies', `Yellow', `Trouble', `Parachutes' and `Everything's not lost'. So that's 7 out of 10 tracks on a debut, hence the well deserved 5 stars.

Some would argue that Coldplay never topped this album, personally I am not sure about that as bands or artists record different style albums at different points in their career, so maybe that's a debate for a different review, but what I will recommend is that if you have discovered Coldplay via the massive selling `X+Y' album, get Parachutes and hear where it all began. A group of university lads finding their feet and producing inspiring musical brilliance. You won't be disappointed or fail to be touched by Parachutes.


Too brilliant for words!, 28 Nov 2008
Ok, for the people who don't like this album I say - you're all mad and have no taste in music whatsoever.
For the people like myself, who absolutely LOVE this album, I say - good on you, it's obvious you have brilliant taste in music!!!
There are no bad songs on this album, they are all genius - fabulous lyrics, catchy tunes and fantastic guitar. There are a couple of standout songs for me, so here they are (in order of the listing on the CD):

Politik: Coldplay were right to choose this song as an opener, it really works for the album. It took about two listens to get into it, and then it became a firm favourite. Has a real meaning too.
In My Place: Fantastic drumming at the start and the guitars are amazing. Great lyrics!
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face: Starts off like a country song, but soon turns into familiar Coldplay material.I loved the tune especially.
The Scientist: I fell in love with this one when my cousin played it on the piano about 3 years ago. Beautiful song, astounding piano music and his voice was amazing. The lyrics were what blew me away, though, they are deep and meaningful and Coldplay manage to write about love in a way that no other band could dream of. It continues to be my favourite song in the world.
Clocks: Such a catchy tune, you will be humming this in your head within a minute of listening to it. The lyrics are really cool, this is probably one of A Rush of Blood to the Head's more upbeat songs.
A Rush of Blood to the Head: The title song is really great. It is slower than any of the previous songs I've mentioned, but it is still a fantastic song which I almost guarantee you'll love!

That said, all of the songs are brilliant and are full of Coldplay magic! Listen to this album if it's the last thing you do, you definitely won't regret it!


Their greatest album to date, 19 Nov 2008
Ive just purchased my third copy of this album (kept getting scratched in my car stereo) and i would buy it again and again. Every song from beginning to end is beautifully written, and executed. This clearly is a must have album

a saunter of blood, perhaps, 01 Nov 2008
Are Keane too hard-rocking and uncompromising for you?

Is James Blunt just too damn original and heartfelt?

Then try Coldplay! Perfection of mediocrity! (Baa baa! ...that's a trumpet)
I know... I'm mean. I don't hate this stuff. But that's the point... it's so WET. When did people like this get to masquerade as rock musicians? It's bad for you. Your children will grow up thinking this is what a rock band sounds like. Zeppelin who? no, I wanna listen to the guys who go "waaa.. waa... I'm sad and feeble..." When there's the likes of Gutter Twins, Aquila, Rufus Wainwright and The Veils out there barely making a dent, you should not be spending your money and valuable time on this.

A classic, 30 Oct 2008
Coldplay take a lot of stick - maybe some of it is deserved, a lot OTT, but all that can be said of this album is that it is a classic. One of the best albums of the decade.

the best, 13 Jun 2008
Simply the best is all that needs to be said a must have for any music collection

x must try harder- y?, 01 Nov 2008
I notice one of the tags for this album is 'music'. Yeah!
Coldplay, whadda they sound like?
well, sort of... music, really.
Whoo! I got to get me some of that!
Yes, it's the sonic equivalent of watching paint dry...

I'm sorry. I don't HATE this stuff. But that's the point... it's so WET. When did people like this get to masquerade as rock musicians? It's bad for you. Your children will grow up thinking this is what a rock band sounds like. Zeppelin who? no, I wanna listen to the guys who go "waaa.. waa... I'm sad and feeble..." When there's the likes of Gutter Twins, Aquila, Rufus Wainwright and The Veils out there barely making a dent, you should not be spending your money and valuable time on this.

bland and totally unworthy of 5 star reviews, 29 Oct 2008
do not be fooled by the plethora of 4/5 star reviews for this album - it is not worthy of it.

and before i get accused of simply hating Coldplay i will say that Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head were both good to very good albums.

However, X&Y is not a very good album - the songwriting is predictable (not up to the standards of their first two albums), the production is dull (the added electronic sheen does make the material on offer any better), Chris Martin's singing is grating (his use of falsetto is constant and overbearing) and the lyrics are just plain bland.

I do not understand the amount of excellent reviews posted for this album (it is though somewhat balanced by the amount of bad reviews).

You people cannot be listening to enough music to have such inflated opinions of this album - try listening to Nick Cave, The Hold Steady, Field Music, Elbow, Jim Noir, Fleet Foxes, Raconteurs, Drive-by Truckers, Calexico, TV on the radio, Goldfrapp, etc., etc, and then go back to X&Y and tell me that it is worthy of 4/5 stars.

Please notice that this meant to be a review of the album and not simply an attack on Coldplay (like so many of the bad reviews posted).

open your ears and minds people.



Yawn....., 04 Jul 2008
Anyone who claims to be a Coldplay fan and likes this album, clearly hasn't listened to 'Parachutes' or 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' two good strong albums, littered with really good songs like 'Yellow', 'Shiver', 'The Scientist', 'In My Place' etc... , whereas 'X & Y' has no good songs, the only half decent thing i liked about this album was one of the videos where an old lady is doing some acrobatic tricks.

THE BEST !! , 05 Jun 2008
great album and very powerful , i love all of there music , i think they are simply great .. this cd/album is as powerful and rich as all the others they have made .. ive got there new one on pre-order .. ive had my coldplay cd/albums for a long long while now and ive only just reviewed them ..

thank u coldplay .

see u ..

AWESOME, 08 May 2008
Look, I won't waste your time with a big lengthy review - I'll ge to the point. BUY THIS! You will fall in love with every track though not necessarily straight away, most are "growers" and you may find that a year after you bought it a song you hated in the beginning has really grown on you and you love it. Don't let the whiny naysayers put you off - this is AWESOME. It's all in the title, really:)

Takes you back to another time, 09 Oct 2008
Music can take you back to a time and a place that you would otherwise forget. This is one of thise albums.


Greatest Hits - plain and simple, 01 Sep 2008
The Cure have always been one of these bands that I've only ever half been aware of - I've fully appreciated the impact they've had on the music scene, but I've never really known any of the songs as well as I should have. Which is why I bought this - their Greatest Hits.

People that bleat on and complain about Greatest Hits being too predictable by certain artists miss the point - Best Of compilations are not for the die hard fans - if you're a die hard fan, you should already have all the albums. Best Of's are a great starting point for people just getting into an act. And this is exactly what this does. All the classics are here - Friday I'm In Love, Boys Don't Cry, In Between Days....and that's exactly what people want.

Everybody should have heard of The Cure - use this Greatest Hits as an excuse to finally buy one of their CD's and get to learn how great these tunes that have been played to you over and over again over the past 20 years really are.

To everybody else - stop complaining about Greatest Hits compilations.

Give me the disease instead., 11 Aug 2008
I cannot believe that they scooped together this many tunes to fill a CD by the whiney voiced big haired wet lipped shy thing. He sings all out of tune and flounces about like clothes without a person in them. Some of the tunes get in your head but its mostly inept teenage dirge with no substance. They are no Status Quo fo sho. Spend your money on something better like a Bartok syphony or Bong-ra or even Girls Aloud. Not this, this is not medicine, this is self inflicted whiney earache. I'm not buying this album to keep him in oversized shirts, hairspray and mascara, no.

good pop songs, 12 May 2008
This is a good selection of pop songs...

But those seeking 'what the cure are really all about' should either by the albums or get join the dots (because some of those B-sides are amazing).
The Cure were about long atmospheric pieces of music which conjure up images in your head and evoke moods without even hearing the lyrics. When the lyrics do come they are usually delivered in a despairing hopeless way, or wailed, by Robert Smith and his masterfully unique voice, in the world of Pop/Rock.

Best songs suited for this are all the tracks on 'pornography', and charlotte sometimes, none of which included here.

This is the lighter bouncier commercial side of the Cure. Songs you WILL have heard before but didn't know who it was. Except everyone knows 'Friday I'm In Love' - National Student Anthem.

Staring at the Sea and Galore are better compilations, this skims over too many songs, but If you are going to get anything get disintegration. If you want pop hits, get Head on the door. And go from there

Great overview, 24 Aug 2007
I'm not a Cure purist, I never really thought of myself as a real fan of the band. But this is a great collection of songs. Maybe not a fully representative one in terms of their overall goth agenda, but for those non-goths of us out there, it's just a great set of indie classics.

For the casual listener (like me) there are a couple of tracks that detract from the overall quality. I don't really like 'Caterpillar', 'Lovecats' was never their greatest song, and the cd tails off a little bit after 'Mint Car'. But the bleak brilliance of 'Forest', the jangly guitars of 'In Between Days' and the joyous build-up of melody in 'Close to Me' represent real class, the like of which is just too rare these days. And who can forget 'Just Like Heaven' which has become my firm favourite for the intro alone.

The acoustic cd is not really worth much attention. I think I've listened to it twice. There's no real variety or inventiveness evident on this - the tracks sound like exact replicas of the studio versions played on acoustic instruments, slightly less enthusiastically than they were the first time around.

If you're a die hard Cure fan I'm sure there's a whole lot more out there for you and this will probably just leave you wanting. For the rest of us, it's a great album.

Trancendental, 14 Jun 2008
Parachutes is still my favourit album from Coldplay. This album contributed to coldplays success with great songs Shivers, Yellow, High Speed, Everythings not lost. What can I say one of the best English bands ever.

great coldplay cd/album .., 05 Jun 2008
great cd/album , got all of there cd/albums and i think they are all just great , actually they are superb & just simply powerful -- thankyou coldplay ..

see u ..

Over hyped with not much much substance, 24 Feb 2008
The songs on this album are ok but that's it they are just mediocre. There are good musicians at work here but somehow the sum of their talents adds up to something which leaves me uninspired and untouched. There are better songs on "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" but Coldplay are still overrated. Best songs by far are "Trouble" and "Shiver" but download these. Don't waste your time and money listening to anything else off this album because it won't get your blood pumping. Good music to send you off to sleep though I suppose.

Classic, but not their best, 27 Jan 2008
Emotionally unsettling and uplifting in equal measure, simple smart records are sometimes the best. Some of Coldplay's best work is here along with the souring choruses that they would perfect with the next album.

Chris Martins voice may lack the beauty of his counter parts but it works for his character, he feels vunrable and troubled and immediately identifiable that's exactly why Shiver was such an outstanding debut single. Slowly building momentum with guitars into a pure jam of uplifting chimes, only then does Chris begins crooning his tale of being unnoticed by someone whom he desires, it's a sad song, indeed and it impacts and gives you a cold shiver, similar if we must to Radiohead's Creep. Don't Panic a simple but serviceable opener feels a bit like Bitter Sweet Symphony without wings. `Spies' is probably the most interesting song on the album which like Shiver races to a climax of pure brilliance but not without first taking a murky look at the world. Sparks is a slow simple ballad in an album not short of them and then we get to Yellow.

Amazingly I hadn't heard Yellow prior to buying the album and it was immediately on constant play, the perfect love song even with a somewhat random use of Yellow (my guess is personified joy). This happy number if followed by `Trouble' a tragic ballad of guilt and uncertainty set to a haunting piano riff (its funny Coldplay were known as the piano band and Keane just mere impostors when their debut and X&Y rarely use it) The title track is little more an interlude that a simple love poem followed by High Speed and We Never Change which are decent but not single material. The albums swan song is Everything is not lost a brilliant bad day song followed by a brief hidden track which isn't separated by a long time period (like some artists...)

So why only a 4? Mainly because the last quarter slips compared to the rest of the album, A Rush of Blood to the Head is so very much better in every way for better quality of songs and consistency of good songs, fact is this is a must have album for anyone who likes emotional smart records.


"Theres nothing here to run from, cause everybody heres got somebody to lean on", 05 Sep 2007
7 years on and Parachutes still sounds great. The first time I ever heard of or saw Coldplay, was on the much missed channel 4 music show hosted by Jo Whiley. The video for `Yellow' was shown and I was hooked instantly "You know I love you so".

A lot of music fans at the time dismissed Coldplay as a poor Radiohead tribute act, but I always felt they owed more to the Verve (no bad thing and possibly benefited from their demise) but regardless of how derivative Coldplay were, `Parachutes' is possibly one of the finest debuts of the past 20 years. Coldplay hit the UK music scene just at the right time at the turn of the century, when British music was in need of a boost following the end of the so called Brit Pop movement, and they delivered to those who took the time.

Compared to their later albums this is obviously their debut album. By that I mean it has degree of honesty about it, and there is less of a commercial feel to the sound that feels more personal to the band, which is fine by me. Highlights for me are `Don't Panic', `Shiver', `Spies', `Yellow', `Trouble', `Parachutes' and `Everything's not lost'. So that's 7 out of 10 tracks on a debut, hence the well deserved 5 stars.

Some would argue that Coldplay never topped this album, personally I am not sure about that as bands or artists record different style albums at different points in their career, so maybe that's a debate for a different review, but what I will recommend is that if you have discovered Coldplay via the massive selling `X+Y' album, get Parachutes and hear where it all began. A group of university lads finding their feet and producing inspiring musical brilliance. You won't be disappointed or fail to be touched by Parachutes.


Too brilliant for words!, 28 Nov 2008
Ok, for the people who don't like this album I say - you're all mad and have no taste in music whatsoever.
For the people like myself, who absolutely LOVE this album, I say - good on you, it's obvious you have brilliant taste in music!!!
There are no bad songs on this album, they are all genius - fabulous lyrics, catchy tunes and fantastic guitar. There are a couple of standout songs for me, so here they are (in order of the listing on the CD):

Politik: Coldplay were right to choose this song as an opener, it really works for the album. It took about two listens to get into it, and then it became a firm favourite. Has a real meaning too.
In My Place: Fantastic drumming at the start and the guitars are amazing. Great lyrics!
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face: Starts off like a country song, but soon turns into familiar Coldplay material.I loved the tune especially.
The Scientist: I fell in love with this one when my cousin played it on the piano about 3 years ago. Beautiful song, astounding piano music and his voice was amazing. The lyrics were what blew me away, though, they are deep and meaningful and Coldplay manage to write about love in a way that no other band could dream of. It continues to be my favourite song in the world.
Clocks: Such a catchy tune, you will be humming this in your head within a minute of listening to it. The lyrics are really cool, this is probably one of A Rush of Blood to the Head's more upbeat songs.
A Rush of Blood to the Head: The title song is really great. It is slower than any of the previous songs I've mentioned, but it is still a fantastic song which I almost guarantee you'll love!

That said, all of the songs are brilliant and are full of Coldplay magic! Listen to this album if it's the last thing you do, you definitely won't regret it!


Their greatest album to date, 19 Nov 2008
Ive just purchased my third copy of this album (kept getting scratched in my car stereo) and i would buy it again and again. Every song from beginning to end is beautifully written, and executed. This clearly is a must have album

a saunter of blood, perhaps, 01 Nov 2008
Are Keane too hard-rocking and uncompromising for you?

Is James Blunt just too damn original and heartfelt?

Then try Coldplay! Perfection of mediocrity! (Baa baa! ...that's a trumpet)
I know... I'm mean. I don't hate this stuff. But that's the point... it's so WET. When did people like this get to masquerade as rock musicians? It's bad for you. Your children will grow up thinking this is what a rock band sounds like. Zeppelin who? no, I wanna listen to the guys who go "waaa.. waa... I'm sad and feeble..." When there's the likes of Gutter Twins, Aquila, Rufus Wainwright and The Veils out there barely making a dent, you should not be spending your money and valuable time on this.

A classic, 30 Oct 2008
Coldplay take a lot of stick - maybe some of it is deserved, a lot OTT, but all that can be said of this album is that it is a classic. One of the best albums of the decade.

the best, 13 Jun 2008
Simply the best is all that needs to be said a must have for any music collection

x must try harder- y?, 01 Nov 2008
I notice one of the tags for this album is 'music'. Yeah!
Coldplay, whadda they sound like?
well, sort of... music, really.
Whoo! I got to get me some of that!
Yes, it's the sonic equivalent of watching paint dry...

I'm sorry. I don't HATE this stuff. But that's the point... it's so WET. When did people like this get to masquerade as rock musicians? It's bad for you. Your children will grow up thinking this is what a rock band sounds like. Zeppelin who? no, I wanna listen to the guys who go "waaa.. waa... I'm sad and feeble..." When there's the likes of Gutter Twins, Aquila, Rufus Wainwright and The Veils out there barely making a dent, you should not be spending your money and valuable time on this.

bland and totally unworthy of 5 star reviews, 29 Oct 2008
do not be fooled by the plethora of 4/5 star reviews for this album - it is not worthy of it.

and before i get accused of simply hating Coldplay i will say that Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head were both good to very good albums.

However, X&Y is not a very good album - the songwriting is predictable (not up to the standards of their first two albums), the production is dull (the added electronic sheen does make the material on offer any better), Chris Martin's singing is grating (his use of falsetto is constant and overbearing) and the lyrics are just plain bland.

I do not understand the amount of excellent reviews posted for this album (it is though somewhat balanced by the amount of bad reviews).

You people cannot be listening to enough music to have such inflated opinions of this album - try listening to Nick Cave, The Hold Steady, Field Music, Elbow, Jim Noir, Fleet Foxes, Raconteurs, Drive-by Truckers, Calexico, TV on the radio, Goldfrapp, etc., etc, and then go back to X&Y and tell me that it is worthy of 4/5 stars.

Please notice that this meant to be a review of the album and not simply an attack on Coldplay (like so many of the bad reviews posted).

open your ears and minds people.



Yawn....., 04 Jul 2008
Anyone who claims to be a Coldplay fan and likes this album, clearly hasn't listened to 'Parachutes' or 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' two good strong albums, littered with really good songs like 'Yellow', 'Shiver', 'The Scientist', 'In My Place' etc... , whereas 'X & Y' has no good songs, the only half decent thing i liked about this album was one of the videos where an old lady is doing some acrobatic tricks.

THE BEST !! , 05 Jun 2008
great album and very powerful , i love all of there music , i think they are simply great .. this cd/album is as powerful and rich as all the others they have made .. ive got there new one on pre-order .. ive had my coldplay cd/albums for a long long while now and ive only just reviewed them ..

thank u coldplay .

see u ..

AWESOME, 08 May 2008
Look, I won't waste your time with a big lengthy review - I'll ge to the point. BUY THIS! You will fall in love with every track though not necessarily straight away, most are "growers" and you may find that a year after you bought it a song you hated in the beginning has really grown on you and you love it. Don't let the whiny naysayers put you off - this is AWESOME. It's all in the title, really:)

Takes you back to another time, 09 Oct 2008
Music can take you back to a time and a place that you would otherwise forget. This is one of thise albums.


Greatest Hits - plain and simple, 01 Sep 2008
The Cure have always been one of these bands that I've only ever half been aware of - I've fully appreciated the impact they've had on the music scene, but I've never really known any of the songs as well as I should have. Which is why I bought this - their Greatest Hits.

People that bleat on and complain about Greatest Hits being too predictable by certain artists miss the point - Best Of compilations are not for the die hard fans - if you're a die hard fan, you should already have all the albums. Best Of's are a great starting point for people just getting into an act. And this is exactly what this does. All the classics are here - Friday I'm In Love, Boys Don't Cry, In Between Days....and that's exactly what people want.

Everybody should have heard of The Cure - use this Greatest Hits as an excuse to finally buy one of their CD's and get to learn how great these tunes that have been played to you over and over again over the past 20 years really are.

To everybody else - stop complaining about Greatest Hits compilations.

Give me the disease instead., 11 Aug 2008
I cannot believe that they scooped together this many tunes to fill a CD by the whiney voiced big haired wet lipped shy thing. He sings all out of tune and flounces about like clothes without a person in them. Some of the tunes get in your head but its mostly inept teenage dirge with no substance. They are no Status Quo fo sho. Spend your money on something better like a Bartok syphony or Bong-ra or even Girls Aloud. Not this, this is not medicine, this is self inflicted whiney earache. I'm not buying this album to keep him in oversized shirts, hairspray and mascara, no.

good pop songs, 12 May 2008
This is a good selection of pop songs...

But those seeking 'what the cure are really all about' should either by the albums or get join the dots (because some of those B-sides are amazing).
The Cure were about long atmospheric pieces of music which conjure up images in your head and evoke moods without even hearing the lyrics. When the lyrics do come they are usually delivered in a despairing hopeless way, or wailed, by Robert Smith and his masterfully unique voice, in the world of Pop/Rock.

Best songs suited for this are all the tracks on 'pornography', and charlotte sometimes, none of which included here.

This is the lighter bouncier commercial side of the Cure. Songs you WILL have heard before but didn't know who it was. Except everyone knows 'Friday I'm In Love' - National Student Anthem.

Staring at the Sea and Galore are better compilations, this skims over too many songs, but If you are going to get anything get disintegration. If you want pop hits, get Head on the door. And go from there

Great overview, 24 Aug 2007
I'm not a Cure purist, I never really thought of myself as a real fan of the band. But this is a great collection of songs. Maybe not a fully representative one in terms of their overall goth agenda, but for those non-goths of us out there, it's just a great set of indie classics.

For the casual listener (like me) there are a couple of tracks that detract from the overall quality. I don't really like 'Caterpillar', 'Lovecats' was never their greatest song, and the cd tails off a little bit after 'Mint Car'. But the bleak brilliance of 'Forest', the jangly guitars of 'In Between Days' and the joyous build-up of melody in 'Close to Me' represent real class, the like of which is just too rare these days. And who can forget 'Just Like Heaven' which has become my firm favourite for the intro alone.

The acoustic cd is not really worth much attention. I think I've listened to it twice. There's no real variety or inventiveness evident on this - the tracks sound like exact replicas of the studio versions played on acoustic instruments, slightly less enthusiastically than they were the first time around.

If you're a die hard Cure fan I'm sure there's a whole lot more out there for you and this will probably just leave you wanting. For the rest of us, it's a great album.

Punk rocks owners, 29 Oct 2007
Whatever people tell me about the ramones: i always say that these guys defined punk music. Still today The Jam is a classic band that will always have a place in my album collection. This CD however is overdoing everything. Punk rock albums are usually very short and having to listen to 20 songs that do all sound extremely simmilar can get tedious. More than this I believe that punk bands very designed for live performances: they had a great attitude to live acts which made them amazing to listen to. The CD takes the heart out of this genre and for that i mark it down. Also there are a few songs could have done without.
81/100

MOD ANTHEMS, 07 May 2007
This album is the soundtrack of my youth - and it still sounds great twenty years on.
Weller was better than DYLAN - wrote better songs than LENNON and wore sharper suits than STING.
Classic anthems that will never die...

BRILLIANT, 11 Apr 2007
A great collection from the best band of all time.
Weller amd the boys looked the part and always talked the walk.
I want them to reform - but till that day this collection will keep me happy why I wait.
Top JAM fan Garry Johnson of Buzz Kids fanzine says he heard a rumour of a one-off gig this summer at Hyde Park - fingers-crossed a...

Get SNAP SE instead, 10 Aug 2006
There's no doubt this is an excellent collection of singles but why buy this when you could buy the SNAP special edition double CD £1 cheaper. That has every song on this "best of" CD plus another 8 including "Away from the numbers" and "English Rose".

Great Singles Act, 26 Mar 2006
This is basically a singles album; not that the Jam didn't produce some excellent albums but if you're a casual or new fan this is probably the one to go for. Most of these songs are great, full of energy and sound as good as they did when the band was kicking, between 1977 and 1982. Personal favourites are When You're Young, Precious, Eton Rifles, A Bomb In Wardour Street and the underated News Of The World, a rare Foxton outing. Paul, mate, you never bettered what you did in this band, then again, few did.

After the release of Word Gets Around, the Stereophonics blistering debut album, word did, indeed, get around, and rightly so. Firm adherents to the philosophy of "write what you know", Kelly Jones escaped the rural Welsh village of his upbringing and unleashed his remarkable songwriting talent on a world outside the valleys. The album title encapsulates its content perfectly--canny small-town observations rooted in real-life experience and drama. The setting is so insular that the rumours, gossip and stories have nothing to do but buzz round from lip to lip, reverberating off the surrounding mountains. Whereas contemporaries such as Super Furry Animals or Oasis may have exuded a more escapist vibe in their early songs, Jones immerses himself in the everyday events of small-town life and admirably demonstrates an unconditional love for the place he grew up.

Possessing an ability to say so much with so few words, his songs are as emotive as they are mosh-inducing, nowhere more aptly demonstrated than in "Local Boy in the Photograph"'s "He'll always be / Twenty-three / Yet the train runs on and on / Past the place they found his clothing," delivered with the kind of rusty-hacksaw vocal that belongs to Satan himself. Balancing this seriousness is a fine line in subtle humour, as displayed on the customer-service frustrations of "More Life in a Tramp's Vest".

However, the closing salvo of "Billy Davey's Daughter" (a song based on a story that, after its release, turned out to be nothing more than a rumour, thus perfectly capturing the very essence of the album) is a wonderful acoustic outro to a solid rock record. The Stereophonics have never bettered this, and it's their cross to bear that they probably never will. --Ben Johncock

Trancendental, 14 Jun 2008
Parachutes is still my favourit album from Coldplay. This album contributed to coldplays success with great songs Shivers, Yellow, High Speed, Everythings not lost. What can I say one of the best English bands ever.

great coldplay cd/album .., 05 Jun 2008
great cd/album , got all of there cd/albums and i think they are all just great , actually they are superb & just simply powerful -- thankyou coldplay ..

see u ..

Over hyped with not much much substance, 24 Feb 2008
The songs on this album are ok but that's it they are just mediocre. There are good musicians at work here but somehow the sum of their talents adds up to something which leaves me uninspired and untouched. There are better songs on "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" but Coldplay are still overrated. Best songs by far are "Trouble" and "Shiver" but download these. Don't waste your time and money listening to anything else off this album because it won't get your blood pumping. Good music to send you off to sleep though I suppose.

Classic, but not their best, 27 Jan 2008
Emotionally unsettling and uplifting in equal measure, simple smart records are sometimes the best. Some of Coldplay's best work is here along with the souring choruses that they would perfect with the next album.

Chris Martins voice may lack the beauty of his counter parts but it works for his character, he feels vunrable and troubled and immediately identifiable that's exactly why Shiver was such an outstanding debut single. Slowly building momentum with guitars into a pure jam of uplifting chimes, only then does Chris begins crooning his tale of being unnoticed by someone whom he desires, it's a sad song, indeed and it impacts and gives you a cold shiver, similar if we must to Radiohead's Creep. Don't Panic a simple but serviceable opener feels a bit like Bitter Sweet Symphony without wings. `Spies' is probably the most interesting song on the album which like Shiver races to a climax of pure brilliance but not without first taking a murky look at the world. Sparks is a slow simple ballad in an album not short of them and then we get to Yellow.

Amazingly I hadn't heard Yellow prior to buying the album and it was immediately on constant play, the perfect love song even with a somewhat random use of Yellow (my guess is personified joy). This happy number if followed by `Trouble' a tragic ballad of guilt and uncertainty set to a haunting piano riff (its funny Coldplay were known as the piano band and Keane just mere impostors when their debut and X&Y rarely use it) The title track is little more an interlude that a simple love poem followed by High Speed and We Never Change which are decent but not single material. The albums swan song is Everything is not lost a brilliant bad day song followed by a brief hidden track which isn't separated by a long time period (like some artists...)

So why only a 4? Mainly because the last quarter slips compared to the rest of the album, A Rush of Blood to the Head is so very much better in every way for better quality of songs and consistency of good songs, fact is this is a must have album for anyone who likes emotional smart records.


"Theres nothing here to run from, cause everybody heres got somebody to lean on", 05 Sep 2007
7 years on and Parachutes still sounds great. The first time I ever heard of or saw Coldplay, was on the much missed channel 4 music show hosted by Jo Whiley. The video for `Yellow' was shown and I was hooked instantly "You know I love you so".

A lot of music fans at the time dismissed Coldplay as a poor Radiohead tribute act, but I always felt they owed more to the Verve (no bad thing and possibly benefited from their demise) but regardless of how derivative Coldplay were, `Parachutes' is possibly one of the finest debuts of the past 20 years. Coldplay hit the UK music scene just at the right time at the turn of the century, when British music was in need of a boost following the end of the so called Brit Pop movement, and they delivered to those who took the time.

Compared to their later albums this is obviously their debut album. By that I mean it has degree of honesty about it, and there is less of a commercial feel to the sound that feels more personal to the band, which is fine by me. Highlights for me are `Don't Panic', `Shiver', `Spies', `Yellow', `Trouble', `Parachutes' and `Everything's not lost'. So that's 7 out of 10 tracks on a debut, hence the well deserved 5 stars.

Some would argue that Coldplay never topped this album, personally I am not sure about that as bands or artists record different style albums at different points in their career, so maybe that's a debate for a different review, but what I will recommend is that if you have discovered Coldplay via the massive selling `X+Y' album, get Parachutes and hear where it all began. A group of university lads finding their feet and producing inspiring musical brilliance. You won't be disappointed or fail to be touched by Parachutes.


Too brilliant for words!, 28 Nov 2008
Ok, for the people who don't like this album I say - you're all mad and have no taste in music whatsoever.
For the people like myself, who absolutely LOVE this album, I say - good on you, it's obvious you have brilliant taste in music!!!
There are no bad songs on this album, they are all genius - fabulous lyrics, catchy tunes and fantastic guitar. There are a couple of standout songs for me, so here they are (in order of the listing on the CD):

Politik: Coldplay were right to choose this song as an opener, it really works for the album. It took about two listens to get into it, and then it became a firm favourite. Has a real meaning too.
In My Place: Fantastic drumming at the start and the guitars are amazing. Great lyrics!
God Put a Smile Upon Your Face: Starts off like a country song, but soon turns into familiar Coldplay material.I loved the tune especially.
The Scientist: I fell in love with this one when my cousin played it on the piano about 3 years ago. Beautiful song, astounding piano music and his voice was amazing. The lyrics were what blew me away, though, they are deep and meaningful and Coldplay manage to write about love in a way that no other band could dream of. It continues to be my favourite song in the world.
Clocks: Such a catchy tune, you will be humming this in your head within a minute of listening to it. The lyrics are really cool, this is probably one of A Rush of Blood to the Head's more upbeat songs.
A Rush of Blood to the Head: The title song is really great. It is slower than any of the previous songs I've mentioned, but it is still a fantastic song which I almost guarantee you'll love!

That said, all of the songs are brilliant and are full of Coldplay magic! Listen to this album if it's the last thing you do, you definitely won't regret it!


Their greatest album to date, 19 Nov 2008
Ive just purchased my third copy of this album (kept getting scratched in my car stereo) and i would buy it again and again. Every song from beginning to end is beautifully written, and executed. This clearly is a must have album

a saunter of blood, perhaps, 01 Nov 2008
Are Keane too hard-rocking and uncompromising for you?

Is James Blunt just too damn original and heartfelt?

Then try Coldplay! Perfection of mediocrity! (Baa baa! ...that's a trumpet)
I know... I'm mean. I don't hate this stuff. But that's the point... it's so WET. When did people like this get to masquerade as rock musicians? It's bad for you. Your children will grow up thinking this is what a rock band sounds like. Zeppelin who? no, I wanna listen to the guys who go "waaa.. waa... I'm sad and feeble..." When there's the likes of Gutter Twins, Aquila, Rufus Wainwright and The Veils out there barely making a dent, you should not be spending your money and valuable time on this.

A classic, 30 Oct 2008
Coldplay take a lot of stick - maybe some of it is deserved, a lot OTT, but all that can be said of this album is that it is a classic. One of the best albums of the decade.

the best, 13 Jun 2008
Simply the best is all that needs to be said a must have for any music collection

x must try harder- y?, 01 Nov 2008
I notice one of the tags for this album is 'music'. Yeah!
Coldplay, whadda they sound like?
well, sort of... music, really.
Whoo! I got to get me some of that!
Yes, it's the sonic equivalent of watching paint dry...

I'm sorry. I don't HATE this stuff. But that's the point... it's so WET. When did people like this get to masquerade as rock musicians? It's bad for you. Your children will grow up thinking this is what a rock band sounds like. Zeppelin who? no, I wanna listen to the guys who go "waaa.. waa... I'm sad and feeble..." When there's the likes of Gutter Twins, Aquila, Rufus Wainwright and The Veils out there barely making a dent, you should not be spending your money and valuable time on this.

bland and totally unworthy of 5 star reviews, 29 Oct 2008
do not be fooled by the plethora of 4/5 star reviews for this album - it is not worthy of it.

and before i get accused of simply hating Coldplay i will say that Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head were both good to very good albums.

However, X&Y is not a very good album - the songwriting is predictable (not up to the standards of their first two albums), the production is dull (the added electronic sheen does make the material on offer any better), Chris Martin's singing is grating (his use of falsetto is constant and overbearing) and the lyrics are just plain bland.

I do not understand the amount of excellent reviews posted for this album (it is though somewhat balanced by the amount of bad reviews).

You people cannot be listening to enough music to have such inflated opinions of this album - try listening to Nick Cave, The Hold Steady, Field Music, Elbow, Jim Noir, Fleet Foxes, Raconteurs, Drive-by Truckers, Calexico, TV on the radio, Goldfrapp, etc., etc, and then go back to X&Y and tell me that it is worthy of 4/5 stars.

Please notice that this meant to be a review of the album and not simply an attack on Coldplay (like so many of the bad reviews posted).

open your ears and minds people.



Yawn....., 04 Jul 2008
Anyone who claims to be a Coldplay fan and likes this album, clearly hasn't listened to 'Parachutes' or 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' two good strong albums, littered with really good songs like 'Yellow', 'Shiver', 'The Scientist', 'In My Place' etc... , whereas 'X & Y' has no good songs, the only half decent thing i liked about this album was one of the videos where an old lady is doing some acrobatic tricks.

THE BEST !! , 05 Jun 2008
great album and very powerful , i love all of there music , i think they are simply great .. this cd/album is as powerful and rich as all the others they have made .. ive got there new one on pre-order .. ive had my coldplay cd/albums for a long long while now and ive only just reviewed them ..

thank u coldplay .

see u ..

AWESOME, 08 May 2008
Look, I won't waste your time with a big lengthy review - I'll ge to the point. BUY THIS! You will fall in love with every track though not necessarily straight away, most are "growers" and you may find that a year after you bought it a song you hated in the beginning has really grown on you and you love it. Don't let the whiny naysayers put you off - this is AWESOME. It's all in the title, really:)

Takes you back to another time, 09 Oct 2008
Music can take you back to a time and a place that you would otherwise forget. This is one of thise albums.


Greatest Hits - plain and simple, 01 Sep 2008
The Cure have always been one of these bands that I've only ever half been aware of - I've fully appreciated the impact they've had on the music scene, but I've never really known any of the songs as well as I should have. Which is why I bought this - their Greatest Hits.

People that bleat on and complain about Greatest Hits being too predictable by certain artists miss the point - Best Of compilations are not for the die hard fans - if you're a die hard fan, you should already have all the albums. Best Of's are a great starting point for people just getting into an act. And this is exactly what this does. All the classics are here - Friday I'm In Love, Boys Don't Cry, In Between Days....and that's exactly what people want.

Everybody should have heard of The Cure - use this Greatest Hits as an excuse to finally buy one of their CD's and get to learn how great these tunes that have been played to you over and over again over the past 20 years really are.

To everybody else - stop complaining about Greatest Hits compilations.

Give me the disease instead., 11 Aug 2008
I cannot believe that they scooped together this many tunes to fill a CD by the whiney voiced big haired wet lipped shy thing. He sings all out of tune and flounces about like clothes without a person in them. Some of the tunes get in your head but its mostly inept teenage dirge with no substance. They are no Status Quo fo sho. Spend your money on something better like a Bartok syphony or Bong-ra or even Girls Aloud. Not this, this is not medicine, this is self inflicted whiney earache. I'm not buying this album to keep him in oversized shirts, hairspray and mascara, no.

good pop songs, 12 May 2008
This is a good selection of pop songs...

But those seeking 'what the cure are really all about' should either by the albums or get join the dots (because some of those B-sides are amazing).
The Cure were about long atmospheric pieces of music which conjure up images in your head and evoke moods without even hearing the lyrics. When the lyrics do come they are usually delivered in a despairing hopeless way, or wailed, by Robert Smith and his masterfully unique voice, in the world of Pop/Rock.

Best songs suited for this are all the tracks on 'pornography', and charlotte sometimes, none of which included here.

This is the lighter bouncier commercial side of the Cure. Songs you WILL have heard before but didn't know who it was. Except everyone knows 'Friday I'm In Love' - National Student Anthem.

Staring at the Sea and Galore are better compilations, this skims over too many songs, but If you are going to get anything get disintegration. If you want pop hits, get Head on the door. And go from there

Great overview, 24 Aug 2007
I'm not a Cure purist, I never really thought of myself as a real fan of the band. But this is a great collection of songs. Maybe not a fully representative one in terms of their overall goth agenda, but for those non-goths of us out there, it's just a great set of indie classics.

For the casual listener (like me) there are a couple of tracks that detract from the overall quality. I don't really like 'Caterpillar', 'Lovecats' was never their greatest song, and the cd tails off a little bit after 'Mint Car'. But the bleak brilliance of 'Forest', the jangly guitars of 'In Between Days' and the joyous build-up of melody in 'Close to Me' represent real class, the like of which is just too rare these days. And who can forget 'Just Like Heaven' which has become my firm favourite for the intro alone.

The acoustic cd is not really worth much attention. I think I've listened to it twice. There's no real variety or inventiveness evident on this - the tracks sound like exact replicas of the studio versions played on acoustic instruments, slightly less enthusiastically than they were the first time around.

If you're a die hard Cure fan I'm sure there's a whole lot more out there for you and this will probably just leave you wanting. For the rest of us, it's a great album.

Punk rocks owners, 29 Oct 2007
Whatever people tell me about the ramones: i always say that these guys defined punk music. Still today The Jam is a classic band that will always have a place in my album collection. This CD however is overdoing everything. Punk rock albums are usually very short and having to listen to 20 songs that do all sound extremely simmilar can get tedious. More than this I believe that punk bands very designed for live performances: they had a great attitude to live acts which made them amazing to listen to. The CD takes the heart out of this genre and for that i mark it down. Also there are a few songs could have done without.
81/100

MOD ANTHEMS, 07 May 2007
This album is the soundtrack of my youth - and it still sounds great twenty years on.
Weller was better than DYLAN - wrote better songs than LENNON and wore sharper suits than STING.
Classic anthems that will never die...

BRILLIANT, 11 Apr 2007
A great collection from the best band of all time.
Weller amd the boys looked the part and always talked the walk.
I want them to reform - but till that day this collection will keep me happy why I wait.
Top JAM fan Garry Johnson of Buzz Kids fanzine says he heard a rumour of a one-off gig this summer at Hyde Park - fingers-crossed a...

Get SNAP SE instead, 10 Aug 2006
There's no doubt this is an excellent collection of singles but why buy this when you could buy the SNAP special edition double CD £1 cheaper. That has every song on this "best of" CD plus another 8 including "Away from the numbers" and "English Rose".

Great Singles Act, 26 Mar 2006
This is basically a singles album; not that the Jam didn't produce some excellent albums but if you're a casual or new fan this is probably the one to go for. Most of these songs are great, full of energy and sound as good as they did when the band was kicking, between 1977 and 1982. Personal favourites are When You're Young, Precious, Eton Rifles, A Bomb In Wardour Street and the underated News Of The World, a rare Foxton outing. Paul, mate, you never bettered what you did in this band, then again, few did.

Fantastic Album **********, 15 Jul 2008
Quite simply one of the best albums ever. Each track is distinctive, keeps you rocking, Kelly's voice is amazsing. Great lyrcis, great music, buy it!

Qulity album from a quality band, 01 Jul 2007
The first two Stereophonics albums are in my opionion two of the greatest rock albums of the last ten years. Featuring the fantastic Local boy in the photograph, 1000 trees, more life in a tramps vest and traffic this is a must have in any true rock fans collection - buy today!


One fantastic album!, 26 Feb 2007
Stereophonics are my all-time favourite band, and this album is possibly the best I've ever heard. Every song is pure genius, the lyrics are very thought-provoking and entertaining, and it's impossible to get bored of even if you play it on repeat (I'm speaking from experience) Buy this album! :o)

The original and the best, 10 Feb 2007
Without doubt the best 'phonics album. This is one of my top 5 albums of all time. It is difficult to start talking about individual songs as they are all so good but Same Size Feet is a favourite (not being a single). However, Local Boy... is a classic, Traffic is beautiful, A Thousand Trees is a great sing-along and Not Up To Me and Too Many Sandwiches provide fantastically vivid images of growing up in small town Wales.

Back to Front, 25 Aug 2005
To really appreciate the Stereophonics, you need to listen to their later albums, fall in love with them and then come back to their roots. It's not that the later albums are bad, just that this album is very, very good, and the band change where they're coming from over time.

If you listen to this first, you'll expect them to always be highly-energetic and insightful rock. But they change, Kelly Jones maturing and writing more about immediate personal experiences (such as the last, very sad tracks of "You Gotta Go There To Come Back", full of regrets). Here, he's writing from a younger perspective, but in tracks like "Billy Daveys Daughter", you can see the sheer poetic and empathic talent of the man.

If you *DO* come to this album from the later ones, stick with it: it will grow on you. If you go forward, don't expect them to write the same material; they don't. That's why the Stereophonics are one of the greatest bands of our time. Take them for what they are: very, very good.

With Absolution, size is most definitely an issue. Hoping that it will finally propel them into the musical major leagues, Muse have set out to create a cross-genre monster, a contemporary meisterwerk, the biggest-sounding album in years. That they almost succeed is testament to their sky-high confidence and unarguable abilities. With just three members to draw upon, they've individually stretched themselves to fill in the inevitable sonic gaps. Bassist Chris Wolstenholme, in particular, does sterling work, producing a driving buzz to lift "Time Is Running Out" to a massive crescendo, then a rush of distortion that pushes "Hysteria" to Queen-like levels of ecstasy.

Throughout, Matt Bellamy adds classical grace with his tinkling, rolling grand piano, all the while moaning and shrieking out his fear of decay, destruction and death, like a traumatised Gene Pitney. Indeed, aside from their classical leanings and clear kinship with the prog-rock likes of Queen and Rush (there are some outbreaks of metal here), Muse often draw on classic pop, employing lush 1960s-style arrangements. With "Blackout" they go even further, daring to conjure Bacharach's "Magic Moments". If there's a weakness here, it's that the songwriting remains inconsistent, but this is usually covered up by musicianship and studio wizardry that leave Coldplay languishing in Muse's dust. --Dominic Wills

Trancendental, 14 Jun 2008
Parachutes is still my favourit album from Coldplay. This album contributed to coldplays success with great songs Shivers, Yellow, High Speed, Everythings not lost. What can I say one of the best English bands ever.

great coldplay cd/album .., 05 Jun 2008
great cd/album , got all of there cd/albums and i think they are all just great , actually they are superb & just simply powerful -- thankyou coldplay ..

see u ..

Over hyped with not much much substance, 24 Feb 2008
The songs on this album are ok but that's it they are just mediocre. There are good musicians at work here but somehow the sum of their talents adds up to something which leaves me uninspired and untouched. There are better songs on "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" but Coldplay are still overrated. Best songs by far are "Trouble" and "Shiver" but download these. Don't waste your time and money listening to anything else off this album because it won't get your blood pumping. Good music to send you off to sleep though I suppose.

Classic, but not their best, 27 Jan 2008
Emotionally unsettling and uplifting in equal measure, simple smart records are sometimes the best. Some of Coldplay's best work is here along with the souring choruses that they would perfect with the next album.

Chris Martins voice may lack the beauty of his counter parts but it works for his character, he feels vunrable and troubled and immediately identifiable that's exactly why Shiver was such an outstanding debut single. Slowly building momentum with guitars into a pure jam of uplifting chimes, only then does Chris begins crooning his tale of being unnoticed by someone whom he desires, it's a sad song, indeed and it impacts and gives you a cold shiver, similar if we must to Radiohead's Creep. Don't Panic a simple but serviceable opener feels a bit like Bitter Sweet Symphony without wings. `Spies' is probably the most interesting song on the album which like Shiver races to a climax of pure brilliance but not without first taking a murky look at the world. Sparks is a slow simple ballad in an album not short of them and then we get to Yellow.

Amazingly I hadn't heard Yellow prior to buying the album and it was immediately on constant play, the perfect love song even with a somewhat random use of Yellow (my guess is personified joy). This happy number if followed by `Trouble' a tragic ballad of guilt and uncertainty set to a haunting piano riff (its funny Coldplay were known as the piano band and Keane just mere impostors when their debut and X&Y rarely use it) The title track is little more an interlude that a simple love poem followed by High Speed and We Never Change which are decent but not single material. The albums swan song is Everything is not lost a brilliant bad day song followed by a brief hidden track which isn't separated by a long time period (like some artists...)

So why only a 4? Mainly because the last quarter slips compared to the rest of the album, A Rush of Blood to the Head is so very much better in every way for better quality of songs and consistency of good songs, fact is this is a must have album for anyone who likes emotional smart records.


"Theres nothing here to run from, cause everybody heres got somebody to lean on", 05 Sep 2007
7 years on and Parachutes still sounds great. The first time I ever heard of or saw Coldplay, was on the much missed channel 4 music show hosted by Jo Whiley. The video for `Yellow' was shown and I was hooked instantly "You know I love you so".

A lot of music fans at the time dismissed Coldplay as a poor Radiohead tribute act, but I always felt they owed more to the Verve (no bad thing and possibly benefited from their demise) but regardless of how derivative Coldplay were, `Parachutes' is possibly one of the finest debuts of the past 20 years. Coldplay hit the UK music scene just at the right time at the turn of the century, when British music was in need of a boost following the end of the so called Brit Pop movement, and they delivered to those who took the time.

Compared to their later albums this is obviously their debut album. By that I mean it has degree of honesty about it, and there is less of a commercial feel to the sound that feels more personal to the band, which is fine by me. Highlights for me are `Don't Panic', `Shiver', `Spies', `Yellow', `Trouble', `Parachutes' and `Everything's not lost'. So that's 7 out of 10 tracks on a debut, hence the well deserved 5 stars.

Some would argue that Coldplay never topped this album, personally I am not sure about that as bands or artists record different style albums at different points in their career, so maybe that's a debate for a different review, but what I will recommend is that if you have discovered