This might be my favorite Coldplay album. I'm going to need more time with it but I absolutely love every song except A Sky Full Of Stars. I really enjoy the atmospheric, minimal sound on this album. I know most people love Coldplay for their catchy songs and huge choruses that you can't get out of your head but I really love the direction they went with this.
Sooo...I just have finished my third listen to the Album. I`m absolutely blown away. Expectations Exceeded by lightyears. The whole structure, the soundscapes, the lyrics. Everything works so perfect together. As of now, my Album of the Year. (And there are a lot of Records coming up, I am really looking forward to: LP, PRoach, Rise Against, and some German Artists) 10/10. Imo beats "A Rush of Blood to the Head".
This is by far their best album after "Viva..." Every single song is giving me goosebumps, even after what is possibly my 20th listen to the album. It's tough to choose favourites, but I guess I like "True Love" the most as of now. You can almost feel the raw emotion, pain and hurt in Chris' voice. And that detuned guitar solo is jarring in the first listen, but is now my favourite part of the song. But seriously, every single song is amazing. It's been a long time since I've said that about an album. Mark my words, in the future, this will be seen as a pop music masterpiece. It's good to see mainstream bands like LP and Coldplay still putting so much effort into making complete, cohesive and consistent albums. In this era of iTunes and Youtube, people have forgotten the magic of a well-made album.
Hmmm. My pre-order for the Target Edition of Ghost Stories just shipped, and it releases on Monday. Hopefully this means I'll get it on release date. Or even better, sooner!
Pros: Great soundscapes and overall vibe of emptiness and heartbreak. While the guitars are not upfront but Buckland is playing some really nice stuff with reverb, delay and filters than may not seem like a guitar upon first listen. Cons: Way too many electronic beats playing stuff a 4 year old could program. Really Will? Really? You performing this stuff live bores me to TEARS. A Sky Full of Stars really feels out of place in the context of the album even though its an okay song. Vocal performance is meh. Instead of sounding truly heartbroken some just sound like bad vocal takes. Lyrics are meh save a few songs (O is pretty damn good). Good: Always In My Head, Magic, Midnight, O. Feels like a Martin solo album. It's a brave move and for a band with a deep catalogue it's something they can do as they have many uptempo songs to mix in with these live. That being said the album falls flat due to the dreary tempo and honestly terrible lyrics. Chris has never been Dylan but he has done MUCH better than these lyrics. He is heartbroken and instead of charging his lyrics full of palpable sadness and poetry it seems to have really deflated him musically. I mean, he sings these songs better live than some of the takes on the album version. A lot of great ideas but an album full of this stuff just drags. They could have dropped 2 or 3 songs and added 4-5 more interesting ones to mix it up. 5/10.
I thought that the album was nothing special. The instrumentals were interesting enough but I felt like Chris's vocals were so boring on this album, definately his worst performances yet. The only standout track to me was O.
It's pretty good. Still think Midnight sucks but ASFOS and Ink make up for it. I like that it's not too long and doesn't drag on like MX. Overall, it's another phase Coldplay have pulled off, but Viva La Vida remains the best one by far.
Just ordered my Ghost Stories! Waaah! And I haven't even heard it yet. If it comes tomorrow... Oh damn.
Wow, I never thought I'd lose interest in a Coldplay album so fast. I listened to it in full a couple days ago and haven't listened to it since. There's nothing about it that makes me want to come back to it (Except maybe O). I always go back to listen to their past albums, but something about Ghost Stories doesn't leave much replay value to me. I listened to it about twice and don't feel the need to go back to it at all. It's really not the type of album I'll still be listening to 10 years from now like AROBTTH, X&Y, and Viva. I think the album feels to personal for me and I can't really relate to it at all. It's actually kind of depressing for me, especially O, it's a beautiful song and the only one I can say that is amazing on the album, but damn I find it sad. I feel like if I could relate to the album more I'd like it a lot better. It's not a bad album at all, it's just not for me. I still love the band, and I can't wait for their next album, I just hope it's more upbeat and cheery like Mylo Xyloto.
The premiere of the Target bonus track "Ghost Story." http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2014/05/15/song-premiere-coldplay-ghost-story-target-exclusive-edition/9103187/?fullsite=true Still no listening for me!
Or how O (Reprise), which was originally to be a hidden track on O (Fly On), is now exclusive to the Target Deluxe Edition. I'm real glad I pre-ordered the Target version.
Absolutely. But a big difference is none of the bonus tracks really fit in with the vibe of the album. Sometimes you hear bonus tracks and think "oh they just weren't quite there" or "damn good but maybe they thought the album was long enough". These bonus tracks feel very random and are probably really old demos they came back too or just stuff they cast off after they found the definite direction of the album. Chris said Guy coming up with the foundation for Magic was when they really felt they were all on the same page as far as the sound of the album.