Viva La Coldplay!!! More New Music in 2009???

For those of you who are fans of Coldplay here is some interestingly exciting news that I saw on NME's website. Reports are circulating that Coldplay will release another album in 2009 even though they just released "Viva La Vida or Death and All of His Friends" in June of this year. NME's story cites British newspaper The Sun as the source of this information.

When the band recorded "Viva La Vida" their sessions with legendary producer Brian Eno (who's produced albums for U2, David Bowie, The Talking Heads, and Devo of "Whip It" fame) were apparently so productive that they ended up with much more material than what could fit on one album. A source at their record label EMI stated, "The 'Viva La Vida...' sessions were incredibly fruitful. They gelled brilliantly with Brian and recorded much more music than they could fit on one album." The source continued, "The majority of the follow-up is already in the can, though they will have to go back into the studio at some point to add a few more songs."Though many big acts have left EMI recently since a corporate takeover, most notably Paul McCartney, Radiohead, and the Rolling Stones, Coldplay has a long term deal in place with the legendary label to continue putting out more of their music.

With the Raconteurs' sophomore album "Consolers of the Lonely," Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" is definitely right up there with the albums I've played out ridiculously due to great musicality. The album is a departure from the group's sound from their first two albums, and also much different than their altered sound on the ill received "X&Y," their last album before "Viva." Though the album has gotten mixed reviews, I believe in the years to come it will be looked at as their "Rubber Soul," or "Sgt. Peppers" album, the one where they changed direction and discovered more musically. Ultimately, a defining moment that will shape what they play in the future and what direction they will go in. This is similar to critical thought on "The Joshua Tree," which has been getting compared to this album mostly due to the fact that Brian Eno also produced that as well.

When "Viva La Vida" was coming out a couple months back I remember hearing that the band had recorded so much new material; and one complaint I had with the album is that it is rather brief with only 10 tracks (though a few are doubled up, extensive tracks, so it's more like 12 or 13 tracks). Learning that they may be rushing out a follow up with all that extra material is great to hear since I, along with many other people are eager to see what else they were able to put together. The bootlegged unreleased/b-sides Coldplay album "Castles," would hold up as its own album and I often wonder why some of those songs were left off their albums while others I wasn't too keen on made the cut. The same holds true for the recent Killers b-sides album "Sawdust." With some of this extra material being readied for mass release, it will be great seeing what they have left in the "Viva La Vida" tank.

For those of you who have listened to the album, and aren't a big fan of their new direction, or for those of you who aren't too big on Coldplay to begin with, I urge you to listen again. Dare I say "Lovers in Japan" is as anthemic as "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" or "City of Blinding Lights," well there, I said it. And "Strawberry Swing," is one of the best and unique love songs of the last decade. If Willy Wonka wrote a love song, it would sound like "Strawberry Swing," plain and simple. The last minute and a half is a melody that could have been written by Lennon and McCartney.

Here's a link to the story from NME's website: http://www.nme.com/news/coldplay/39117

If this story holds true, it will be interesting to see if they unveil any of this hidden material on their current world tour. I'll let you know during my concert review when I see the band perform at the Meadowlands in October.

Editor's (My) Note: What is it with British bands recording 10 songs and releasing it as a full album. I'm sorry, but even if the last 2 or 3 tracks are horrendous, at least give fans their money's worth. 10 tracks is not an album to me; it's two E.P.'s on one CD, that's all. I believe Radiohead did the same thing with "In Rainbows," though at least they let fans pay what they wanted for it. I will give Coldplay the benefit of the doubt though, as they at least had 3 songs that were split in 2, in which the tail ends were really completely different songs, so technically

the album had 13 tracks.

I really do think it's a Britain/Europe 10 track thing, because when Albert Hammond, Jr. of the Strokes released his solo album, "Yours to Keep," in Europe, it had 10 tracks. The album was amazing regardless, as every song was great; but when it finally was released in the US, 2 "bonus tracks" were included. There's a guy who knows how to please the stateside fans!

If musicians want to release 10 song albums going forward, they should market them to fans as "An extended E.P." I am fairly confident, these 10 song albums will be much better received by the paying customers; who cares what critics think? They get free copies of the albums they review, and don't have to pay their hard earned money for concert tickets.