Like every band, Coldplay has made some good choices and some very, very bad ones.
Whether you love Coldplay, hate Coldplay or feel staunchly middle-of-the-road about Coldplay, there aren’t many bands that do catchy love ballads so well. Like all bands, though, Coldplay has its Achilles’ heel. The band’s songs to love (Spotify playlist included) and its songs to avoid are listed below.
The best:
5. “A Message”
It’s a song heavy on guitar and starts, ending with the stripped-down, passionate vulnerability Coldplay pours into its love ballads. Songs like “A Message,” from X & Y, are the reason Coldplay is, in many ways, this century’s master of love songs.
4. “The Scientist”
Along with “Fix You,” it’s one of Coldplay’s most popular songs and the best from A Rush of Blood to the Head. It features backup vocals to give the song the glowing edge of a classic Coldplay number, exhibiting Martin’s sad, crooning voice. The clashing themes of science and love in the lyrics carry the song.
3. “Strawberry Swing”
As Coldplay has grown up, it has started experimenting with happier melodies, more optimistic lyrics, and new instruments and presentation forms. Sometimes, it’s not as strong as others (see below for the worst Coldplay songs). One of its more inventive songs is “Strawberry Swing” from Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends in 2008, using a catchy backward guitar loop and simple lyrics for a wonderfully carefree effect.
2. “Fix You”
Some haters probably think “Fix You” from Coldplay’s sophomore album X & Y is a cliche choice for this list. But for me, it’s all about the signature Coldplay piano, Chris Martin’s super-high voice and the honest power the band somewhat loses, unfortunately, in its later albums.
1. “Amsterdam”
Coldplay sets itself apart with its gorgeous piano work, which is evident in “Amsterdam,” off its 2002 record A Rush of Blood to the Head. A cautiously defiant melody transitions epically into Coldplay’s big-band sound at the end. It’s the ultimate love song about almost giving up.
The worst:
5. “We Never Change”
I can never listen to this song (from Coldplay’s first album, Parachutes) because it’s too simple and it’s super slow. I fall asleep when I listen to it. That’s four minutes and nine seconds of time for a pretty clear message with depth to it, but Coldplay chooses not to explore that path in the song, instead singing “We never change” several times.
4. “Princess of China”
In recent years, Coldplay started using the storytelling format for writing, such as in “Viva La Vida,” “Paradise” and other songs. It usually works. “Princess of China” from Mylo Xyloto doesn’t work, though, even with Rihanna’s duet. The song doesn’t say anything except, “’cause you really hurt me.” The master of love songs has nothing to say about a break-up except “you really hurt me”?
3. “Yes”
This song from Viva La Vida doesn’t reconcile music and lyrics well. The band uses some different instruments, which don’t enhance the track. The instrumental part sounds too dull to match up with the deep lyrics (“I’ve become so tired of this loneliness”).
2. “Low”
Coldplay often runs into a problem: Too many of its songs sound exactly the same. “Low,” from X & Y, falls into this category, with nothing distinct enough to set it apart.
1. “Lost!”
I wasn’t feeling the song when it came out on Viva La Vida almost six years ago, and it still does nothing for me. Martin has written about feeling lost in more thoughtful ways than just titling a song “Lost!” (“Clocks,” anyone?), using standard melodies and lyrics while putting Jay Z in it.
