Coldplay - LeftRightLeftRightLeft (2009)

Tracklist:
1. Glass of Water
2. 42
3. Clocks
4. Strawberry Swing
5. The Hardest Part
6. Viva la Vida
7. Death Will Never Conquer
8. Fix You
9. Death and all his Friends



A Gift from the Gods – 9/10

British pop legends Coldplay decided to release a free live album consisting of live material from their Viva La Vida tour as a thanks to their fans. Everybody was able to download the soundfiles for free, and all concertgoers had the opportunity of actually holding the original CD in their hands. My first thought was quite negative. How much good can it be when it’s been given away for free to billions of fans? After a few spins it became clear that Coldplay were really thanking their fans and were not joking. This live album is, though short, excellent in many ways.

First, there is the sound. The production is excellent. This collection of high quality live recordings truly is the best gift ever. We can separate all the instruments, including the vocals, very easily, which is a great thing. The fans are very audible as well, which adds a whole lot to the live atmosphere. Second, there is the performance of the band. Coldplay is truly a live band. Were they not already great in studio, they take the songs to a whole new level on stage. The interaction with the crowd is also very good. It’s just great to hear those thousands of fans sing along with the best of Coldplay songs. Furthermore, Chris Martin is the true show man here, adapting the lyrics of classic hits like “Fix You” to fit the concert, and holding a long note on the end of “42”. True highlight is their biggest hit of their latest album, the notable “Viva la Vida”. The crowd totally goes insane here, and at the end we still have those fans sing the melody on and on. A bit odd, but a pleasant surprise is the inclusion of b-side “Death Will Never Conquer”. Though the studio version is piano-only, the live version is played with the whole band minus drummer, who sings instead of Martin. It becomes a nice short country-styled song in between, and drummer Will Champion has a great singing voice. We’ll be expecting his solo CD someday. Last of the truly notable songs is album opener “Glass of Water”. This is probably the recording of the very first time it’s played live, said to have been somewhere in November.

Looking at the tracklist, we see that Coldplay has included mostly songs from their latest effort, Viva la Vida. The band stated this was what they sounded like at this moment. Fair is fair, if this is what they sound like right now, then I would gladly want to go to a Coldplay show. This is truly a great gift and gives a very good impression about this band and what they have done in the most recent years.

Highlights: entire album.