Coldplay - Parachutes (2000)

Tracklist:
1. Don't Panic
2. Shiver
3. Spies
4. Sparks
5. Yellow
6. Trouble
7. Parachutes
8. High Speed
9. We Never Change
10. Everything's Not Lost


Solid Debut with Necessary Flaws – 7/10

Here we have the first album by Britain's new pop-legends Coldplay, entitled Parachutes. As a very first album, it is very clear that the sound Coldplay have here needs heavy polishing. Although this album features some of the better Coldplay material, it is countered with downright boring material, which features mostly on b-sides nowadays. But what this album truly needs to be praised for is its unique Coldplay signature sound.

First, let’s analyze this band. What do they sound like? Vocalist Chris Martin seems to have an awkward yet unique voice, and requires getting used to. His frequent use of falsetto gives a slightly wimpy sound to the music, and that’s where he fails sometimes. On the more gentle songs like “Sparks” or “We Never Change” on the other hand he really tends to sound like singing a lullaby, making you fall asleep. Apart from that he does have a very decent vocal range. At the drums we have Will Champion, who is really stealing the show on this album with his extensive drumming. What disturbs me mostly with pop music is, despite the lack of solo’s, the lack of originality in either melody or rhythms, but Champion makes the rhythm department worth listening too. On the bass guitar we have Guy Berryman, who is not notable on the album. What he does, he does properly, but that’s it. Oh and on guitars we have Jon Buckland, who is very influenced by The Edge of U2, judging on his playing style. Again, this guy is good at what he’s doing, but I’d like to hear more. A solo or anything like that. But I guess I mustn’t judge these guys on what they’re not, so let’s get a bit more into what they have produced.

Parachutes opens with a very mellow, atmospheric song, known as “Don’t Panic”. Notable is the upbeat drums combined with slide guitar leads by Buckland and Martin’s mid-ranged vocals. This opener sets the perfect ambience for the rest of the album, and therefore makes a powerful impression, despite its short length. Then comes the wilder “Shiver”, which is a true feast for the drummer, since he is forced to play subtly on all the other songs, but on here he can smash on the crash cymbals for once. The main riff is a very notable guitar piece, but then the verses ease down a bit and feature a very catchy piece of lead guitar, subtly reminding of U2. This trend continues through “Spies”, but is spoiled by the ballad “Sparks”. This song is the first of the few that are lullaby-ish, and downright boring. There’s very gentle clean guitar doing the rhythms, possibly sopped in a chorus effect, combined with very soft drums. Furthermore we have Chris Martin singing so damn monotone on a low register, which just takes away all the fun. Then he repeats that boring line “I saw sparks” so many times at the end, with the backing instruments never seeming to change the dynamics. Other songs that feature this description are “High Speed” and “We Never Change”. This kind of songs is what brings Parachutes’ rating down a lot. Fortunately, the majority consists of great compositions.

To pass on as if nothing ever happened we have the explosive “Yellow”, with relatively heavy rhythm guitars opening up, only to fade away again at the verses. This song is a real relief after the sleepy “Sparks”, especially to hear Martin sing fully again. But Coldplay do know how to write ballads without creating lullabies! Next track “Trouble” is a great example of a good Coldplay ballad. It starts with a simple but catchy piano tune, and after a while the band jumps in, with the guitar playing some gently arpeggiated chords and the drums playing a subtle and gentle rhythm. The only thing that can get better here would be a guitar solo, but instead we get to hear “They spun a web for me” a thousand times repeated, which is very unfortunate. As an intro to “High Speed”, which I’m not going to describe” we have the very short title track “Parachutes”. I don’t understand what’s the point of this track? It lasts just a few seconds longer than a minute, and is nothing really exceptionally good. Just some more low ranged vocals and some staccato acoustic guitar. I’m glad to see that the album is closed with style. “Everything’s Not Lost” is a good song to close the album with. It’s building its strength all the way to the middle when Martin is jumping up and down of joy and singing happily “Come On yeah, ooh ooh yeah, and everything’s not lost”. This was awkward at first, but quite acceptable now. It’s a bit of a prototype for “Amsterdam” or “Twisted Logic”, both ending songs of later Coldplay albums.

To make this long story short, Parachutes is a good debut album. It has its flaws, it has its strengths. I would recommend this album to every Coldplay fan, though if you are new with the band, you might want to check out their later albums first. They do not contain lullabies.

Strongest songs: “Don’t Panic”, “Shiver” and “Yellow”.
Weaker songs: “Sparks”, “High Speed” and “We Never Change”.