One thing I cannot wrap my head around is the entirely underwhelming critical reception to Viva la Vida (the album). In my honest opinion, this album is excellent, and remains one of my personal favorite from 2008. Why then, are the critics so cold towards this album?

It seems that when the next update comes in, Viva la Vida will only be "bubbling under" the top 3000, instead of being in the top 500 or 600 like it deserves. Can someone please try to explain the cold critical reaction?

I don't think VIVA LA VIDA is going to be "bubbling under," Nick - it's #25 on Henrik's initial end-of-2008 update, which puts it well within range of the '08 albums that will end up in the all-time top 2000, let alone 3000. It'll be ranked higher than X&Y.

hmmmm I do suppose I just confused the meta critic list with the official AM list. For some reason my computer can open the spreadsheet for the 2008 songs, but not the 2008 albums.

I do believe that I just made myself look quite foolish.

no Nick, I agree that Viva La Vida was way underrated. It got about the same metacritic score as Death Cab's Narrow Stairs. And as X&Y for that matter. But it was so much better than both. Cohesive, atmospheric, relatively adventurous. The lyrics were probably the only weak link. I probably wouldn't put it as my top 10 of last year but definitely just below it.

Yeah, songs like "Lost!", "Violet Hill", "Lovers in Japan", and "Viva la Vida" all rank as some of their best songs, while pieces like "Life in Technicolor" and "Death and All His Friends" are very powerful and emotional.

I'd say that the music on this album is much more experimental than their previous albums, and they really branch out on the album. Not only that, but the album is extremely cohesive, and even the lyrics are pretty good. I think that the album is expansive enough to incite arena style concerts (I'm gonna see them live Wednesday!), but intimate enough to be heartfelt.

And by the way, although it's not on the album, the song "Life in Technicolor 2" kicks some major ass.

I'll agree that Viva La Vida is probably their best album, but that's still not saying much.

After Parachutes came out (and for as much acclaim as it received), I think a lot of people had an inkling that Coldplay were a band with something better in them -- a classic. And they came close with Rush of Blood - kinda - but let's face it... they've had three chances to release something great since, and I think that all three times they've failed in the critics' eyes.

Viva la Vida is half-decent only because they brought Eno on board. He's the one who brought the experimentation and expansiveness to it. You think that was Chris Martin's idea? If he had his way, he'd write sequels to "Fix You" for the rest of his life. Subtract Eno from the equation and you end up with something on-par or worse than X&Y. The lyrics are still terrible -- "...Martin is still a hopeless sap. He's clearly aware of Thom Yorke's apocalyptic verve and Bono's most cunning reflexive confessionals, but thus far he's incapable of matching either one."

Anyway, my point is that I think the critics have given up on Coldplay. Rightfully so. Four albums in and the best they can muster is #310 on AM (which will have likely dropped by this time next year). Meanwhile, both U2 and Radiohead - probably Coldplay's two biggest influences - had released classics by this point (understatement). Not to mention, a band like Arcade Fire blasts two home runs at two at bats, and god knows what they've got in store for their third. If Coldplay hasn't done what the critics (and maybe some fans) expected them to by now, they probably won't.

Liam, I think I'd disagree. I mean, it took U2 seven years to release their obvious masterpiece (The Joshua Tree), Marvin Gaye didn't put out any worthwhile albums for ten years, The Police didn't put out Synchronicity until six years into their career. Lots of bands take some time to release everyone deems something extremely great.

I think that when the EOD lists come in, albums such as "A Rush of Blood", "Parachutes", and hopefully "Viva la Vida" will get large boosts upwards. "X&Y" admittedly really isn't that good. Mediocre at best IMO. and yes, Eno is a genius. Maybe all Coldplay need is a push by someone like him to release a certified classic. Even though I feel that "A Rush of Blood" already should be considered a certified classic, because frankly, I feel that that album is a masterpiece.

Viva La Vida is a great song, but I don't think the album is uniformly strong.

The AM rating is going to be better than the metacritic rating. Metacritic uses a straight average of critics, so anything commercially successful is at a huge disadvantage. Places like Pitchfork are going to rate it down just because it's how they roll. But then more mainstream oriented mags like Rolling Stone are going to elevate it, and because AM is list oriented there's no difference to them between #101 of the year and #20000 of the year, so it won't matter how much Pitchfork hates it.

(I don't think Joshua Tree is U2's masterpiece. I'd take War or Achtung Baby over it in a second.)

The Joshua Tree was U2's fifth album; Coldplay has released four so far. Point taken. But for the sake of comparison, and to strengthen my case that Coldplay are past the point of releasing something truly extraordinary (in the eyes of critics anyway):

Average age of the members of U2 when The Joshua Tree was released: 25.5
Average age of the members of Arcade Fire when Neon Bible was released: 27
Average age of the members of Radiohead when OK Computer was released: 28
Average age of the members of Coldplay if/when {insert masterpiece here] is released: >31

That makes War, Achtung Baby, Funeral, The Bends and Kid A all pre-31yrs. old albums.

I believe Coldplay still has an absolute masterpiece in them, maybe a few. They came the closest with Rush Of Blood, and I enjoyed their riskier, new direction with Viva La Vida. Mostly Chris Martin will have to improve his muse, but with age comes lyrical maturity and if he loves Tom Waits as much as he professes he does, maybe we're in for some pleasant surprises in the future. I'm definitely not counting them out. They haven't done an Oasis yet.

Liam,
I think it's interesting that you think X&Y was the closest thing to a masterpiece that they've released. I would say it's the weakest of their first three. I haven't heard their latest.

What part of "I'll agree that Viva La Vida is probably their best album" did you not understand?

X&Y is fucking awful.

Whoa Liam, X&Y was bad, but probably not worth cursing over.

Returning to the topic at hand, I do think VLVADAAHIF is underrated. Not as good as AROBTTH (like my acronyms people?), but still good and on a par with Parachutes at least. It's ambitious and experimental yet still very tuneful, one of Chris Martin's strong points. (His weak points? Let's start with his awkward stage theatrics. Fortunately we don't have to worry about that here).

I'll stop with the Coldplay-bashing; I do like them a lot. But that's the problem with Coldplay - they've become almost a joke band. They're so popular (especially among the teenage girl set) and they tend towards the sentimental so much that it nears corniness. I mean, who doesn't like making fun of Chris Martin? It's so easy. And I think a lot of critics heard X&Y and saw them get so dopey that they were convinced that they had already peaked, circa 2002. So with VLV, they changed things around, tapped into the genius of Brian Eno and made a genuinely good record. But the critics didn't want to get it wrong/lose face and played it safe with the 3.5/5 rating. (Except Pitchfork, of course). Its acclaim will improve with time, just look at the end-of-year lists; some mags that had given in average were touting it as the year's best. Its huge exposure will help. All in all if it makes the top 700 that will be fine with me.

Hmmm...I could've sworn that I read "X&Y is the closest they've come to a masterpiece." earlier when I wrote my comment.

Strange - no one seems to think Parachutes is their best. I do.

I have to go for Parachutes. Since then Coldplay have made their sound bigger, but the songs have become smaller.