Free Music Review - LeftRightLeftRightLeft by Coldplay
- By Adrian Tallent
- Published 05/17/2009
- Music
- Unrated
Adrian Tallent
A former student of Spartanburg Technical College and overall geek, I enjoy listening to music, reading books, playing video games, and watching movies. Sometimes I write about them.
View all articles by Adrian Tallent
Coming off of their success from their latest album, “Viva la Vida,” Coldplay is in a great place right now. The British band has topped the UK charts and finished up a world tour in support of the aforementioned album, and have already squared away some new material for a future project (even though band member Jonny Buckland announced that they didn’t have any time to record it yet). The aforementioned album has won them numerous awards and set a few records in the UK music industry. So as the band winded down from their “Viva” tour and began making plans for gigs this summer, they announced that they would be giving away a surprise free album at the last few of their shows and at all of their gigs over the summer. The album is a live album called “LeftRightLeftRightLeft,” and it is far from being their first, although it contains a nice mixture of songs incorporating the band’s entire discography up to this point.
Now, as a rule, I am reluctant to write about compilation albums and live albums especially. The former because all of the music is simply being rehashed, and would be better reviewed as part of the original release it appeared on; the latter because I typically don’t like live albums. The only reason I am writing about this album is because Coldplay has generously offered it up for free download, so that people can now obtain it without having to attend a Coldplay concert. This is the kind of move that I wish more bands would do; not only does it endear you to your existing fan-base, but it gives those who have never given your music much consideration before ample opportunity for discovery. To be quite honest, I am in the latter category. I’m not a Coldplay fan. But with the sudden availability of this album, I thought I’d give them a fair shake; so here goes.
Coldplay is classified as an Alternative Rock band, although the rock aspect is so soft as to be nearly absent.
Their songs are more piano driven with overlays of ambience, occasionally sounding symphonically influenced. The guitar work seldom takes a prominent role in any of their songs, although there are some nice guitar bridges in a few. Most of their material is in a Soft Rock vein, with the band channeling a sound that would be typical of many older groups. Listening to them reminds me of U2 or Sting, maybe with some Dire Straits thrown in. It’s easy to see why a large number of people mark this band as unoriginal. At the same time, they have a mesmeric, almost meditative quality to their music. It’s nearly Easy Listening in its inoffensiveness and approachability. Unfortunately, that means that there aren’t any hooks or grooves; there’s nothing there to “grab” you and catch your interest. Songs on the album tend to flow from one into another, with the backdrop of fan appreciation taking on a strange lulling rhythm. One could fall asleep to this album (which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your take). Another interesting thing of note, especially on the ballads, is that the fans sing along all in unison, lending to tunes like “Fix You” a celestial ring. I haven’t heard Coldplay’s former live albums and I probably won’t, but the real charm and probably the whole concept behind recording live in the first place is getting that fan response down along with your favorite band in a “raw” setting. Coldplay fails to sound very spontaneous to me here, but the fans still elevate this album rather than hinder it (an unfortunate occurrence which does plague the live recordings of a few bands out there).
So while Coldplay doesn’t quite suit my tastes, “LeftRightLeftRightLeft” is a respectable live performance which will give you a good idea of what this band has to offer. It’s still very approachable rock and good music to play with the volume down when you need a quiet backdrop to the more reflective moments in your life.
Now, as a rule, I am reluctant to write about compilation albums and live albums especially. The former because all of the music is simply being rehashed, and would be better reviewed as part of the original release it appeared on; the latter because I typically don’t like live albums. The only reason I am writing about this album is because Coldplay has generously offered it up for free download, so that people can now obtain it without having to attend a Coldplay concert. This is the kind of move that I wish more bands would do; not only does it endear you to your existing fan-base, but it gives those who have never given your music much consideration before ample opportunity for discovery. To be quite honest, I am in the latter category. I’m not a Coldplay fan. But with the sudden availability of this album, I thought I’d give them a fair shake; so here goes.
Coldplay is classified as an Alternative Rock band, although the rock aspect is so soft as to be nearly absent.
So while Coldplay doesn’t quite suit my tastes, “LeftRightLeftRightLeft” is a respectable live performance which will give you a good idea of what this band has to offer. It’s still very approachable rock and good music to play with the volume down when you need a quiet backdrop to the more reflective moments in your life.