Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Encyclopedia
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida ('biβa la 'βiða) is the fourth studio album by British rock
band Coldplay
, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone
. The album was named after a Spanish
phrase that translates in English as "long live life". Lyrically, the album contains references to love, life, death, and war.
Recording sessions for the album took place during June 2007 to April 2008 and featured production by Jon Hopkins
, Rik Simpson
, Markus Dravs
and Brian Eno
. The album was the first to be produced by the latter. The band forced themselves to explore experimental styles, as Eno required every song on the album to sound different, and expanded their musical interests while recording Viva la Vida. The band wanted to make the album shorter than 42 minutes. As a result, the album is longer than the length they intended. Development of the album delayed the release date several times.
Viva la Vida was released to critical acclaim and was a commercial success. Five singles have been released in promotion of the album; "Violet Hill
" and "Viva la Vida" in May 2008, "Lovers in Japan
" and "Lost!
" in November 2008, and "Strawberry Swing
" in September 2009. "Viva la Vida" became the band's first song to reach number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 72% from Metacritic
. It won Best Rock Album
at the 2009 Grammy Awards
and was the best selling album of 2008. It was also nominated for Album of the Year. Viva la Vida was re-released on 25 November 2008 in a deluxe edition containing the original album and the Prospekt's March
EP
.
welcomed his first daughter, which makes him the third Coldplay member to have a child, reports circulated that the band were taking a five-year hiatus. The new baby, and the fact that Coldplay had no touring or recording schedule at the time, had fans wondering if the band's new album would not be released until 2010. Dispelling such reports, Ambrosia Healy, spokesperson to Capitol Records, sent an e-mail message to MTV
that there was no self-imposed hiatus. However, Healy clarified that Coldplay was indeed "enjoying a much-deserved break", and there was no timetable for the follow-up to the band's third studio album, X&Y
.
Work on the album begun in November 2006, only being interrupted by the Latin America Tour in March 2007.
Ambient music
ian and English record producer Brian Eno
produced the album. Coldplay moved to "The Bakery", after finishing up their Latin American Tour, building a studio there. The songs written during their time at the studio are lyrically "much more abstract, much more visual than before", and musically "less straight-forward, more oblique". Additionally, Martin wanted to make a vocal transition from his trademark falsetto
to a lower register. This is explored in "Yes", where the main characteristic of the Velvet Underground
-inspired song is the lowest vocals Chris Martin ever recorded that was suggested by the producer Brian Eno
to make every single song sound different in the album. The band's drummer Will Champion
said in an interview for MTV
: "One of the main things we tried to focus on with this record is changing vocal identities, because Chris has a very recognizable voice." Coldplay sparked an interest at Hispanic
influences after having recorded in churches and in Spanish-speaking countries such as in Mexico
in America and Spain
in Europe, such as Barcelona
. However, it was stressed that the influence was not in any specific sound but a general feel to the songs taken as a whole. On their website, the band also described taking acoustic guitars and basic recording equipment to churches and experimenting with particular sounds.
Throughout the recording of the album, Coldplay communicated to fans through their website. "Famous Old Painters" and "Glass of Water" were written in late 2007 and they were considering both tracks for the album, but were not well received by the producers though the latter was added to the finalized Prospekt's March
extended play
tracklisting instead. The album was delayed further, but a December 2007 post gave hints that the recording stage was nearly finished. The article was signed "Prospekt", strengthening rumours that this would be the album's title. While the band completed two more songs ("Lovers in Japan
" and "Strawberry Swing
"), they denied that the album was called "Prospekt". Martin revealed he had been reading many Charles Dickens
novels during the recording process which may have contributed to the strong visual imagery on such tracks as "Violet Hill
" and "Cemeteries of London
". In an interview for the Latin American TV channel Boomerang
in 2010 Chris said that a big inspiration for the record was the book Les Misérables
, which can be noted by the French revolution themes on Viva La Vida for example.
When asked about why "Lovers in Japan" had an additional track, bassist Guy Berryman explained that the band couldn't make up their minds, because they had discussed that they did not want an extra song on the album, and instead they wanted to keep the album concise with a total of ten tracks (and a intended length of under 42 minutes). Champion followed with, "We just preferred to have less titles and more stuff. The album as a whole has got the most on it, but it’s the shortest. We wanted to make it almost impossible for you to not listen to it all in one go." In addition, vocalist Chris Martin
revealed that the band had always wanted a song title which was two in one. He added that the reason for having two titles in the track listing of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends was due to American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake
doing it for his last album, FutureSex/LoveSounds
(2006).
On 18 July 2009, two early demos from the Viva la Vida recording sessions leaked onto the Internet: the previously unheard "Bloodless Revolution" and a very early version of Viva la Vida single "Lovers in Japan". A day later another demo, called "St. Stephen" appeared online. On 20 July 2009, six more demos were leaked: "The Fall of Man", "The Man Who Swears", "The Man Who Swears II" (actually just the second half of "The Man Who Swears"), "First Steps", "Loveless" and "Goodbye and Goodnight".
, while "Lovers in Japan" features a honky-tonk piano. "Lost!" is influenced by tribal music, whereas "Strawberry Swing
" incorporates Afropop
music. Martin described Viva la Vida as a new direction for Coldplay: a change from their past three albums, which they have referred to as a "trilogy". He said the album featured less falsetto
as he allowed his voice's lower register to take precedence. Some songs, such as "Violet Hill
", contain distorted guitar riff
s and bluesy undertones.
The album contains an array of different themes such as love, war, and revolutions. Unlike their previous releases it has a more universal approach, it deals less with personal problems and more with problems of humanity. Songs like an instrumental version of "Life in Technicolor II" (which didn't make it to the final tracklist) "Violet Hill" and "Death and All His Friends
" talk about war and politics. Martin stated the lyrics of "Violet Hill" were a commentary on Fox News
. "Violet Hill" also is considered the first anti-war protest song from the band. Other songs, such as the double track "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" and "Yes" are about love and desire.
Revolutionary themes are also an important part of the album and its promotion. Coldplay used customized French revolutionary costumes through the Viva La Vida Tour and on the videos produced for the album's singles. Chris Martin said on an interview for The Sun "some say this album is brave - I just see us as being very lucky".
; the latter designed the X&Y
cover three years earlier. The design style for the album took months to be completed; it was initially developed from a set of large-scale sketches and paintings of expressive typo. Lyrics and song titles were boldly painted across old maps, books, copies of old paintings, newspapers and various sorts of second-hand things. The final work was photographed and later some additional typography was added by computer.
Almost all tracks from the album and the Prospekt's March EP have one or more graphic images. On the album's booklet there are nine paintings made by the band. The first is a blue map of Brazil
that includes part of the lyrics from "Glass of Water
" painted in white. However, the image was later reworked and used as the artwork for the "Lost!
" single cover. The second painting on the booklet illustrates the song "42
". The image consists of part of the song's composition written in a red background, with a black stripe covering the center. The design for "Cemeteries of London
" contains an illustration of London
, the song's title and a messy violet background. A portion of the lyrics is used on the top of it. The visual design for "Reign of Love" has its lyrics drawn on a green background. In the middle of the booklet, most of the lyrics of the album are shown amidst an unrecognizable object. The artwork for "Yes" consists of a ripped heart, and a line from the song, "Lord lead me not into temptation". The painting next to the song's artwork contains lyrics from "Viva la Vida". The artwork for "Death and All His Friends
" was made with scissors and paper. Lyrics for the song appear in the design. The last page in the booklet is simple: a roman numeral
of the number 7 painted in red and green on a yellow background. Some of the paintings were shown on a screen during the Viva La Vida world tour, or used on big balloons inside of the venues.
There were three covers for the album. The front cover for the standard edition is a painting by Eugène Delacroix
, entitled Liberty Leading the People
, which was slightly altered for the cover by using a white paint brush to draw "VIVA LA VIDA". The Prospekt's March Edition cover uses the same words again, but painted in bronze
and bigger, also the cover for the Prospekt's March
EP included another Eugène Delacroix painting (Battle of Poitiers
). The cover used for the Asian Tour edition, has the word "VIVA" painted in red and black stripes against a white background, this same painting was used as the home page for the official Coldplay website during a period, it was created by the band and painted by the drummer Will Champion on a wall at the studio called The Bakery.
magazine interview, vocalist Chris Martin
announced the album's release date and its title, Viva la Vida, which is a Spanish phrase that translates into English as "long live life". It takes its name from a painting by Frida Kahlo
, an acclaimed 20th century Mexican artist. The album cover art is an 1830 painting by Eugène Delacroix
entitled Liberty Leading the People
. On 10 April 2008, a new journal entry appeared on the band's website announcing the track list and release date, as well as hinting at new tracks to be issued before the album's release. "Violet Hill
" was confirmed as the first single from Viva la Vida, with a release date of 5 May. In May 2008, Coldplay featured in an advertisement for Apple's iTunes
with the song "Viva la Vida".
The band's official website was updated in late April to reveal the official Viva la Vida artwork as well as a free release of the single "Violet Hill", which became available for download for one week from 29 April 2008. The album was leaked around 5 June and the band decided to make the album available to stream via their Myspace
profile from 8:30 pm WEST on 6 June. On 25 June 2008, the band became the third band ever to perform on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, performing "42" and "Lost!". On 27 June at 7:00 am EDT, Coldplay began a Today Show, outdoor, live performance on the streets outside of Rockefeller Plaza, New York. The band performed on The Late Show with David Letterman on 30 June and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 17 July.
In August 2008, Coldplay announced they would be releasing an EP, Prospekt's March
, consisting of unreleased material from the Viva la Vida recording sessions. The album was re-released on 25 November 2008 in a deluxe edition, titled Viva la Vida - Prospekt's March Edition. It contains tracks from the original album and Prospekt's March.
The stage setup for the Viva la Vida Tour
consisted of a stripped down main stage and two catwalks; Coldplay also performed amongst audience members at the back of venues in a special acoustic set. Instead of a giant video screen on-stage, the band opted for six hanging giant lightbulbs that displayed images and closeups. The band started the tour playing a concert at the Brixton Academy and free shows at Madison Square Garden
on 23 June, and ended the tour in Barcelona
. The tour ended on March 2010 at Latin America and consisted of 172 concerts.
. The album debuted with sales of 41,041 copies in Australia and has since been certified 4x platinum
. In Canada, the album debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart
, selling 90,000 copies in its first week. The album would remain at the top of the chart for five consecutive weeks, selling 176,000 copies in Canada within the first month. The album has been certified five-times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
(CRIA).
In the United States, it sold 316,000 copies in its first day, and 720,000 in its first week of release, holding down the number one spot for two weeks, and nearly equalling X&Y first week sales of 737,000. Viva la Vida has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
for a shipment of over two million copies. Viva la Vida has become the most paid-for downloaded
album of all time, with over 702,000 downloads. By the end of the 2008, Viva la Vida had sold total of 2,144,000 copies, making it the second top-selling album in the United States. As of August 2011, the album had sold 2.8 million copies in the US. Globally, it was the best selling album of 2008.
, the album received an average critic score of 72 out of 100, based on 32 reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic stated, "They demonstrate a focused concentration throughout this tight album -- it's only 47 minutes yet covers more ground than X&Y
and arguably A Rush of Blood to the Head
-- that turns Viva la Vida into something quietly satisfying." Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly
magazine rated the album "A-" and called it their best album, while Alexis Petridis of The Guardian
, however, wrote a mixed review explaining "Viva la Vidas mild tinkering with the formula represents a failure of imagination: perhaps it's hard to think outside the box when the box is the size of the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena. Equally, however, there's a genuine conviction about its contents, a huge advance both on its predecessor and their legion of imitators." Will Hermes of Rolling Stone
magazine wrote that "Coldplay's desire to unite fans around the world with an entertainment they can all relate to is the band's strength, and a worthy goal. But on Viva la Vida, a record that wants to make strong statements, it's also a weakness. Sometimes, to say what needs to be said, you need to risk pissing people off." Spin
magazine's critic Mikael Wood said in a positive review of the album, "For all of Coldplay's experimentation, though, there's no doubting that Viva la Vida, with its sturdy melodies and universal themes -- think love, war and peace -- is an album meant to connect with the masses (arenas have been built for less than the climax of "Death and All His Friends"). The band's triumph lies in how exciting they make that prospect seem". IGN
gave the album 9.3/10 and Q magazine who gave the album 4/5 said "...So some habits die hard, but on every other level Viva La Vida...is an emphatic success...radical in its own measured way but easy to embrace..."
The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album
at the 2009 Grammy Awards
. It appeared in several year end publications' Best Albums of 2008 list including New York Post (Number 1) Rolling Stone (Number 7), Q (Number 3), Spin (Number 9), Entertainment Weekly (Number 6), and Billboard (Number 6). Despite all the positive support, NME nominated the album for Worst Album at the 2009 NME Awards
, despite having given the album 8/10 in their review. Viva la Vida was named the number seven album of 2008 by Rolling Stone. Also despite giving the album three stars in The Times
, Pete Paphides admitted in December 2008 that he was wrong to give it this score and had in fact become his favourite album of the year.
Rock guitarist Joe Satriani
accused Coldplay of copyright infringement
in a lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles federal court on 4 December 2008. Satriani claims that the title track, "Viva la Vida", incorporates "substantial original portions" of an instrumental piece he released in 2004 called "If I Could Fly". The band denied the allegation and the lawsuit was ultimately dropped after being settled out of court.
, Jonny Buckland
, Will Champion
, and Chris Martin
, except where noted. Tracks 5, 6, and 10 contain two separate songs each; the latter two are hidden and not listed on the album sleeve.
", from the Prospekt's March
EP.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone
Parlophone
Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which...
. The album was named after a Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
phrase that translates in English as "long live life". Lyrically, the album contains references to love, life, death, and war.
Recording sessions for the album took place during June 2007 to April 2008 and featured production by Jon Hopkins
Jon Hopkins
Jon Hopkins is a London-based producer and musician who writes and performs his own melodic electronica and dance music. After starting his career performing keyboard for Imogen Heap, he's produced or contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Coldplay, David Holmes, and others...
, Rik Simpson
Rik Simpson
Rik Simpson is a Grammy Award winning music producer, sound engineer, musician and songwriter. He is most recently recognised for his production work with Coldplay on A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends and Mylo Xyloto...
, Markus Dravs
Markus Dravs
Markus Dravs is a music producer, programmer, engineer, and mixer.After hearing Brian Eno's collaboration with David Byrne "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts", he decided to get into engineering....
and Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
. The album was the first to be produced by the latter. The band forced themselves to explore experimental styles, as Eno required every song on the album to sound different, and expanded their musical interests while recording Viva la Vida. The band wanted to make the album shorter than 42 minutes. As a result, the album is longer than the length they intended. Development of the album delayed the release date several times.
Viva la Vida was released to critical acclaim and was a commercial success. Five singles have been released in promotion of the album; "Violet Hill
Violet Hill (song)
"Violet Hill" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends . Built around a repeating guitar sound, it utilises a marching tempo, supported by the pianos and rhythms that accompany...
" and "Viva la Vida" in May 2008, "Lovers in Japan
Lovers in Japan
"Lovers in Japan" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The song is built around an introductory tack piano sound, then followed by chiming guitars and soaring choruses,...
" and "Lost!
Lost!
"Lost!" is a song by the English alternative rock band Coldplay. The band co-produced it with Brian Eno and Markus Dravs for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends...
" in November 2008, and "Strawberry Swing
Strawberry Swing
"Strawberry Swing" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay and is the fifth and final single from the band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends....
" in September 2009. "Viva la Vida" became the band's first song to reach number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 72% from Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. It won Best Rock Album
Grammy Award for Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre...
at the 2009 Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
and was the best selling album of 2008. It was also nominated for Album of the Year. Viva la Vida was re-released on 25 November 2008 in a deluxe edition containing the original album and the Prospekt's March
Prospekt's March
-Personnel:*Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineer*Andy Wallace – mixing*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Brian Eno – producer, sonic landscapes*Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer*Chris Martin – performer*Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photography...
EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
.
Background
In October 2006, two weeks after bassist Guy BerrymanGuy Berryman
Guy Rupert Berryman is a Scottish musician known as the bassist for the groups Coldplay and Apparatjik. Berryman is left-handed but chooses to play the bass right-handed.-Coldplay:...
welcomed his first daughter, which makes him the third Coldplay member to have a child, reports circulated that the band were taking a five-year hiatus. The new baby, and the fact that Coldplay had no touring or recording schedule at the time, had fans wondering if the band's new album would not be released until 2010. Dispelling such reports, Ambrosia Healy, spokesperson to Capitol Records, sent an e-mail message to MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
that there was no self-imposed hiatus. However, Healy clarified that Coldplay was indeed "enjoying a much-deserved break", and there was no timetable for the follow-up to the band's third studio album, X&Y
X&Y
X&Y is the third studio album by English rock band Coldplay, released 6 June 2005 in the United Kingdom via the record label Parlophone. The album, which features influences of electronic music, was produced by the band and British record producer Danton Supple...
.
Work on the album begun in November 2006, only being interrupted by the Latin America Tour in March 2007.
Recording
Ambient music
Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses largely on the timbral characteristics of sounds, often organized or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality.- History :...
ian and English record producer Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
produced the album. Coldplay moved to "The Bakery", after finishing up their Latin American Tour, building a studio there. The songs written during their time at the studio are lyrically "much more abstract, much more visual than before", and musically "less straight-forward, more oblique". Additionally, Martin wanted to make a vocal transition from his trademark falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
to a lower register. This is explored in "Yes", where the main characteristic of the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City. First active from 1964 to 1973, their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists. Although experiencing little commercial success while together, the band is often cited...
-inspired song is the lowest vocals Chris Martin ever recorded that was suggested by the producer Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
to make every single song sound different in the album. The band's drummer Will Champion
Will Champion
William "Will" Champion is an English musician and the drummer of rock band Coldplay.-Early life:William Champion was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, and was brought up in Highfield, Southampton, where his father, Timothy Champion, is a professor of archaeology...
said in an interview for MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
: "One of the main things we tried to focus on with this record is changing vocal identities, because Chris has a very recognizable voice." Coldplay sparked an interest at Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
influences after having recorded in churches and in Spanish-speaking countries such as in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in America and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in Europe, such as Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. However, it was stressed that the influence was not in any specific sound but a general feel to the songs taken as a whole. On their website, the band also described taking acoustic guitars and basic recording equipment to churches and experimenting with particular sounds.
Throughout the recording of the album, Coldplay communicated to fans through their website. "Famous Old Painters" and "Glass of Water" were written in late 2007 and they were considering both tracks for the album, but were not well received by the producers though the latter was added to the finalized Prospekt's March
Prospekt's March
-Personnel:*Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineer*Andy Wallace – mixing*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Brian Eno – producer, sonic landscapes*Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer*Chris Martin – performer*Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photography...
extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
tracklisting instead. The album was delayed further, but a December 2007 post gave hints that the recording stage was nearly finished. The article was signed "Prospekt", strengthening rumours that this would be the album's title. While the band completed two more songs ("Lovers in Japan
Lovers in Japan
"Lovers in Japan" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The song is built around an introductory tack piano sound, then followed by chiming guitars and soaring choruses,...
" and "Strawberry Swing
Strawberry Swing
"Strawberry Swing" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay and is the fifth and final single from the band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends....
"), they denied that the album was called "Prospekt". Martin revealed he had been reading many Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
novels during the recording process which may have contributed to the strong visual imagery on such tracks as "Violet Hill
Violet Hill
Violet Hill, also known as Tsz Lo Lan Shan is located within Tai Tam Country Park in Hong Kong. The hill is a popular site for hiking. Hong Kong Government named three trails on the hill, namely Wilson Trail, Tsz Lo Lan Shan Path and Tai Tam Country Trail...
" and "Cemeteries of London
Cemeteries of London
"Cemeteries of London" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The song is darker than Coldplay's previous recordings....
". In an interview for the Latin American TV channel Boomerang
Boomerang (Latin American TV channel)
Boomerang Latin America is a 24-hour cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a unit of Time Warner broadcasting in all Latin America. Initially it was focused on classical series and shows, as the Latin American version of Boomerang from the United States. In 2006, it...
in 2010 Chris said that a big inspiration for the record was the book Les Misérables
Les Misérables
Les Misérables , translated variously from the French as The Miserable Ones, The Wretched, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, or The Victims), is an 1862 French novel by author Victor Hugo and is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century...
, which can be noted by the French revolution themes on Viva La Vida for example.
When asked about why "Lovers in Japan" had an additional track, bassist Guy Berryman explained that the band couldn't make up their minds, because they had discussed that they did not want an extra song on the album, and instead they wanted to keep the album concise with a total of ten tracks (and a intended length of under 42 minutes). Champion followed with, "We just preferred to have less titles and more stuff. The album as a whole has got the most on it, but it’s the shortest. We wanted to make it almost impossible for you to not listen to it all in one go." In addition, vocalist Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
revealed that the band had always wanted a song title which was two in one. He added that the reason for having two titles in the track listing of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends was due to American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
doing it for his last album, FutureSex/LoveSounds
FutureSex/LoveSounds
In 2005, Timberlake felt inspired to record songs again. Motivated by the "sad state" of pop radio, he decided he needed to experiment with music. Reportedly, it was not until Timberlake turned to producer Timbaland "that he figured out the direction he wanted the record to take"...
(2006).
On 18 July 2009, two early demos from the Viva la Vida recording sessions leaked onto the Internet: the previously unheard "Bloodless Revolution" and a very early version of Viva la Vida single "Lovers in Japan". A day later another demo, called "St. Stephen" appeared online. On 20 July 2009, six more demos were leaked: "The Fall of Man", "The Man Who Swears", "The Man Who Swears II" (actually just the second half of "The Man Who Swears"), "First Steps", "Loveless" and "Goodbye and Goodnight".
Composition and themes
Musically, Viva la Vida contrasts with their previous albums. The title track uses an orchestraOrchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
, while "Lovers in Japan" features a honky-tonk piano. "Lost!" is influenced by tribal music, whereas "Strawberry Swing
Strawberry Swing
"Strawberry Swing" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay and is the fifth and final single from the band's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends....
" incorporates Afropop
Afropop
Afropop or Afro-pop may refer to:*African popular music*Afropop Worldwide, a weekly radio program from Public Radio International...
music. Martin described Viva la Vida as a new direction for Coldplay: a change from their past three albums, which they have referred to as a "trilogy". He said the album featured less falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
as he allowed his voice's lower register to take precedence. Some songs, such as "Violet Hill
Violet Hill (song)
"Violet Hill" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends . Built around a repeating guitar sound, it utilises a marching tempo, supported by the pianos and rhythms that accompany...
", contain distorted guitar riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s and bluesy undertones.
The album contains an array of different themes such as love, war, and revolutions. Unlike their previous releases it has a more universal approach, it deals less with personal problems and more with problems of humanity. Songs like an instrumental version of "Life in Technicolor II" (which didn't make it to the final tracklist) "Violet Hill" and "Death and All His Friends
Death and All His Friends
"Death and All His Friends" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends...
" talk about war and politics. Martin stated the lyrics of "Violet Hill" were a commentary on Fox News
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
. "Violet Hill" also is considered the first anti-war protest song from the band. Other songs, such as the double track "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" and "Yes" are about love and desire.
Revolutionary themes are also an important part of the album and its promotion. Coldplay used customized French revolutionary costumes through the Viva La Vida Tour and on the videos produced for the album's singles. Chris Martin said on an interview for The Sun "some say this album is brave - I just see us as being very lucky".
Graphic design
The artwork for Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends was designed by Coldplay and Tappin GoftonTappin Gofton
Tappin Gofton is a graphic design duo consisting of Mark Tappin and Simon Gofton. They are best known for their ambiguous cover for the Coldplay album X&Y and their 1960s-style cover for The Chemical Brothers' album Push the Button, and their cover for The Chemical Brothers' album We Are The Night...
; the latter designed the X&Y
X&Y
X&Y is the third studio album by English rock band Coldplay, released 6 June 2005 in the United Kingdom via the record label Parlophone. The album, which features influences of electronic music, was produced by the band and British record producer Danton Supple...
cover three years earlier. The design style for the album took months to be completed; it was initially developed from a set of large-scale sketches and paintings of expressive typo. Lyrics and song titles were boldly painted across old maps, books, copies of old paintings, newspapers and various sorts of second-hand things. The final work was photographed and later some additional typography was added by computer.
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
that includes part of the lyrics from "Glass of Water
Glass of Water
"Glass of Water" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was first released on the band's 2008 EP, Prospekt's March. The song was originally written during sessions for their fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, but failed to make the final tracklisting....
" painted in white. However, the image was later reworked and used as the artwork for the "Lost!
Lost!
"Lost!" is a song by the English alternative rock band Coldplay. The band co-produced it with Brian Eno and Markus Dravs for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends...
" single cover. The second painting on the booklet illustrates the song "42
42 (song)
"42" is a song by alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The song, divided into three parts, does not have a chorus. The first part is a ballad with piano and strings. It then transforms into an...
". The image consists of part of the song's composition written in a red background, with a black stripe covering the center. The design for "Cemeteries of London
Cemeteries of London
"Cemeteries of London" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The song is darker than Coldplay's previous recordings....
" contains an illustration of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the song's title and a messy violet background. A portion of the lyrics is used on the top of it. The visual design for "Reign of Love" has its lyrics drawn on a green background. In the middle of the booklet, most of the lyrics of the album are shown amidst an unrecognizable object. The artwork for "Yes" consists of a ripped heart, and a line from the song, "Lord lead me not into temptation". The painting next to the song's artwork contains lyrics from "Viva la Vida". The artwork for "Death and All His Friends
Death and All His Friends
"Death and All His Friends" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends...
" was made with scissors and paper. Lyrics for the song appear in the design. The last page in the booklet is simple: a roman numeral
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
of the number 7 painted in red and green on a yellow background. Some of the paintings were shown on a screen during the Viva La Vida world tour, or used on big balloons inside of the venues.
There were three covers for the album. The front cover for the standard edition is a painting by Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
, entitled Liberty Leading the People
Liberty Leading the People
Liberty Leading the People is a painting by Eugène Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830, which toppled Charles X of France. A woman personifying Liberty leads the people forward over the bodies of the fallen, holding the tricouleur flag of the French Revolution in one hand and...
, which was slightly altered for the cover by using a white paint brush to draw "VIVA LA VIDA". The Prospekt's March Edition cover uses the same words again, but painted in bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
and bigger, also the cover for the Prospekt's March
Prospekt's March
-Personnel:*Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineer*Andy Wallace – mixing*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Brian Eno – producer, sonic landscapes*Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer*Chris Martin – performer*Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photography...
EP included another Eugène Delacroix painting (Battle of Poitiers
Battle of Poitiers (1356)
The Battle of Poitiers was fought between the Kingdoms of England and France on 19 September 1356 near Poitiers, resulting in the second of the three great English victories of the Hundred Years' War: Crécy, Poitiers, and Agincourt....
). The cover used for the Asian Tour edition, has the word "VIVA" painted in red and black stripes against a white background, this same painting was used as the home page for the official Coldplay website during a period, it was created by the band and painted by the drummer Will Champion on a wall at the studio called The Bakery.
Release and promotion
In a Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine interview, vocalist Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
announced the album's release date and its title, Viva la Vida, which is a Spanish phrase that translates into English as "long live life". It takes its name from a painting by Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
, an acclaimed 20th century Mexican artist. The album cover art is an 1830 painting by Eugène Delacroix
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
entitled Liberty Leading the People
Liberty Leading the People
Liberty Leading the People is a painting by Eugène Delacroix commemorating the July Revolution of 1830, which toppled Charles X of France. A woman personifying Liberty leads the people forward over the bodies of the fallen, holding the tricouleur flag of the French Revolution in one hand and...
. On 10 April 2008, a new journal entry appeared on the band's website announcing the track list and release date, as well as hinting at new tracks to be issued before the album's release. "Violet Hill
Violet Hill (song)
"Violet Hill" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their fourth album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends . Built around a repeating guitar sound, it utilises a marching tempo, supported by the pianos and rhythms that accompany...
" was confirmed as the first single from Viva la Vida, with a release date of 5 May. In May 2008, Coldplay featured in an advertisement for Apple's iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
with the song "Viva la Vida".
The band's official website was updated in late April to reveal the official Viva la Vida artwork as well as a free release of the single "Violet Hill", which became available for download for one week from 29 April 2008. The album was leaked around 5 June and the band decided to make the album available to stream via their Myspace
Myspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
profile from 8:30 pm WEST on 6 June. On 25 June 2008, the band became the third band ever to perform on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, performing "42" and "Lost!". On 27 June at 7:00 am EDT, Coldplay began a Today Show, outdoor, live performance on the streets outside of Rockefeller Plaza, New York. The band performed on The Late Show with David Letterman on 30 June and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on 17 July.
In August 2008, Coldplay announced they would be releasing an EP, Prospekt's March
Prospekt's March
-Personnel:*Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineer*Andy Wallace – mixing*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Brian Eno – producer, sonic landscapes*Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer*Chris Martin – performer*Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photography...
, consisting of unreleased material from the Viva la Vida recording sessions. The album was re-released on 25 November 2008 in a deluxe edition, titled Viva la Vida - Prospekt's March Edition. It contains tracks from the original album and Prospekt's March.
The stage setup for the Viva la Vida Tour
Viva la Vida Tour
Viva la Vida Tour was the fourth concert tour by English band Coldplay. The tour was in support their fourth studio album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The tour was a massive commercial and critical success visiting Europe, Asia, the Americas and Australasia...
consisted of a stripped down main stage and two catwalks; Coldplay also performed amongst audience members at the back of venues in a special acoustic set. Instead of a giant video screen on-stage, the band opted for six hanging giant lightbulbs that displayed images and closeups. The band started the tour playing a concert at the Brixton Academy and free shows at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
on 23 June, and ended the tour in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. The tour ended on March 2010 at Latin America and consisted of 172 concerts.
Commercial performance
The album was successful around the world. In its first week of release it debuted at number one in 36 countries. In the United Kingdom, the album sold 125,000 copies in its first day of release and 302,074 in three days, debuting at number one. In its second week it sold another 198,000, achieving a platinum certification. The album sold over 500,000 copies in 10 days since its release, beating the first week UK sales of Coldplay's third album, X&YX&Y
X&Y is the third studio album by English rock band Coldplay, released 6 June 2005 in the United Kingdom via the record label Parlophone. The album, which features influences of electronic music, was produced by the band and British record producer Danton Supple...
. The album debuted with sales of 41,041 copies in Australia and has since been certified 4x platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. In Canada, the album debuted at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
, selling 90,000 copies in its first week. The album would remain at the top of the chart for five consecutive weeks, selling 176,000 copies in Canada within the first month. The album has been certified five-times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada
Music Canada was a Canadian music television miniseries which aired approximately monthly on CBC Television from 1966 to 1967.-Premise:This series featured various special productions of music and dance, from classical to modern styles.-Scheduling:...
(CRIA).
In the United States, it sold 316,000 copies in its first day, and 720,000 in its first week of release, holding down the number one spot for two weeks, and nearly equalling X&Y first week sales of 737,000. Viva la Vida has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
for a shipment of over two million copies. Viva la Vida has become the most paid-for downloaded
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
album of all time, with over 702,000 downloads. By the end of the 2008, Viva la Vida had sold total of 2,144,000 copies, making it the second top-selling album in the United States. As of August 2011, the album had sold 2.8 million copies in the US. Globally, it was the best selling album of 2008.
Critical response
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends has received generally very positive reviews from critics. According to review aggregator website MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the album received an average critic score of 72 out of 100, based on 32 reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic stated, "They demonstrate a focused concentration throughout this tight album -- it's only 47 minutes yet covers more ground than X&Y
X&Y
X&Y is the third studio album by English rock band Coldplay, released 6 June 2005 in the United Kingdom via the record label Parlophone. The album, which features influences of electronic music, was produced by the band and British record producer Danton Supple...
and arguably A Rush of Blood to the Head
A Rush of Blood to the Head
A Rush of Blood to the Head is the second studio album by English rock band Coldplay. Released on 26 August 2002 in the UK through the label Parlophone, the album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson...
-- that turns Viva la Vida into something quietly satisfying." Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
magazine rated the album "A-" and called it their best album, while Alexis Petridis of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, however, wrote a mixed review explaining "Viva la Vidas mild tinkering with the formula represents a failure of imagination: perhaps it's hard to think outside the box when the box is the size of the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena. Equally, however, there's a genuine conviction about its contents, a huge advance both on its predecessor and their legion of imitators." Will Hermes of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine wrote that "Coldplay's desire to unite fans around the world with an entertainment they can all relate to is the band's strength, and a worthy goal. But on Viva la Vida, a record that wants to make strong statements, it's also a weakness. Sometimes, to say what needs to be said, you need to risk pissing people off." Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
magazine's critic Mikael Wood said in a positive review of the album, "For all of Coldplay's experimentation, though, there's no doubting that Viva la Vida, with its sturdy melodies and universal themes -- think love, war and peace -- is an album meant to connect with the masses (arenas have been built for less than the climax of "Death and All His Friends"). The band's triumph lies in how exciting they make that prospect seem". IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave the album 9.3/10 and Q magazine who gave the album 4/5 said "...So some habits die hard, but on every other level Viva La Vida...is an emphatic success...radical in its own measured way but easy to embrace..."
The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album
Grammy Award for Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre...
at the 2009 Grammy Awards
51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
. It appeared in several year end publications' Best Albums of 2008 list including New York Post (Number 1) Rolling Stone (Number 7), Q (Number 3), Spin (Number 9), Entertainment Weekly (Number 6), and Billboard (Number 6). Despite all the positive support, NME nominated the album for Worst Album at the 2009 NME Awards
NME Awards
The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME .The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine....
, despite having given the album 8/10 in their review. Viva la Vida was named the number seven album of 2008 by Rolling Stone. Also despite giving the album three stars in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Pete Paphides admitted in December 2008 that he was wrong to give it this score and had in fact become his favourite album of the year.
Rock guitarist Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
accused Coldplay of copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
in a lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles federal court on 4 December 2008. Satriani claims that the title track, "Viva la Vida", incorporates "substantial original portions" of an instrumental piece he released in 2004 called "If I Could Fly". The band denied the allegation and the lawsuit was ultimately dropped after being settled out of court.
Track listing
All tracks written by Guy BerrymanGuy Berryman
Guy Rupert Berryman is a Scottish musician known as the bassist for the groups Coldplay and Apparatjik. Berryman is left-handed but chooses to play the bass right-handed.-Coldplay:...
, Jonny Buckland
Jonny Buckland
Jonathan Mark "Jonny" Buckland is an English guitarist and musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the band Coldplay.-Early life:...
, Will Champion
Will Champion
William "Will" Champion is an English musician and the drummer of rock band Coldplay.-Early life:William Champion was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, and was brought up in Highfield, Southampton, where his father, Timothy Champion, is a professor of archaeology...
, and Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
, except where noted. Tracks 5, 6, and 10 contain two separate songs each; the latter two are hidden and not listed on the album sleeve.
Tour Edition DVD
In some Asian countries a special edition of the album was released with a DVD including the five official videos from Viva la Vida and the video for "Life in Technicolor IILife in Technicolor II
"Life in Technicolor II" , is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay and the first single from the band's 2008 EP, Prospekt's March. The song is the full, vocal version of the instrumental song "Life in Technicolor" from Coldplay's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His...
", from the Prospekt's March
Prospekt's March
-Personnel:*Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineer*Andy Wallace – mixing*Bob Ludwig – mastering*Brian Eno – producer, sonic landscapes*Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer*Chris Martin – performer*Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photography...
EP.
Personnel
- Andy Rugg – assistant engineer, engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Andy WallaceAndy Wallace (producer)Andy Wallace is a Grammy Award-winning music studio engineer with a long track record of successful productions, beginning with the 1986 production of the Run-DMC/Aerosmith collaboration on "Walk This Way" with Rick Rubin...
– mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may... - Bob LudwigBob LudwigBob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....
– masteringAudio masteringMastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced... - Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, sonic landscapes - Brian Thorn – assistant engineer, engineer
- Chris MartinChris MartinChristopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
– vocals, guitar, piano - ColdplayColdplayColdplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
– artworkAlbum coverAn album cover is the front of the packaging of a commercially released audio recording product, or album. The term can refer to either the printed cardboard covers typically used to package sets of 10" and 12" 78 rpm records, single and sets of 12" LPs, sets of 45 rpm records , or the front-facing... - Dan Green – assistant engineer, engineer, photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
- Dave Holmes – management
- Davide RossiDavide RossiDavide Francesco Rossi , is a violinist, string arranger, composer and a record producer, perhaps best known for being the violinist, guitar and keytar-player for the British electronic music group Goldfrapp, and for his large contribution of electric violin parts and for all the string...
– stringsString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones... - Dominic Monks – assistant engineer, engineer
- Eugène DelacroixEugène DelacroixFerdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
– cover painting - François Chevallier – assistant engineer, engineer
- Guy BerrymanGuy BerrymanGuy Rupert Berryman is a Scottish musician known as the bassist for the groups Coldplay and Apparatjik. Berryman is left-handed but chooses to play the bass right-handed.-Coldplay:...
– bass, photography - Jan Petrov – assistant engineer, engineer
- Jason Lader – assistant engineer, engineer
- John O'Mahoney – mixing
- Jonny BucklandJonny BucklandJonathan Mark "Jonny" Buckland is an English guitarist and musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the band Coldplay.-Early life:...
– guitar - Jon HopkinsJon HopkinsJon Hopkins is a London-based producer and musician who writes and performs his own melodic electronica and dance music. After starting his career performing keyboard for Imogen Heap, he's produced or contributed to albums by Brian Eno, Coldplay, David Holmes, and others...
– colouring, producer - Markus Dravs – mixing, producer
- Michael BrauerMichael BrauerMichael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer whose credits encompass a wide range of genres, and include The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, John Mayer, Ash, My Morning Jacket, Ben Folds, Dream Theater, The New Radicals, Change, Fountains of Wayne, David Poe, Wilco, Alpha...
– mixing - Michael Trepagnier – assistant engineer, engineer
- Olga Fitzroy – assistant engineer, engineer
- Phil HarveyPhil Harvey (manager)Phil Harvey is the former manager and sometime 'creative director' of the English rock group Coldplay....
– manager - Rik SimpsonRik SimpsonRik Simpson is a Grammy Award winning music producer, sound engineer, musician and songwriter. He is most recently recognised for his production work with Coldplay on A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends and Mylo Xyloto...
– mixing, producer - Tappin GoftonTappin GoftonTappin Gofton is a graphic design duo consisting of Mark Tappin and Simon Gofton. They are best known for their ambiguous cover for the Coldplay album X&Y and their 1960s-style cover for The Chemical Brothers' album Push the Button, and their cover for The Chemical Brothers' album We Are The Night...
– art directionArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
, designDesignDesign as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan... - Vanessa Parr – assistant engineer, engineer
- Will ChampionWill ChampionWilliam "Will" Champion is an English musician and the drummer of rock band Coldplay.-Early life:William Champion was born in Southampton, Hampshire, England, and was brought up in Highfield, Southampton, where his father, Timothy Champion, is a professor of archaeology...
– drums, percussion - William Paden Hensley – assistant engineer, engineer
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 1 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
1 |
| Danish Albums Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
1 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
1 |
| European Top Albums Chart | 1 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 1 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
1 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
1 |
| Greek Albums Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
1 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
1 |
| Italian Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
1 |
| Mexican Albums Chart | 2 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
1 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
1 |
| Portuguese Albums Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
1 |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
1 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
1 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
1 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
Certifications and sales
| Country | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
4× Platinum | 300,000 |
| Austria IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
3× Platinum | 60,000 |
| Belgium Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... |
4× Platinum | 120,000 |
| Chile | Platinum | 10,000 |
| Canada Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada... |
6× Platinum | 500,000 |
| Denmark | Platinum | 30,000 |
| Europe | 3× Platinum | 3.5 million |
| Finland | Platinum | 20,000 |
| France Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
Diamond | 650,000 |
| Germany Bundesverband Musikindustrie The Bundesverband Musikindustrie or simply BVMI represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 350 labels and music industry related enterprises.... |
4× Platinum | 850,000 |
| Greece IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
Gold | 7,500 |
| Ireland Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... |
4× Platinum | 60,000 |
| Italy | Diamond | 450,000 |
| Mexico | 2× Diamond + 4× Platinum | 1.3 million |
| Netherlands NVPI The NVPI is the Dutch tradeassociation of the entertainment industry... |
Platinum | 70,000 |
| New Zealand Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
3× Platinum | 50,000 |
| Switzerland | 3× Platinum | 90,000 |
| United Kingdom British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... |
5× Platinum | 1.6 million |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
3× Platinum | 3 million |
Year-end charts
| Country | Position |
|---|---|
| 2008 | |
| Austria | 8 |
| Germany | 6 |
| Greece | 2 |
| 2009 | |
| Germany | 49 |
| Switzerland | 45 |
Chart procession and succession
Release history
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 11 June 2008 | EMI Music Japan | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
TOCP-66805 / 49880 068632 5 5 |
| United Kingdom | 12 June 2008 | Parlophone Parlophone Parlophone is a record label that was founded in Germany in 1896 by the Carl Lindström Company as Parlophon. The British branch was formed in 1923 as "Parlophone" which developed a reputation in the 1920s as a leading jazz label. It was acquired in 1927 by the Columbia Graphophone Company which... |
CD | 5 099921 211409 |
| LP Gramophone record A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove... |
- | |||
| Brazil | 12 June 2008 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
CD | |
| Europe | 13 June 2008 | Capitol Capitol Records Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine... |
CD | |
| Australia and New Zealand | 14 June 2008 | EMI EMI The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major... |
CD | 2169640 |
| Worldwide (Unless specified otherwise) |
16 June 2008 | EMI | CD | |
| Canada | 17 June 2008 | Capitol | CD | 509992 26126 0 1 |
| United States | CD | 50999 2 16886 0 7 | ||
| LP | 50999 2 16965 1 0 |
External links
- Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...