A couple of years ago Paul McCartney lashed out at EMI, complaining that the record company had become boring, comparing himself to a couch, and Coldplay to an armchair. Since leaving the label Sir Paul has lightened his mood and even handed out some compliments, calling Coldplay a “good little band.”

That seemingly miniscule statement might have been taken the wrong way if it was anyone but McCartney speaking. However, Paul once described another band in the same terms, and that band was the Beatles.

The compliment has to come as a huge sigh of relief to Chris Martin, especially after the group appeared on the red carpet of the Grammy Awards in Sgt. Pepper knockoffs this last February. Though, it must be noted that Coldplay’s album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends came away with the Best Rock Album Grammy and just missed winning the Album of the Year award while Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band won the Album of the Year.

In an interview with the San Antonia Express-News’ Hector Saldana Martin expressed gratitude for the comment. Martin and seemingly the entire group have remained mesmerized by their own fame. Martin mentioned in the same interview how he was blown away by a recent Bruce Springsteen concert and noted that Jay-Z’s ability to carry himself as an artist has made him one of Martin’s musical heroes.

It has not occurred to Martin, at least publicly, that he and his “good little band” are a big deal, a big enough deal to get Jay-Z to fly out to England to perform with them during there last few concerts on the Viva la Vida tour.

The two biggest groups coming out of the British Isles, without question, are Coldplay (United Kingdom) and U2 (Ireland). Although the groups are known for chart toppers in the alternative rock genre, for being Grammy Award winners, and as celebrity activists, the groups are really quite different.

U2 met as teenagers with limited musical proficiency and grew as a group, learning their instruments as they tried to become rock stars. Coldplay met in college after several of the members had already put in the work to become quite talented rock musicians (apart from Will Champion who learned percussion, but had previous expertise on the piano, violin, and guitar).

U2 came of age (in 1976) when their influences were groups like the Clash, the Ramones, and Joy Division. Coldplay came together in the mid-90s when alternative rock was replacing grunge. These two might seem to be the same, but they are not. Pearl Jam may have been playing in Seattle, but they were not grunge, Nirvana was. Coldplay took their influences from Radiohead (when they still had a little rock to their sound) and folk/indie rockers like Jeff Buckley and Travis.

Those different influences can be heard in their music. Bono’s falsetto fights magnificently with the guitar anthems from The Edge. U2 can best be melodic and expressive with those larger than life vocals. Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin’s voice echoes along the melodic orchestration behind him. Coldplay is perhaps best described as melodic, but with a more meditative touch, perhaps inching toward a blue-eyed soul for the rock world.

These voices sing of personal struggles, though Bono tends to move toward the more global problems that he perhaps encountered in Ireland. Martin sings of those internalized struggles, free from the conflicting society of Ireland. Just as both lead singers sing of struggle, both are avid activists, but even in that respect they are quite close to polar opposites.

Bono has received a steady stream of criticism for his quite outspoken pursuit to the end of poverty, war, and many others of the world’s ailments. Martin is as avid as a supporter, yet seems restrained. Which approach works best is perhaps difficult to decide since they both fight for the same causes, but the reality is that both are attaching their celebrity to ideals and that may be enough in the end, to make a difference.

So, which is the group is the greatest rock group on the British Isles, in the Western Hemisphere, and in the world? Their approaches, their musical styles may be at opposite end of the wide spectrum of alternative rock, and Coldplay may be conquering the world softly while U2 brazenly applies for the title of best rock and roll group in the world every so few years, but perhaps this is one genre where there is room for two kings.

Coldplay, the tremendously popular alternative rock group from London, began as a project by Chris Martin, the lead singer, and Jonny Buckland, the guitarist. They met during the first week of orientation at the University College London in September 1996. Over the next four years they began collecting the rest of the members and found their sound.

First Martin and Buckland were part of a group called Pectoralz. The early rendition of Coldplay added it third member, bassist Guy Berryman, after the two had met him in a class. The group changed names, from the Pectoralz to the Starfish.

Phil Harvey, a friend of Martin who was studying Classics at Oxford, became the unofficial fifth member when he took over managerial duties. The fourth member of the group, Will Champion, was the last to join. Champion originally had no real experience as a drummer, but his background and proficiency with a number of instruments (piano, violin, guitar, and bass) proved helpful as he learned to play.

Starfish became Coldplay at the suggestion of Tim Crompton. Crompton was a local student that had been using the name for his own group. Coldplay almost added a fifth member to play the keyboard, but Tim Rice-Oxley declined the invitation, remaining a group member of Keane.

The group’s pivotal moment came in 1998. Martin was upset over the level of control practiced by the promoters throughout Camden. Harvey, until then simply associated with the group, suggested that the band throw its own concert. It was at this concert that Harvey truly became the manager of Coldplay and that the band sold its first albums, selling 50 copies of the Safety EP.

Eventually Coldplay ended up on the Fierce Panda label, an independent label. They released the Brothers and Sisters EP, an EP with three songs that were recorded over four days in February 1999.

The members of Coldplay officially graduated from college in Spring 1999, and were pleased to sign a five-album deal with Parlophone, who fell under the EMI label. The new label led to an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, the largest outdoor music and performing arts festival in the world. The group also released a third EP, The Blue Room.

The recording sessions for The Blue Room were a trying time for the group. Martin kicked Champion out of the band, but went into a guilt-induced drinking binge. In the end the differences were mended and decided that the group would become a democratic affair, equally splitting the profits and influence over the musical direction. The group also agreed to jettison any band member that used drugs, though not liquor.

The first full-length studio album from Coldplay was Parachutes. The album was recorded at Rockfield Studios with Ken Nelson as the producer. Coldplay began working on the album in March 1999 and finally released the album in July 2000. The group had modest success on the UK charts with the first single “Shiver”. The second single, “Yellow” rocketed to number four on the UK charts and, along with a headlining tour, boosted sales from an expected amount of 400,000 to 1.6 million.

Coldplay made the transition from a UK sensation to a worldwide phenomenon later in 2000 when they played their first North American show in Vancouver and made the television rounds, appearing on Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, and The Late Show with David Letterman. The album took longer to catch on, but eventually reached double platinum status in the U.S., earning a Best Alternative Music Album Grammy Award in 2002.

The group began work on its second album in October 2001 with Ken Nelson returning as the producer. The album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, did not fare as well with critics, but was a hit with fans. The album, released in August 2002, had hit songs like “In My Place” and “Clocks”. The album went four times platinum in the U.S. and seven times platinum in the UK, peaking at number one in the both countries.

As the group became more successful, Phil Harvey felt increasingly pressured, eventually turning over managerial duties to Dave Holmes, but remaining involved with the group with regards to the creative output, for instance writing the liner notes to A Rush of Blood to the Head.

The group promoted the album A Rush of Blood to the Head until 2004, capping off the experience with a 2004 Grammy Award for Record of the Year. The next album had to wait as the group took a break. Notably, Martin and his wife Gwyneth Paltrow, had a daughter, Apple. Coldplay began working on the third full-length studio album in 2005. The album, X&Y, hit the shelves in June 2005. The album went on to become the best selling album worldwide that year.

Singles like “Speed of Sound”, “Fix You”, and “Talk” were mainstays on the radio, but the album was a disappointment to many critics. Still, the album sold well and earned acclaim at the 2006 BRIT Awards.

Coldplay had its first experience with wide spread criticism and returned to the studio in October 2006. The group drew upon its experience touring in South America and enlisted a new producer, the legendary Brian Eno. The result was Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The album received rave reviews and was another commercial smash hit, peaking at number one in 17 countries and going double platinum in the U.S. and triple platinum in the UK.

The group embarked on a massive worldwide tour in 2008 that lasted until the end of 2009, when they will play with Jay Z (who had several recordings where he dubbed over Coldplay hits) on three stages in their home, the UK.

ColdPlay Band

I am an anglophile. I love sitcoms from the BBC, even if the American versions most often expose how bad the show is minus the accent (some say that American producers just do not get what makes them funny, I disagree, obviously). I love girls with British accents 9much like my girlfriend melts when ever Colin Firth speaks). I love British music. I like their take on rock and roll. While the State’s popular musicians say they are influenced by the blues, few have that same desperate, hard edge (with the exception of the Black Keys and the White Stripes).

To me it just seems that even the most pop oriented groups like Coldplay have something that makes an otherwise overly emotional anthem bearable, and even enjoyable. I thought about the big British bands and what each of them means to me. In the end I found that Coldplay, Radiohead, and Oasis (I am a child of the ‘90s) fit together like a CW primetime soap.

Coldplay is the male lead. He is, or they are, the well meaning focus of the story line, pining after love or justice. At times his whining can be annoying, but deep down, it is his struggle that drives the show and, in this case, the music landscape. It is hard to argue that they do not hold that mantle in mainstream music. They are the clean cut group that play huge shows around the world and sell a ridiculous number of albums.

Radiohead is the secondary character everyone knows is cool. He can do what he wants with almost no consequence. The group put out huge albums with OK Computer and Kid A that went platinum, but albums since have struggled to get passed gold in the U.S. and in many countries around the world. Still the albums reached number one on the charts. It is this lack of commercial follow through, often due to their individuality and shunning of all things conventional that make them the second lead. Everyone knows them, but few find relevance with their struggle.

Last, but not least, is Oasis. He is the bad boy, the menacing character that likes to cause problems and attract attention for his antics and not his struggle. This bad boy has a couple of domineering, squabbling brothers (Liam and Noel Gallagher) ruining the moment every chance they get. Still, they make things interesting and that makes them, or him, a must at every party or in every discussion. Oasis’s sound, its simple stripped down guitar sound (I know they stray sometimes, but this is what we all remember) is symbolic here. That simple sound makes them a one-dimensional character on the rock scene, sure to throw a beer bottle into the crowd or throw fists amongst each other in between songs during a set.

Alas, here is the British music scene, a meta-music soap opera that this anglophile cannot stop listening to.

Coldplay’s latest album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, has a mixed critical response. Some appreciate the change from its traditional melodramatic style and some find fault with the album not going far enough off their road to success.

The positive reviews seem content with a familiar sound with a new twist. Chris Martin’s voice is a little lower and the lyrics are a little more abstract with universal themes that will connect everyone in an arena. The album is as tight as the ensembles costumes on stage. The uniforms of soldiers fighting for freedom (taking more of a French Revolution approach than an American Revolution approach, a choice influenced, without a doubt, by the fact that they are British) finds an amicable place with critics like Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic.

The critical reviews look at Coldplay and wish they took the road of Radiohead. Critics have compared early Coldplay to early Radiohead. Many of these critics would have liked Coldplay to take the same jump as Radiohead did between The Bends and OK Computer. These critics see the slight influence of the sounds of Latino musical traditions as a mere shuffle of the feet instead of a full step forward.

The question is then what do the critics expect from the band. Coldplay is undeniably popular on a world scale. To appease these critics should they should they alienate fans and work for several commercially soft albums to rebuild the audience, sans Radiohead? Or should Coldplay accept their pop stardom uncomfortably and keep making albums that do not veer too far from the tastes of the people and remain relevant as a band that can sellout an arena and move massive numbers of albums?

Thus is the argument of art versus commerce. Only time will tell what the band does. Do they keep playing rope-a-dope with the criticism, even embracing it, or do they try and find some other artistic aspirations and influences? I do not know. I like Radiohead and would not mind another, but I have a feeling that if they went down that road the same critics would call them posers for trying to infringe on Radiohead’s domain.

It seems fitting that iTunes had its largest digital pre-order for Coldplay’s latest album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The group pre-sold 288,000 albums, mostly on iTunes, and was perhaps the first to truly usher in the preeminent era of digital downloads.

iTunes had been a terrific vehicle to get that one good song off an otherwise awful or for continuously giving Arrested Development fans hope while Fox did its best to put obstacles (bad weekly timeslots, running the show against the opening ceremonies of the winter Olympics).

Coldplay sold an entire album before it was released. That means that people were paying for 12 tracks with little more than a preview or a liking for the singles that swamped the radio waves. Coldplay’s wide commercial success is most likely the first step in the emerging dominance in the commercial dominance of the Internet over the record store.

Some would argue that Radiohead was the first huge digital success. Radiohead used a donation system, which is essentially giving away the album for free or almost free. The market created buzz for the English group, but it was Coldplay that truly turned a viable profit and not just a marketing strategy with the use of iTunes.

History may look back and lament that a band that is admittedly melodramatic rock pop was the first to break through, but the true test was if a band that was a huge draw could turn its listeners into digital customers.

The next big question is will compact discs find a place in the anti-establishment cool movement like records or will they simply disappear like tapes?

American culture is overflowing with ex-convicts rapping about society’s evils, so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that music carrying any kind of legitimate meaning is becoming far less familiar. But there are still bands determined to create something expressive and real. Coldplay is one of these bands, and their highly anticipated fourth album, “Viva La Vida,” proves this in the most concrete way possible.

Seldom is an album released at any time that truly defines the beauty entrenched in music. “Viva La Vida” goes beyond this. The result is a sound that is understandably thoughtful and complete.

“Viva La Vida” opens with “Life In Technicolor,” a song that showcases a totally different sound than the characteristic, piano-driven melodies that Coldplay fans have grown to love. A digitalized, animated beat is complemented by a Middle Eastern instrumental blend that shows up in other parts of the record, as well.

The album then slips into the powerful, gratifying vocals of Chris Martin in “Cemeteries of London.” Haunting instrumentals are driven by lyrical references to ghosts and the afterlife.

The songs that follow: “Lost!,” “42,” “Lovers In Japan” and “Yes,” are what make “Viva La Vida” a truly compelling album. The titles are short and simple in archetypal Coldplay style, but the unexpected instrumentals and dynamic chord progressions in each track will leave listeners surprised. Innovative musical arrangements deliver a fresh and addicting sound. “Lost!” integrates a doleful, heavy organ with a calculated amount of electric guitar to add movement beneath Martin’s vocals. “42″ evidences the Middle Eastern blend heard in the opening track, while “Lovers In Japan” transitions from driving percussion to a soothing, velvety piano, a reminder of what the band was built on. But it’s the song “Yes” that really acts as a representation of the band’s musical growth and new sound. The instrumental arrangement, produced from a montage of strings, guitars and lively percussion, creates a unique sound, which is only enhanced by Martin’s voice.

The second half of the album includes title track “Viva La Vida” and “Violet Hill,” which were both released as singles before the album dropped last week. “Strawberry Swing” and “Death and All His Friends” bring the album to a soft conclusion.

Coldplay is a generation-defining band, and the release of “Viva La Vida” a generation-defining album. Epic is an understatement. The wait is over.

Coldplay closed out the North American leg of its tour with an exclamation point Monday night.

Befitting their status as radio kings, thanks to the success of their fourth album “Viva La Vida,” the quartet gave a big performance on a big stage with a big audience singing along to the big choruses. (Speed-dial friends U2 would’ve beamed with older brotherly pride).

Whether it was the presence of frontman Chris Martin’s famous wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, and mother-in-law, Blythe Danner, with special guests Jerry and Jessica Seinfeld at the TD Banknorth Garden or the hero’s welcome the band received, the British hitmakers signed off with a giddy, high-energy performance that seemed as much for their own enjoyment as for the hyped-up, sold-out crowd.

While the obsessively self-deprecating Martin joked about being a “soft rock” band, drummer Will Champion – the band’s true MVP – gave the entire affair a welcome brawn from the very first downbeat of opener “Life in Technicolor.”

Songs such as “Speed of Sound” and “In My Place” that sometimes come across as more placid and pleasant on record leapt off the stage thanks to the mighty efforts of Champion and his similarly uncorked bandmates.

Martin flailed about with his lunatic wobbliness during such stompers as “Viva La Vida” – taut and soaring with timpani and bells – and rocked like a madman behind the piano teasing out the curlicue riffs of “Clocks.” In all his gadding about he managed to keep ahold of that valuable falsetto for the night’s biggest ballad singalongs including “Fix You” and the inanely simple but irresistible “Yellow.” He took it lower for the slithering, Eastern-tinged rhythms of the hypnotic “Yes.”

The band took to a smaller lighted stage halfway into the audience for an oddly insular, techno-fied interlude that felt like they were playing in their own tiny nightclub. Large orbs, some which obstructed views, descended, beaming out images to those farther away. More successful was a later two-song acoustic bit way up in the right-hand corner of the arena that included the Beatlesque sing-song gem “The Scientist” and Champion handling vocals on a sweet version of “Death Will Never Conquer.”

Those aspiring to be the biggest band in all the land would be wise to heed the example of their oft-name-checked predecessors in one way: Play longer shows. Given that they have four albums of material to choose from, a 90-minute set, as energetic as it was, felt like not enough bang for the sizable soft rock buck.

Santogold put her heart into the groovy, electro-quirk rock of her critically lauded debut but wasn’t quite the right fit for the large crowd that showed up early enough to hear the buzzy charms of tunes such as “L.E.S. Artistes” and “Creator.” And if you’re going to have a hipster-cred building opening act, provide her with a better sound system.

Victors in an online contest, judged ultimately by Coldplay, Boston rockers the Luxury took the stage with confidence for a short set that should draw a few more fans to their gigs around town.

I’ve joked with friends and co-workers that Viva La Vida is either the first U2 record we’re going to hear this year or the best U2 record we’re going to hear this year. Many critics thought Coldplay had Radiohead ambitions when they first hit the scene, but it’s been increasingly clear over the past several years that Chris Martin has Bono envy. Coldplay took another step towards emulating their heroes by hiring the legendary Brian Eno – U2 co-conspirator being only one of his many brilliant accomplishments — to produce their new album.

I groaned when I first learned of this. I like Coldplay (not be the coolest thing to admit) but I’ve been on board since Parachutes. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Eno, but feared this was going to be a step in the wrong direction. I wanted the band to change up after X&Y — their weakest album — but blatantly copping U2 seemed to me the wrong path, and that’s how I prejudged this collaboration.

To quote Steven Tyler, I got the right key but the wrong keyhole. While I’m likely in the minority in thinking of X&Y as a misstep, I was afraid that teaming with Eno would result in an overly earnest, defiantly anthemic over-correction. The execution makes the idea work, even if it seemed questionable at the time. The collaboration works because the band wrote the right kind of songs (U2 songs) for Eno to help them hone.

Martin’s lyrics make references to all manner of spiritual themes. God, Jerusalem, St. Peter, Death and All of His Friends- they’re all name-checked. Martin seems to be growing up, abandoning third-grade rhyme schemes for “monkey” songs. I’m sorry, but the first half of “Fix You” is an appalling turd. I like the song it becomes, but “when you try your best but you don’t succeed/when you get what you want but not what you need” embarrasses My Chemical Romance.

On Viva, Martin is interested in a world larger than his own. Even more remarkable is how he manages to write about the world without his extracurricular activist efforts becoming the central focus. Maybe the master, Mr. Bono, could learn a thing or two from his student. Incidentally, I’m not the first person to drop the word “student” on Coldplay. Liam Gallagher beat me to the punch on that one in a hilarious tirade a few years back. Sorry, I know I keep jumping around. We’re going to get back to Coldplay and Viva.

Maybe Martin is a happier, more stable person. Maybe he knows he’ll get crucified if he tries writing a self-denigrating, moping record about not getting the girl when he’s married to Gwyneth Paltrow and has two beautiful, healthy children. Maybe he just started reading better books.

The songs on Viva rely more on texture than traditional structure and favor ambiance over melody. While the whole thing is over in 47 minutes, many of the songs such seem to have sequels, segues, and multiple parts; it’s like old school Metallica at about 1/8 the speed.

The U2 influences begin early. The instrumental “Life in Technicolor” feels like The Edge’s guitar intro to “Where The Streets Have No Name,” with “Cemeteries” feeling like the song proper. You’d swear The Edge is singing backing vocals on the fantastic “Cemeteries of London.” The two pieces don’t add up to the equal “Streets,” but it’s a fantastic way to open the album.

“42? begins like Parachutes­-era Coldplay, one of the few pieces of music pairing Martin’s falsetto with a piano, but that’s not where it ends. The melancholy dirge plods as additional instruments are slowly introduced, and then a swell of strings and synthesizers abruptly divert it in an unexpected direction. “Lovers in Japan/Reign Of Love” works in just the opposite direction with “Lovers” playing like an update of vintage Simple Minds, an almost anthem that never fully takes flight, before giving way to the gentle “Reign of Love.”

“Yes” is another of these hybrid tracks. I’m sure this makes sense to the band, but I don’t see how these two distinct movements are related. There is a mysterious, almost sinister feel to the opening as Martin sings in his lower register – a rarity from him – against a backdrop of swirling, exotic strings. The vaporous second movement is sonically interesting but the elliptical sequence of the record starts to wear thin.

Fortunately “Viva La Vida,” the catchiest song on the record, follows. “Viva” gives a strong nod to the Doves’ “Pounding.” Although the bounce is a slow one, “Viva” is augmented by a soaring string arrangement. While “Viva” is catchier, “Violet Hill” feels more like a proper single. “Strawberry Swing” isn’t as strong, but this trio is the only sequence where the album feels conventional; it’s song, followed by song, followed by song.

“Death And All His Friends” encapsulates the record and brings it full circle. The understated intro segues into arguably the most anthemic moment on the record and ends with a reprise of “Life in Technicolor.” It’s a masterful achievement. Images of flickering cellphones dance in my head when I listen to Martin’s layered vocals repeat the refrain “No I don’t want to battle from beginning to end/I don’t want a cycle of recycled revenge/I don’t want to follow Death and all of his friends.” Brilliant.

The disappointment of X&Y made me wonder if I’d ever look forward to another Coldplay record, and Viva La Vida has answered that question by restoring my faith in the band. I miss some of the memorable melodies that were crucial to their earlier success, but the rich textures of Viva are nearly as rewarding if not quite as immediate.

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Coldplay is starting to get too good at its job, report Paste Magazine. At the writing session for Viva La Vida, Chris Martin and Co. got a little overzealous, writing too much to fit on one album. The tracks that were left off Viva La Vida might make an appearance as another album as soon as next year.

Viva La Vida was released in June and produced by Brian Eno. The next album is widely rumored to be almost completed because of all the extra material from that recording session. The speculation originally said a new Coldplay album might come out before the end of the year, but a 2009 release looks more likely now.

We have evidence, too. Lead singer Martin has recorded a collaboration with pop songstress Kylie Minogue, but the song was not featured on Viva La Vida. “It will be on a record we will put out in 2009,” Martin said.

The next release will be the band’s fifth with label EMI. Even more rumors (people talk about you when your last album sells 721,000 in its first week) are circulating that the London quartet plans to put out a greatest-hits album to fulfill a six-album contract with EMI.

EMI denies the rumor that Coldplay is trying to complete its contract as quickly as possible, saying, “Coldplay are signed to a long term record deal with EMI and are committed to produce a number of albums. The band’s relationship with EMI is both long-term and positive.”