X&Y
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| X&Y | ||
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| Studio album by Coldplay | ||
| Released | June 6, 2005 | |
| Recorded | 2004–2005 | |
| Genre | Britpop, alternative rock | |
| Length | 62:32 | |
| Label | EMI, Parlophone, Capitol | |
| Producer(s) | Coldplay Danton Supple Ken Nelson (4 tracks) |
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| Professional reviews | ||
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| Coldplay chronology | ||
| Live 2003 (2003) |
X&Y (2005) |
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| Alternate cover | ||
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| Japanese cover | ||
X&Y is the third album by English rock band Coldplay, first released in various countries in early June 2005. The first single from the album, "Speed of Sound", was released on CD on May 23, 2005. The single first premiered on BBC Radio 1 with Steve Lamacq on the evening of April 18, 2005."Speed of Sound" was released on several online music stores the same day, and was released on the iTunes Music Store the following day. The album debuted at the top of the UK Album Chart, with 464,471 over-the-counter first week sales to place second all-time behind Oasis' Be Here Now, which moved 695,761 units in its 1997 release (see 1997 in music). It also became the band's first U.S. chart-topper, selling 737,000 units in its first week of release. X&Y was the best-selling album worldwide in 2005 according to the IFPI; it shifted 8.3 million units during the year. The album fell off of the Billboard Hot 200 Charts in September 2006 with sales of just under 3 million in the United States. This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.
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[edit] Naming of the album
According to lead singer Chris Martin, the title X&Y is based on the ups and downs of his everyday life. Martin says "My whole day is a mixture of optimism and pessimism in its most extreme forms. And that’s what X&Y is to me. It’s two sides. I like the fact they’re very strong letters, very clear." [1]
Prior to the release, Zero Theory was one of the many widely rumoured titles to the album. [2]
"X&Y" are also the opening words to the band's song, "The World Turned Upside Down."
[edit] Influences
X&Y is influenced by European electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, as well as 1970s electronica from the likes of David Bowie and Brian Eno. Coldplay received permission from Kraftwerk to use the main riff from "Computer Love" for the track "Talk", while Eno played backing synthesizer on the track "Low". The album's hidden track, "'Til Kingdom Come", was originally written by the band for Johnny Cash, but Cash passed away before he could record the song.
[edit] Critical reaction
The album's reviews were fairly warm upon release, but certain critics, specifically from Rolling Stone, Mojo, The New York Times and Pitchfork Media, have pointed out that the album is generally considered to have not met the standards of A Rush Of Blood To The Head, X&Y's 2002 predecessor. Coldplay has also received a minor amount of criticism for the similarities between the lead single "Speed Of Sound" and the Grammy-winning "Clocks". Others have noted the striking U2 similarities heard throughout the album.
[edit] Cover art
The album's ambiguous cover art was designed by Tappin Gofton (aka Mark Tappin and Simon Gofton), who created the cover for The Chemical Brothers' latest release, Push the Button. The blocks are the Baudot code-encoding (ITA2, a 5-bit alphanumeric encoding used by telegraphs) of the title of the album, X&Y; the colours are just for aesthetics and have no specific meaning (though Chris Martin sometimes wears coloured tape on his hands while on stage, as a reference to the album). The CD booklet contains the ITA2-encoded alphabet, presented with the X&Y colour motif. The final page of the booklet contains the slogan "Make Trade Fair", using the same encoded alphabet.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Berryman/Buckland/Champion/Martin, except where noted.
- "Square One" – 4:47
- "What If" – 4:57
- "White Shadows" – 5:28
- "Fix You" – 4:55
- "Talk" (Berryman/Buckland/Champion/Martin/Hutter/Bartos/Schult) – 5:11
- "X&Y" – 4:34
- "Speed of Sound" – 4:48
- "A Message" – 4:45
- "Low" – 5:32
- "The Hardest Part" – 4:25
- "Swallowed in the Sea" – 3:59
- "Twisted Logic" – 5:01, actual song ends at 4:26, followed by silence
- "'Til Kingdom Come" (hidden track) – 4:10
[edit] Bonus tracks
- "How You See the World" (Japan release, follows "'Til Kingdom Come") – 8:43
- "Things I Don't Understand" (Special Dutch Edition Release on Bonus Disc. Audio-only Track on Bonus DVD of South East Asia Tour Edition. Also on Speed Of Sound Single.) – 4:54
- "Proof" (Special Dutch Edition Release on Bonus Disc. Audio-only Track on Bonus DVD of South East Asia Tour Edition. Also on Speed Of Sound Single.) – 4:12
- "The World Turned Upside Down" (Special Dutch Edition Release on Bonus Disc. Audio-only Track on Bonus DVD of South East Asia Tour Edition. Also on Fix You Single.) – 4:33
- "Pour Me (Live @ The Hollywood Bowl)" (Special Dutch Edition Release on Bonus Disc. Audio-only Track on Bonus DVD of South East Asia Tour Edition. Also on Fix You Single.) – 5:03
- "Sleeping Sun" (Special Dutch Edition Release on Bonus Disc. Audio-only Track on Bonus DVD of South East Asia Tour Edition. Also on Talk Single.) – 3:07
- "Gravity" (Special Dutch Edition Release on Bonus Disc. Audio-only Track on Bonus DVD of South East Asia Tour Edition. Also on Talk Single.) – 6:16
[edit] Release details
The album was released in various countries.
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
| Japan | 1 June 2005 | Toshiba-EMI | CD | TOCP 66370 |
| Taiwan | 3 June 2005 | Toshiba-EMI | CD | 094631128028 |
| United Kingdom | 6 June 2005 | Parlophone | 2LP | 4747861 |
| CD | 4747862 | |||
| European Union | 6 June 2005 | Parlophone | CD | |
| Australia | 6 June 2005 | Capitol | CD | 3112802 |
| United States | 7 June 2005 | Capitol | CD | CDP 7243 4 74786 2 8 |
| Canada | 7 June 2005 | Parlophone | CD | 7243 4 74786 2 8 |
| China | 18 August 2005 | CD | ||
| Japan | 30 September 2005 | Toshiba-EMI | CD | TOCP 66465 |
| Netherlands | 16 January 2006 | Parlophone | 2CD | |
| South East Asia | 2006 | EMI | CD + DVD |
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Awards
- 2005 Q magazine - Album of the Year
- 2005 Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005 (#77)
- 2006 MSN Music Download Awards - Best Album
- 2006 Brit Awards - Best British Album
- 2006 Juno Awards - International Album of the Year (tied with Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business)
[edit] Nominations
- 2005 Mercury Music Prize
- 2005 Q Awards - Best Album
- 2005 MTV Europe Music Awards - Best Album
- 2006 Grammy Awards - Best Rock Album
- 2006 MTV Australia Video Music Awards - Album of the Year
[edit] Miscellanea
- The album is dedicated to "BWP", which stands for Bruce W. Paltrow, Chris Martin's late father-in-law, Gwyneth Paltrow's father.
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
| Coldplay |
| Chris Martin | Jonny Buckland | Guy Berryman | Will Champion |
| Ken Nelson |
| Discography |
|---|
| Studio Albums: Parachutes | A Rush of Blood to the Head | X&Y |
| Lives and EPS: Safety EP | Brothers & Sisters EP | The Blue Room EP | Trouble Live EP | Live 2003 |
| Singles: "Ode to Deodorant" | "Brothers & Sisters" | "Shiver" | "Yellow" | "Trouble" | "Don't Panic" | "In My Place" | "The Scientist" | "Clocks" | "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" | "Speed of Sound" | "Fix You" | "Talk" | "The Hardest Part | "What If" | "White Shadows" |
| Tours |
| A Rush of Blood to the Head Tour | Twisted Logic Tour |
