As an avid music-lover and Coldplay fan, I spend a lot of time thinking about my favorite songs by the band that I’m so madly in love with. After the British alternative group released their U.S. tour dates earlier this week, I felt it necessary to compile a list of my favorite Coldplay songs throughout the years. Whether you listen to “Viva la Vida” every once in awhile or you’re just as addicted to the Chris Martin’s early years as I am, this list is sure to spark smiles and memories of some sort – enjoy!
10. “Warning Sign”
“Warning Sign,” a cut from the band’s second album A Rush of Blood to the Head, was never released as a single and hasn’t been performed in concert since 2005, but it’s become a big favorite among the group’s hardcore fans like myself. The gentle, sentimental tune evokes all kinds of emotions, and while its fame was drowned out by hype from “Clocks” on the same album, it’s a must-listen, for sure.
9. “Viva la Vida”
It might be overplayed, but “Viva la Vida,” the title track of the band’s first collaboration with Brian Eno in 2008, balances Coldplay’s taste for soaring melodies with a stately, relatively understated string arrangement. It’s clearly become one of the band’s most popular track of the 2000’s, and rightly so. The lyrics to the song contain historical and Christian references, evidence of Chris Martin’s continued attention to detail in his band’s works.
8. “Birds”
While I might not be as big a fan of Coldplay’s latest works, I’ve still found quite a few tracks that really showcase the band’s awesome transition into EDM/pop-alterantive era. “Birds” – the second track on their 2016 album A Head Full Of Dreams – gives fans the intro they need into the album. The soaring song about hope and overcoming circumstances helps the melody and other aspects of the music mirror that same upbeat, positive perspective. It’s a fun song and definitely worth the listen.
7. “Talk”
One of Coldplay’s rockesque classics, “Talk” was written by all members of the band and appeared on their third album, X&Y. The track includes a hypnotic pace, with drummer Will Champion adding a metronomic beat. The “spacey” music video is also intriguing, and listening closely to the lyrics is supposed to help us learn how to feel better about ourselves, depending how you interpret the words.
6. “Shiver”
It’s maybe a little bit surprising that “Shiver,” the relatively obscure first single from Coldplay’s debut album Parachutes, made it this high on the list. Then again, the song establishes so many of the band’s strengths – heartsick balladry, shimmering lead guitar, swooning falsetto – that it stands to reason that many true Coldplay fans find this song to be so easy and fulfilling to listen to.
5. “The Scientist”
“The Scientist” makes it pretty high in the list – not too shocking, given that it’s one of the band’s signature singles and a staple of their live set. Their accompanying music video became a huge MTV hit after its release in 2002, notable for its distinctive reverse narrative, which employed reverse video. In order for Chris Martin to appear to be singing the lyrics in the reversed footage, he had to learn to sing the song backwards, which took him a month.
4. “Strawberry Swing”
It’s so incredibly satisfying to hear “Strawberry Swing” on a good day. The fifth and final single from the band’s fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends in 2008, this upbeat tune contains influences from afro-pop and highlife music, and is built around finger-picked, distortion-free guitars with a heavy bassline and psychedelic synths. The song shares common traits of Coldplay’s songs; it’s a mid-tempo track, featuring echoing guitars, piano ballad-inspired melodies and bittersweet, anthemics, falsetto vocals.
3. “Yellow”
Who doesn’t love watching young Chris Martin sing the lyrics to Coldplay’s big hit “Yellow” while walking along a beach? The sweeping ballad, that many compared to Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees,” was released as the second single off their 2000 debut, Parachutes. It’s one of the great rock ballads of the 2000’s – instantly catchy and heart-melting without getting too syrupy or bombastic, and arguably the song that brought Coldplay into secured stardom.
2. “Everything’s Not Lost” and “Fix You”
In a tie for second, I couldn’t help but pick two of Coldplay’s really uplifting songs. While the band’s music can evoke just about any emotion, depending on the track, “Everything’s Not Lost” and “Fix You” are two of my favorite pick-me-ups. From X&Y, the polarizing tune from “Fix You” is enticing and emotional, and the mix of deep piano and progressive guitar rifts in Parachutes track “Everything’s Not Lost” are still great examples of Coldplay’s great early work.
1. “Don’t Panic”
Coldplay arrived pretty much fully formed with “Don’t Panic,” one of their earliest compositions. The song, a somber shuffle lifted up by Chris Martin’s keening “we live in a beautiful world” chorus, wasn’t released as a single from their debut album Parachutes. However, this track was one of Coldplay’s great early works, helping the crew secure all the members in the band. A guitar-based song, it begins with a strummed electric guitar, followed with more guitar lines, then the vocals.