X&Y
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| X&Y | |||||
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| Studio album by Coldplay | |||||
| Released | 1 June 2005 (see release history) |
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| Recorded | 2004–2005 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock | ||||
| Length | 61:57 | ||||
| Label | Capitol Parlophone EMI |
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| Producer | Coldplay, Danton Supple, Carmen Rizzo, Ken Nelson (4 tracks) | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
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| Coldplay chronology | |||||
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| Singles from X&Y | |||||
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| iTunes Cover | |||||
The cover in the iTunes Store, featuring a Baudot code grid.
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X&Y is the third album by British rock band Coldplay, released in the United Kingdom on 6 June 2005 and in North America on 7 June. Preceded by the successful single "Speed of Sound", which peaked at #2 in the UK and #8 in the U.S., the album debuted at the top of the UK album chart, moving 464,471 units in its first week, a success which put X&Y second in overall first week sales. The album became Coldplay's first U.S. chart-topper, selling 737,000 units in its first week of release, as well as spending three weeks at number one. X&Y was the #2 best-selling album worldwide in 2005; it shifted 8.3 million units during the year.
X&Y is influenced by European electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk, as well as 1970s electronica from the likes of David Bowie and Brian Eno. The first single, "Speed of Sound", also takes inspiration from the drumbeat of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill". 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 final (hidden) track, "'Til Kingdom Come", was originally written by the band to be recorded by Johnny Cash, but Cash died before he could record the song.
This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.
Contents |
[edit] Album details
According to lead singer Chris Martin, the title X&Y is based on the ups and downs of his everyday life:
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]
The album's cryptic cover art was designed by Tappin Gofton (aka Mark Tappin and Simon Gofton), who created the cover for The Chemical Brothers' release, Push the Button. The blocks are supposed to represent the title of the album, X&Y, in Baudot code, a 5-bit alphanumeric cipher used by telegraphs. However, one 'dot' is missing in the third column meaning that the title actually represents "X9Y" or "X96" depending on whether you read the "Figures" instruction to apply for the next character only or the rest of the message (the official ITA2 standard uses the latter case). 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 final page of the booklet contains the slogan "Make Trade Fair", using the same encoded alphabet.
Also inside the booklet, the band dedicates the album to "BWP", which stands for Bruce W. Paltrow, the late father of singer Chris Martin's wife Gwyneth Paltrow.
[edit] Critical reaction
The album's reviews were generally positive upon release, but certain critics, specifically from Rolling Stone, Mojo, and The New York Times 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 criticism for the similarities between the lead single, "Speed of Sound", and the Grammy-winning single "Clocks" from their previous album.
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin, except where noted.
- "Square One" – 4:47
- "What If" – 4:57
- "White Shadows" – 5:28
- "Fix You" – 4:54
- "Talk" (Berryman, Buckland, Champion, Martin, Hütter, 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" – 3:58
- "Twisted Logic" – 5:01
- "'Til Kingdom Come" – 4:10 [Hidden track]
Bonus tracks:
- "How You See the World" – 4:04 [Japan bonus track]
- "Twisted Logic" is actually only 4:26 long, followed by silence until 5:01. The iTunes version of the track omits the silence.
- The final track is a hidden track, omitted from the track listing on the album sleeve, but listed as "+" on the disc label and inside the album booklet. The song's proper name is "'Til Kingdom Come". It was originally planned for Johnny Cash to sing it with Chris Martin, who recorded his part, but Cash died before he was able to record his.[3]
[edit] Tour Edition DVD
To coincide with Coldplay's tour of Australasia and Latin America, the album was re-released in those territories as a "Tour Edition", which also includes all the b-side tracks and music videos of X&Y's singles on a bonus DVD:
"Audio Only Section":
- "Things I Don't Understand"
- "Proof"
- "The World Turned Upside Down"
- "Pour Me (Live @ the Hollywood Bowl)"
- "Sleeping Sun"
- "Gravity"
"Audiovisual Section":
- "Speed of Sound" [video]
- "Fix You" [video]
- "Talk" [video]
- "The Hardest Part" [video]
[edit] Certifications
| Country | Peak position | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 1 | 4x Platinum[4] | 280,000+ |
| Canada | 1 | 4x Platinum[5] | 400,000+ |
| France | 1 | Platinum[6] | 300,000+ |
| Germany | 1 | 5x Gold[7] | 500,000+ |
| Japan | 1 | Gold | 92,928+[8]/100,000+ |
| Ireland | 1 | 8x Platinum[9] | 120,000+ |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 8x Platinum[10] | 2,400,000+ |
| United States | 1 | 3x Platinum | 3,116,287 |
| Worldwide | 1 | 5x Platinum | 10,000,000+ |
[edit] Release details
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||
| United States | 7 June 2005 | Capitol | CD | CDP 7243 4 74786 2 8 |
[edit] Awards
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Q Awards | Album of the Year |
| 2006 | BRIT Awards | Best British Album |
| 2006 | Juno Awards | International Album of the Year * |
* tied with Black Eyed Peas' Monkey Business
[edit] Notes
[edit] External links
- Official site
- XFM Album Playback with Chris Martin and Johnny Buckland
- Yahoo! Music Interview: X&Y From A To Z
| Preceded by Mezmerize by System of a Down |
Austrian Album Chart number-one album June 7 - July 5, 2005 |
Succeeded by Banaroo's World by Banaroo |
| Preceded by Don't Believe The Truth by Oasis |
Irish Album Chart number-one album June 7 - June 28, 2005 |
Succeeded by Back to Bedlam by James Blunt |
| UK Album Chart number-one album June 14, 2005 |
Succeeded by Back to Bedlam by James Blunt |
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| Preceded by Monkey Business by Black Eyed Peas |
French Album Chart number-one album June 7, 2005 |
Succeeded by Caravane by Raphaël |
| Australian Albums Chart number-one album June 14, 2005 |
Succeeded by In Your Honour by Foo Fighters |
|
| German Album Chart number-one album June 14, 2005 |
Succeeded by Never Gone by Backstreet Boys |
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| New Zealand RIANZ Album Chart number-one album June 14, 2005 |
Succeeded by In Your Honour by Foo Fighters |
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| Swiss Album Chart number-one album June 21 - August 9, 2005 |
Succeeded by Back to Bedlam by James Blunt |
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| Preceded by Forever Faithless - The Greatest Hits by Faithless |
Belgian Albums Chart number-one album June 14 - July 12, 2005 |
Succeeded by Het Album - De Beste Songs by Star Academy |
| Preceded by Out of Exile by Audioslave |
Billboard 200 number-one album June 25 – July 15, 2005 |
Succeeded by Somewhere Down in Texas by George Strait |
| Preceded by La Ultima / Live in Berlin by Böhse Onkelz |
German Album Chart number-one album (second run) July 5 – July 26, 2005 |
Succeeded by Fijación Oral Vol. 1 by Shakira |
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