For the fabric device used to slow the motion of a moving object, see parachute. Parachutes is the Grammy award-winning debut album by English rock band Coldplay, released on July 10, 2000 in the UK and on November 7 in the U.S.. Parachutes quickly shot to number one in the United Kingdom, staying in the top ten for thirty-three weeks.
The album produced four hit singles: "Shiver", "Yellow", "Trouble", and "Don't Panic". In the United States, the album peaked at only fifty-one on the Billboard 200 yet, it still managed to sell over two million copies within a year.
Parachutes won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 2002. It was placed at #14 in Channel 4's 100 greatest albums of all time and in 2006 at #33 in NME's 100 greatest British albums. Despite the album's critical and commercial success, Chris Martin said that Coldplay looks beyond Parachutes. "We know that's terrible music," he said, "and we always try to think about what we can do next."[1]
Album information
Most of the album was recorded at Liverpool's Parr Street Studios, with a total of nine to ten weeks of actual recording, interrupted by two mini-tours. However, "High Speed" was recorded with interim producer Chris Allison over Summer 1999 at Orinoco Studios, London.[2]
Parachutes was recognized to have an alternative rock sound similar to alt-rock band Radiohead in their The Bends–OK Computer era. In fact, it has been suggested that the album's commercial success was due in part to a portion of Radiohead's audience being alienated by the band's experimental and more electronic-influenced Kid A album.[3][4]
Lush and often quiet, the music in Parachutes is quite removed from the pop/rock anthems that would dominate Coldplay's later works, especially X&Y. The folksy, easy listening feel of the album is the only one of its kind in the band's discography, and most songs here, such as "High Speed", "We Never Change" and the title track, are driven by acoustic guitars, subtly layered electric parts, and delicate piano melodies. More upbeat tracks like "Shiver" and "Yellow" employ louder guitar riffs, albeit never entering the genre of 'hard rock'. This proved to be rather novel at its time, as the British music scene was just emerging from the 90's, wherein the crunching guitar songs of bands such as Oasis reigned. However, the highest selling UK album of the previous year had been The Man Who, by the Scottish rock band Travis. Coldplay was seen to benefit from the path Travis had paved, subsequently eclipsing the band in popularity.
The album's third track "Spies" drew some attention from the Chinese government, who interpreted it as an anti-Communist song. This led to the album being banned in the country. Guitarist Jon Buckland comments, "We've been banned in China because of the song 'Spies'. Very strange."[5]
The song "Sparks" was featured in the 2005 film Wedding Crashers.
The song "Everything's Not Lost" was featured in the third season of the TV Show Scrubs in episode 12 entitled 'My Catalyst', when Dr. Kevin Casey (portrayed by Michael J. Fox) visited the hospital, and was seen during the last scene dealing with his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
The album's cover features a photograph of a globe personally taken by the band with a disposable Kodak camera. The globe had been purchased from W H Smith for £10; it was featured in the "Shiver" and "Don't Panic" music videos, and also accompanied the band on their tours.[6]
The album was dedicated to drummer Will Champion's mother, Dr. Sara Champion, who died of cancer in 2001.
Track listing
All songs written by Berryman, Buckland, Champion and Martin.
- "Don't Panic" – 2:17
- "Shiver" – 4:59
- "Spies" – 5:18
- "Sparks" – 3:47
- "Yellow" – 4:29
- "Trouble" – 4:30
- "Parachutes" – 0:46
- "High Speed" – 4:14
- "We Never Change" – 4:09
- "Everything's Not Lost" – 7:15
- "Life Is for Living" – 1:36 [hidden song starting at 5:39]
Bonus tracks on Japanese release:
- "Careful Where You Stand" – 4:45
- "For You" – 5:42
Certifications
| Country |
Peak position |
Certification (if any) |
Sales/shipments |
| Australia |
2 (4 weeks) |
3x Platinum[7] |
210,000+ |
| Canada |
|
2x Platinum[8] |
200,000+ |
| France |
31 |
2x Gold[9] |
200,000+ |
| Germany |
54 |
Gold[10] |
150,000+ |
| New Zealand |
4 |
2x Platinum[11] |
30,000+ |
| United Kingdom |
1 (1 week) |
7x Platinum[12] |
2,100,000+ |
| United States |
51 |
2x Platinum[13] |
2,700,000+[14] |
| Worldwide |
- |
|
8,000,000+ |
Awards
Release details
The album was released in various countries.
References
External links
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