I think 'Parachutes' was a very good album (8/10) and fantastic for a debut album, and 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' is a wonderful album (9/10 and maybe even 10), but I'm afraid that to me personally every track feels like it has done better before on one of the older Coldplay albums. There is no doubt that Chris and co are talented musicians who can create great songs: but they have not taken any big risks with this one and it's disappointing for me. I played it and it just felt emotionless to me. None of the singles did anything for me either. Not awful by any standard, but mediocre. 2/5.… Expand

typical coldplay sound, very ambitious butnever reaches its goal. and martin's voice is just too painful, all the falsettos, and stuffs.. speed of sound is the only bright moment here.. others, shud be made renditions instead

Woefully mediocre. How records this flawed can get perfect hundreds is beyond me. It's too long, has terrible sequencing, and there's not enough boldness. It has some nice guitars, but the excellent Square One and Talk barely redeem it.

passive. Would be sleep inducing if it weren't irritatingly whiny.

my previous interest in coldplay was based soley upon the song "the scientist." a little trite perhaps, particularly compared to what i normally listen to, but screw it, i loved the song. loved loved loved. bought that album, enjoyed 3 or 4 cuts almost as much, but generally felt the album was pretty spotty, which is forgiveable with such great songs thrown in. No forgiveness on this one, though. I moderately enjoyed the single and the first cut on the album, but the rest simply felt like a band who couldn't hit the songwriting side of the barn, so they dressed up all of the songs with typical coldplay things to the max. all the falsetto you can handle, as many spooky ambient synths as their recording gear let them fit (thanks, eno), and that same freaking guitar line and sound OVER and OVER; and they do this for a whole hour! it's the sound of a band missing the mark, of frustration. and, to me, that's frustrating, too, when i've seen the highs this band is capable off.… Expand

wow, this has got to be the most over hyped album of ALL TIME. I have listened to it twice and have failed to get ANYTHING from it. It's a boring piece of crap and not one song did anything for me. 4-5 of the songs are shameless rip offs of Clocks, with that same plodding rhythm/bass line combo. Crappy melody the first time and crappy the next 5 times. The rest of the songs are boring piano songs with NO melody. And when i say NO melody i mean nothing. Please don't waste your money on this drivel.… Expand

I just cannot get into this album, no matter how much I want to. It's background music, my mind just wanders away. As a fan I'm feeling a bit let down. I expected more, I expected a step forward. This does not feel like that. The glimmer of a highlight: "Fix You".

bland, unoffensive, takes very little risks. a huge step backwards for this band that started with so much promise.

Another insipid collection of downer tunes to play with your lame art house girlfriend (or boyfriend). Lighten up, boys - life's short - have some fun.

What a pile of gick,only good if you want to jump off a building.

yawn....zzzzzzz.....

I usually try to provide a little more explanation than this when I reject a record, but this was just really really really boring. It doesn't really invite any further scrutiny. The second CD was better.

This is a huge disapointment. The lyrcis are so crappy and they're all cliches (Every step that you take/Could be yourbiggest mistake/It could bend or it could break/ But that's the risk that you take). Pure crap! And the transition into a more electronic style is pathetic (prob trying to be compared again with Radiohead). They should stick with they're old stuff.

so, with this album, Coldplay did not use its chance to make its large audiance listen to something challengig. U2 did it, Pink Floyd did it, Raidohead did it, PJH did it in their careers, many names... why did these people take risks at least in one period of their lives ? were they crazy ? no... they just had the vision for music. and it got inspirational for many other names. but this album showed that Coldplay do not have the courage for their music journey so it will be a nice journey maybe but not interesting. sorrunding in the same places. . and what is important for Coldplay ? the sales are guaranteed, the awards maybe guaranteed, the popularity is guaranteed. so what's left for the rest, what about music evolution ? Just do not ask. I hope other bands do not take it as example, then they do something interesting.… Expand

Yuck! You will immediately forget this album after hearing. THE most pedestrian stuff I've heard in a while.

i love so much colplay but this new album is horrible i don't like because is too seem at them old albums

This album could be called "Coldplay Takes No Chances" or "Empty, Slice-of-Life Platitudes" and the the single that's a total rehash of "Clocks" is unforgiveable.

"What If" and "Talk" are two tracks on this CD that actually stand up and say for the band "See? We CAN be good but choose to be sleepy and boring instead! Take that!" If this CD only had those two songs on it, I'd give it a 10. Too bad.

What an ugly piece of work. Yikes!

If by saying: "This is the album we've all been waiting for..." You really mean: "Here's a boring album for you! Please don't buy it!" Or: "I waited for 15 years to hear my father tell me he loved me and all I got was this stupid album." Then I would agree with you;.

I am pretty disappointed. None of the magic is there. Its a tired re-hash ... as if they were struggling to remember what made them great. They sound uninspired ... almost as if they were boring themselves, even, in the studio. I miss Parachutes.

I just bought it today...loved the other two albums...this one is BAD. The one exception is "Speed of Sound." The other songs are def. reworked 80's music (hints of New Order) but are redone in a monotonous, redundant fashion with predictable lyrics. I was going to buy tix to their concert for this Sept., but I think I have changed my mind. Not worth the $17... :(

This album is concrete evidence that Coldplay are only capable of turning a small number of ideas into songs. From the first listen to 'Speed of Sound,' I was sure I was listening to an alternate version of 'Clocks;' the piano melodies were just TOO similar to be different songs entirely. Sadly, I was wrong. Furthermore, the rest of the album is just as derivative: "X&Y" more than anything showcases Coldplay ripping off of Coldplay. A very disappointing, even irritating album.… Expand

Anyone, and I do mean ANYONE who gave this album a score over 3 has not yet heard the album. It's so bad that it doesn't exist.

This album is unflappable and repititous; not Coldplay's best by far. There are little dynamic undertakings, the lyrics are poorly thought out and do not match the tone of the music. Listen to Parachutes or even Rush of Blood and you will find much more of that. Perhaps even some of their EPs! Alas, Coldplay has let this listener down, at least this time.

b sides

X&Y = ZZzzzz very disapointed with this album it is sooo sooo boring.

If coldplay's head gets any bigger people are going to have evacuate from the island. This cd is awful. The coldplay genre is lame , unexciting , and dying quickly. Once Chris martin hits puberty then maybe the band will be able to mature.

Not nearly as good as the previous albums - makes you understand why non-fans feel Coldplay is contrived and tepid. Still a playable record, but very forgettable as well.

I agree with Bob S. The lead singer sounds like someone just kicked him in the nuts. His voice is like nails on a chalk board and Coldplay's lyrics are cheesey and some just don't make any sense! Hopefully, coldplay will die out.

This album is cliched, sentimental and formulaic. The more I listen the more annoyed I become. This isn't the greatness it should/could have been.

Just plain dreary. Alternative musak. There is no way they are going to topple U2 - U2 have at least totally re-invented themselves a number of times. Coldplay have moved nowhere in almost ten years... their music still sounds like Starbucks.

This set of tracks is one very big disappointment collectively. Assuming most people responded so well to "A Rush of Blood to The Head" for its range and raw energy, "X&Y" clearly lacks anything like that, and there is little on it that can remotely equate this band with what they were all about five years ago: musicians delivering a sound and voice of their own, not some corporate formulaic meant to push CDs sales and save the boardroom and investors at EMI from disaster. Too repetitive, the lyrics are embarrassingly juvenile - about as energetic as valium. And btw: did anybody notice the missing title for the 13th track?… Expand

This album is just so boring and is impossible to get into. It never gets going.

I've listened to Coldplay since before they hit the big times here in the states and I must say this is the weakest CD they've put out. What happened to the warmth they had in "Parachute" or the edge they displayed in "Rush of Blood to The Head". They threw all that away for more sales margins as the went generic just to please more people.

I kept fast-forwarding through track after track; the songs don't take off, and each seems more bland than the next. Two listens is all the time I can waste with this.

Utter crapola. Thanks for nothing, guys.

I don't even have have to listen to this crappy band to know that they suck, and generic brit pop, and the only reason they're being successful is because mtv and the media is pushing this crap and its pre-emptive hail as the band of our time is total utter bs, why does crappy music have to be made? Why?

Uninspiring, boring, and trite. Another greedy corporate rock puppet.

Skullcrushingly dull album, I'm afraid. Martin's lyrics have gone from oblique to bonecrushingly obvious, and matters are made worse by the thick layers of bombast added to every song. Yow. Supposedly they wrote sixty songs for this album. Martin presumably still knows how to write a song. Perhaps in the rejected ones there's an interesting album.

Not as good as rush of blood to the head

Boring. No risks, no innovation, nothing new. I can't believe the critics fell into this trap.

They are being touted to be the next U2 of the new generation....thats correct...just like the veteran counterparts without any hesitation they could be their three albums and call it X & Y and nobody will see the difference...the same formula...grand, lush and boring...if they are a good band they should come up with good ideas than recycle the same shit. dissappointing

the uptempo songs are very good but the ballads are so horribly boring. i am a big coldplay fan and just saw them live recently but i just feel a bit let down by this. i have an awful feeling that this will turn out like oasis be here now. everybody claiming to love it initially but later realising that isnt really that good. the first two albums will stand up in time to come, it pains me to say that this will not. i wont desert them though, they still have more great music in them if they just become a bit more imaginative.… Expand

There is nothing worse than boring music, and Coldplay is bordom distilled. Perhaps the most absurdly overblown band in history.

My God this may be the most boring sleep inducing album ever after the excellent Rush of blood to the head they release this rubbish on the world and like U2 and the RHCP no matter how bad it is people will still pretend they like it and anyone who gives it a 10 is a stone cold lying to themselves.

The reason I've given such a low rating to this album is that I feel it lacked consistency. Like they say, the highs were high, but the lows were low. On one hand, you have truly deep songs like "A Message" & "Fix You", but then you have other songs that don't even come close to that level. After listening to the whole album, I felt like only a few songs really showed how much talent Coldplay has. I still love Coldplay, though.… Expand

b sides

This album is a pleasing but easily forgetable listen. If you're looking for mindless, instant gratification, this is your album. If you're looking for insightful, well-crafted lyrics, avoid this album like the plauge.

Blender give this 100 and then give Foo Fighters 60 and claim they are dull, Blender, you really suck big time.

worst album of the year . so boring . chris martin's not a good song writer . all songs copy of U2 , mercury rev and radiohead .

I can sum up X&Y in six words: an imitation of U2 and Radiohead. John Buckland is the biggest rip off I think I've ever heard. He's just capitalising off a sound The Edge perfected over many years. This whole album is a load of boring shite. "Fix You" is the worst song of this year, by far. Don't buy this album, it's a waste of money. "Twisted Logic" and "X&Y" are probably just about the only good songs on it. If you want to buy some good albums, pick up "The Unforgettable Fire" by U2 (this is the album Coldplay have been trying to recreate on AROBTTH and X&Y) "Achtung Baby" by U2, "The Bends" by Radiohead, and "OK Computer" by Radiohead. These are actually GOOD albums. Don't be fooled by the imitators. Coldplay are nothing more than a bland version of U2 and Radiohead combined. Can't believe everyone's falling for the act.… Expand

GACK!!!!! i hate coldplay... 100% yawn-fest.... k thats all

Coldplay's tendency to water down their albums with mediocre filler is most apparent on this album. While a cohesive, unified sound can work quite well in some cases, it hurts Coldplay here. This comes off as a timid effort from a band that has an aversion to genuine risk-taking.