Parachutes

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For the article on the fabric device used to slow the motion of a moving object, see parachute.

Professional reviews
Parachutes

Studio album by Coldplay
Released	July 10, 2000 (UK); November 7, 2000 (US)
Recorded	November 1999 - May 2000 at Orinoco Studios, London, England; Parr Street Studios, Liverpool, England Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales Matrix Wessex Studios, London, England
Genre	Alternative rock Pop
Length	52:16
Label	Parlophone
Producer(s)	Coldplay Ken Nelson Chris Allison (Track 8 only)
All Music Guide link NME (9/10) link Pitchfork (5.3/10) link Q Robert Christgau link Rolling Stone 10/3/2000
Coldplay chronology
	Parachutes (2000)	A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)

Parachutes is the debut album by English rock band Coldplay, released on July 10, 2000 in the UK and on November 7 in the U.S., making it the only Coldplay album to have a delayed release in America. 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 fifty-one on the Billboard 200, eventually selling over two million copies.

Parachutes was placed #14 in Channel 4's 100 greatest albums of all time. In 2006 the album was placed #33 in NME's 100 greatest British albums. Still, 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]

1 Album information
2 Track listing
3 Awards
4 Release details
5 References
6 External links

[edit] 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 unique 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.

A picture from the Parachutes inner sleeve.

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 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 WH Smith for £10; it was featured in the "Shiver" and "Don't Panic" music videos, and also accompanied the band on their tours.^[6]

[edit] Track listing

All songs written by Berryman/Buckland/Champion/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"*
"Careful Where You Stand"† – 4:45
"For You"† – 5:42

* Hidden track contained within "Everything's Not Lost" from 5:39.
† Japanese version only.

[edit] Awards

Year	Award	Category
2000	Q Awards	Best Album
2001	Brit Awards	Best British Album
2002	Grammy Awards	Best Alternative Music Album

Music sample:

"Yellow" (file info) — play in browser (beta)
- Sample of "Yellow" by Coldplay
- Problems listening to the file? See media help.

[edit] Release details

The album was released in various countries.

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
United Kingdom	July 10, 2000	Parlophone	12" limited edition	7243 5277831
			CD	7241 5 27783 2 4
Japan	August 9, 2000	Toshiba-EMI	CD	TOCP 65472
Canada	September 19, 2000	Parlophone	CD	7241 5 27783 2 4
United States	November 7, 2000	Capitol	Cassette	0 6700 30162
			CD	0 6700 30162 2 3