Prospekt's March

Prospekt's March
EP by Coldplay
Released	21 November 2008 (2008-11-21) (see release history)
Recorded	2006–2008
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	27:31
Label	Parlophone
Producer	Markus Dravs, Brian Eno, Rik Simpson
Coldplay chronology
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008) Prospekt's March (2008) LeftRightLeft RightLeft (2009)
Singles from Prospekt's March
"Life in Technicolor ii" Released: 2 February 2009[1]

Prospekt's March is the seventh EP by British rock band Coldplay, initially released on 21 November 2008 in Europe and Japan, and worldwide the following week.^[2][3] It features several tracks left over from the studio sessions for Coldplay's fourth studio album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.^[4][5] It is also available in the deluxe edition of Viva la Vida.^[6] This EP is the first EP since Remixes (2003).

The cover features Eugène Delacroix's original painting^[7] Battle of Poitiers,^[8] similar to the cover art featured on Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (which included another Delacroix-created painting, Liberty Leading the People). On 5 November, Coldplay offered an exclusive preview of the EP via their Facebook application^[9] and through their website.^[10]

There were two singles that anchored the EP. The song "Glass of Water" entered the iTunes Top 100 songs and went on to be performed live by the band on 4Music. "Life in Technicolor II" began its existence in the charts at No. 90 in the UK Singles Chart despite not being released as an official single. It was later confirmed to be the EP's first single.^[1] It later peaked at No. 28 upon its physical release on 8 February 2009. The song was nominated at the 52nd Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Short Form Music Video.^[11]

As of January 2010, Prospekt's March has sold 537,000 copies worldwide.^[12]

Recording and release

Throughout the recording of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay communicated to fans through their website, and some of the song titles were revealed during the recording. The name "Poppyfields" was first revealed in September 2007; in late October 2007, a message said that "Famous Old Painters" and "Glass of Water" had been written and were being considered for the album. "Prospekt's March" appeared for the first time in December of the same year; all the notes were signed by the pseudonym Prospekt, strengthening rumours that this would be the album's title. Those songs did not make it to the album's final track listing, so were featured on the Prospekt's March EP, except for "Famous Old Painters", which was never released.

In an interview for Coldplay's official website Chris Martin said that all the songs on the EP came very close to be on Viva la Vida, and that they were "all part of the same family". In the same interview the frontman stated that the idea was always to put these songs out by the end of 2008.^[13]

Track listing

Coldplay confirmed five songs for Prospekt's March on 3 October 2008, all of which had not been completed in time for Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends.^[2] The playlist was changed to eight songs on 5 October.^[14] Six of the eight tracks are new recordings of the band.^[15]

All songs written and composed by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin, except "Lost+" co-written by Shawn Carter. 

Personnel

Chart performance

On the Billboard issue dated 3 December, Prospekt's March debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 77,000.^[16]

Charts and certifications

Release history

Prospekt's March was released on 24 November 2008 in the United States and Canada, one day earlier than expected.^[18]

References

External links

• Official website