Ghost Stories

by Coldplay

Overview

Around the time Coldplay's sixth album, Ghost Stories, was scheduled for release, lead singer Chris Martin announced he was divorcing his wife, the actress Gwyneth Paltrow. In light of this news, it's hard not to see Ghost Stories as a breakup record, a romantic confessional written in the wake of a painful separation. Certainly, the album bristles with references to broken hearts and regrets, ruminations on how the past informs the present, its every song infused with an inescapable melancholy, but the album doesn't play like a deep wallow in sorrow. It is soft, even alluring, a soundtrack to a seduction, not a separation. Much of that feel comes from the record's smooth crawl forward, how it's never hurried and always accentuating its good side, but there's also a sense that Martin, or the band in general, is anxious to a hit a reset button, to slowly recede from the artiness of the Eno-encouraged excursions of the late 2000s and reconnect with the sweet, simple band responsible for Parachutes. Like any attempt to revive the past, it's hard to reconcile that those were indeed different times. As majestic as they sounded in 2000, there was no denying Coldplay were a basic rock band, anchored on six strings and rarely finding textures outside of the confines of an amplifier. Fourteen years later, keyboards are at the group's foundation, a significant shift accentuated by their succumbing to a hallmark of modern production: they have a producer for every track. Coldplay may not be forceful, but within their incessant politeness they do have a distinctive personality, one that shines through whatever tricks individual producers bring to the table. Stars that they are, they can afford to enlist EDM sensation Avicii and R&B stalwart Timbaland to color individual tracks (they're responsible for "A Sky Full of Stars" and "True Love," respectively), giving Ghost Stories a fleet electronic facility that undercuts Coldplay's reputation as a dogmatic rock band without ever suggesting the group is adventurous. It's a nifty trick, a record that skirts any accusation of stodginess yet still feels as comforting as a warm bath, which is why Ghost Stories never feels heartbroken. Often, it feels like the lament of the sensitive soul who just had his heart broken but won't let his pain detract him from picking up that pretty girl at the end of the bar. This may seem a contradiction but it also suits a band like Coldplay, who at this stage of their career quite clearly want to be everything to everybody. If your heart is shattered and you want to slide into self-pity, turn here. If you are feeling free and want to woo a new love, turn here. If you want to just enjoy every soft, supple turn a rock band could do, turn here. Coldplay are here for comfort, as Ghost Stories proves time and time again. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	05/19/2014
Label:	Atlantic / Parlophone
UPC:	0825646305919

Tracks

1. Always In My Head
2. Magic
3. Ink
4. True Love
5. Midnight
6. Another's Arms
7. Oceans
8. A Sky Full of Stars
9. O

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Coldplay   Primary Artist
Davide Rossi   Primary Artist,Strings
Chris Martin   Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards,Guitar (Acoustic)
Jonny Buckland   Guitar,Keyboards,Slide Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Rik Simpson   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Isobel Griffiths   Strings
Guy Berryman   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards,Guitar (Bass)
Timbaland   Drums
Daniel Green   Sampling,Keyboards,Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background),Sampling,Keyboards,Choir/Chorus,Vocals (Background)
Jon Hopkins   Keyboards
Will Champion   Drums,Vocals,Percussion,Synthesizer,Vocals (Background)
Apple Martin   Vocals
Mabel Krichefski   Vocals
Moses Martin   Vocals
Midnight   Bass
John Metcalfe   Strings,Conductor

Technical Credits

Fiona Cruickshank   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Olga Fitzroy   Mixing,Engineer
Joseph Hartwell Jones   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Ted Jensen   Engineer,Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Davide Rossi   Arranger
Jonny Buckland   Composer,Musician,Producer,Group Member
Matt McGinn   Assistant,Assistant,Studio Assistant
Mike Dean   Assistant,Contribution,Drum Programming,Assistant,Drum Programming
Madeon   Contribution,Sounds,Assistant
Jeff Gartenbaum   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Joe Visciano   Engineer
Geoff Swan   Mixing,Engineer,Assistant,Mixing Engineer
Rik Simpson   Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Programming,Mixing Engineer,Drum Programming
Mark "Spike" Stent   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Phil Harvey   Photography,Group Member
Guy Berryman   Composer,Musician,Producer,Group Member
Timothy Mosley   Drum Programming
Timbaland   Drum Programming
Daniel Green   Mixing,Producer,Voice Sample,Mixing Engineer,Drum Programming,Mixing,Producer,Drum Programming
Paul Epworth   Producer,Drum Programming,Synthesizer Programming
Coldplay   Producer
John Hopkins   Composer
Jon Hopkins   Composer,Producer,Programming,Contribution
Will Champion   Composer,Musician,Producer,Group Member
Matt Wiggins   Engineer
Hugo Leclercq   Assistant
Pablo Hernandez   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Chris Martin   Composer,Musician,Producer,Group Member,Composer,Musician
Jaime Sickora   Engineer
Dave Holmes   Management
Tappin Gofton   Design,Art Direction
Jane Weaver   Vocal Samples
John Prestage   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Mila Judge-Fuerstova   Artwork
Roxy Pope   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Adam Miller   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Neil Lambert   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Nicolas Essig   Assistant,Studio Assistant
John Metcalfe   Arranger,String Arrangements
Chris Owens   Engineer
Tom Bailey   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Bill Rahko   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Avicii   Composer
Tim Bergling   Composer,Producer,Programming
Ted Jansen   Mastering
Christian Green   Assistant,Studio Assistant
Kyle Stevens   Assistant,Studio Assistant