X&Y by Coldplay
X&Y is the third studio album by British rock band Coldplay, released 6 June 2005 in the United Kingdom via the record label Parlophone. The album, which features influences of electronic music, was produced by the band and British record producer Danton Supple. Development of the album was often troubled; the album's original producer, British record producer Ken Nelson, was supposed to produce much of the album, however, many songs written during their sessions were ditched due to the band's dissatisfaction. The album's cover art is a combination of colours and blocks, which is a representation of the Baudot code. The album contains twelve tracks and an additional hidden track, "Til Kingdom Come". It is omitted from the track listing on the album sleeve, but listed as "+" on the disc label and inside the album booklet. It was originally planned for American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash to record it with Martin, but Cash died before he was able to do so. The song "Talk" appeared on the main track listing, although it was thought to have been downgraded to a B-side for the album's subsequent single releases, after it leaked online in early 2005. Originally titled Zero Theory, X&Y was released after a considerable amount of hype and was a significant commercial success, reaching the top spot of many charts worldwide, including the United Kingdom and United States, the latter being their first. With accumulated sales of 8.3 million units in 2005 alone, X&Y was the best-selling album released in 2005 worldwide. The album has sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Overall reaction to the album has been generally positive, though some critics cited it as being inferior to its predecessors. The album has spawned the singles "Speed of Sound", "Fix You", "Talk", "The Hardest Part", and "White Shadows".
Coldplay’s third album was made during the toughest time of the band’s career. 2002’s <i>A Rush of Blood to the Head</i> had made them one of the world’s biggest groups, but now things began to unravel. Lead singer Chris Martin, newly married to actress and Hollywood A-Lister Gwyneth Paltrow, grappled with a level of fame that would have been unthinkable just a few years before; the band were uncertain about which musical direction to take next; relationships within the band had become strained; and they were under pressure from their label to get a record finished sooner rather than later. It didn’t help that they were a man down—the band’s non-playing “fifth member” and manager, Phil Harvey, a crucial part of their creative process, had departed after the completion of <i>A Rush of Blood</i>. It all helped to make <i>X&Y</i>’s writing and recording a testing period for the quartet, but somehow they emerged with a record that both refined what went before and put a resolve in Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion to stay together. Working in a sporadic fashion over 18 months, a spell spread across six studios in the US and the UK, the group wrote over 60 songs—but often found themselves coming to a creative dead end. Crucially, they had one killer song and around it a record began to take shape. “Fix You”, written for Paltrow after the death of her father, was one of Coldplay’s most affecting and bombastic sing-alongs yet, growing from an organ-led hymnal into a bells-and-whistles midtempo anthem. It would carry <i>X&Y</i> on its back. At the same time, realising that they needed to be working more as a band rather than individually on their parts in the studio, new sonic routes started to emerge. Opener “Square One”, with its wiry guitars and rhythmic urgency, was an explosive banger that sounded like U2 reimagining Interpol; “What If” paired sumptuous strings with a sinuous bass groove and layered guitars; and “Low” draped a propulsive indie rock tune in glacial synths and atmospheric soundscapes—the addition of electronic textures across the record evidence of a band keen to try new things. Speaking about <i>X&Y</i> in 2015, Martin quipped, “I’d like to take 10 minutes off it and tidy up the haircuts.” It was a period that put a full stop on the first phase of Coldplay. They would be a different band on their next album, even more ambitious and daring. <i>X&Y</i> went on to sell over 13 million copies, another massively successful hit for the biggest British group of the 21st century. But what it taught them was even more valuable. From here, everything changed.
