I haven't listened to this yet but this band has always made some insane decisions about tracklisting their albums lmao. leaving Ghost Story off Ghost Stories comes to mind
Ghost Stories is a top 3 Coldplay album to me and I had no idea about these bonus songs. Gonna need to dive into them today. Considering the album is only 9 tracks, seems odd to not just include one of the b sides.
I like the Ghost Stories bonus tracks, but that album does feel perfectly complete to me as is. One of probably three of their albums (the others being the first two) that I'd say that about. X&Y and Viva La Vida are the headscratchers for me, in terms of the songs they cut. "Proof" and "Gravity" absolutely should be on the former, and the latter would be their best album easily if it had "Glass of Water," "Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground," and especially the full "Life in Technicolor."
yeah, for me "All Your Friends" & especially "Ghost Story" feel absolutely essential to the album, aside from the fact that I just always love b-sides haha I think it is because it is a short-ish album to begin with and I absolutely cannot stand "A Sky Full of Stars" at all
I don't think I would change much of Viva at all, that thing flows like a dream to me. but yes I would probably swap Lost! for Glass of Water, because the former is the only stinker on an A+ album
Where would you slot them in? I just think that album flows so perfectly and is so deliberately constructed to tell a specific story arc that I think putting anything else in there disrupts and subtracts more than it adds. I guess I get it more if you don't like "A Sky Full of Stars," but I think that song is such a crucial emotional zenith to that album that I genuinely don't think the record works without it. I really can't abide them not using "Life in Technicolor II" as the opener to that album. It is such a detriment to the record, IMO. Even before I knew a full version of that song existed, I felt like the instrumental was such a cool tease and I just wanted more of it. It's like U2 cutting off "Where the Streets Have No Name" after the guitar intro; just inexcusable! Honestly a top 5 Coldplay song for me. My other gripe about that album is that "Lovers in Japan" and "Reign of Love" do not need to be combined into a single track.
it has honestly been a long time since I've listened to that album, but for me it's an easy straight swap of "Ghost Story" for "A Sky Full of Stars". I fully understand the role that song plays on the album, but I have never been able to stand that song. "Ghost Story" brings some of that energy to the album whilst also being a song that I don't actively hate, plus its kinda like the title track oddly enough, my wife - who says that she hates Coldplay - only likes "A Sky Full of Stars" and no other songs by them, which drives me nuts I wouldn't argue that "All Your Friends" is quite so essential to the album, but I do like it more than a few of the songs on the album proper I completely agree about the full version of "Life In Technicolor" on Viva La Vida
Just popping back in to say that I like this album quite a bit. It’s not top tier Coldplay, but it’s continued to grow on me with subsequent listens. Still think Karate Kid, Man in the Moon and A Wave should have made the final track list though.
yeah, I agree with this with "Man in the Moon" & "Karate Kid" missing though, the real album feels *very* light on actual good songs
for ghost stories i swap another's arms and sky full of stars with all your friends and ghost story for this one i drop we pray, good feelings, and the closer for karate kid, man in the moon and a wave, but then also flip where a wave and rainbow are in the tracklist to make rainbow the closer. still isnt like amazing or anything tho
These takes are wild to me, lol. "All Your Friends" and "Ghost Story" are definitely not better songs than "A Sky Full of Stars," a signature Coldplay smash and stadium crowd-pleaser that needs to be on that album for it to have any kind of emotional arc other than "I am sad." I feel very strongly that that album needs to get to the "better to have loved and lost..." note, and "A Sky Full of Stars" is the only song in the set that offers that. "O," probably my favorite song on the album, is only as great as it is because it's this sad moment of letting go after the euphoric epiphany of "Sky." It would be insane to cut that song, IMO. This album, I think everything on the main record is better than "Karate Kid" and "A Wave," both of which are fine but feel a touch unfinished to me. Especially the latter. "Man in the Moon" should 100 percent be on there, though, and probably should have been the lead single.
thats certainly fair thematically i just happen to have a low ceiling re: edm tinged coldplay lol. not my favorite suit they wear
"A Sky Full of Stars" where it is on that album is my favourite moment in their entire discography. Euphoric.
My mileage varies on that sound for them, but that song is the best version of it, IMO. Up there for me, too.
Lol, true! But what makes Ghost Stories one of my favorite breakup records is that it travels through the dark night of heartbreak to get to the dawn. It really takes you on a journey instead of just bumming you out or being something good to put on when you're feeling heartbroken yourself.
piping hot take but I don't really like the vocal part of Technicolour II at all, I much prefer it as an instrumental intro yup! song is ass