10 Hated Rock Bands With One Amazing Album
9. Viva La Vida - Coldplay
Most of the complaints that people have with the modern state of pop rock could pretty much be replaced by a gigantic poster of Coldplay. Though you can tell that the guys have talent and that they were once a much more interesting band in the post Britpop years, they have done everything in their power to scrub clean any of the rock leaning sides of their sound. Just before they crossed the pop threshold and were never seen again, Viva la Vida was still their crowning achievement.
Working in collaboration with industry giant Brian Eno, the producer actually got the best out of each band member here, oftentimes telling them to write in pairs and having some of the band make tracks without Chris Martin's input. Coming off of the softer stuff from X&Y, this entire album feels a lot more ambitious, going for songs that fit into the world music hybrids that you saw Peter Gabriel doing back in the '80s with songs like In Your Eyes.
If you're going this ambitious though, you need to have hooks, and this might be Chris Martin's finest hour, like the dark tone of Cemeteries of London or even breaking out some genuine rock chops on Violet Hill. Though Martin has made mention of Coldplay possibly retiring as a studio band in the near future, is it too much to ask for at least one more album like this?