PARACHUTES

'''Parachutes''' is the debut album by English rock band Coldplay, released on July 10, 2000 in the UK and on November 7 in the U.S., making it the only Coldplay album to have a delayed release in America. ''Parachutes'' quickly shot to number one in the United Kingdom, staying in the top ten for thirty-three weeks.
The album produced four hit singles: "Shiver", "Yellow", "Trouble", and "Don't Panic". In the United States, the album peaked at fifty-one on the Billboard 200, eventually selling over two million copies.
''Parachutes'' was placed #14 in Channel 4's 100 greatest albums of all time.
In 2006 the album was placed #33 in ''NME's'' 100 greatest British albums. Still, Chris Martin said that Coldplay looks beyond ''Parachutes''. "We know that's terrible music," he said, "and we always try to think about what we can do next."^[1]

Contents

Album information

Track listing

Certifications, peaks and sales

Awards

Release details

References

External links

Album information

Most of the album was recorded at Liverpool's Parr Street Studios, with a total of nine to ten weeks of actual recording, interrupted by two mini-tours. However, "High Speed" was recorded with interim producer Chris Allison over Summer 1999 at Orinoco Studios, London.^[2]
''Parachutes'' was recognized to have an alternative rock sound similar to alt-rock band Radiohead in their ''The Bends''-''OK Computer'' era. In fact, it has been suggested that the album's commercial success was due in part to a portion of Radiohead's audience being alienated by the band's experimental and more electronic-influenced ''Kid A'' album.^[3][4]
Lush and often quiet, the music in ''Parachutes'' is quite removed from the pop/rock anthems that would dominate Coldplay's later works, especially ''X&Y''. The folksy, easy listening feel of the album is the only one of its kind in the band's discography, and most songs here, such as "High Speed", "We Never Change" and the title track, are driven by acoustic guitars, subtly layered electric parts, and delicate piano melodies. More upbeat tracks like "Shiver" and "Yellow" employ louder guitar riffs, albeit never entering the genre of 'hard rock'. This proved to be rather unique at its time, as the British music scene was just emerging from the 90's, wherein the crunching guitar songs of bands such as Oasis reigned. However, the highest selling UK album of the previous year had been ''The Man Who'', by the Scottish rock band Travis. Coldplay was seen to benefit from the path Travis had paved, subsequently eclipsing the band in popularity.
The album's third track "Spies" drew some attention from the Chinese government, who interpreted it as an anti-Communist song. This led to the album being banned in the country. Guitarist Jon Buckland comments, "We've been banned in China because of the song 'Spies'. Very strange."^[5]
The song "Sparks" was featured in the 2005 film Wedding Crashers.
The album's cover features a photograph of a globe personally taken by the band with a disposable Kodak camera. The globe had been purchased from WH Smith for £10; it was featured in the "Shiver" and "Don't Panic" music videos, and also accompanied the band on their tours.^[6]
The album was dedicated to drummer Will Champion's mother, Dr. Sara Champion, who died of cancer in 2001.

Track listing

All songs written by Berryman, Buckland, Champion and Martin.
#"Don't Panic" – 2:17
#"Shiver" – 4:59
#"Spies" – 5:18
#"Sparks" – 3:47
#"Yellow" – 4:29
#"Trouble" – 4:30
#"Parachutes" – 0:46
#"High Speed" – 4:14
#"We Never Change" – 4:09
#"Everything's Not Lost" – 7:15
#
★ "Life Is for Living" (hidden track starting at 5:39)
#"Careful Where You Stand" (Japan only bonus track) – 4:45
#"For You" (Japan only bonus track) – 5:42

Certifications, peaks and sales

Country	Peak position	Certification (if any)	Sales/shipments
Australia	2 (4 weeks)	3x Platinum [7]	210,000+
Austria	41
Canada		2x Platinum [8]	200,000+
Denmark	29
Finland	29
France	31	2x Gold [9]	200,000+
Germany		Gold [10]	150,000+
Italy	11	2x Platinum [10]	200,000+
Netherlands	29 (2 weeks)	Platinum [12]	80,000+
New Zealand	4	2x Platinum [13]	30,000+
Norway	1 (2 weeks)	Platinum [14]	40,000+
Sweden	20 (3 weeks)	Platinum [15]	80,000+
Switzerland	38	Gold [16]	25,000+
United Kingdom		7x Platinum [17]	2,100,000+
United States		2x Platinum [18]	2,700,000+[19]

Awards

Year	Award	Category
2000	Q Awards	Best Album
2001	BRIT Awards	Best British Album
2002	Grammy Awards	Best Alternative Music Album

Release details

The album was released in various countries.

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
United Kingdom	July 10, 2000	Parlophone	12" limited edition	7243 5277831
			CD	7241 5 27783 2 4
Japan	August 9, 2000	Toshiba-EMI	CD	TOCP 65472
Canada	September 19, 2000	Parlophone	CD	7241 5 27783 2 4
United States	November 7, 2000	Capitol	Cassette	0 6700 30162
			CD	0 6700 30162 2 3

References

1. Coldplay's Martin Lobbies for Fair Trade
2. Ken Nelson on recording Parachutes [1]
3. nMusic Review - Parachutes[http://www.2walls.com/REVIEWS/MUSIC/coldplay.asp
4. Music For Late Night Retrospection[2]
5. Jon Buckland
6. Roach, Martin (2003). ''Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy''. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9810-8.
7. ARIA
8. CRIA
9. Disque En France
10. IFPI Germany
11. IFPI Germany
12. NVPI
13. RIANZ – November 25th, 2001
14. IFPI Norway
15. IFPI Sweden – Hitlistan
16. IFPI Switzerland
17. BPI
18. Billboard Magazine – “Coldplay’s ‘X&Y’ notches Double Platinum”
19. "Ask Billboard"

External links

★ Lyrics