![10. 'Parachutes' - Sadly, the title track is just 46 seconds long. We're not really sure why it has to end so abruptly, because it always feels like it's going to erupt into something really great. You can't just write the first few chapters of a great book, Chris.]()
10. 'Parachutes' - Sadly, the title track is just 46 seconds long. We're not really sure why it has to end so abruptly, because it always feels like it's going to erupt into something really great. You can't just write the first few chapters of a great book, Chris.
![9. 'Everything's Not Lost' - The final track of Parachutes finally embraces the jazz element that the album has clearly been threatening throughout. It's an uplifting number, and it's nice enough, but Coldplay aren't as good at being Billy Joel as they are at being Coldplay, and it sits somewhat awkwardly alongside the nine tracks that come before it.]()
9. 'Everything's Not Lost' - The final track of Parachutes finally embraces the jazz element that the album has clearly been threatening throughout. It's an uplifting number, and it's nice enough, but Coldplay aren't as good at being Billy Joel as they are at being Coldplay, and it sits somewhat awkwardly alongside the nine tracks that come before it.
![8. 'Spies' - The simple power of Martin's voice is showcased effectively on this one, and the lyrics are intriguingly obtuse (Who are just spies, Chris?), but it feels a little hollow compared to many of the others.]()
8. 'Spies' - The simple power of Martin's voice is showcased effectively on this one, and the lyrics are intriguingly obtuse (Who are just spies, Chris?), but it feels a little hollow compared to many of the others.
![7. 'High Speed' - Dreamy and aimless, 'High Speed' sounds like the product of a really successful jam session, but it doesn't quite go anywhere with enough precision to really make enough of an impact.]()
7. 'High Speed' - Dreamy and aimless, 'High Speed' sounds like the product of a really successful jam session, but it doesn't quite go anywhere with enough precision to really make enough of an impact.
![6. 'We Never Change' - There's something incredibly touching about the childlike wishes expressed through the song's lyrics.]()
6. 'We Never Change' - There's something incredibly touching about the childlike wishes expressed through the song's lyrics. "I wanna live in wooden house, making more friends would be easy, I wanna live where the sun comes out." Don't we all?
![5. 'Shiver' - It's a little undisciplined, but the Jeff Buckley-esque guitar riffs on this one are complex and ambitious, and it showcases Martin's fearlessly impressive range. Pitchfork's Spencer Owen described 'Shiver' as]()
5. 'Shiver' - It's a little undisciplined, but the Jeff Buckley-esque guitar riffs on this one are complex and ambitious, and it showcases Martin's fearlessly impressive range. Pitchfork's Spencer Owen described 'Shiver' as "the only truly decent song on Parachutes", which is, of course, absolutely wrong.
![4. 'Trouble' - The song Chris Martin said]()
4. 'Trouble' - The song Chris Martin said "saved us from being a one-hit wonder." Six No.1 albums later, we think they would probably have been ok without it. Even so, we're extremely glad it exists. London Grammar's 'Strong', incidentally, owes a debt to 'Trouble', particularly the "caught in the middle" part.
![3. 'Sparks' - This song is dripping with an infectiously beautiful sense of regret from the opening line,]()
3. 'Sparks' - This song is dripping with an infectiously beautiful sense of regret from the opening line, "Did I drive you away?" At the end of each phrase, Martin's voice fades into a half-hearted rasp, as if everything's just too painful to even sing properly. Despite this, or indeed because of it, 'Sparks' packs a punch.
![2. 'Don't Panic' - Only Chris Martin could make the refrain,]()
2. 'Don't Panic' - Only Chris Martin could make the refrain, "We live in a beautiful world" sound so intensely melancholic. It's a simple, moving opener for the album, and we should all be incredibly pleased that the band rejected a multi-million Euro offer from both Diet Coke and Gap to use it in adverts.
![1. 'Yellow' - If you can find a way to listen to 'Yellow' with fresh ears, pretending it hasn't been intensely overplayed for the past 14 years, you'll be reminded what a truly beautiful song it is. One of those rare gems where the verse is every bit as powerful as the chorus, there's a reason why 'Yellow' has been overplayed. It's because it's bloody brilliant.]()
1. 'Yellow' - If you can find a way to listen to 'Yellow' with fresh ears, pretending it hasn't been intensely overplayed for the past 14 years, you'll be reminded what a truly beautiful song it is. One of those rare gems where the verse is every bit as powerful as the chorus, there's a reason why 'Yellow' has been overplayed. It's because it's bloody brilliant.
