This was considered a major release in Coldplay’s back catalogue. Released as a documentary on film on DVD and Blu-Ray of the band’s tour and with an accompanying 183-page booklet to support their Mylo Xyloto (2011) album, this is seen as an important release in the history of the band’s music. It is their third live album release after the average Live 2003 (2003) and the fairly decent LeftRightLeftRightLeft (2009) live album releases. The key difference with this live album is that considerable promotion effort, more so than ever before, has gone into this Coldplay live album release. The band were quite probably aware that they needed to create a seemingly great live album release. Recorded progressively over 2012, primarily at the Stade De France venue (except for Viva La Vida, which that live version was recorded back in 2011), this has largely received positive reviews in retrospect, even if Coldplay themselves has had fairly patchy material as a band. Let’s take a listen to this live release and we shall hear if it is as good as the critics made it out to be. For fans of the band, the official film of this show can be found on YouTube as well.

Mylo Xyloto begins the album with screams and cheers, which are massive. It quickly launches into the song, which sounds huge and melodic. This lasts less than a minute before segueing into the next song.

Hurts Like Heaven launches into a good and interesting-sounding version of the main song. Admittedly, Chris Martin’s vocals do not sound as good as they could here, which is a little disappointing for a live album of this magnitude. Still, Coldplay delivers an interesting, solid and melodic live song with some great guitar by Jonny Buckland. In any case, this is a good and interesting-sounding song even if Chris Martin’s vocals have seen better days by this point. The music and playing otherwise, however, are very, very good. Coldplay may have defined a generation in their own musical sense. The guitars in particular on this song do sound excellently played and have a pseudo-shred edge to them. The harmonies in the second half of this song are delicious, and this tune is a clear winner of a listen. Chris Martin is clearly a noticeable frontman here, and unusually, he swears and makes his stage presence well-known in this song. Regardless, this does sound very, very good. The outro is very Psychedelic and gorgeous. Chris Martin concludes the song by asking the rather Pink Floydian question: “Is there anybody out there?” repeatedly.

In My Place launches right into it with Rock beats and enters into a rather disappointing-sounding version of the classic Coldplay song. It is well played and performed, but it sounds far from impressive compared to the original version of the song from the A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002) album. The chorus sings part of the chorus along with Chris Martin, and this is a good listen but disappointing. In any case, Chris Martin’s singing voice has certainly had better days by this point in Coldplay’s career. Nonetheless, the crowd’s enthusiasm is unmistakable and it is very clear that Coldplay have a large and passionate fanbase. The guitar solo section with the repeated riff sounds excellent before Chris Martin and the rest of the group return with the rest of the song. A good but fairly unsatisfying listening experience.

Major Minus launches right into it, with acoustic guitars and bongo-based percussion. One wonders why on earth Coldplay put this lesser song onto this major live album. It’s a good song, but it isn’t really necessary to listen to here. If you are a track skipper, do skip ahead. You aren’t missing much here. It’s more of an exercise in sonic textures than an actual song at hand. Understandably, Coldplay needed to fill in space and time. Sadly, this is not the best way musically to do so. Chris Martin’s voice wobbles and warbles throughout, and he gets the crowd going through this pitifully disappointing song. A sad moment to a mish-mash of quality in a Coldplay live performance. The guitar soloing is quite impressive, but this is a low for Coldplay. Fortunately, it is over after three and a half minutes in length.

Yellow begins with some atmospheric chord-based sounds. This continues on for some time and sounds refreshingly different from the main version of the classic Coldplay song. Piano playing emerges, and this tune moves on very nicely. The audience claps along with the piano playing, as this song comes alive. Chris Martin sings in a different key here, and this is quite a sweet and excellent rendition of the original song. Very different, and a pleasant variation on the main hit. This is a highlight of this live album, and it sounds extremely beautiful. Acoustic guitars and the band follow into an okay section of a live performance of this song, as Coldplay go ahead and launches itself into a classic and interesting delivery of this song. Chris Martin quite clearly isn’t the greatest singer in the history of music, and his voice wobbles and warbles a lot on this tune. Regardless, this is a really lovely and excellent listening experience which actually takes one by surprise. The guitar playing on this song isn’t the greatest, but this still retains its beauty and energy throughout. A good listen from this rather disappointing live release, Coldplay does well to make some slight changes to a classic song throughout. The guitar playing definitely isn’t the best here, and this concert is rather hit-and-miss. It finishes with acoustic guitar strumming and Chris Martin concluding here.

God Put A Smile Upon Your Face begins with some ghostly sounds that are electronic and very Nine Inch Nails styled. Some interesting guitar playing follows that is different from the original song, and this takes a life of its own. Chris Martin and the band play and sing in a different key here, and the lyrics are rather improvised here. Soon enough, this launches into a heavy and beat-heavy frenzy as the singer goes into ego overdrive. The main song then begins, and this has some more wild and expressive guitar parts. Some of the improvised lyrics are truly cringeworthy here. By this point, it is clear that this is not a great live album to hear. Coldplay could have clearly done much better here. The guitars and singing in particular need to be rethought throughout, as Jonny Buckland does some terrible Jimi Hendrix wannabe-styled fills throughout. The sped-up section in the second half is very appalling, and one can simply turn this album off by this point if not a Coldplay fan. Atrocious, you’ll be glad when this song is over. Not a good listen. The crowd cheers regardless at the end.

Princess Of China begins with some ordinary guitar leads and has Rihanna’s part thrown in as well, live for this performance. It launches into a song that, frankly, wasn’t that good to begin with. It sounds daft as a song and is probably disrespectful to anyone from China. Rihanna’s vocals are quite good, surprisingly, and this illuminates a rather ordinary concert experience in the first place. In any case, this song is better off left off here, once again and it doesn’t sound good or special, in that sense. Anyway, Rihanna’s guest vocal does make this a lot better to hear, but even so, her music is best left alone to judge. This song is very ordinary, at its best. Best to skip this one, unless you are a big fan of Rihanna. Chris Martin and Rihanna thank the crowd afterwards.

Up In Flames begins with electronic drumbeats and enters into another lesser cut of Coldplay’s. A drag, this isn’t a good selection for this concert. The piano, admittedly, is a nice touch though. Chris Martin enters into an awful falsetto section and this song is fairly average itself. Again, you may wish to skip ahead here, there is nothing special or significant musically here. This sounds more consistent but sadly, isn’t the best of Coldplay. The guitars and instrumentation are nice, but again, this isn’t very good. A sad reminder that Coldplay’s best days were behind them. Anyway, this is over fairly quickly.

Viva La Vida begins with dramatic piano and plays the main vocal harmony line, with the crowd singing along nicely. This is actually a very good introduction, and the main song quickly kicks in afterwards. Fortunately, this is a better listen by Coldplay and it actually sounds very, very good. Viva La Vida itself was one of the anthems of 2008, and this live version of the song sounds consistent, beautiful and dramatic. One can almost picture the live concert itself from this tune. This song is about the French Revolution, for those of you who don’t pay a great deal of attention to history. In any case, this sounds very pretty and lovely to listen to. A very sweet and lovely listen throughout, this is likely the best listen from this otherwise disappointing live album. The vocal melody towards the end sounds fantastic, and Chris Martin sings and is on good behaviour here. A wonderful listen, even if the rest of the live album is bad up to this point. The outro is fantastic, with the crowd singing the vocal melody to finish.

Charlie Brown begins with some screaming electronic sounds, followed by some pretty guitar work. Unfortunately, this isn’t Coldplay’s best song and it seems like a major disappointment that the group fills up so much of the album with songs that aren’t the best. In any case, it does sound energetic and upbeat but this music is largely forgettable. You’d be better off listening to Mylo Xyloto itself if you really dig this, to be fair. Chris Martin’s voice is not the best throughout this song, and although the song is quite emotional, there is nothing to suggest you really should hear this. A lacking song, this is well performed for the most part, but why on earth Coldplay decided to include this onto a live album makes little sense. Chris Martin interacts with the crowd in the second half of the song, before this returns and this is somewhat of a drag. An emotional listen, but sadly not a great song. It ends prematurely with cheering and applause, concluding with a piano solo figure. The song ends here. It segues into the next song.

Paradise launches right into it with some piano and guitars, again sounding like a lost opportunity. This is somewhat a better song, but again, is from a fairly forgettable Coldplay album. Chris Martin sings well here, and this tune is a better listen overall. A more consistent listen from this live album, but again, this doesn’t sound overly impressive. To be fair and reasonable, Coldplay’s 2000s material was far better than some of these songs, and it is very disappointing that Coldplay waited so long to make an extensive live album. In any case, this is a good performance but this is junk music. The mixture of rather uninspired songcraft and electronics does not make this material stand out very well. Sections of this song are good, but this isn’t the best that Coldplay ever did. A bit of a drag, again, to get through. The guitar solo is good for a change, but this isn’t what one realistically needs to hear. It has sections of piano and vocals, with some audience singing, before Coldplay leaves prior to the encore. The band then get into the next song.

Us Against The World leads into this song, and the crowd noise is everpresent. This is actually okay to listen to. Chris Martin sings a lot better here, and this song seems like a major improvement on some of the other material on this live album. A good listen, and the audience sings nicely along with the music. A better example of music from Coldplay with some good backing vocals, this points out that Coldplay did not necessarily need the overproduction on some of their songs. A pretty, easy listening and melodic song, this points out that Coldplay could have benefitted from some stripped-down instrumentation. Oddly enough, a good listen from this album. The backing vocals here are sung nicely as a lead line here before this song concludes. Quite good.

Clocks begins with the electric piano riff and sounds quite good here. This is fairly close to the studio version of the song. This sounds quite anthemic and is fairly beautiful and melodic as a result. Chris Martin sings fairly well on this song as well, and this rather fast version of Clocks does sound very nice. This proves that Coldplay at their best had the ability to touch the hearts and minds of millions out there. A very good listen regardless. This song is a good one. If Coldplay had the guts to pick some better songs for this live album, it would have been far more acceptable and successful. This is one of the better songs as a result. There is a clanging piano and a delayed guitar solo before this tune returns in the second half. A very sweet listen, and something worth hearing from this live album. It ends with a gorgeous guitar figure and sounds great. A nice effort. It leads into the next song.

Fix You leads into it with the introductory organ, and sounds very good. Chris Martin’s singing is very nice, and he sounds a much better singer than he did at the start of his musical career. This is a good version of a better song. It seems that the second half of this live album is somewhat of an improvement on the first half, and the music present is quite emotional. The piano figure here is very, very good. Nonetheless, this is a good listen that sounds very fresh and unique. The music seemingly is a nice and refreshing listen to this song throughout. The guitar figure here is very, very good and is matched by hi-hats. It quickly launches into the second half of this song with some great drumming and a good-sounding song as this live album begins to reach its gradual conclusion. Chris Martin sings nicely here, and this music is an equally nice listen. A punchier listen with the drumming compared to the original song, this concludes with the audience singing the concluding verses with Chris Martin. A good song, even on this mishmash of live album quality.

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall is the final song here. It begins with some interesting keyboards and launches into some glorious harmony-based singing, before launching into a horrific keyboard part. Again, this live album would have been better without some of the junk material on it. Still, this is a song lyrically about appreciating music that, while is great, is not the greatest-sounding song ever. The guitar work is good, nonetheless. Chris Martin struggles to sing well here, and this song would have been better rethought. Music is what many people live for across this world, and Chris Martin encapsulates that fact in this song, in a weird way. This is okay, but is a lesser song to listen to on this album. The crowd is very loud here, and although they no doubt appreciate all this, this wraps up a rather average live album listening experience that isn’t the best. Coldplay do their best here, for what this is, all the same. Chris Martin thanks their fans over rolling drumbeats, and this live album concludes with huge cheers and applause.

This live album is not the best. It doesn’t sum up exactly what made Coldplay a great band. The awkward combination of song choices, weird performances and poor singing (by Chris Martin, not Rihanna) makes this a difficult recommendation. Yes, there are certainly good moments here, but be prepared to skip through a lot of this. Should you listen to this album? It really depends on how much you love (or not) Coldplay’s music. Some good moments are here but for most record listeners, this is going to be disappointing.

A live project that needed a serious rethink.

5/10