X&Y

2005 Japanese Release of Chris Martin and Co's. Third Full Length Album.
Customer Review: Well, Well. Yet another overpriced piece of work...
And I mean this literally. Should you own this? No. Should you get the ORIGINAL? The MORE AFFORDABLE version, with no lyrics and missing a bonus Japanese track, How You See The World? YES, MY *GOD* YES!! Cool, this version has an added song and the lyrics...(WHO DOESN'T LOVE READING ALONG?!?!?!). But at a price this over-bloated, PLEASE DON'T BOTHER!!!! No human with decent sense would pay for this!!!! Half of the tracks are upbeat which I prefer Coldplay's music to portray, and after studying this album's nooks and crannies, I found just TWO duds. b^_^b White Shadows, Fix You, Twisted Logic, Square One, Low, Speed Of Sound, Talk & X&Y are amongst the great tracks. But then you have filler tracks such as What If and Swallowed In The Sea. The rest of the CD is full of decent if just a tad forgetful tracks; A Message, The Hardest Part & Till Kingdom Come definitely fill my mind first. I was SO looking forward to this release because I have their 2 previous albums and I highly enjoyed tracks such as In My Place, Clocks and Daylight, for their uplifting, positive demeanor. Coldplay has an interesting lyric here and there, and my initial thoughts told me that it wasn't enough. White Shadows was a low point for me, but thank goodness I seen a quirky but awesome video to accompany the song, and I was totally, totally hooked! With that said, I can't wait to experience their new sound in mid-late 2008 or early 2009: I bet they release it around then and it'd be best if it were better than this one! Or at least here's to hoping... *Cheers* Keep it comin', Coldplay! You have fans other than the emotional girls that follow you. Some men, of all different walks of life appreciate your sensitive side too! ^_^ Cover Art: B- Inside Art: A- Songwriting: B+ Vocals: C+ Vocal Emotion: B+ Vocal Acrobatics: F+ Length: A+ 59.75/13 = 3.98076923076923 3.98 stars. Overall: B- Favorite tracks, in order: White Shadows, Fix You, Twisted Logic & Down. .. P.S. When is Amazon going to get with the times and let us rate within .5 increments!?
Customer Review: Well, I can rate the first 13 tracks...
I don't have this import version, but I WOULD get it if it were 25 bucks or less. 46 bucks + is super-ridiculous and anyone who shells out that much is either: 1. Stupidly rich 2. Rich and stupid 3. Just plain rich 4. a HUGE, HUGE fan 5. All of the above No human with decent sense would pay for this otherwise. I fall into that category and none of the above ones (*LOL*!!). Here goes, Half of the tracks are upbeat which I prefer Coldplay's music to portray, and after studying this album's nooks and crannies, I found just TWO duds. b^_^b White Shadows, Fix You, Twisted Logic, Square One, Low, Speed Of Sound, Talk & X&Y are amongst the great tracks. But then you have filler tracks such as What If and Swallowed In The Sea. The rest of the CD is full of decent if just a tad forgetful tracks; A Message, The Hardest Part & Till Kingdom Come definitely fill my mind first. I was SO looking forward to this release because I have their 2 previous albums and I highly enjoyed tracks such as In My Place, Clocks and Daylight, for their uplifting, positive demeanor. Coldplay has an interesting lyric here and there, and my initial thoughts told me that it wasn't enough. White Shadows was a low point for me, but thank goodness I seen a quirky but awesome video to accompany the song, and I was totally, totally hooked! With that said, I can't wait to experience their new sound in mid-late 2008 or early 2009: I bet they release it around then and it'd be best if it were better than this one! Or at least here's to hoping... *Cheers* Keep it comin', Coldplay! You have fans other than the emotional girls that follow you. Some men, of all different walks of life appreciate your sensitive side too! ^_^ Cover Art: B- Inside Art: A- Songwriting: B+ Vocals: C+ Vocal Emotion: B+ Vocal Acrobatics: F+ Length: A+ 59.75/13 = 3.98076923076923 3.98 stars. Overall: B- Favorite tracks, in order: White Shadows, Fix You, Twisted Logic... P.S. When is Amazon going to get with the times and let us rate within .5 increments!? P.S. This HAS to be better than the all-Spanish review, right?

Over the years, the hymn Ave Maria has been set to music numerous times. The most famous of those was composed by Franz Schubert. Today, this piece of music is loved and well known around the universe for its simplicity and ability to move practically anyone who hears it. Even when performed only as an instrumental, the song still has a tremendous emotional pull. The piece was composed around 1825 when Schubert was only 28 years old.

Although many people are not aware of it, the words to the hymn were originally written by Walter Scott for his "Lady of the Lake." The narrative poem was originally published by Scott in 1810, with the words describing the struggle that occurs between a number of Scottish Highland clans during the 16th century. Although the account in the poem is fictional, some of the clans purported their loyalty to King James V while others had loyalties elsewhere. The young heroine of the poem is Ellen Douglas. Eventually, she finds herself forced to hide in the depths of a mountain cave along with her father as they seek to escape the wrath of the king. It is while she is in hiding that she begins to sing a song. The song, "Hymn to the Virgin", is a prayer to the Virgin Mary for comfort and help. Her song, the hymn within the poem, forms the basis for the much beloved song we now know so well, Ave Maria.

"The Lady of the Lake" was translated into German in 1819 by Philip Adam Storck. It was his translation that would eventually serve as the basis for the book of songs by Schubert which was written in 1825. In Schubert's book, Ave Maria.

is referred to as "Ellens Dritter Gesang", which translates as "Ellen's Third Song." One year later, a separate edition of the same songs were to both the original English words as well as German words.

It has been said that this piece was performed for the first time in a small Austrian town at a castle belonging to Countess Sophie Weissenwolff. According to reports, the song was dedicated to her and eventually she was frequently known as the lady of the lake.

Today, Ave Maria is still one of the most popular songs in all of the world, especially among hymns. At times, the song is sung to words that are not the same as those of Scott, Storck or Schubert. In some cases, the song is performed solely in instrumental versions and not words are used.

The opening words of the song as well as the refrain are believed to have inspired the adaptation of the melody as the setting for the complete body of the traditional Catholic prayer Ave Maria. As a result, the Latin version of the song is used on such a frequent basis today, along with Schubert's melody, that a misconception has arisen that Schubert might have originally written the melody specifically to serve as a setting for the prayer.

A new SonyBMG signing, The Priests, will be including Ave Maria in their new album of classical hymns. The hymn will be produced in four different languages by the trio including Spanish, Latin, English, Italian and German. The album will be produced by Mike Hedges and will be a unique take on several traditional hymns inspired by the church.

Peter Ruppert writes for http://www.thepriests.com

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