A Head Full of Dreams (song)

This article is about the song. For the album on which it appears, see A Head Full of Dreams. For the tour, see A Head Full of Dreams Tour.
"A Head Full of Dreams"
Song by Coldplay from the album A Head Full of Dreams
Released 4 December 2015 (2015-12-04)
Genre Alternative rock
Length 3:43
Label Parlophone
Writer
Producer

"A Head Full of Dreams" is a song by British alternative rock band Coldplay. It was written by all members of the band for their seventh studio album, A Head Full of Dreams (2015). It is the first track from the album of the same name.

Recording

The song was recorded by the band during sessions for their seventh studio album in 2014, at their purpose-built studios The Bakery and The Beehive in North London, England, both originally constructed for work on their three previous studio albums.

Composition

The song "fades in with distantly chiming bells, a synthetic dance pulse, a drum set shuffling complicatedly, and a guitar repeatedly drawing a high, short melody".[1]

Critical reception

The song drew comparisons to the work of U2 (pictured in 2015).

The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber called the song's arrangement "cool" and "unusual". Furthermore, he said that the bells, dance pulse, drums, and guitar parts "[drop] out for a bit before the two-minute mark, and you retroactively realized you just experienced the chorus, when Martin sang the title of the song twice to the tune of that guitar line you'd heard earlier. The second verse doesn't end in a chorus, but rather launches into an Arcade Fire-style 'ohh-ohhhh” refrain.'"[1] Janine Schaults of Consequence of Sound said the song "opens with chimes signaling entry into a magical land — like opening the door to Willy Wonka’s gluttonous factory. But, the song wastes no time getting to its generic 'oh oh oh-a-oh' chorus, the kind of thing that a glowing sea of wailers will shout up to the rafters of the stadiums the band visits on tour next year. A bit lazy, one could argue, but as Martin told the Wall Street Journal, he doesn’t want 'anything to get in the way of the mood of the music … you can't translate the melody into words.'"[2]

Adam Silverstein of Digital Spy wrote, "Before Martin's split from Gwyneth and the emotional Ghost Stories that followed, Coldplay were on their way to a poppier place with 2011's Mylo Xyloto. 'A Head Full of Dreams' gladly re-conjures those bright and shiny colours again, while also spinning a guitar line that could have fallen off U2's Joshua Tree. It's the first sign that Martin is ready to move on, joyfully hatching a world where dreams come to life. Welcome back, Chris - we missed you."[3] The Guardian's Alexis Petridis said, "The title track adds some pep to the tried-and-tested Coldplay formula – echoing guitars, bombastic piano, massed, stadium-rousing woah-oh vocals – by tying it to a disco pulse".[4] Pitchfork Media's Stuart Berman wrote, "The title track eases us into the album on a glistening groove but halts its momentum for a now-obligatory 'woah oh oh oh' breakdown that sounds like it was focus-grouped into the song."[5] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone said the song "sounds like U2 and New Order on a joint humanitarian mission".[6] Spin's Andrew Unterberger also drew comparison to the work of U2.[7] Tom Breihan of Stereogum said "A Head Full of Dreams" and "Adventure of a Lifetime" "just decorate the kickdrums with spangled pseudo-Afropop guitars and whoa-oh-ohhhh chants".[8] Stereoboard's Graeme Marsh said the album's two opening songs were among its "strongest", with "A Head Full of Dreams" sounding "a little bit latter-day U2".[9]

Live performances

The song was performed on The Late Late Show with James Corden, along with "Adventure of a Lifetime", on 12 November 2015.[10][11][12] It was also performed at the X Factor Italy in Milan.

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[13] 156
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 60
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[15] 173

Personnel

Credits are adapted from A Head Full of Dreams liner notes.[16]

Coldplay
Additional musicians

References

  1. 1 2 "Review: Coldplay's 'A Head Full of Dreams' Is a Whole New Kind of Boring". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  2. ↑ Flynn, Katherine (2015-12-04). "Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams | Album Reviews". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  3. ↑ Harp, Justin (2015-12-03). "Coldplay's new album A Head Full of Dreams: Our track-by-track review". Digitalspy.com. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  4. ↑ Alexis Petridis. "Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams review – a failure to commit to pop". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  5. ↑ Berman, Stuart (4 December 2015). "Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Dolan, Jon (2015-12-04). "Coldplay A Head Full of Dreams Album Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  7. ↑ SPIN. "Review: Coldplay, 'A Head Full of Dreams'". SPIN. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  8. ↑ "Premature Evaluation: Coldplay A Head Full Of Dreams". Stereogum. 2015-12-04. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  9. ↑ "Coldplay - A Head Full Of Dreams (Album Review)". Stereoboard. 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  10. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (2015-12-08). "Watch Coldplay Jam With James Corden for 'Head Full of Dreams'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  11. ↑ Geslani, Michelle (2015-12-08). "Coldplay leave the Late Late Show with A Head Full of Dreams — watc". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  12. ↑ "Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams". YouTube. 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2016-01-31.
  13. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  15. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2015-12-12" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  16. ↑ A Head Full of Dream (booklet). Coldplay. Parlophone. 2015. 1053933969.

External links

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