Prospekt's March

For the song, see Prospekt's March/Poppyfields.

Prospekt's March
EP by
Coldplay
Released21 November 2008 (2008-11-21)
Recorded2006–2008
GenreAlternative rock
Length27:32
LabelParlophone
Producer
Coldplay chronology
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
(2008) 		Prospekt's March
(2008) 		LeftRightLeft
RightLeft
(2009)
Singles from Prospekt's March
  1. "Life in Technicolor II"
    Released: 2 February 2009[1]

Prospekt's March is the seventh extended play by British rock band Coldplay and their first since Remixes (2003). It was released on 21 November 2008 in Europe and Japan, later released globally the following week.[2][3] The EP features several left-over tracks from the Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends studio sessions and was also made available in the album's deluxe edition.[4][5][6]

The cover features Eugène Delacroix's original painting[7] Battle of Poitiers,[8] similar to the cover art featured on Viva la Vida, which included another Delacroix painting, Liberty Leading the People. On 5 November, Coldplay offered an exclusive preview of the EP via their Facebook application and through their website.[9][10] The song "Glass of Water" was released in anticipation for the project and entered the iTunes Top 100 songs, being also performed live by the band on 4Music.

Upon the EP's release, "Life in Technicolor II" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 90 despite not being a promotional effort. The band would later confirm the song as an official single and release its physical version on 8 February 2009, which made the track rise to a new peak of number 28. One year later, it was nominated for the 52nd Grammy Awards in the Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Short Form Music Video categories.[1][11]

Recording and release

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic67/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
The A.V. ClubB[14]
The GuardianMixed[15]
NME[16]
Pitchfork6.0/10[17]
Rolling Stone[18]

Throughout the recording of Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay communicated to fans through their website, and some of the song titles were revealed during the recording. The name "Poppyfields" was first revealed in September 2007; in late October 2007, a message said that "Famous Old Painters" and "Glass of Water" had been written and were being considered for the album. "Prospekt's March" appeared for the first time in December of the same year; all the notes were signed by the pseudonym Prospekt, strengthening rumours that this would be the album's title. Those songs did not make it to the album's final track listing, so were featured on the Prospekt's March EP, except for "Famous Old Painters", which was never released.[2]

In an interview for Coldplay's official website, frontman Chris Martin said that all the songs on the EP came very close to inclusion on Viva la Vida, and that they were "all part of the same family". In the same interview, the frontman stated that the idea was always to put these songs out by the end of 2008.[19] Coldplay confirmed five songs for Prospekt's March on 3 October 2008, all of which had not been completed in time for Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. The playlist was changed to eight songs on 5 October.[20] Six of the eight tracks are new recordings of the band.[21]

Chart performance

Prospekt's March debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200 with 77,000 copies sold.[22]

Track listing

All songs written by Coldplay (Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin), except "Lost+", which was co-written by Shawn Carter.

Prospekt's March track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Life in Technicolor II"4:05
2."Postcards from Far Away"0:48
3."Glass of Water"4:44
4."Rainy Day"3:26
5."Prospekt's March/Poppyfields"3:39
6."Lost+" (featuring Jay-Z)4:18
7."Lovers in Japan" (Osaka Sun Mix)3:58
8."Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground"2:29
Total length:27:32
iTunes bonus video
No.TitleLength
9."Viva la Vida" (music video) (Anton Corbijn version)4:08
Total length:31:40

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Release history

Release history and formats for Prospekt's March
Country Date Format
United States 24 November 2008 CD, vinyl, 2CD (album+EP)[35]
Canada 24 November 2008 CD
United Kingdom 21 November 2008 CD, vinyl, 2CD (album+EP)[36]
Australia 22 November 2008 CD, (album+EP)
Argentina 9 December 2008 CD, 2CD (album+EP)
Brazil 3 December 2008 CD
Japan 21 November 2008 Digital
Japan 17 December 2008 CD
Japan 14 January 2009 CDx2 (album+EP)
Taiwan 28 November 2008 CD, 2CD (album+EP)
Taiwan 5 December 2008 Vinyl
Spain 25 November 2008 CD
Sweden 21 November 2008 CD
Germany 21 November 2008 CD
Austria 21 November 2008 CD
Switzerland 21 November 2008 CD
Belgium 21 November 2008 CD
Netherlands 21 November 2008 CD
Ireland 21 November 2008 CD
Italy 21 November 2008 CD, 2CD (album+EP)
Denmark 21 November 2008 CD, EP
Norway 21 November 2008 CD
Pakistan 21 November 2008 CD
Finland 21 November 2008 CD
South Africa 21 November 2008 CD

References

  1. ^ a b "Life in Technicolor ii to be single". Coldplay. 5 January 2009. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  2. ^ a b Martin, Chris (3 October 2008). "Prospekt's March Tracklisting". Coldplay. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
  3. ^ Martin, Chris (7 October 2008). "Prospekt's March Tracklisting". Coldplay. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  4. ^ Harris, Chris (2 September 2008). "Coldplay Will Issue EP of Viva La Vida Leftovers in December, New LP in 2009". MTV. Archived from the original on 3 September 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  5. ^ Michaels, Sean (1 September 2008). "Coldplay confirm new EP and album". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
  6. ^ "Coldplay Announce Deluxe Edition of Viva la Vida". antiMUSIC. 8 October 2008. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  7. ^ "1356 Battle of Poitiers, 1830, Eugčne Delacroix (1798–1863) photo – Brian McMorrow photos at". Pbase.com. 15 August 2005. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  8. ^ Martin, Chris (14 October 2008). "Prospekt's March Artwork revealed". Coldplay. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2008.
  9. ^ Coldplay. "Glass of Water". Retrieved 6 November 2008 – via Facebook.
  10. ^ "Glass of Water". Coldplay. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  11. ^ "Nominees And Winners". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  12. ^ "Prospekt's March [EP] by Coldplay". Metacritic.
  13. ^ "Prospekt's March - Coldplay - Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  14. ^ Modell, Josh. "Coldplay: Prospekt's March EP". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  15. ^ Fox, Killian (23 November 2008). "Pop review: Coldplay: Prospekt's March EP". The Guardian.
  16. ^ "Coldplay – NME". NME. 13 November 2008.
  17. ^ "Coldplay: Prospekt's March EP Album Review". Pitchfork.
  18. ^ Hoard, Christian (11 December 2008). "Prospekt's March EP". Rolling Stone.
  19. ^ "Chris Martin's Interview for Coldplay.com". Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 22 August 2010.
  20. ^ Martin, Chris (5 October 2008). "Prospekt's March Tracklisting". Coldplay. Archived from the original on 22 July 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  21. ^ Cohen, Jonathan (6 October 2008). "Coldplay Preps EP With Jay-Z Guest Spot". Billboard. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  22. ^ Hasty, Katie (3 December 2008). "Kanye Edges GNR, Ludacris For No. 1 Debut". Billboard. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  23. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Coldplay – Prospekt's March". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  24. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Coldplay – Prospekt's March" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  25. ^ "Coldplay Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  26. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Coldplay – Prospekt's March" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  27. ^ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 27 November 2008". GfK Chart-Track. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
  28. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Coldplay – Prospekt's March". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  29. ^ "Spanishcharts.com – Coldplay – Prospekt's March". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  30. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Coldplay – Prospekt's March". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  31. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  32. ^ "Coldplay Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  33. ^ "Coldplay Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
  34. ^ "British album certifications – Coldplay – Prospekt's March". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  35. ^ "Prospekt's March EP release dates update". Coldplay. Archived from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  36. ^ "Prospekt's March by Coldplay". iTunes Store. 21 November 2008. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2022.