玩酷人生 (2008)

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, often referred to as simply Viva la Vida, is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Coldplay, released on 12 June 2008 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom. "Viva la vida" is a Spanish phrase, translated to English as "long live life" or simply "live life". Lyrically, the album contains references to love, life, death and war.

Recording sessions for the album took place from November 2006 to April 2008 and featured production by Jon Hopkins, Rik Simpson, Markus Dravs, and Brian Eno. The album was Coldplay's first not to feature any production input from Ken Nelson, who produced their first two albums and co-produced some tracks on their third. The band forced themselves to explore new styles, as Eno required every song on the album to sound different. Development of the album delayed the release date several times. The album cover of Viva la Vida is the 1830 painting Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix with the album title over it.

Viva la Vida was both a critical and commercial success. Five songs were released to promote the album: "Violet Hill" and "Viva la Vida" in May 2008, "Lovers in Japan" and "Lost!" in November 2008, and "Strawberry Swing" in September 2009. "Viva la Vida" became the band's first song to reach number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It won Best Rock Album at the 2009 Grammy Awards and was also nominated for Album of the Year. Viva la Vida also reached number one in 36 countries upon release, with EMI shipping over 3 million copies in its first week worldwide. It was the best-selling album of 2008. By 2011, the album had sold 13 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling releases of the 21st century. Viva la Vida was re-released on 25 November 2008 in a deluxe edition containing the original album and the Prospekt's March EP, which contained "Life in Technicolor II".

Background

In October 2006, two weeks after bassist Guy Berryman had a child, reports circulated that the band were taking a five-year hiatus. The new baby, and the fact that Coldplay had no touring or recording schedule at the time, had fans wondering if the band's new album would not be released until 2010. Dispelling such reports, Ambrosia Healy, spokesperson to Capitol, sent an e-mail message to MTV saying that there was no self-imposed hiatus. However, Healy clarified that Coldplay was indeed "enjoying a much-deserved break", and that there was no timetable for their fourth album. Work on Viva la Vida began in November 2006, only interrupted by the final leg of the Twisted Logic Tour in early 2007.