Coldplay -- Prospekt's March EP

5/10

Coldplay released the Prospekt's March EP shortly after Viva la Vida.  It includes slight re-workings of three Viva la Vida songs and five originals that didn't make the cut.  Unfortunately, it's clear that, outside of one track, these didn't make Viva la Vida because they simply weren't good enough.
Prospekt's March begins with the same exact track it's parent album did, only this time it has words. It's nice, but it feels like a retread.  "Postcards from Far Away", a beautiful classical piano piece by Chris Martin, is a nice segue from "Life in Technicolor II", but at forty-eight seconds, it is just a segue.
"Glass of Water" is "Prospekt's March"'s one standout track. It is clear that unlike the other un-released tracks, this wasn't on Viva la Vida not because of a lack of quality, but because it simply didn't fit.  It features one of the best, biggest sounding choruses Coldplay have ever recorded, far too bombastic to fit anywhere on the full length.

It's as good as anything on the stellar Viva la Vida, but it's unfortunately stuck on this EP with a bunch of inferior tracks...like it's following track, "Rainy Day," another lackluster B-Side.  "Lost+" is the exact same song as "Lost" from Viva la Vida...except Jay-Z raps over the bridge.  If you thought "Lost" would have been better served with more "yeah"'s and "un-huh"'s, then you are in luck.  This is followed by "Lovers in Japan," an excellent song...that was on Viva la Vida in the exact same form.  I don't know what an "Osaka Sun Remix" is, but it definitely doesn't change the song at all.  "Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground" is a pretty little piece of nothing that ends just as soon as it begins, and the EP is over.
This EP isn't that easy to get these days.  Unless you're a diehard fan, I suggest (legally) downloading "Glass of Water," then pretending that the rest of Prospekt's March never happened.

2008 Capitol
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+ [With Jay-Z] 4:16
7 Lovers in Japan [Osaka Sun Remix] 3:58
8 Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground 2:27