X&Y was a huge album for Coldplay. The 2005 release was the band’s first No. 1 album in the US and it spawned their first US top-10 single, “Speed Of Sound.” Now, though, the band has some issues with the album, which has sparked some interest in releasing an edited version of it.
Coldplay’s Will Champion and Guy Berryman did a Q&A on Twitter yesterday, and during it, Berryman was asked about his thoughts on an interview in which Chris Martin said he’d like to make and release a new version of the album. He responded, “It’s an interesting idea. I think we felt at times that it could benefit from a slight editing process, to the amount of songs and perhaps to the length of some of the songs.”
It’s an interesting idea. I think we felt at times that it could benefit from a slight editing process, to the amount of songs and perhaps to the length of some of the songs. Guy https://t.co/FO74mMrtMP
— Coldplay (@coldplay) June 23, 2021
The interview referenced in the question is a 2020 conversation Martin had with BBC Radio 2. Martin was asked if the band loves one of their albums more than the rest, and after some pressing, Martin said, “Well, the third one, called X&Y, I would re-edit a bit… and probably will [laughs]. I have a playlist in my laptop — I haven’t told the rest of the band this, actually — but maybe when it’s, like, the 20th anniversary, I will do that, how the album should have been.”
— Brooke
(@inawoodenhouse) June 23, 2021
Comparing X&Y to the band’s other albums, Berryman’s points about the album’s length seem to ring true. At over 62 minutes long, X&Y is the band’s only studio album that runs for over an hour; Coldplay’s second- and third-longest albums — A Rush Of Blood To The Head and Everyday Life, respectively — are both about 54 minutes long. Meanwhile, there’s also only one song on X&Y, “Swallowed In The Sea,” that is under 4 minutes long, and even that one is 3:58. Inversely, on Everyday Life, only 5 of the 16 songs are over 4 minutes in length.
The 20th anniversary of X&Y will be on June 6, 2025, so if the band ends up following through on editing the album, fans have a few years of waiting to do before they get to hear it.
Check out the full Q&A here.
Coldplay is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.