Shiver (Coldplay single)
Encyclopedia
"Shiver" is a song written and recorded by English alternative rock
band Coldplay
. British record producer Ken Nelson and Coldplay produced the track for their debut album
Parachutes
. Vocalist Chris Martin
admitted that "Shiver" was written for a specific woman, from whom the media has generated several speculations. The song contains influences attributed to American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley
, whom Coldplay's early influences were drawn from.
The song was released as the album's lead single
in the United Kingdom, and second in the United States following the hit single "Yellow
". Initially a commercial disaster, it was later re-released in 2001. The single reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart
, and its critical reception has been generally positive.
, the woman he was linked to, but later denied it. Some accounts have claimed, however, that Imbruglia was indeed not Martin's inspiration in writing the song. Instead, he appeared to have been inspired with girlfriends in his teenage days and early 20s. Martin actually wrote the song in a "glum" day, when he felt he would never find the right woman for him. He described it as something of a "stalking song", admitting he wrote it for a specific woman. In addition, Martin wrote the song while listening to music of Buckley, and had claimed it is their "most blatant rip-off song".
"Shiver" was recorded in Rockfield Studios
in Wales
, United Kingdom, where the band was booked by A&R
representative Dan Keeling to begin working on the band's debut album, Parachutes
. Keeling was disappointed with the early demos
presented to him, saying it "didn't have any of their passion, their energy", a result of the band's freshly resolved internal pressure in the time. Keeling deemed the demos as "limp" and asked the band to redo it. Smaller parts of the song were recorded at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool
, England, where the band relocated after Christmas in 1999.
The song was produced by Coldplay and British record producer Ken Nelson. As with most songs in the album, Nelson used an analogue desk in recording "Shiver". The guitar was re-dubbed
in search of perfection, while Martin de-tuned his guitar to easily generate complex chord sequences. Martin's vocals were recorded in more than one take, but the band chose the one with a single take.
"Shiver" is in the alternative rock
genre. A review claims that Coldplay's indie rock
inclinations are obvious in the song. "Shiver" has been perceived to have influences of Buckley, whom Coldplay's early song influences were drawn from. Martin later said of the song that it was "a blatant Jeff Buckley attempt, not quite as good, that's what I think".
in the spring of 2000. It was released as the album's lead single
in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2000, months before the release of the album, therefore having a disappointing chart entry at the time but later reaching the top 40. The single had been picked up for B-play lists on some European prominent radio stations. In the United States, it was released as the second single, following the hit single "Yellow
". Website IGN
posted a video at the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany
, revealing "Shiver" to be part of the song list in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour
.
The single's reception was generally positive. It reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart
. It also reached number 26 at the US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. The song remains, to this day, an audience favorite in live performances. It has earned the band praise from critics. Adrian Denning, in his review of the album, wrote, "'Shiver' has a vocal that could be Jeff Buckley influenced, the soaring vocals are a joy over a reasonably guitar rock based instrumental track." A review by David DeVoe in Hybridmagazine.com reads, "'Shiver' is a delightfully laid back tune, full of that great guitar sound that I have come to appreciate this band for." Spencer Owen of Pitchfork Media
noted, "It's the only truly decent song on Parachutes, but simultaneously, it's the only one that blatantly shows its influences. In fact, the influence can even be pinned to a single song: Jeff Buckley's 'Grace.'"
The music video
for "Shiver" was directed by English film director and cinematographer Grant Gee
. It features Coldplay performing in a small studio. The yellow globe featured on the Parachutes cover can be seen on top of an amplifier
in the video. The music video received "strong exposure" on MTV
.
In 2003, "Shiver" was featured on Coldplay's live album
Live 2003
.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Coldplay
Coldplay
Coldplay are a British alternative rock band formed in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland at University College London. After they formed Pectoralz, Guy Berryman joined the group as a bassist and they changed their name to Starfish. Will Champion joined as a...
. British record producer Ken Nelson and Coldplay produced the track for their debut album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
Parachutes
Parachutes
Parachutes is the debut album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released by the record label Parlophone on 10 July 2000 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson, excluding one track which was produced by Chris Allison...
. Vocalist Chris Martin
Chris Martin
Christopher Anthony John "Chris" Martin is an English song-writer, who is the lead vocalist, pianist and rhythm guitarist of the band Coldplay. He is married to actress Gwyneth Paltrow.-Early life:...
admitted that "Shiver" was written for a specific woman, from whom the media has generated several speculations. The song contains influences attributed to American singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
, whom Coldplay's early influences were drawn from.
The song was released as the album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
in the United Kingdom, and second in the United States following the hit single "Yellow
Yellow (song)
"Yellow" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson for their debut album, Parachutes...
". Initially a commercial disaster, it was later re-released in 2001. The single reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, and its critical reception has been generally positive.
Production and composition
"Shiver" was written two years before its release. Accordingly, Martin wrote the song while thinking of Australian singer-songwriter Natalie ImbrugliaNatalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
, the woman he was linked to, but later denied it. Some accounts have claimed, however, that Imbruglia was indeed not Martin's inspiration in writing the song. Instead, he appeared to have been inspired with girlfriends in his teenage days and early 20s. Martin actually wrote the song in a "glum" day, when he felt he would never find the right woman for him. He described it as something of a "stalking song", admitting he wrote it for a specific woman. In addition, Martin wrote the song while listening to music of Buckley, and had claimed it is their "most blatant rip-off song".
"Shiver" was recorded in Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios
Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...
in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, United Kingdom, where the band was booked by A&R
A&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
representative Dan Keeling to begin working on the band's debut album, Parachutes
Parachutes
Parachutes is the debut album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released by the record label Parlophone on 10 July 2000 in the United Kingdom. The album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson, excluding one track which was produced by Chris Allison...
. Keeling was disappointed with the early demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
presented to him, saying it "didn't have any of their passion, their energy", a result of the band's freshly resolved internal pressure in the time. Keeling deemed the demos as "limp" and asked the band to redo it. Smaller parts of the song were recorded at Parr Street Studios in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England, where the band relocated after Christmas in 1999.
The song was produced by Coldplay and British record producer Ken Nelson. As with most songs in the album, Nelson used an analogue desk in recording "Shiver". The guitar was re-dubbed
Dubbing (music)
In sound recording, dubbing is the transfer or copying of previously recorded audio material from one medium to another of the same or a different type. It may be done with a machine designed for this purpose, or by connecting two different machines: one to play back and one to record the signal...
in search of perfection, while Martin de-tuned his guitar to easily generate complex chord sequences. Martin's vocals were recorded in more than one take, but the band chose the one with a single take.
"Shiver" is in the alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
genre. A review claims that Coldplay's indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
inclinations are obvious in the song. "Shiver" has been perceived to have influences of Buckley, whom Coldplay's early song influences were drawn from. Martin later said of the song that it was "a blatant Jeff Buckley attempt, not quite as good, that's what I think".
Release and reception
"Shiver" is one of the older songs in Coldplay's catalogue, and had been performed at their early concerts in 1999. Later, it was initially released as an EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
in the spring of 2000. It was released as the album's lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2000, months before the release of the album, therefore having a disappointing chart entry at the time but later reaching the top 40. The single had been picked up for B-play lists on some European prominent radio stations. In the United States, it was released as the second single, following the hit single "Yellow
Yellow (song)
"Yellow" is a song by English alternative rock band Coldplay. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson for their debut album, Parachutes...
". Website IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
posted a video at the 2008 Games Convention in Leipzig, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, revealing "Shiver" to be part of the song list in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
.
The single's reception was generally positive. It reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. It also reached number 26 at the US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks. The song remains, to this day, an audience favorite in live performances. It has earned the band praise from critics. Adrian Denning, in his review of the album, wrote, "'Shiver' has a vocal that could be Jeff Buckley influenced, the soaring vocals are a joy over a reasonably guitar rock based instrumental track." A review by David DeVoe in Hybridmagazine.com reads, "'Shiver' is a delightfully laid back tune, full of that great guitar sound that I have come to appreciate this band for." Spencer Owen of Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
noted, "It's the only truly decent song on Parachutes, but simultaneously, it's the only one that blatantly shows its influences. In fact, the influence can even be pinned to a single song: Jeff Buckley's 'Grace.'"
The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Shiver" was directed by English film director and cinematographer Grant Gee
Grant Gee
Grant Gee is a film director and cinematographer currently living in Brighton. He was born in Plymouth and studied Geography at St Catherine's College, Oxford....
. It features Coldplay performing in a small studio. The yellow globe featured on the Parachutes cover can be seen on top of an amplifier
Amplifier
Generally, an amplifier or simply amp, is a device for increasing the power of a signal.In popular use, the term usually describes an electronic amplifier, in which the input "signal" is usually a voltage or a current. In audio applications, amplifiers drive the loudspeakers used in PA systems to...
in the video. The music video received "strong exposure" on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
.
In 2003, "Shiver" was featured on Coldplay's live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
Live 2003
Live 2003
Live 2003 is a live album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, first released in November 2003. The set features concerts filmed at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion on 21 July 2003 and 22 July 2003....
.
Chart performance
| Chart (2000-01) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
|
| Dutch Single Top 100 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | |