This is a fabulous video. The sky is the director/colourist. Here is Coldplay, up on the citadel in Amman playing a set. I am biased, having lived in Amman for a few years. But let’s start with the scenery. It begins at dawn and the wonderful shots capture the sand coloured buildings in the early light. But as we progress the sands become darker. more defined: pastel browns, the oranging sky, bedecked with flights of birds, offers us more pink-tinged sunrise hues, muted sands on the buildings turn to dark golden brown or even hints of purple sun colours. This is the Amman I remember. Water tanks on roofs, buildings clinging to the jebels (hills), and colours changing with the light. How did they avoid the early morning mosque calls to film this?

I loved the way the song titles were subtitled in Arabic. I loved the use of local musicians (Paul Simon take note). I noted the Arabic tassels on the mic stands with pleasure. These guys embraced the local culture for sure. Were they not slightly suffering from vertigo when playing on top of the amphitheatre?

Now to the music. Stunning. In “Broken Gospel” the synergy between lead and backing singers is absolutely tangible. “Daddy” brought a tear to my eye and the horn section in “Arabesque” tweaked my jazz mojo. The exuberance of the backers in “Orphans” was heart-rending. And all this whilst watching the sun rising over downtown Amman: what more could I ask for? Pure pleasure for me.

Here is the video you need to watch. It’s about an hour long but will help you to understand what a beautiful city Amman is, and what a great album this is from Coldplay. Thank you, guys. Kudos!