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"Shiver" is a song by British rock band Coldplay. British record producer Ken Nelson and Coldplay produced the track for their debut album "Parachutes". Lead singer 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's lyrics are a reference to Martin's unrequited love.
The song was released as the album's lead single in the United Kingdom and second in the United States following the single "Yellow". The single reached number 35 on the UK Singles Chart, and its critical reception has been generally positive.
"Shiver" was written two years before its release. Martin allegedly wrote the song while thinking of Australian singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia, the woman with whom he was linked at the time, but he later denied it was about her. Other accounts have claimed that Imbruglia was indeed not Martin's inspiration for writing the song. Instead, he appeared to have been inspired by girlfriends in his teenage years and early 20s. Martin actually wrote the song on 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".
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