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A Rush of Blood to the Head

Coldplay

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iTunes Review

Rolling on stately rhythms of brooding grandeur, Coldplay made good on its initial promise with an outstanding sophomore album. A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002) kept faith with the band's audience by further mining the lyric depths and sonic chasms heard on their debut Parachutes. Echoing the stark atmospherics of Pink Floyd and the emotionally unguarded vocals of Brian Wilson in his prime, Coldplay creates music of austere power throughout this album. Singer Chris Martin's luminous falsetto achieves an aching poignancy on tracks like "Politik" and "Amsterdam," lending elusive colors to his elliptical lyrics. There's a majestic power to the band's stripped-down ensemble playing, whether they're unreeling a loping groove on "In My Place," weaving a swirling melody on "Clocks" or painting a bleak aural landscape on the title track. "God Put A Smile On Your Face" may be the album's high point - Martin's spiritual intimations mesh with the shimmering flow of the track flawlessly - amid the incisive playing and quiet intensity throughout.

Customer Reviews

One of the Best Albums of All Time...

If Coldplay’s first album “Parachutes” put them on the map, then their sophomore effort “A Rush of Blood To the Head” established for them their own continent.

Let’s backtrack a bit…

In the spring of 2003 I heard that Coldplay would be making a tour stop near my hometown. At that point I already owned a copy of “Parachutes” which I had talked a friend into buying for me (don’t ask me how, I guess I didn’t want it bad enough to pay for it myself). The main reason I wanted it and the only thing I really listened to on it was the song “Yellow”—probably the song that some would say Coldplay is most known for. Needless to say I wasn’t too much of a fan by then but since big name acts like this rarely, if ever, came through my neck of the woods I figured I’d better go to the concert just to check it out.

After I purchased my ticket I figured it might be a good idea to buy a copy of their new album since that was what they were touring in support of. I wanted to be able to seem cool and in order to do that I needed to be able to sing along to more than just one song. I listened to the album a few times through and was gradually becoming more of a steady fan. But the real turning point for me was seeing them in concert. After that night I knew that from then on I was a Coldplay fan for life.

If you’ve ever seen this band live then you know exactly what I’m talking about. From their display of passion, intensity, and energy all the way to the amazing green laser that shone out and formed a kind of roof over the crowd’s head during the song “Clocks”, I was beaming from ear to ear the whole time.

I’ve seen them in concert a total of three times now and their awesome live shows coupled with the fact that they simply make darn good music really makes these guys a force to be reckoned with in today’s music scene whether you love them or hate them.

Lots of bands like to claim that they have an “original” sound but more often than not I’ve found that the reality of the situation is that this is a total lie. In Coldplay’s case, especially with “A Rush of Blood To the Head”, true originality not only presents itself, it rams itself down your throat. Before this album came out and still to this day I have never heard an album quite like it (except for maybe elements of the band’s follow-up “X&Y”).

This is one of those rare albums in life that would take entirely too long to list off everything about it that makes it great, but a few key points in the album (some of which will make you wish you knew how to play piano if you don’t already) are:

-The haunting chords of the album’s opener “Politik”.

-The soft and sentimental chord progression of the amazing “The Scientist”.

-The recognizable and catchy theme of “Clocks”.

-The lyrics to and overall feel of the title track.

-And-

-The contemplative progression of the album’s closer “Amsterdam” (possibly my favorite of the whole album)—an absolutely exquisite song to close an album with.

Upon first listen to the album’s opening track, “Politik”, it seems like the whole experience might be overshadowed with a tone of negativity. But as the song progresses you actually find that what Coldplay seem to have wanted to convey is that, yes, there are frustrating things about this world but they’re not going to let these things discourage them or cause them to want to give up. This is evidenced in the second half of the song where Chris Martin just sings the same lyric over and over, “Give me love over this.” It is as though he is choosing to take all of the things about this life that frustrate him and channel them into something that fuels love rather than hate.

If nothing else, “A Rush of Blood To the Head” was a statement of intention that Coldplay planned on being around for a long time. Well, here we are almost eight years later and in the time since then these four boys from England have delivered nothing but purely amazing music and will hopefully continue to do so well into the future. It seems like the statement this album made has held true. What they began with Parachutes they truly took to the next level with this album. If I were any one of these men, looking back I would wonder to myself, “How did we ever successfully transition from an album like ‘Parachutes’ to something on such a grand scale as ‘A Rush of Blood To the Head’ without experiencing a total train wreck?” At that point I guess I would just stop wondering and simply be thankful.

A track from this album that seems to have gotten little attention is the song “Green Eyes”. I don’t know why this is as it is one of my favorite tracks. But oftentimes the real gems are hidden beneath the surface. It’s a very catchy acoustic ballad that can’t help but make you think of a loved one when you hear it. My favorite lyric from the song is, “I came here with a load and it feels so much lighter since I met you.” And that’s exactly how I’ve always felt every time I’ve come away from listening to this album—that no matter what mood I may have been in or what problems I may have been experiencing in life, my load feels just that much lighter thanks to the special place in my heart for this collection of songs.

How could you not like it?

I love Coldplay I love every song I've heard.

Wow, Coldplay will blow you away!

I have been a fan of Coldplay since they first got started, and their sound has matured and changed in many ways. This was definitely the album that got them popular in the early days! I listen to every song on this album to clear my thoughts and free my mind. It's truely one of the most inspirational and relaxing albums I've ever listened to in my life. If I had one last song to listen to before i went deaf it would be Clocks becuase it is just so beautiful and intricate! A Rush of Blood to the Head is so overlooked, stop reading this now and buy the album!

Biography

Formed: 1998 in London, England

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '90s, '00s, '10s

After surfacing in 2000 with the breakthrough single "Yellow," Coldplay quickly became one of the biggest bands of the new millennium, honing a mix of introspective Brit-pop and anthemic rock that landed the British quartet a near-permanent residence on record charts worldwide. The group's emergence was perfectly timed; Radiohead had just released the overly cerebral Kid A, while Oasis had ditched two founding members and embraced psychedelic experimentation on Standing on the Shoulder of Giants....
Full Bio

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