Customer Reviews

A Rush of Blood to the Head

5 star:		(612)
4 star:		(148)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(49)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

Coldplay's "A Rush of Blood to the Head" is a rare thing in today's music. It is an album that people will remember, 20, 50, 100 years from now as a classic album. 'Rush of Blood' has it all; catchy choruses, beautiful lyrics, awesome guitar, sad songs, happy love songs, a mix of folk, rock, new age and even punk. It can please just about any music fan with its ecclectic nature. Chris Martin has a soulful, gorgeous falsetto and when he rocks out and lets loose, there is nothing like it. I would recommend 'Rush of Blood' to anyone and everyone. It's sheer genius.

Coldplay's second album is possibly 2002's best rock album. But I gave it a 4 anyway.

Coldplay doesn't deserve to be put on a pedastal yet, based on some 2 years worth of albums. Of course they've been around longer; however, they've only bothered with two full-length albums.

Listening to Rush of Blood is like a feeling of deja vu: the band hasn't improved by leaps and bounds over their sound from Parachutes; however, the name of this album's game is consistency and maturity.

Parachutes hit the listener with longings and desires (title track, Yellow, etc.) conveyed by undeveloped lyrics and basic musical sound. Rush of Blood is somewhat similar, but only to the casual listener. Martin has improved as a songwriter (check out The Scientist, Politik and God Put a Smile on My Face), and the band has more of the ambient beauty that endeared them to us the first time around (Amsterdam, Warning Sign, Clocks).

However, they're not the godsend many people will have you believe.

While you listen to this album, make sure to avoid confusing the band's talent with "the most beautiful compositions of our time." The music sounds great, yes, but - to quote many Coldplay fans - they're no Radiohead. Yorke's band seems to thrive off experimentation, while Martin's goes along with a tried-and-true formula on their sophomore effort. It seems too many people get hung up in the bathos the album may inspire within.

Grab Rush of Blood if you liked Parachutes or you're in love with the two singles--it'll be worth your time and money. However, don't expect anything out of this world from this album. The music is indeed beautiful, but not the epic orchestrations other reviewers will have you believe. They're not there yet.

There isn't much more to say about Coldplay & this CD that likely hasn't already been said except that this follow-up CD after Parachutes is such a good CD also. Anyone who wants to see why this band hit the scene like an explosion & rose so quickly in today's pop culture only has to listen to see clearly with the introduction of those 2 CD's that they would mark themselves to oneday be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

They brought something uniquely refreshing that for me as a fan I felt like was new to rock & totally refreshing. Undeniably Chris Martin has one of the best voices to come along in ages,,,he can deliver on rock songs but then totally sweep you off your feet with a sweet & softly delivered ballad.

Their video's that accompany some of their songs (not on this CD) always caught your eye too leaving an imprint to remind you to pick up that CD....and make you question "Who is this Band"? "I've got to check them out & pick that up"! I can say since the CD Parachutes I've been a steady customer of the Coldplay market. These first 2 CD's though I have to say are my favorite & likely will be till the end of time. But their newest CD "Mylo Xyloto" is also so cool...check it out as well;you'll be glad you did!

Cheers!

Not sure where I've been for the past 2 years, but I finally picked this CD up. I had listened to "Parachutes" from Coldplay, and was not totally impressed. Not knowing that I was watching Coldplay on some music TV "Award" show (performing "Clocks" live), I asked my kids and they told me it was Coldplay and for me to be quiet so they could listen. This band from the UK is wonderful. Somewhere between U2 and Radiohead, somewhere between Dave Matthews and Jeff Buckley (RIP)... but distinctly their own sound. Chris Martin is accomplished on the piano and his style of singing is uniquely his own. Coldplay covers the gambit here singing about love and love lost, life here in the now as well as the after, and politics (trade wars - see track 1 "Politik"). Make no mistake, the rest of Coldplay can play their instruments too (no disrespect to Jon, Will, Guy and Phil). "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" is an accomplished and mature piece of work for such a young/new band. Having gone back to listen to their debute "Parachutes" again... "Shiver" and "Yellow" are probably the biggest hits and with good reason... both fabulous songs. The rest of "Parachute" just didn't strike the chord that all of "A Rush Of Blood..." did. On first listen, track 1 "Politik" upset me music-wise. 2 chords - it was way to simple. Then I listened to the lyrics and now I love this song. Other wonderful tracks are "Green Eyes", "The Scientist" and the title track. My favorite Coldplay song (then and now) is "Clocks". "Clocks" is elegantly played by Martin and it gives off a celestial spiritual kind of feeling. Coldplay has matured tremendously with their sophomore release and I'm looking forward to more. This album can't help but grow on you.

I listened to Parachutes non-stop fro about a year. Nothing else came close to being anywhere near as good. Until I discovered Radiohead, and this album came out. My favourite track is... it would be quicker to list the tracks I don't give 10/10. Ok, God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, Daylight, A Whisper. I love those three, I just don't love them as much as the other ones. If I had to choose a favourite, I would say... "The Scientist". This album blew me away, and I love it the best out of all other albums. I can't wait until album 3! In a word : AMAZING!

I absolutely LOVE this group! They always churn out catchy mellow tunes. Every song on this album makes the listener think deeper. The lyrics contain wonderful messages. My favourites are "In My Place", "The Scientist", and "Green Eyes" (the latter which is incredibly romantic and I get chills when the lead singer hits that long note - God, I love his voice!) This album takes off from where "Parachutes" ended. Chances are, if you liked their first CD, you'll also like their second. The whole group is talented and I can't wait for their next album!

As many people probably were, I was a little skeptical when this came out. Parachutes was (and still is) one of my all-time favorite CDs. I had doubts whether the band would be able to improve upon what I already thought was damn close to perfect. There is also that legendary "sophomore slump" that happens to many artists out there. After hearing "In My Place", I figured that this CD was worth the risk, even if it was slightly inferior to Parachutes.

Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. It took a couple listens for some of the songs to really sink in, but they definitely have... These songs are definitely slower and mellower than some of the stuff off of Parachutes, but make up for it in emotion, power, and intensity. Chris Martin's voice, piano and guitars pretty much drive all of the songs, with the other members filling them in nicely.. especially the subtle but effective electric guitar work.

My favorite songs from here would be "Politik", "God Put A Smile On Your Face", "The Scientist", "Green Eyes", "Warning Sign", "A Rush of Blood to the Head" and "Amsterdam". The only song I'm not totally thrilled with would be "A Whisper", but it's still good enough to not take away from the 5 star rating, and what it lacks is more than made up for by the other tracks.

Basically, if you're looking for another "Yellow" (which is indeed and incredible song), you won't find it here... but if you really liked "Spies" or "Trouble" from Parachutes, you'll fall in love with this...

If you're into mainstream music that occasionally sounds like it's trying to say something but ultimately fails to surpass Ear Candy level, this CD will probably light up your life. You can even conduct a conversation or do something that requires some amount of concentration while listening to the unobtrusive music. If, however, you're like me, disgusted by the mainstream and much of this supposed "alternative" movement (which is inherently derivative and uninteresting in itself), you'd do well to stay away.

The Jeff Buckley and Radiohead comparisons are, to be frank, insults to those respective artists. Chris Martin seems to enjoy employing his falsetto range on a fairly consistent basis, so he's automatically in Jeff Buckley territory. "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" lifts the chord progression from a Radiohead song (which lifted the chord progression from a Roxy Music song). Much of the music sounds melancholic, and even (if you don't listen too closely) ethereal and intricate. So they're automatically in the same class as Radiohead, who are ridiculously over-hyped themselves. Listen more closely to, say, "Clocks", and you might notice that the "intricate" piano part is a simple arpeggio that anyone with a basic understanding of the piano and melody could play. Listen to the lyrics. Brilliant? Incisive? Not quite. I won't quote from them for the sake of my stomach.

Essentially, music in general has reached an all-time low. Popular music has melted into one homogenous stew of endlessly-recycled chord progressions, indistinct voices and vapid lyrics. Coldplay stand out because...well...their music at least tries to mean something. No one really hears or talks about artists like Tim Buckley (Jeff's enigmatic, often-misunderstood father), Laura Nyro, Chris Bell, Mary Margaret O'Hara and Scott Walker, unless they're being compared to a new artist who (at best) is nothing more than a pale imitation of something that's already been done better. Very few people seem interested in music that actually says something, pushes boundaries, challenges and maybe forces them to re-think their conceptions of what music is supposed to be. Not that it always has to SAY or MEAN something, but there's an ever-increasing blurring between what's listenable and what's truly original and thought-provoking. There is a difference, and it's a pretty cavernous one. At this point, good music is instantly deemed incredible, and mediocre is upgraded to good. Adequate musicians become Gods, unskilled lyricists poets. What is trite becomes profound. The thermometer's broken, but no one really minds.

But hey, if passable and competent mood music is what you're after, nothing else compares. Myself, I'd rather listen to something obscure that was recorded more than thirty years ago and remains ahead of its time. If you really want to hear music that moves and breathes, track down a copy of Tim Buckley's out-of-print "Starsailor". His was a voice that truly reached "soaring" heights (and depths). It'll probably scare the hell out of you.

I am highly into experimental rock/metal, but Coldplay's follow up to the just-as-bad 'Parachutes' is full of the same, mindnumbingly dull, pseudo intelligent bul lsh it. There have been many a coment made about how this album is "fresh" and "groundbreaking", they are all null and void. These are from the people who spend too much time watching MTV and not enough time searching for decent music. Coldplay is basically a terrible Sigur Ros cover band, I'm surprised the guys in Radiohead haven't mudered them (ala Burzum and Mayhem). The music on this album is just irritating (with the exception of the piano in "Clocks"), and the vocals are just terrible. who ever told the i diot that he could sing should be burned along with all Coldplay Albums. Listen to me, please, if you want some brilliant experimental type music listen to Opeth (either 'Still Life' or 'Damnation' would be best), Godspeed You! Black Emperor, or Sigur Ros and stop supporting this horrid excuse for honest and intelligent music. Pretencious MTV junkies must be de stroyed!

If it's possible, Chris Martin gets even more weenie on the follow-up to Coldplay's decent debut "Parachutes". This guy bleats and bloats along each song like a wounded sick puppy dog. Get a backbone and some firm vocals, man. The schtick's tired. And while you're at it, dump Gwyneth, you're losing your indie cred by hanging out with the Hollywood harlot.