Coldplay's sophomore album A Rush Of Blood To The Head was released in 2002 to critical acclaim, winning three Grammy Awards, a Q Award, and a BRIT Award. It is ranked as the 473th greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone, and as the 65th most definitive album of all time by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
None of this mattered to me. Before 2008, I thought of Coldplay as a depressing emoband. That's what I was always told, anyway; Their only accomplishment was that complex piano song they had a few years prior, but that was all they really did. When I was a freshman in college, in 2008, I downloaded a huge file of music; it was easily accessible and I didn't want to risk not finding it all later. In that huge file, buried deep were three albums that I loaded into iTunes and completely disregarded: Parachutes, A Rush Of Blood To The Head, and X&Y. All Coldplay LP's. A few months later, a song called Daylight came onto my shuffle; the warbling guitar riff peaked my interest but the quirky bass line sold me instantly. I haven't questioned their artistry since.
A Rush opens with a swell of ambiance, followed by a pounding repetition of drums delivered by drummer Will Champion. The majority of albums begin with a song that should prepare the rest of the album, and in that vein, Politik prepared me for greatness. The slow-down of the bridge followed by the blast of energetic sound makes for an epic opener. The album slows down with the first single In My Place, a mid-tempo plea for a lover. The simple guitar melody carries the song amidst strings and cymbals. God Put A Smile Upon Your Face follows with a catchy guitar melody and a pulsating chorus that leaves you so high that that the next track, the easily-recognizable The Scientist, seems to be pulsating as well. The Scientist is depressingly beautiful, a track that I would have anticipated from Coldplay before I knew of them. Singer Chris Martin's vocals are often praised for this ballad. The next track is the track of the album. This track, along with 2008's Viva la Vida, is one of the band's signature songs.
The epic, awesome, award-winning Clocks pretty much floats through you. I don't think there is a way to listen to this song and not smile or tap your feet or hum a little. There honestly isn't a proper way to capture its "-ness" in words, in my opinion. The strings and keys are just...full of "-ness." This is a song that must be sung to the rafters. The aforementioned Daylight follows Clocks with the same sense of urgency. Daylight features a warbling electric guitar by guitarist Jonny Buckland that carries on throughout the song. Bassist Guy Berryman plays a diddly, almost sensual bass part throughout the song that is highlighted during the bridge. The following song, Green Eyes, is a nice guitar piece that slows the album down for a few minutes. I personally skip this song once I stop replaying Daylight in my head. The following song is one that Martin himself has said he wishes the band never recorded.
Warning Sign is my favorite Coldplay record, perhaps because it isn't an obvious tune of theirs. Perhaps that is why the band seldom plays the song live? Warning Sign is a pop/rock song at best, with the basic arsenal of drums, guitars, a piano, and introspective lyrics. It doesn't ask for too much deciphering and it doesn't have a dazzling piano melody or a synthy bass line. It's just a song. But it's basic pop/rock done by Coldplay; it has this quality of being so much more than a filler track. The up-down guitar that plays right after the chorus is so alternative and Martin's droning vocals push the song out of the mainstream and into the world of sappy-indie-kill-me music that just makes me smile. I wish Martin and the band would think twice about the value of this song. They recorded it for a reason.
A Whisper picks the album back up to a pounding number that eases from gentle edgy guitars to a resonating chorus with piano and drums. I find it forgettable like Green Eyes, but it doesn't disappoint. The final two close the album out with themes of sadness, regret, and foreboding. The album is named after track ten, A Rush Of Blood To The Head, which could be described as a tale of blind faith. The track never surpasses its soft level of assurance that what is being said isn't necessarily right. The chorus raises the volume to the point of acknowledgment, but not past that to pressuring the listener. Amsterdam, the final track, seems to be about a love that has ended on one side, and that one side is pushing the other to move on. The first two verses and chorus are strictly accompanied by Martin and the piano. The last verse builds up with the addition of the band and concludes again with the piano. The album ends with Martin's seldom-valued lower register.
If anything in the world is art, A Rush Of Blood To The Head certainly is. To me, music is the best kind of art. It can leap so many bounds to reach people. Coldplay and A Rush Of Blood To The Head shattered my perception of what is good music and has forced me to start anew, and I couldn't be happier to do so.
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