A Rush of Blood to the Head

It may not transcend Parachutes, but this is a very decent sophomore effort. Sure it's mopey; sure it's resigned. That's the whole point. The question then becomes, how well does it achieve its goal to mope you out? Well, as it turns out it's pretty damn effective in that department.

Most of the songs are mid-tempo, with lots of dynamic shifts and volume-tweaking. Coldplay have been criticized as being Radiohead Lite (for one thing) but that isn't really true. Coldplay is a lot more melodic than Radiohead; more conventionally "pretty." While that may sound like proof of the very charge, I think the comparison is made more for the quality and timbre of Chris Martin's voice. The similarity to Thom Yorke's voice is sometimes uncanny.

There are some problems, though. Sequencing "Daylight" immediately after the beautiful, shimmering "Clocks" was a mistake as although they are structurally different they have virtually identical rhythms. Great songs both, particularly the former, but a little close for comfort. Another problem (not a serious one, however) is the pacing of the rest of the album. As I said, most of the songs are mid tempo and some ("Green Eyes," "Warning Sign," "In My Place") even have a quasi-country lilt to them which is nice, but there's a certain sameness that gets to be distracting: instead of just losing yourself in the lushness of it all, you might find yourself critiquing it instead. Like here.

But when it's good, A RUSH is great. "Clocks," "A Whisper" (particularly the coda), "God Put A Smile On Your Face" are all required listening . . . in fact, nothing on this album is anything less than very good. Oddly, however, I find the title track to be the weakest of the bunch, mainly because of its length (nearly six minutes).

So, I keep coming back to this album - - more so than to the debut. I didn't like it much at first. But there's a certain closeness to it - - a certain confessional quality I find compelling. So . . . I guess it transcends PARACHUTES after all.

I was given this album as a gift three years ago and while it was new to me I immediately noticed that the lead vocalist had no idea of how to break away from singing very "clunkily" in syllables...to every song!!!
I haven't read all the reviews to this album (would take days) but wonder if he annoys anyone else as much as he annoys me?

The Coldplay album to get if you're only going to get one, but all of them are good.
this isn't as mellow or low-key as Parachutes. amazing orchestration, sweeping melodies. i admit this isn't for everyone.. some may find it depressing but i think the songs aren't straight depressing- they're more bittersweet, melancholy, hopeful. simple lyrics everybody can relate to.
i still play this cd all the way through sometimes and i've had it for years.

I like this CD, but after a while all of the songs on it sound the same. Coldplay is a great band and I recomend this CD for anyone who likes that kind of music.

No matter how many CDs I buy, I find myself listening to this one again and again. Invigorating and soothing at the same time.