‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ by Coldplay

Coldplay’s first album, ‘Parachutes’, was a big success. Lots of people bought it, and lots of people loved it, but there were some who didn’t. A number of critics dismissed the album, and the band as a whole as being a bit wet – too timid to achieve anything of note. ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ seems tailor made to dispel that argument.

The first two tracks make a very strong opening. ‘Politik’ is loud, and more importantly, big. It has no particularly memorable tune, but it certainly creates an impression (and sets a bit of a template for ‘Square One’ on the next album). ‘In My Place’, the first single, is custom built for stadium sing-alongs, and while it may not be especially deep or meaningful, it soars regardless. In just two tracks, Coldplay demonstrate a new found sense of scale.

‘God Put A Smile Upon Your Face’ ups the tempo and throws in some spiky guitar work. ‘The Scientist’ is a slower track which would have sounded at home on ‘Parachutes’, but which would have been a stand-out on it. ‘Clocks’ is like a distillation of everything Coldplay so far. Both these tracks indicate the increased importance of Chris Martin’s piano to the band, something which would continue to develop over this album, and subsequent ones.

‘Daylight’, again, points forward with piano and guitar parts that swoop around each other creating a dense mix of sound that would characterise following albums. ‘Green Eyes’ provides a welcome contrast as a more straightforward acoustic strum-along. ‘Warning Sign’ is glorious, and the best showcase for Martin’s voice so far. ‘Whisper’ is the loudest and densest track on the album, but probably the least essential all in all.

The album ends as well as it opens. The title track is a brooding epic in what could be considered textbook Coldplay style – downbeat verses contrasting with big swells of sound for the chorus. ‘Amsterdam’ is played as a virtual solo piece from Martin most of the way through – piano and vocals backed only with some quiet wordless harmonies. Then the rest of the band appear for the final section, throwing everything they have into the last few bars. Coldplay would remember this trick – they do almost exactly the same thing on ‘Miss You’ during the next album – but the impact is fantastic.

As an album, this was a giant leap forward on its release. You could argue over whether it was bettered afterwards, although you could make a good case for saying that it wasn’t. What seems undeniable, though, is that this is where Coldplay really worked out what they wanted to be. ‘X&Y’ and ‘Viva La Vida’ would, at times, differ considerably from this album, but little hints of structure and style can be traced right back to it, and listening to it now, several years down the line, it doesn’t sound like an early piece of work. A textbook second album. Brilliant.