Coldplay's latest: A Rush of Blood to the Head (1 Viewer)

[Ted Lee]

since i was already at bb getting my reservoir dogs dvd (mr. brown of course) i figured i'd pick this up.
i'm very glad i did. this album is most excellent. none of that irritating "open slow, then jam till your ears bleed" stuff.
i guess i could call this "mellow radiohead without all the keyboard stuff" or "a rawer younger but mellower U2". all the songs have a great melodic feel. this is an album you can listen to while you're at work, yet it won't put you to sleep.
don't get me wrong...the album jams, but it's not overbearing. if you want some great music with an alternative rock feel, then this may be your cup of tea.
some standout tracks include "god put a smile on your face", "daylight", "a rush of blood to the head", and (of course) "in my place".
anyway, even though i've only listened to it once so far, i already know this will be getting heavy rotation.
it would be unfair of me to give it a ranking considering i've only listened to it once, but what the heck: solid "A"!

 

[MichaelAW]

How does it compare to their debut (which I love)?

 

[Matt Birchall]

I've only listened through it once so far, and it didn't quite jump out at me, at least not as much as Parachutes did when I first heard that record. But then again, I didn't think much of Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot the first time I played it, and now that's one of my favorite albums of all time. So, I'll go back over AROBTTH several times, and I think I'll probably get a little more into it. I will say, that just after one listen, I really liked the last track (don't have title on-hand).

i guess i could call this "mellow radiohead without all the keyboard stuff"

Funny--I was talking with a friend yesterday about Coldplay, and I called them "Radiohead-lite". Not that I was disparaging them (I like Coldplay), but to me, they've got the same type of feel to them, just maybe not as intense as Radiohead. There's a song on their first album (don't know the title) which reminds me a whole lot of a couple of things from O.K. Computer.

They might not be the most original band out there today, but I like what they're doing.

 

[Ted Lee]

michael - unfortunately i've never listened to "parachutes".

matt - do you think i'll dig it as much as this one? i'll more than likely pick it up anyway.

funny you mention wilco. i just picked up uncle tupelos best of and completely dig it! alternative/country/rock all-in-one! i hear everyone rave about "yankee hotel foxtrot" - maybe i'll have to check it out.

 

[Matt Birchall]

funny you mention wilco. i just picked up uncle tupelos best of and completely dig it! alternative/country/rock all-in-one! i hear everyone rave about "yankee hotel foxtrot" - maybe i'll have to check it out.

Ah, but are you a Farrar man, or a Tweedy man? That's the question!

 

[Ted Lee]

c'mon matt - put yourself on the line man! welp i wouldn't bet your paycheck...but chances are i'll get it anyway. hopefully i can find it used somewhere...that'd be perfect.
fararr and tweedy who?

 

[Brian Bunn]

Matt--I am both a Farrar AND Tweedy man. Don't make me choose!

Ted--It is highly likely that you will very much like "Parachutes" as well.

And for more along somewhat similar lines also check out Kevin Tihista's "Don't Breathe A Word" and the just released "Judo". Ahhhh...very good stuff. And if you haven't already (which you probably have), Travis - "The Invisible Man" and/or "The Man Who"

NP: Candy Butchers - Play With Your Head

 

[TheoGB]

to me, they've got the same type of feel to them, just maybe not as intense as Radiohead.

This is precisely why I wasn't impressed with Coldplay. There are a couple of tracks off Parachutes I liked but essentially they lack the edge a great band like Radiohead have. All the songs were similarly paced, with similar sound. It's like putting a Radiohead compilation together and only putting on tracks like Fake Plastic Trees, Let Down and Street Spirit - there's no dynamic.

I'd be interested in knowing if this album takes Coldplay forward or if it's just a 'consolidation'...

 

[Dan Joy]

I have to say that I never heard of this band until yesterday (Yeah, I know wake up!). Unfortunately I also purchased 4 other cd yesterday that are crowding my cd changer. Believe it or not the best buy teen worker advised me to get this (also at $10.99). After two spins in the background, it all sounded alike. I will listen to it more to see if it grows on me, but so far not impressed. I don't think the recording quality is very good either.

 

[Jay W]

Yeah the production quality seems to be a little down on the last album. I am not a big fan, but Coldplay is always good for a relaxing listen . The music itself tends to get a little repetative after a while, but I think this album flows a lot better than the last. Pretty mellow album, it has some nice tracks on it (Green Eyes, Clocks, The Scientist are all pretty good).

 

[Matt Birchall]

All the songs were similarly paced, with similar sound. It's like putting a Radiohead compilation together and only putting on tracks like Fake Plastic Trees, Let Down and Street Spirit - there's no dynamic.

Yeah, after listening to the new album a couple more times, there was one or two tracks which were a little more "rock-and-roll-y", more uptempo, faster (track #3, I believe, was one of them). But for the most part, everything else is similar to Parachutes: Slow, languid, mellow, what have you. Probably not enough difference from the last one to change your opinion on the band, save those couple of tracks.

I'm liking the new album more and more, but it'll take a few more listens for me to determine if I like it better than the first one.

 

[JamieD]

I can't say I like one album better than the other, but I do think that they are both great albums. Certainly, some people are going to compare them to Radiohead and find them lacking, but I would have to say that, leaving comparisons aside, I find it to be a great album lyrically and musically. I would certainly pick it up if I liked Parachutes (which I did) and if you didn't, it's still worth a "listen" (borrow!) to test it out. A couple of spins definitely doesn't hurt.

 

[Justin1]

I am a huge ColdPlay fan as well as a Radiohead fan.

Both Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head are great albums. Parachutes, just like Radiohead's first album, Pablo Honey, focuses more heavily on a strong overall sound from the band. Most songs are very catchy, which catches your attention, and the lyrics really seal the deal.

A Rush of Blood to the Head, just like The Bends, focuses more on lyrical content than musical exploration. It takes a few spins to really soke this album in. But, trust me, it's so worth it. This is a terrific album. Chris Martin is really able to extend his vocal abilities a bit more than Parachutes. This is exactly the same as Radiohead's The Bends. Thom Yorke was really able to show some of his vocal ability on this album as compared to the alt-rock heavy Pablo Honey.

 

[Gui A]

I loved Parachutes on the first listen. A Rush of Blood took about 3 listens for me to really like, but I've listened to it some more, and now I love it too.
I like Parachutes as an album, but there's some songs on Rush of Blood that I like better than anything on Parachutes.

And I'm really happy that The Scientist is the next single and they're going to shoot a video soon.

And I'm really mad that I missed the only Canadian concert last week.

NP - Puffy AmiYumi / Spike / check out the sig