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A Rush Of Blood To The Head
by Coldplay

Coldplay reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 80 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.5 out of 10
based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 163 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The UK quartet follows the critical and commercial success of their 2000 debut album 'Parachutes' with this long-awaited follow-up release, which the band has suggested may be their last.

LABEL: Capitol
RELEASE DATE: 27 August 2002
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Alternative, Rock, Britpop

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Entertainment Weekly
Displaying a cohesion rarely heard in albums these days, ''A Rush of Blood'' bobs from one majestic little high to another.
Read Full Review
100
Playlouder
Fierce and noble and fragile and genuinely moving, 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' is a lovely furnace of searing goodness made by some wonderful contradictory bastards.
Read Full Review
100
E! Online
There's nothing quite like the sound of a band at the top of its game.
Read Full Review
100
Uncut
May well come to be regarded as the best British rock album since OK Computer. [Sep 2002, p.118]
90
New Musical Express
It's an album of outstanding natural beauty, an organic, wholesome work.
Read Full Review
90
Billboard
A stronger, more distinctive album than its predecessor in nearly every respect.
Read Full Review
90
PopMatters
Parachutes was impressive, but Coldplay's new album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, is stunning, the amount of growth from Album One to Album Two equally so.
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90
Launch.com
A very tastefully crafted, tuneful, and affecting piece of work with a band that is still just beginning to tap its enormous potential.
Read Full Review
90
Dot Music
The key to 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' is to be found not in Martin's presence, but in the intensity, dynamism, verve and style that Coldplay have now nailed, when comparisons to Radiohead, Echo and The Bunnymen and, perhaps most pertinently, U2's 'Unforgettable Fire', manifest themselves in a series of killer strides.
Read Full Review
90
Neumu.net
It recalls U2's The Joshua Tree, and not just for its stunning guitar work but for its wild passion and spiraling tension-and-release dynamics.
Read Full Review
80
Blender
The sound is simultaneously terse and expansive--moody and powerful, shot through with singer Chris Martin's grainy delivery. [#9, p.145]
80
All Music Guide
A Rush of Blood to the Head might not instantly grab listeners, but it's not tailored that way. It pushes you to look beyond dreamy vocals for a musical inner core.
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80
Rolling Stone
With A Rush of Blood, Coldplay do more than fulfill the promise of "Yellow" -- they surpass everything they've done up to this point, making first-rate guitar rock with some real emotional protein on its bones.
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80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Dressed up in subtle strings and pianos, and given time to slowly breathe and develop beyond simple pop, A Rush Of Blood's 11 graceful tracks sparkle and swirl, occasionally escalating into a booming crescendo before dissolving back into delicacy.
Read Full Review
80
Q Magazine
A collection of vastly moving songs that will render stadiums as intimate as bedrooms. U2, Radiohead... Coldplay? It would seem so. [Sep 2002, p.98]
80
Trouser Press
The sound is fuller, the arrangements more complex; most importantly, the songs are just a whole lot better [than Parachutes'].
Read Full Review
78
Austin Chronicle
If you're presently in love, A Rush of Blood ... will make you want to frolic like Lily Tomlin with the cartoon animals in 9 to 5. Otherwise, it'll probably make you want to puke.
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70
Village Voice
Coldplay's new record is a little edgier, trancier, and more conversational than their last. It is called A Rush of Blood to the Head, and in waves and swells of major tunes and frisky then looping time signatures, that's just about the effect it has.
Read Full Review
70
Spin
A guitar record equally suitable for a lost weekend or a good cry. [Sep 2002, p.125]
70
Alternative Press
A patchwork quilt of wispy Britpop ballads soaring majestically in an effort to overcome their own blandness. [Oct 2002, p.78]
60
CultureDose.net
Without the emotional resonance of Martin's voice at its most free, Coldplay's brilliantly minimal musical foundation has nothing to support. So it falters.
Read Full Review
60
Mojo
The line between hypnotic and tediously repetitive is occasionally crossed. [Sep 2002, p.94]
51
Pitchfork
But while the sound of this album is more expansive, the influences a bit less obvious, and the approach more varied, the guys forgot to tote along their initial strength: the songs.
Read Full Review
30
CDNow
The most disappointingly safe alternative album of the year.
Read Full Review
20
New York Magazine
It's Coldplay's lack of humor, the very straightness of its lyrics, that makes the dourness so detestable. And where miserabilists past had a strong pop sensibility, Coldplay is content to create directionless palettes of sound.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 163 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Scott W. gave it a10:
Truly a beautifully cold album.The sound of coldplay is perfect in this second album. A classic and one of the the best albums ever made.

Eshopj V. gave it a7:
In retrospect, looking back from '07 gives enough hindsight that Coldplay's second effort with "A Rush Of Blood to the Head", is nothing more than just lush-laden melodies akin to eating flavoring, in that while they are by all means delicious, they lack much nutritional value to actually be considered "good". Now by all means that dosen't mean this album is just another piece of garbage to be cast aside. With the opening track "Politik", we are cast into a dense world of alternating loud and quiet. "Clocks" cyclic nature and hypnotic tune, does a comendable job of yanking in the listener. "The Scientist", as aft-mentioned, is probably one of the most well-constructed pop songs of our time so far thanks to its simplistic yet yearning tune. However, when one is confronted to actually "look deeper" into the album, it is akin to diving off a twelve foot. platform to a two foot pool. Most of the lyrics are about love, which is however trite in its usage, still a comendable subject. If only it weren't the same story for almost every single track on the whole damn album. Even "Politik"'s meaning is almost misguided and hazy unless you bothered to read the CD booklet, at which point it becomes rather banal in its execution. Previous comments comparing this to "Floyd" are probably the most jarring comparrisons I have ever heard. (With the exception of the penultimate title track, which is one of the best off the album.) If anything they are more akin to later Supertramp, with a little bit of both the world of electic and conventional. (With a more obvious lean to pop.) In closing, while this album is far from the supposed "holy grail" of music that is proponents claim it to be, it is no where near the almost slanderous comments of its detractors. (With the exception that it sounds/tastes like "Radiohead" lite.) With the state that the current trend pop music is in, albums like these while far from what can be considered "great", are still in rather short supply to conventional audiences. With a fourth album due out in '08 headed by Brian Eno, (After the meh-ish nature of "X & Y", a good thing.) we can hope for mabye a slightly brighter future judging from its past.

joseph a gave it an8:
This is definately a great album with fantastic songs and is essential for any coldplay fan. is not as good as X an Y coldplays latest album but is still 1 of there best

gary m gave it a10:
I'm a hard rock/hip-hop fan, so I don't listen to "make out" music all that much. But even I can say this album is awesome. When its all said and done, this will go down as the album of the decade because of its universal likability.

Osa A gave it a0:
I bought this album because it won a Grammy for album of the year so I thought it most be good and decided to by it at Best Buy. The album sounded good at first, but then I realised that is album was not that great and cannot believe it won a Grammy because it was so safe with not too many great songs. The only song that was most appealing and radio friendly was Clocks, which was about it. I was so disappointed that I sold it on Amazon. If you a person who likes poems and deep storyline music that makes you think this album is for you, but not for me unfortunately.

Iban L gave it a3:
Vastly overrated. There are some classic songs but some others are boring, plain and sometimes unlistenable. A step backwards from their fine debut "Parachutes"

dave n gave it a10:
When Coldplay burst out onto mainstream radio with "Parachutes" it was clear that this was a band ready-made for stardom. Parachutes had the perfect indie appeal while showcasing their ability to perfect pop songs. This great CD was in no way a preperation for the brilliant "A Rush of Blood to the Head". From beginning to end, every song is a gem. Politik sucks you in with its intense string section and leaves you there the entire time. Coldplay has already reached their masterpiece 2 CDs in and there is no way to go now except down.

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