A Rush of Blood to the Head

A Rush of Blood to the Head
Studio album by Coldplay
Released 26 August 2002 (2002-08-26)
Recorded October 2001–May 2002
Genre Alternative rock
Length 54:12
Label Capitol, Parlophone
Producer Coldplay, Ken Nelson
Coldplay chronology
Parachutes
(2000)
A Rush of Blood to the Head
(2002)
X&Y
(2005)
Singles from A Rush of Blood to the Head
  1. "In My Place"
    Released: 5 August 2002
  2. "The Scientist"
    Released: 4 November 2002
  3. "Clocks"
    Released: 10 December 2002
  4. "God Put a Smile upon Your Face"
    Released: 14 July 2003

A Rush of Blood to the Head is the second studio album by English rock band Coldplay. Released on 26 August 2002 through the label Parlophone in the UK, the album was produced by the band and British record producer Ken Nelson. Recording started after the band became popular in Europe and overseas with the release of their debut album, Parachutes, and, in particular, one of its singles, "Yellow".[1] Attitudes to songwriting were affected by the September 11 attacks in the United States, which occurred the week before recording started.[2] The songs featured in the album have a greater use of piano and guitar than its predecessor. In 2003, it was ranked number 473 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

The album was made available in August 2002, two months after its original release date.[3] It was released on August 27 in the United States through Capitol Records. In 2008, Capitol released a remastered version of the album on a 180-gram vinyl record as part of the "From the Capitol Vaults" series. Like A Rush of Blood's successors and Parachutes, The album was a huge commercial success, debuting at number one in the United Kingdom and later placing at number seven of the country's 20 biggest-selling albums in the 21st century. The British Phonographic Industry has since certified the album 8x platinum for its accumulated sales of over 2.6 million units in Britain and over 13 million worldwide. The album spawned the hit singles "In My Place", "The Scientist", "Clocks", and "God Put a Smile upon Your Face". A Rush of Blood to the Head has been praised by critics. It won the 2003 Grammy for Best Alternative Album for the second time in a row, successive to their previous win in the same category and the 2004 Grammy for Record of the Year for the song "Clocks".

Contents

Recording and compostition

The band started recording the album in London a week after the September 11 attacks in the United States, during which their "poignant songs ... garnered larger audiences".[2][4] Since the band had never stayed in London before, they had trouble focusing. They decided to relocate in Liverpool, where they recorded some of the songs on Parachutes. Once there, vocalist Chris Martin said that they became obsessed with recording. "In My Place" was the first song recorded for the album. The band released it as the album's lead single because it was the track that made them want to record a second album following a "strange period of not really knowing what we were doing" three months after the success of Parachutes. According to Martin "one thing kept us going: recording 'In My Place'. Then other songs started coming."[4] The band wrote more than 20 songs for the album. Some of their new material, including "In My Place" and "Animals", was played live while the band were still touring Parachutes.[2][5] The album's title was revealed through a post on the band's official website.[6]

During initial recording sessions in Liverpool, vocalist Chris Martin and guitarist Jonny Buckland worked alone, and only on weekends. Each Monday they would present the song ideas they had developed to their band mates.[4] With A Rush of Blood to the Head nearly completed, Martin went into the studio late one night and wrote a piano riff that he has stated "just came out". The band recognised that this early version of the song that would become "Clocks" was special the first time Martin played it to them. Reasoning that it was too late to include the song on the album, they recorded a demo version and included it on a CD marked "Songs for #3", featuring unfinished tracks they intended to work on for their third studio album.[7][3]

By June 2002, the band completed A Rush of Blood to the Head, but thought their output sounded "rubbish" and reached an agreement with the label to postpone the release of the album until they were completely satisfied.[7][3] Subsequently many songs were discarded because they sounded like they could have been on Parachutes. Martin has claimed that it would have been uninteresting: "It would have shown that we're happy to sit back on what we'd done, and we're not. For us it was important to progress and try to improve upon our abilities as musicians." Such ambitions put the band under strain: "sometimes practice sessions ended abruptly with one or more members of Coldplay threatening to quit".[8] After headlining 2002's Glastonbury Festival, Coldplay returned to the studio and worked on some tracks from the "Songs for #3" they had produced earlier. Phil Harvey, the band's manager, heard "Clocks" and urged them to rework it immediately: "No, you must do that song now 'cause you're going on [in the lyrics] about urgency, and you're talking about keeping this song back. That doesn't make sense."[7][3]

The album includes ballads and acoustic songs featuring extensive use of guitar and piano. The U2-esque epic rock of the album's opening track "Politik", the piano-driven "Clocks", and the loud guitars of "A Whisper" were seen as an extension of the band's musical range.[9] Chris Martin has stated that the album's title track is an homage to American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, whom he considered one of "the greatest ... men with just guitars".[10]

Recording the album after the September 11 attacks gave the band a fresh perspective: "The new songs are reflective of new attitudes. [They tell listeners] not to be frightened. Anybody can achieve whatever they want to."[2] Most of the song lyrics are about urgency. Martin has commented that previous songs were more relaxed since they were in a comfortable state of mind: "Perhaps there's a bit more urgency on some of these songs. And that's born from all the places we've been and the things we've experienced." Martin has explained, in relation to the theme of urgency, that the album's title means "doing something on impulse".[8] Several songs on the album are about relationships. These tracks are based on reality, but according to Martin, they were written with a fictional twist: "Songs are like fairy tales: they have a beginning and an end and you can make it all work perfectly. Real life doesn't work like that".[4]

Packaging

The album cover for A Rush of Blood to the Head was designed by photographer Sølve Sundsbø. Sundsbø had been hired by fashion magazine Dazed & Confused in the late 1990s to produce something with a "technological feel, something all white". As an artist, he tried to do "stuff that hasn't been done before, which is virtually impossible"; he suggested taking shots using a three-dimensional scanning machine.[11]

The model for the shot wore an all-white makeup because it produces the "best results"; for the image, the model wore a twill-coloured cape. The computer could not read the colours so it was replaced with spikes, and the head in the image was chopped because the machine only scanned 30 centimetres.[12] The editor of the magazine liked the image and eventually featured it in one of their publications. Martin saw the image in the magazine and approached Sundsbø for permission to use the image as the cover of A Rush of Blood to the Head. For the album's singles, Martin asked Sundsbø what he could do; the latter suggested scanning the head of each member of the band. [11]

The booklet contains only two photos; One with Coldplay in a location that was rumoured to be a forest, and one with the same band in the studio. Both were taken by a camera.[12]

The album cover was among the ten chosen by the Royal Mail for a set of "Classic Album Cover" postage stamps issued in January 2010.[13][14]

Reception

 Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
PopMatters (favourable)[15]
New York Magazine (unfavourable)[16]
Pitchfork Media (5.1/10)[17]
Yahoo! Music (favourable)[18]
NME (9/10)[19]
Allmusic 4/5 stars[20]
Entertainment Weekly (A)[21]
The Guardian 4/5 stars[22]
Village Voice (favourable)[23]
Rolling Stone 4/5 stars[24]

Critical response

A Rush of Blood to the Head has received acclaim from numerous critics. Many felt it was better than Coldplay's previous album, Parachutes. Alexis Petridis of the newspaper The Guardian wrote that the band's "new assurance is everywhere ... the timidity of Parachutes is nowhere to be found". He concludes, "It sounds like an album ready to take on the world, and win."[22]

Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times praised the album, commenting that it is "one of the year's best albums" and describing it as "sparser, stranger and even catchier than its predecessor".[25] Rolling Stone magazine's Rob Sheffield, who was less happy with Parachutes, said that "A Rush of Blood to the Head is a nervier, edgier, thoroughly surprising album", adding, "where Parachutes was the clumsy diary of a high-strung kid, A Rush of Blood sounds more like a band with the confidence to test its own limits."[26] MacKenzie Wilson of Allmusic echoed the above comments, saying that it is a "strong album". Wilson, who compliments Martin for his "sharpened" falsetto and refined "haunting delivery" and Buckland for his "riveting guitar work", notes that "regardless of the band still being in their mid-twenties, they've made an amazing record".[20] Emma Pearse of the American newspaper The Village Voice has the same sentiments, stating that is it "a little edgier, trancier, and more conversational" compared to Parachutes.[23]

Commercial performance

A Rush of Blood to the Head debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, moving 273,924 copies.[27] The British Phonographic Industry has since certified the album eight times platinum for its accumulated sales of over 2.6 million copies.[28] With the subsequent release of "Clocks" and "The Scientist", the album spent over one year on the chart. A Rush of Blood to the Head has been placed at number seven on the list of United Kingdom's 20 biggest-selling albums of the 21st century, published by the British trade paper Music Week.[27]

The album debuted at number five in the United States with 144,000 copies sold initially, stronger than its predecessor, Parachutes, which debuted at number 189 in December 2000.[29] It has since been certified four times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America with sales of over 4,650,000 copies.[30] It has been certified five times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association, having accumulated shipments of over 350,000 units,[31] and four times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for shipments of over 400,000.[32]

Awards and accolades

A Rush of Blood to the Head has earned the band several awards from both the domestic and international music press. In 2002, it was awarded Best Album at the Q Awards.[33] In the same year, the band won two Grammy Awards: Best Alternative Music Album and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song "In My Place".[34] In 2003 A Rush of Blood... won Best British Album at the BRIT Awards, and the following year the band earned their first Grammy Award for Record of the Year for the song "Clocks".[34][35]

The album was chosen in 2002 as Billboard magazine's Critics' Choice.[36] The following year, it was ranked number 473 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[37] In 2007, The National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released a list of what they term "The Definitive 200 Albums of All Time"; A Rush of Blood to the Head ranks at number 65 on the list.[38] The album was nominated for BRIT album of 30 years at the 2010 BRIT Awards.[39]

Track listing

All songs written by Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin.

No. Title Length
1. "Politik"   5:18
2. "In My Place"   3:48
3. "God Put a Smile upon Your Face"   4:57
4. "The Scientist"   5:09
5. "Clocks"   5:07
6. "Daylight"   5:27
7. "Green Eyes"   3:43
8. "Warning Sign"   5:31
9. "A Whisper"   3:58
10. "A Rush of Blood to the Head"   5:51
11. "Amsterdam"   5:19

Credits

Production
  • Produced by Coldplay and Ken Nelson
  • Engineered and mixed by Coldplay, Ken Nelson and Rik Simpson
  • Additional production and mixing by Mark Pythian
Personnel
  • Chris Martin: Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
  • Jon Buckland: Guitars
  • Guy Berryman: Bass
  • Will Champion: Drums, Percussion
  • Strings: Susan Dench, Richard George, Peter Lale, Anne Lines, Laura Melhewish, Leo Payne, Audrey Riley
  • String arrangements by Coldplay and Audrey Riley

Charts

Chart Peak
position
Certification Sales/shipments
Argentina CAPIF - 3x platinum 120,000[40]
Australian Albums Chart[41] 1 5x platinum 350,000[42]
Austrian Albums Chart[41] 10 Platinum 40,000[43]
Belgian (Flanders) Albums Chart[41] 3 2x platinum 100,000[44]
Belgian (Wallonia) Albums Chart[41] 2
Canadian Albums Chart[45] 1 4x platinum 400,000[46]
Czech Albums Chart[47] 16
Danish Albums Chart[41] 1 Platinum 50,000[48]
Dutch Albums Chart[41] 3 Platinum 80,000[49]
European Albums Chart[45] 36 4x platinum 4,000,000[50]
Finnish Albums Chart[41] 4 Gold 20,000[51]
French Albums Chart[41] 4 Platinum 300,000[52]
German Albums Chart[53] 1 3x Gold 450,000[54]
Greek International Albums Chart[55] 2 Gold 10,000
Italian Albums Chart[41] 1 Platinum 200,000[56]
Mexican Albums Chart[57] 6 Platinum 150,000[58]
Spanish Albums Chart[41] 4 2x platinum 200,000[59]
Swedish Albums Chart[41] 5 Gold 30,000[60]
Swiss Albums Chart[41] 1 Gold 20,000[61]
UK Albums Chart[62] 1 8x platinum 2,500,000[63]
U.S. Billboard 200[45] 5 4x platinum 4,500,000[64]

References

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  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Moss, Corey; Cornell, Jeff (2001-12-18). "Coldplay Ready Second Album As 'Trouble' Heats Up". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451517/20011217/coldplay.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-09-03. 
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Webb, Robert (2008-07-25). "Story of the Song: 'Clocks', Coldplay (2002)". London: Independent.co.uk. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/story-of-the-song-clocks-coldplay-2002-876537.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
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  6. Luerssen, John D. (2002-04-25). "Coldplay Sets Album Title, June Gigs". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1475357. Retrieved 2008-09-14. 
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  8. 8.0 8.1 Wiederhorn, Jon (2002-08-27). "Coldplay Bleed For Beauty On A Rush Of Blood To The Head". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1457204/20020827/coldplay.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-09-16. 
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  10. Orshoski, Wes (2002-08-16). "Cash 'Comes Around' On New 'American' Album". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1611108. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 Benedictus, Leo (2008-02-14). "Sølve Sundsbø's best shot". The Guardian. London. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/feb/14/photography.art. Retrieved 2008-09-10. 
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  13. "Classic Album Covers: Issue Date – 7 January 2010". Royal Mail. http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/content1?catId=32300674&mediaId=112400790. Retrieved 2010-01-08. 
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  29. Todd, Martens; Ellis, Michael (2002-09-05). "Dixie Chicks Make Their 'Home' On Top". Billboard (Nielsen Business Media, Inc). http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1662280. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  30. "Chart Watch Extra: The Top 20 New Acts Of The 2000s". Chart Watch. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/39906/chart-watch-extra-the-top-20-new-acts-of-the-2000s/. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
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  37. "The RS 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 2003-11-18. pp. 5. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/5. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  38. "Definitive 200". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. http://www.rockhall.com/pressroom/definitive-200. Retrieved 2008-09-15. 
  39. url=http://www.brits.co.uk/brits-2010
  40. CAPIF
  41. 41.00 41.01 41.02 41.03 41.04 41.05 41.06 41.07 41.08 41.09 41.10 41.11 Hung Medien summary
  42. ARIA
  43. IFPI Austria
  44. IFPI Belgium
  45. 45.0 45.1 45.2 Billboard positions
  46. CRIA
  47. Czech Albums Chart
  48. IFPI Denmark
  49. NVPI
  50. IFPI
  51. IFPI Finland
  52. SNEP
  53. German Albums Chart
  54. IFPI Germany
  55. http://web.archive.org/web/20050303002144/www.ifpi.gr/chart01.htm
  56. FIMI
  57. Deleita Coldplay a México (in Spanish)
  58. AMPROFON Mexico
  59. PROMUSICAE
  60. IFPI Sweden
  61. IFPI Switzerland
  62. UK Albums Chart
  63. BPI
  64. RIAA

Literature

Preceded by
Imagine by Eva Cassidy
Elephant by The White Stripes
UK number one album
7 September 2002 – 20 September 2002
26 April 2003 – 2 May 2003
Succeeded by
Feels So Good by Atomic Kitten
American Life by Madonna
Preceded by
Escape by Enrique Iglesias
Australian ARIA Albums Chart number-one album
2 September 2002 - 8 September 2002
Succeeded by
ELV1S: 30#1 Hits by Elvis Presley

External links