Coldplay, 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head'

Two years on from the international success of ‘Parachutes’ and the world was a far different place for Coldplay. Actually, if you weren’t the lead singer in the band, the only difference was probably more money (not the biggest problem) but for Chris Martin the goalposts had moved. And he was partially responsible for moving them. His quest for musical perfection had resulted in a slew of imitators and even record companies executives had taken to comparing his band to “bed wetters”. Oh, for the days when no one knew us, you could almost hear Martin sigh. No wonder he was already hinting at splitting the band up before they got too big. Or possibly before matters got out of hand.

Remarkably, amidst the pressure that was evidently getting to him – in addition to his involvement with politics and a certain personal relationship – Coldplay’s follow up arguably improves upon the original. ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ (now there’s a title simultaneously summing up instant success with ‘what do we do next?’) is almost onomatopoeic in nature, merging dizzying highs with world-weary lows. It is, in turns, magnificent, epic and a dazzling crossover of genres to boot.

If Martin’s world was now turning on its head, the record reflected it too. Whereas ‘Parachutes’ opened with the calm and considered ‘Don’t Panic’ (indeed!), ‘Politik’ bashed away on its guitars and pianos as if its life depended on it. And talk about a global view: the first words are “look at earth from outer space”. Our being told to “open up your eyes” gives a clear clue as to what is in store – a succession of stunning singles such as the three chord and proud of it ‘In Your Place’, addictively mesmerising ‘God Put A Smile Upon Your Face’ and the first wedding dance potential in the form of ‘The Scientist’ (“You don’t know how lovely you are…tell me you love me…take me back to the start”). But that’s merely preparing you for ‘Clocks’: its central hook of piano mixed with guitar takes up permanent residence in the head to the extent that you’ll want to start charging rent.

The album takes it down a few notches and the gear change is a welcome one. Nevertheless, ‘Warning Sign’ is the hidden gem on the record, resplendent with its lush intro and simple refrain (“The truth is, I miss you”). And the title track shows Coldplay’s ambition: the lyric is stripped of the trademark accompanying instruments and shows that Martin can “do” angry (“I’m going to buy a gun and start a war/If you can tell me something worth fighting for”) with the best of them. Ultimately, you realise that this isn’t the sound of bed wetters but a band unwilling to make music for anyone but themselves. And the rest of the world, record execs included, would just have to cry themselves to sleep to get over it.