I have E mailed Ciao and asked them to close my account. I refuse to stand by and watch people get h...
I have E mailed Ciao and asked them to close my account. I refuse to stand by and watch people get hurt any longer.
Member since:14.09.2002
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I have always considered myself an music lover, but not a music buff. I tend not to follow an artist or group through each and every album they make. I hear something, I like it, I buy it. For this reason I am very often considered to have rather a diverse music collection, covering a real musical cross section. Many of the more recent albums I have purchased have been recommended by members on this site. I have to confess to not keeping up with the latest chart toppers, so very often I will hear of a new band or artist on here, pop off and download a song, give it a few plays and then make up own mind. Recent additions to my collection have included The dixie Chicks....Home and also this, my latest aquisition.....Coldplay...A rush of blood to the head.
Well haven't these guys come a long way since they met up in 1996. Who would have thought that these four cool guys who met up while at University collage in London, realized they had similar musical tastes and formed a band would have turned out being not only voted as Top British Band, but also receiving the coveted Songwriters of the Year award at the 48th Ivor Novello Awards for British Songwriters. Wow, instant success I hear you cry. Not at all. Their first single 'Brothers and Sisters' entered the charts at a very low No 92. The ladder has been long and hard to climb, but the quality of this album proves that it was definitely worth it.
I think that what is noticeable about Coldplay that they make it pretty clear that they want to be recognised for whats really important, their music. I know I speak for many of us when I say that the very mention of many of the groups that are in the charts today,bring about
images of not the music that they play, or the songs that they sing. More often than not it is the clothes that they wear or the colour of their hair. So many of these so called music makers rely on their images to sell their records. Coldplay however, are happy to let the quality of their music sell itself.
The insert to this, their second album is testament to this fact. There are no song lyrics, no gratuities and Thank you's, just the playlist, a production list and a statement about the campaign for fair trading . Something they very obviously feel very strongly about. Something important. Something real.
Onto the music.
I don't like to compare bands, but I can compare musical styles and influences. I have heard Coldplay compared to Radiohead. If I had to personally compare Coldplays music to that of any other band it would have to be another of my all time favorites, Crowded House.
This album is not the same as their first offering Parachutes. This album is different, a progression on from that. Proof that there are bands out there that continue to challenge and push their own boundaries, even when they have made it to the top.
The music on this album is a moody, sensuous, gut wrenching journey of wonder and brilliance. Excellent vocals serve to compliment music that has the the ability to reach inside you and pull out your deepest emotions. There is not one track I dislike, not one that I would say is not worthy of the rest.
Politik........ The first track on any album should in my opinion make a statement.This track certainly does that. Apparently written during the same week as the September 11th tragedy, the intro alone says stand up and take notice.
Look at earth from outer space Everyone must find a place Give me time and give me space Give me real, don't give me fake
The listener is told with both the lyrics and the haunting melody of this song....Open up your eyes!
In my place........This is one that was released as a single. Moody, yet somehow moving. This is a love song. I like it, but it isn't the best on the album.
God put a smile on your face....... This is one of the tracks that instantly makes me think of Crowded House and some of the powerful ballads that they brought us.Maybe this is due to the dominance of the guitar strumming prominently throughout this track. More uptempo than the previous two this track is great and one of my favorites.The message...Stop feeling sorry for yourself, you have so much to live for.
The scientist....I adore this song. The haunting piano solo at the start of it setting the scene for a poignant love song. Nobody said it was easy,nobody said it would be this hard. Nobody said it was easy, Oh its a shame for us to part.
Clocks......This, for me, starts like one of the early offerings from the great U2. Do I like it?..Yes, but again I wouldn't say it was the best on the album. I think this song is about the fact that time never stands still, life is short.The song urges us to get out there and live it.
Come out of things unsaid Shoot an apple off my head and a Trouble that cant be named A tiger's waiting to be tamed singing
Daylight....... I think this is the track that I least like on the album, if I had to choose one. It is almost too moody for me, bordering on depressive.. It's spacey and sounds like it has an Indian influence.
Green Eyes......... This one comes in stark contrast to the previous track. Its light, most of the music coming from the guitar. The lyrics are in the fore front of this song. Soft and romantic this simple love song infact becomes almost a country ballad towards the end of the track. I like it.
Warning sign.....Aww.....How beautiful is the story to this song. This is the sort of song any woman would love to have her man whisper to her in a crowded room. A guy admitting he made a mistake.How refreshing, but it makes for a beautiful song.
You came back to haunt me and I realized That you were an island and I passed you by When you were an island to discover.
A whisper..............Another dark song, again I think this one is about death and I am starting to wonder if there is a bit of a fixation here with impending death and dying.
I hear the sound of the ticking of clocks Who remembers your face Who remember you when you are gone.
I do like this one though and again it has what Crowded House sound going on in the background.
A rush of blood to the head.......The title track, this is I think the blackest and moodiest track on the album., but I also think it is the best of the lot. The writer of this song clearly has issues with depression and certainly knows what it is like to loose someone special and this is reflected in the lyrics of the song.
He said I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war If you can tell me something worth fighting for Oh and I'm gonna buy this place that's what I said Blame it upon a rush of blood to the head.
Amsterdam......When this song starts you can imagine someone sitting alone at a piano, cigarette in the mouth, picking out a tune and singing along.
Come on, oh my star is fading And I see no chance of release I know I'm dead on the surface But I'm screaming underneath
Whats starts as a beautiful solo love song, builds up, becoming more forceful and resolute, before leaving us once more with the haunting chimes of a single piano. Effective and moving. This is another of the tracks that I really enjoy.
I bought this CD from Woolworths,it cost me £9.99. Money well spent I think.
I don't know what it is that makes this my kind of music. Maybe it is my own experiences with depression or the fact that I know what it is to have loved and lost. I do know that the more I hear this album, the more I love it. With Coldplay you get none of the pomp and the frills that seem to accompany the music industry today. With Coldplay you just get the music.
Amen to that.
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Coldplay are the best band out - difficult to review any of their stuff but you done well! check out my review on their latest album see what you think!
turtlecircus 01.10.2005 00:47
well done you have done yourself proud. a very hard album to review
On Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head, the melodic excellence of Parachutes remains, ... more
as does the delicate soulfulness of Chris Martin's voice. But now different styles are approached, as the band develop even further beyond their debut album (and t...
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Advantages: Accoustic harmonies and easy to listen to songs.Sincere and heartfelt lyrics. A really nice album. Disadvantages: I didnt like it as much as X&Y or A Sudden Rush of Blood to the Head.
SpookyMoon 29.05.2009 ·
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Review of Parachutes - Coldplay
May 24th, 2003
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