Some Hotwork From Coldplay

Coldplay began with the largely unknown EP, "Brothers & Sisters". They performed tracks from it, and a few more, at various places in the UK. This propelled them into stardom, and thus they culminated their mutual efforts in 2000's "Parachutes". Overall it was a pretty downbeat and mellow album, with only one or two rocking tracks.

Onto the record. Vaguely T-B-T.

The record kicks off with the heavy snare-banging of Politik. A rather monotonous song, with an incredibly "overcast-day-in-London" feel to it. Don't expect THAT one to go away though, except on Green Eyes, Clocks and Amsterdam. The verses rely heavily on Chris and his piano, while the chorus uses the whole band, even distorted guitars! This is Coldplay, right? Of course it is.

Next comes the string of four singles. Beginning with the upbeat Yellow part II, In My Place. You all know this one, the light airy "riff", the basic but solid drumming, the violins and cellos during the verses. Next comes the fast-paced God Put A Smile Upon Your Face, which is also the first track based around an acoustic guitar. After an intro of just that, some more basic yet solid drumming from Nick Champion, a more distorted melody and some blues-style bass are added for the verses and chorus. The Scientist is up next, a plodding, poetic love song relying on piano for almost half the track. Eventually Chris is joined by the rest of the band, who add a light acoustic rhythm and later a distorted one, solid drumming, and occasional harmonies. The next one is probably THE most well-known song by Coldplay, second to none. At the same pace as "Shiver" from their first album, but with a slightly less complex beat (speaking of beats, Nick must be getting bored out of his wits here. He doesn't get to do anything particularly interesting until Amsterdam. Which is the last track.) Unlike Shiver however, this song is driven by repetitive yet memorable piano tune, and some ethereal sound effects during the verses (Which really make this a magical song.) The electric guitar has less of a role here, as opposed to the bass which propels the track forward incessantly.

Onto the next half of the album, the slightly lesser-known tracks. Daylight begins with some very Arabesque guitars, and another Shiver beat. The vocals are sung by two people, and sound remotely menacing, for Chris at least. Green Eyes sounds like it could've been on Parachutes. It probably was, but then again... Similar to The Scientist in structure (it begins with just Chris and one instrument, this time the acoustic guitar, and then the band joins in), but slightly faster, and Chris wails more often.

Ok, I'm going to devote an entire paragraph to Warning Sign, because it is most certainly the BEST song Coldplay has ever done. Until it disintegrates into sullen piano... Kicking off with strumming from Mr. Buckland (that guy's the guitarist, right?), then some cellos (which stay consistent throughout pretty much the whole track), some very British piano, and some more Arabesque guitars (see/hear Daylight.) Unfortunately the aforementioned "disintegration" just had to happen. We are left with Chris, the piano, and the bass guitar. This bit could've - no - SHOULD'VE been removed.

A Whisper is seemingly a combination of Politik and Clocks (the guitars and the ethereal sounds, respectively...) with some new stuff, like some vaguely interesting drumming from Champion, and some undulating fretless bass from... the other guy. This one moves along at a very steady but quirky rate, and Chris Martin's signature wails are prominent here. A Rush Of Blood To The Head, the inevitable title track, is relatively the same song as Green Eyes. In fact it has EXACTLY the same beat! Add some more spaced-out noises, a louder chorus, and some "Karma Police" pianos, and that's the song.

Now, another paragraph devoted to a song. I'll correct myself. This is the greatest song ever written. No, that's being a tad excessive. This is the greatest song ever written by a British band... Except maybe anything by Pink Floyd or Jethro Tull... Ok, forget that. It's an excellent song, led by some more "Karma Police" piano, with a heavy (not as in heavy metal) British touch. Of course, they designed this very tune to make you think of Amsterdam (or somewhere up north, anyway). And they were successful. Chris' vocals are soft and have a positive touch to them. The band adds some harmonic vocals, then as the pianos get heavier and heavier, the band finally joins in for the amazing climax. There are organs, there's finally decent drumming from Champion (there are fills almost every four bars! Whoa!) there are drifting, panning guitars... Then we are back with Chris and his piano. The whole CD concludes on a hopeful note with an unearthly echo. Man, these guys sure do love those.

To conclude, any music fan, whether casual or hardcore, should own this CD. It's tight, it's professional, and yet it still sounds spacey. No, they are not like Radiohead. I'll admit the vocal styles are similar, but everything else is strikingly different. Anyway, if you're looking for a positive, hopeful, mellow, quiet, or peaceful song, look no further than Coldplay. (Also try anything released by Windham Hill)

G'Bye. Happy listening.