A Rush of Blood to the Head
From WikiColdplay
A Rush of Blood to the Head is the second album by Coldplay, released on August 26, 2002 in the UK and on August 27 in the U.S.. It was as successful as its predecessor, Parachutes, debuting at #1 in the United Kingdom, moving 273,000 copies, and at #5 in the United States, moving 144,000 copies in the first week.
A Rush of Blood to the Head won the 2002 Grammy for Best Alternative Album. The album received generally good reviews, and many critics considered it better than Coldplay's first album, Parachutes. In 2003, the album was ranked number 473 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The album includes "guitar-pop" singles ("In My Place"), ballads ("The Scientist"), and acoustic songs ("Green Eyes"). However, the U2-esque epic rock of the album's opening track "Politik", the synth-driven "Clocks", and the loud guitars of "A Whisper" were seen to extend the band's musical range. The album also had greater use of piano than Coldplay's debut album or that of many other rock bands popular at the time. "Clocks," a song centered around a cyclic piano riff and included on the album only at the last minute, ultimately became the band's largest hit to date, earning the band a Grammy for Record of the Year.
A Rush Of Blood To The Head: Album Reviews
Contents |
Track listing
All songs written by Berryman/Buckland/Champion/Martin.
- "Politik" – 5:18
- "In My Place" – 3:48
- "God Put a Smile upon Your Face" – 4:57
- "The Scientist" – 5:09
- "Clocks" – 5:07
- "Daylight" – 5:27
- "Green Eyes" – 3:43
- "Warning Sign" – 5:31
- "A Whisper" – 3:58
- "A Rush of Blood to the Head" – 5:51
- "Amsterdam" – 5:19
Awards
| Year | Award | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Q Awards | Best Album |
| 2003 | Brit Awards | Best British Album |
| 2003 | Grammy Awards | Best Alternative Music Album |
| 2003 | Grammy Awards | Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (In My Place) |
| 2003 | Grammy Awards | Record of the Year (Clocks) |
Singles
| Cover | |
|---|---|
| "In My Place"
|
| "The Scientist"
|
| "Clocks"
|
| "God Put a Smile upon Your Face"
|
Release
The album was released in various countries.
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
| Japan | August 12 2002 | Toshiba-EMI | CD | TOCP 66020 |
| United Kingdom | August 26 2002 | Parlophone | LP | 5405041 |
| CD | 5405042 | |||
| United States | August 27 2002 | Capitol | CD | CDP 7243 5 40504 2 8 |
Certifications, peaks and sales
| Country | Peak position | Certification (if any) | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 1 | 2x Platinum | 80,000+ |
| Australia | 5x Platinum | 350,000+ | |
| Austria | 10 | Platinum | 30,000+ |
| Belgium | 2x Platinum | 100,000+ | |
| Brazil | Gold | 50,000+ | |
| Canada | 4x Platinum | 400,000+ | |
| Denmark | 1 | Gold | 20,000+ |
| Finland | 4 | Gold | 16,708+ |
| France | 4 | 2x Gold | 200,000+ |
| Germany | 3x Gold | 450,000+ | |
| Mexico | Platinum | 150,000+ | |
| Netherlands | 3 | Platinum | 80,000+ |
| New Zealand | 2 | 4x Platinum | 60,000+ |
| Norway | 1 | ||
| Portugal | 8 | Platinum | 20,000+ |
| Sweden | 5 | Gold | 30,000+ |
| Switzerland | 1 | Gold | 20,000+ |
| United Kingdom | 7x Platinum | 2,100,000+ | |
| United States | 4x Platinum | 4,400,000+ |
