Photo Albums = Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head

I've recently been going back through my ever growing stack of Cd's and listening to each one not only to revisit them all, but also to finally get round to giving that random band's second album another listen after discarding it at the time for not sounding like their first blah blah blah. I am now listening with fresh ears.
During this 're-discovery' I'm naturally coming across stuff that I haven't heard for years, stuff that instantly brings back memories and sets the scene of times in my life that I have tended to forget. I urge everybody to do the same!

The first such album that I want to tell you about is Coldplay's 2002 album 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head'.

The first I remember hearing of this album was whilst on holiday with my parents in the middle of August 2002. We were driving to Slapton Sands on the south coast of Devon, and the track 'In My Place' came on the radio. I'd heard of Coldplay but this was the first time I had properly sat up and listened. I loved its drum intro and how the melody seemed to launched out of the car stereo. When I got home, I bought the single and listened to it over and over again. I'd recently started to play the drums myself, and I can remember wanting to learn that intro riff as soon as possible.
A few months later I heard one of the album's more intimate tracks, and one of my favourites 'The Scientist' in a school assembly, weirdly. I can't really remember the point of the assembly, but they were playing that song to signify some deep and moving meaning to whatever they were talking about. I suppose I was meant to walk away from that feeling empowered and motivated to do good.....instead I went out and bought the album because 'The Scientist' had blown me away.
It was at this time, December 2002, that I remember appreciating the album the most. After playing percussion in the school orchestra's Christmas concert (a performance I had been shitting bricks over due to a heavy percussioned Christmas tune, probably Rudolf The Red Nose Reindeer or something), I got home, made myself some tuna sandwiches and relaxed playing GTA3, all the while listening to Coldplay, good times!

The tracks that I remember being most prominent, and have therefore stuck with me over all this time include 'In My Place' of course, 'Clocks' and 'God Put A Smile Upon Your Face' simply because they were played on nearly every BBC advert at the time. My maths teacher at the time said that 'Warning Sign' was his favourite track on the album, and after giving it a chance, I realised that it really is one of the finer moments on the album. For some reason 'Daylight' will always remind me of creating a massive pileup in a tunnel under Liberty City on GTA3. And the album’s title track was always great, but I only fully appreciated it when I saw the band playing it live on Jools Holland years later.
A Rush Of Blood To The Head somehow holds the power to transcend time, 9 years after its release. In that time, Coldplay have become one of the biggest bands in the world and are delivering epic performances on The X Factor Final, whereas I have come a long long way from school, I'd hope. But just listening to it today places me right back playing GTA3, and sitting in the back of my parent’s car all over again, and that fuzzy feeling of youth is restored.