Gangly, awkward, but still charming, the Coldplay of Parachutes obviously had some growing-up issues to deal with. Both the songs and the playing here can sound tentative at times. 

 A Rush of Blood to the Head delivers on the promise of Parachutes, hanging onto the Floydian guiars but rocking out and delivering heart-stopping tracks like "Clocks" and the austerely beautiful death meditation "Amsterdam." 

 An only intermittently thrilling live band, Coldplay is captured in concert on Live 2003 and LeftRightLeftRightLeft. 

 That's not the case on X&Y which finds Coldplay struggling with how to grow in the glare of worldwide success. The songs are often humorless and pushy, and Martin's lyrics lack the deeper meaning the album seems desperate to provide. 

 Coldplay continued down an uncertain creative path with Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, on which producers Brian Eno and Markus Dravs aim to help the band craft more diverse and experimental music, with mixed results. 

 An only intermittently thrilling live band, Coldplay is captured in concert on Live 2003 and LeftRightLeftRightLeft. 

 Several tunes that didn't make the cut for Viva La Vida can be found on Prospekt's March, the best of which are the roof-raising "Glass of Water" and the oddly jovial "Rainy Day," which has Eno's digital fingerprints all over it.