Blur

Blur

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 1997)
• Original Release Date: March 11, 1997
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Virgin Records Us
• ASIN: B000000WDA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #27,862 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Beetlebum

2. Song 2

3. Country Sad Ballad Man

4. M.O.R.

5. On Your Own

6. Theme from Retro

7. You're So Great

8. Death of a Party

9. Chinese Bombs

10. I'm Just a Killer for Your Love

11. Look Inside America

12. Strange News from Another Star

13. Movin' On

14. Essex Dogs

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

By early 1997, British pop had become less a scene than a competition, so with this album, Blur's frontman Damon Albarn basically announced that he was withdrawing from the race, in favor of exploring other kinds of rock he'd been getting into. Most of Blur finds the band discovering the clipped structures and oblique words of American indie rock (the best hook on the album goes "woo-hoo!"), and that's a liberating strategy. Without having to exemplify England's Dreaming, Albarn can be tuneful and playful, and even when he cribs directly from his favorite records ("M.O.R." is pure Bowie, and "You're So Great" tries for Guided by Voices-style non-production), his gift for texture puts his stamp on these songs. --Douglas Wolk

Product Description

Japanese edition of new album features the single 'Beetlebum' and the U.K. B-side 'Dancehall' as a bonus track. 15 tracks total. Other 13: 'Song 2', 'Country Sad Ballad Man', 'M.O.R.', 'On Your Own', 'Theme From Retro', 'You're So Great', 'Death Of A Party', 'Chinese Bombs', 'I'mJust A Killer For Your Love', 'Look Inside America', 'Strange News From Another Star', 'Movin' On' and 'Essex Dogs'. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic collection of songs, and a big step for Blur, October 10, 2001

By	el_abrotsky "el_abrotsky" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

Blur changed up their sound a bit on this, and the result was rather extraordinary. The result of their newfound influences and direction was one of the best rock albums of the mid-late 90s. I'm just going to run down every track on this since I know it pretty well off hand.

1) Beetlebum: Nice bridge between Blur's "brit-pop" era and Blur's "let's sound American" era, with a splash of both sounds in it.

2) Song 2: We all know this song. Quick, catchy, and horribly misleading as to the rest of the album for those suckers who bought this just for this song.

3) Country Sad Ballad Man: Decent song. I never really thought too much of it, but it certainly isn't "hit the skip button" material. We move on to...

4) M.O.R.: Similar nature to "Beetlebum" in the sense that it could be on their older albums but it does have a harder rock edge to it so it fits on this album as well. Quite possibly my favorite song on the album.

5) On Your Own: Okay, I take back the last statement. THIS is my favorite song on the album. If you could take every song on this album and throw them into some huge orgy, this song would be the resulting love child of it.

6) Theme from Retro: filler

7) You're So Great: Graham Coxon proves that he is an AWESOME solo artist (before he went on to be a... surprise surprise, AWESOME solo artist). A love song that even a jerk like me can appreciate.

8) Death of a Party: Is it just me or does this song sound a LOT like the Gorillaz song "Tomorrow Comes Today"? It makes a lot of sense, since Albarn wrote/sings both. Good song.

9) Chinese Bombs: If you bought this album looking for 14 versions of "Song 2" this will be the only other track you'll like. Similar sound, but hardly as good. Probably the worst song on the album.

10) I'm Just a Killer for Your Love: Pretty good, never was too impressed, I just let the cd run through this on its way to...

11) Look Inside America: Really good song. Similar sound to "End of A Century" off of Parklife.

12) Strange News From Another Star: This would probably fit best on their next album, 13. If you have 13 and like it, you'll dig this track (most likely).

13) Movin' On: I completely forget what this song sounds like. I THINK its pretty darned good though, but that's just about all I remember. :)

14) Essex Dogs: Cool little closer to a cool little album. Pretty clever one-liner there, eh? No?! Yeah, well, can't argue that...

So, in closing (yes, I plan on ending this at some point), Blur made a good album here. If you have any other Blur album and enjoy it, this is a good one to buy. It has roots with both their old sound and their new sound. Also, if you have the Gorillaz album and enjoy the straight up rock songs (no rap, no insane dj work, no Mexican dude singing, no insrumentals, in other words 75% of the album) you'll enjoy this, as its the most similar thing you'll find anywhere.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Here's why NOT to buy the Best Of instead..., April 26, 2003

By	M. Heidenreich "Well, Well, Well" (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

For the people who now realize that "Song 2" does not exemplify this band's true sound, this is still an amazing album. Like so many others, I first took note of Blur with that overplayed hit. But, UNlike the majority of buyers, I was still impressed with the CD's diversity and overall hum. A lot of tracks on the album are hidden gems that probably should've been included on the Best Of release. So for the amateur Blur fan, nowadays, it is more beneficial (choice word) to purchase the Best Of instead of this one. Sadly, because of "Song 2", this band has been dubbed by too many a one-hit wonder; and the album has been labeled a poor buy. All the same, this a great CD with more than just one or two good songs. Here's an overview of all the tracks:

1. Beetlebum - 5/5 - there's no question this should've been a big single. In all likelihood, this is the best song on Blur. It has a great beat and keeps you tapping your foot all the way through (it has a similar background to 13's "Coffee And TV").

2. Song 2 - 5/5 - it may be ill-advised to label this as my favorite... and to be honest I really can't say that it is. Nevertheless it's an awesome song that helped me come to like Blur in the first place. Without this track, I would have missed out on something very special.

3. Country Sad Ballad Man - 3.5/5 - the word `country' fits this song pretty well (at first). The beginning has a twang-like feel to it that catches you off guard. It's a weird track, but that's to be taken in a good way.

4. M.O.R. - 4/5 - I really believe this song should've been on the Best Of album. This is very different from the previous three songs; as it has more of the `brit-pop' Blur sound that their fans are used to. It will grow on you over time.

5. On Your Own - 4/5 - this track is many people's favorite. And even though it's not my personal favorite, it's still a great song. It has a slow start and doesn't really grab hold of you. But nevertheless it is a fun track that is, again, reminiscent of earlier Blur work (maybe "Parklife").

6. Theme From Retro - 2/5 - this odd-sounding track doesn't seem to be much at all. It's accordion sounds and echoing background don't allow for it to stand out amongst the rest. It's still kind of intriguing, though.

7. You're So Great - 3/5 - here we go... back to the usual sound we know. The singer's voice sounds a little scratchy, but the guitar and unkempt sound make it enjoyable as a whole. It's pretty much a love song, and that's okay.

8. Death Of A Party - 5/5 - another song that should've made the cut for the Best Of Blur CD. The lyrics are smart; to the point of downright scary. This is really a (dark) change from "You're So Great". It acts as one of my favorites on the album.

9. Chinese Bombs - 3.5/5 - this Oasis-like (has that comparison been made before?) rocker is good, but tries too hard to become a "Song 2 [part 2]". It's short, sweet, and will get you jumping around from time to time.

10. I'm Just A Killer For Your Love - 4/5 - As melodic as this track isn't, it really calms you down. The lyrics are rather simplistic (the title is repeated a lot) overall, but the singer's voice easily makes up for that. The female'd background is also a plus.

11. Look Inside America - 3.5/5 - coming from a British band, this song becomes more and more enjoyable. It has been compared to "End Of A Century", but I believe it's not quite on that level. Even so, it's slow and (maybe) worthy of a spot on the Best Of.

12. Strange News From Another Star - 5/5 - I don't know why, but I love this song. When I first listened to the album, I never really noticed this one. Now I believe it to be one of the best Blur songs ever. I have yet to find a reviewer that agrees with me on this; might you be the first?

13. Movin' On - 2.5/5 - this one gives the impression of a harder sound, but doesn't quite make it. Again, its echo-like singer make it just average. But it's certainly not horrible and has a great beat (both background and front).

14. Essex Dogs - 3.5/5 - this closer is a fitting end to the CD's overall sound. It's different, weird, and (once more) could've been on that less-than-perfect Best Of album. I say it's a fitting end only because it sounds nothing like the rest of the songs. The spoken word verses are somewhat agreeable.

As it's been said time and time again, this is a very experimental release. It's blending of Sonic Youth/Bowie-ish sound and Oasis-like rocking beats allow for it to become great and still controversial; even years after its release (March 1997). If you still only know "Song 2", be very careful in acquiring this album. But the longtime Blur fans will no doubt be satisfied, if not breath-taken, with it's entire resonance. None of these songs are bad. Even the 2-star "Theme From Retro", as I said, is intriguing. And gems like "Beetlebum" and "Strange News From Another Star" (and yes, that popular `woo-who' track) should go down as some of the best tracks Blur has ever produced. I have really come to enjoy this CD over the years; and see no reason why you wouldn't be able to as well.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Movin' On From Britpop , April 30, 2006

By	Ren Lee "Darren" (Peterborough, UK) - See all my reviews

My favourite album's tend to be the one's where a successful band leaves behind their signature sound and ventures into new realms that you wouldn't have expected them to and this is no exception. That's not to say that Blur were always the indie pop meets music hall of 'Parklife' and 'The Great Escape', there was definitely evidence of them wanting to be a more challenging band on their second album 'Modern Life Is Rubbish' and prior to becoming Blur their previous incarnation as art punks 'Seymour' showed they were musically more ambitious than any of the Britpop bands of the mid-nineties.
Still, this album shocked the majority of Blur's fanbase and surprised their critics at the time of it's release. Some of the songs have a demo feel to them and the so-called 'Lo-fi' production helps the album to flow well and give it a unique character no matter how diverse each of the songs are from each other.
It's my personal favourite Blur album and was the first that I bought by them. I'd heard the singles 'Parklife', 'Girls And Boys' and 'Country House' along with everyone else in the country at the height of Britpop mania but I wasn't a big fan of indie till 1997, year zero for me in terms of developing my own taste in music beyond my parent's taste's!
So this album truly introduced me to the world of Blur and I revelled in it from start to finish. Graham Coxon instantly became my teenage idol and has inspired me as a guitarist ever since i heard this for the first time. He might disagree but I would say that this is his album more than Damon's even if he only actually wrote just one of the songs (the chirpy acoustic strum of 'You're So Great'). It was Graham who became sick of the Britpop scene they inspired and the member who most fought for a change of direction. His guitar playing dominates this album and gives it a playful, sloppy one take feel that no Blur album previously had (including 'Modern Life...).
As for the songs themselves, there is a variety of styles on here from short punk blasts ('Song 2', 'Chinese Bombs', 'Movin' On') to haunting pieces (the instrumental 'Theme From Retro', 'Death Of A Party' and my favourite song on the album 'Strange News From Another Star') to eccentric pop (the under-rated single's 'M.O.R' and 'On Your Own'). 'Beetlebum' has to be one of the most unusual and therefore brilliant number one singles of the last ten years! 'Look Inside America' is the only track that harks back to their Britpop sound which is ironic considering it's subject matter! 'Country Sad Ballad Man', 'I'm Just A Killer For Your Love' and 'Essex Dogs' are the songs that require more than one listen to get into but are worth it once you do get your head round them.
You can trace the roots of '13', 'Think Tank', Graham's first four solo album's and even Gorillaz here on this album.
Blur were the nineties Beatles and this is their 'White Album'.