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Editorial Reviews
2009 two CD collection from the Britpop legends, released to coincide with their 20th Anniversary and reunion tour. Midlife: A Beginners Guide To Blur is a unique collection of the best songs from the band's career to date. Standing separate from Blur's previous Best Of, Midlife represents a comprehensive collection of their biggest hits and favorite album tracks. The tracklist has been hand-picked by the band and offers a deeper look into the group's entire musical output, across two discs. 25 tracks including 'Song 2', 'Girls & Boys', 'Sing', 'Parklife', 'The Universal', 'Beetlebum' and 'Popscene', which was originally released in 1992 as a non-album single and unavailable since. EMI.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'll admit to being one of those Americans who didn't know much of anything about Blur before Song 2. As so often happens when coming across some music that is enjoyable, I immersed myself in the back catalog, and by that time Blur's was already entailing four studio albums, albums that showcased quite a musical difference from the self-titled LP. And I loved every minute of it. Whereas the Greatest Hits collection showcased the vast amount of singles, this album truly comes across as a beginner's guide...a smattering of hits and album tracks from those five albums and the subsequent two afterward. Its more of a superbly constructed personal mixtape or iTunes playlist for the band than anything, showcasing some extraordinary songs not released on their own like Trimm Trabb, Badhead, This is a Low, and Advert.
Every compilation package for any band comes with its faults, and this is no different. Some big hits are missing (especially for the US audience, Country House and There's No Other Way could've made the cut over some of the other singles). No track from their incredible b-side collection is represented. And there's nothing new to give those of us with the studio albums reason to go out and buy this (maybe that's a good thing...though probably not from a marketing standpoint). But if I were to be on the lookout for a quality introduction to one of the best bands of the 90s, this comes pretty close to how it should be.
Every compilation package for any band comes with its faults, and this is no different. Some big hits are missing (especially for the US audience, Country House and There's No Other Way could've made the cut over some of the other singles). No track from their incredible b-side collection is represented. And there's nothing new to give those of us with the studio albums reason to go out and buy this (maybe that's a good thing...though probably not from a marketing standpoint). But if I were to be on the lookout for a quality introduction to one of the best bands of the 90s, this comes pretty close to how it should be.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By H. Jin
Format:Audio CD
Well, this is different.
Normally with "Greatest Hits" packages, the band emphasises its most commercially successful period, with more interesting and unusual material from their early or late career ignored. 'Midlife' is basically the exact opposite of this: it almost turns its back on Blur's Britpop era in favour of key album tracks and fan favourites. Instead of focussing heavily on 'Parklife' and 'The Great Escape', every album gets a decent representation here, even the much-maligned `Leisure'.
On one hand, this really works. Blur were a lot more varied than casual fans might think, from the Madchester-influenced 'Leisure' to the alternative lo-fi of 'Blur' and '13' and the electronic art-rock of 'Think Tank'. The selections (particularly from the last three albums) seem deliberately chosen to highlight this diversity; distorted rockers, dark introspective ballads, unsettling electronic soundscapes. It certainly wasn't all bright Britpop, so it's good to see that `Midlife' really showcases these different styles, instead of just the big, obvious hits.
Although the songs are not presented in chronological order (which would have been nice), the track listing is excellent. `Beetlebum' and `Tender' are strong openers, while `This is a Low' and `Battery in your Leg' are obvious closers. And both CDs contain a mixture of radio hits (`Parklife', `Song 2', `Girls & Boys', `Coffee & TV') and more challenging material (`Trimm Trabb', `Death Of A Party', `Bugman', `Strange News From Another Star').
But to leave 'Country House' and 'Charmless Man' off is ridiculous; there's no way around that. These songs were not only hits, they virtually defined Blur's sound and image in the mid 90's, and arguably defined the whole Britpop era.... Read more ›
Normally with "Greatest Hits" packages, the band emphasises its most commercially successful period, with more interesting and unusual material from their early or late career ignored. 'Midlife' is basically the exact opposite of this: it almost turns its back on Blur's Britpop era in favour of key album tracks and fan favourites. Instead of focussing heavily on 'Parklife' and 'The Great Escape', every album gets a decent representation here, even the much-maligned `Leisure'.
On one hand, this really works. Blur were a lot more varied than casual fans might think, from the Madchester-influenced 'Leisure' to the alternative lo-fi of 'Blur' and '13' and the electronic art-rock of 'Think Tank'. The selections (particularly from the last three albums) seem deliberately chosen to highlight this diversity; distorted rockers, dark introspective ballads, unsettling electronic soundscapes. It certainly wasn't all bright Britpop, so it's good to see that `Midlife' really showcases these different styles, instead of just the big, obvious hits.
Although the songs are not presented in chronological order (which would have been nice), the track listing is excellent. `Beetlebum' and `Tender' are strong openers, while `This is a Low' and `Battery in your Leg' are obvious closers. And both CDs contain a mixture of radio hits (`Parklife', `Song 2', `Girls & Boys', `Coffee & TV') and more challenging material (`Trimm Trabb', `Death Of A Party', `Bugman', `Strange News From Another Star').
But to leave 'Country House' and 'Charmless Man' off is ridiculous; there's no way around that. These songs were not only hits, they virtually defined Blur's sound and image in the mid 90's, and arguably defined the whole Britpop era.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By M. Spizuco
Format:Audio CD
I don't blame Blur for leaving off some key songs, but then again, Blur didn't choose the album themselves. The fans helped.
By shamus
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
So glad they did this! It's missing a few songs I wanted, but it's already 2 cd's. They would have had to make it 4 or 5 to cover my favorites. I should add that I'm pretty old (same age as the band), so it's not "A Beginner's Guide" for me. Doesn't mean this isn't for younger people, my teenage kids like Blur too.
By Grooovy
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you want a nice collection of Blur's tracks from the past to their recent reunion this is the set for you. It has all of the good stuff and more to offer than the "Best of.." single disc. The only track left of this one is "Country House" which is odd considering the fact that it is the single that bested Oasis' single in the battle of the Britpop bands on the British charts. Regardless, this is the best it gets for one purchase. All the classics and a few choice cuts/fan favorites from their back catalogue. My personal fav is "Sing" which is only available to Americans on the Trainspotting Soundtrack (It is on the "Leisure" UK release). Best bang for your buck right here and an even bigger bang if you do you homework by browsing at the vendor's prices. Enjoy and Whoo-hoo.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By Cousin Bobby
Format:Audio CD
Howdy Ya'll--
Cousin Bobby here to tell ya 'bout Blur.
This 2 cd collection contains most of Blur's best songs, as I said
most--the set does not contain "There's No Other Way", "Country House" (no loss)
"Charmless Man" and "End Of The Century".So you'll have to pony up
some more dough to get those songs.
Better yet you're better off with the "Best Of Blur"--
a 2 cd set that came out ages ago. It's probably alot
more cheaper than this set. But more about Blur.
Blur are one of the better Brit-Pop bands of the early-mid 1990's.
Big enough they had a "war" of singles with Oasis that made the newspapers.
For a time, Blur actually outsold Oasis in their home country
but never made it big over in America, unlike Oasis.
Bands like Blur are a throw back to the
Mod bands of the 60's and their songs don't always translate well across the Atlantic.
Mod bands from the 60's like The Small Faces barely made a dent over here,
the Kinks faded away for awhile when they did their Mod music
and the Who didn't really make it big until the album
"Tommy" and by then they sounded like a totally different band than the one that
recorded "Magic Bus" and "Pictures Of Lily".
Sure it's nice these bands sing about Englands problems, like Blur does on a
trio of classic albums-"Modern Life Is Rubbish", "Parklife", and "The Great Escape",
but outside of England does anyone care ?
Don't get me wrong, I like Blurs music very much but it's easy to see why
they didn't make it over here in America.... Read more ›
Cousin Bobby here to tell ya 'bout Blur.
This 2 cd collection contains most of Blur's best songs, as I said
most--the set does not contain "There's No Other Way", "Country House" (no loss)
"Charmless Man" and "End Of The Century".So you'll have to pony up
some more dough to get those songs.
Better yet you're better off with the "Best Of Blur"--
a 2 cd set that came out ages ago. It's probably alot
more cheaper than this set. But more about Blur.
Blur are one of the better Brit-Pop bands of the early-mid 1990's.
Big enough they had a "war" of singles with Oasis that made the newspapers.
For a time, Blur actually outsold Oasis in their home country
but never made it big over in America, unlike Oasis.
Bands like Blur are a throw back to the
Mod bands of the 60's and their songs don't always translate well across the Atlantic.
Mod bands from the 60's like The Small Faces barely made a dent over here,
the Kinks faded away for awhile when they did their Mod music
and the Who didn't really make it big until the album
"Tommy" and by then they sounded like a totally different band than the one that
recorded "Magic Bus" and "Pictures Of Lily".
Sure it's nice these bands sing about Englands problems, like Blur does on a
trio of classic albums-"Modern Life Is Rubbish", "Parklife", and "The Great Escape",
but outside of England does anyone care ?
Don't get me wrong, I like Blurs music very much but it's easy to see why
they didn't make it over here in America.... Read more ›
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Really good music
I love Blur the more I listen to them. This is one of my favorites of all their work.
Published on October 6, 2009 by Karen S. Simpson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hopefully a beginning to something new
For some guys, blur started (and probably ended) with "woo-hoo" (for your reference the title is Song 2) the song that made them famous in more places than they were before, and... Read more
Published on September 1, 2009 by Szegedi Zoltan
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