Blur "The Ballad of Darren" (2023)

The Ballad of Darren

release date: Jul. 21, 2023

format: digital (12 x File, FLAC) (Deluxe)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,52]

producer: James Ford

label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 3. "Barbaric" - 2. "St. Charles Square" - 4. "Russian Strings" - 6. "The Narcissist" - 7. "Goodbye Alert" - 10. "The Heights"

9th studio album by Blur marks a long-awaited reunion following more than eight years after The Magic Whip (Apr. 2015), which then was another reunion album following 12 years after Think Tank (May 2003). The Ballad... is produced by James Ford, who has made a name for his work with e.g. Arctic Monkeys, Last Shadow Puppets, and in this context: for his work on albums by Gorillaz. The band remains intact and all tracks are credited the band of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree. Together with Gorillaz, Albarn released Cracker Island (Feb. 2023), and basically, Blur now appears as just another brain-child of Albarn's. Blur is still something else, and markedly different from albums by Gorillaz, but there are apparent similarities with the music by the Albarn-led project The Good, The Bad & The Queen (e.g. "Goodbye Alert" and "Far Away Island"), who most recently - as of Nov. 2018 released Merrie Land.

The album was met by positive reviews - I didn't immediately embrace it as an improvement, and frankly thought of it as on par with the band's 2015 album, but one year down the road, I consider it better than my initial verdict. It's not up there among the best by Blur but it surely has its moments, and Coxon is a most treasured guarantee in delivering classic Blur guitar-riffs, which securely puts it somewhere in the middle on the Blur shelf.

[ 👎allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Mojo, NME, 👍Pitchfork 7,2 / 10 stars ]

Blur "The Magic Whip" (2015)

The Magic Whip
release date: Apr. 27, 2015
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,22]
producer: Stephen Street, Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn
label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Lonesome Street" - 4. "Ice Cream Man" - 5. "Thought I Was a Spaceman" - 6. "I Broadcast" (live on later) - 10. "Pyongyang"

8th and so far final studio album by Blur released 12 years after the predecessor Think Tank (2003) also marks a return to Stephen Street in the producer chair as well as a reunion of the original quartet.
Stylistically, the album doesn't stick out in pure experimentation, as it might have done had it been an entirely Albarn-led project. This time Graham Coxon and producer Street have held the style on a leash, which makes it a more cohenrent release than the band's last two studio albums: 13 (1999) and Think Tank (2003). It contains dub, jazz and electronic bits, which builds on the same material as Albarn's 2014 album Everyday Robots, but on an overall level it feels more in family with the artsy britpop Blur came to represent after Parklife.
The album is the sixth consecutive Blur album to enter the albums chart list in Britain as number #1, and in general, the album was met by quite positive reviews. I just don't find it that great. Perhaps time will tell if it's in fact one of their better, but so far I'm not truly convinced. I think of it, as more than just a solid release and far from a lesser album, which has fine moments, but where Albarn and Coxon agreed on getting everything back together by having Street producing again - "just like he used to. We gotta have that!" - in order to make ends meet again, and by that they have made a brand new album using all their brilliant contemporary and accumulated skills and put down a record that fits ever so nicely... somewhere in the past.
[ allmusic.com, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Guardian 4 / 5 stars ]

Graham Coxon "Happiness in Magazines" (2004)

Happiness in Magazines
release date: May 17, 2004
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,28]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Transcopic - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 2. "No Good Time" - 3. "Girl Done Gone" - 4. "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery" - 6. "Freakin' Out" - 12. "Ribbons and Leaves"

5th solo album by Blur-guitarist Graham Coxon is an alt. rock and garage rock revival-styled album, which nicely demonstrates the musical direction of one of the major driving forces within Blur. Yes, Coxon wanted it scrappier and raw, whereas Albarn dragged towards a more experimental style within a more contemporary pop universe.
It's not just a rip-off, although I hear clear inspirational sources from Kinks, Velvet Underground, The Who, Neil Young and the like. The album showcases Coxon's writing abilities, his ear for simple pop / rock hooks making this one of those albums that you wish you didn't have to search so hard to find, 'cause it really deserves much more attention.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Q Magazine, Uncut 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5 stars ]

Blur "Think Tank" (2003)

Think Tank
release date: May 5, 2003
format: cd
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,86]
producer: Ben Hillier and Blur
label: Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 0. "Me, White Noise" (4 / 5) - 1. "Ambulance" - 2. "Out of Time" (4 / 5) (alt. live version) - 3. "Crazy Beat" - 4. "Good Song" - 5. "On the Way to the Club" - 7. "Caravan" - 10. "Sweet Song" - 11. "Jets" - 12. "Gene by Gene" - *13. "Battery in Your Leg"
*this video ends with the opening hidden track as some cd-issues put it at the end after a 1:20 minutes silence

7th (and so far final) studio album by Blur follows four full years after 13 (1999) is with new co-producer Ben Hillier. Also electronic musicians Norman Cook [Fatboy Slim] and William Orbit are credited for co-producing tracks on the album. On previous albums, guitarist Graham Coxon had always been adversary to Albarn's more experimental direction - here Coxon is near absent and only plays guitar on #13, as he was "excused" due to his alcoholism. Keyboards, programming and sound effects fill out the role of the traditional guitar on an album, which in a way turns out much more as an(other) Albarn-lead project.
It's both electronic, alt. rock and art pop, but it really comes out as a huge conglomerate with influences from hip hop, dub, jazz, Jamaican and African music. In that way it really consolidates Albarn's interest for mixing styles and genres as it's the first Blur album to be released after Albarn's project debut under the moniker Gorillaz.
I didn't pay the album much attention in 2003, neither a decade on, and I must confess that it's far from bad. In fact, it's like the majority of albums with Damon Albarn's signature: highly original with a certain amount of... genius about it. In the end, this is really such a great album, which still amazes me in terms of ingenuity and musical quality, and despite Parklife being the band's near-signature album of classic britpop, this one is just much more - it's daringly experimental without stylistic bonds, and at the same time really very coherent. To me it's easily my favourite album by Blur.
What I really like about it is the sense of a strict style without being able to point to any tracks proving that 'cause they're not alike, yet they constitute a common signature "matrix." And in that way it's also difficult to direct one's attention to obvious hits - I think the whole album is more of a conceptual album, which in other ways foresees Albarn's future solo-projects. At the time of the release I primarily regarded Blur as one of the genuine britpop bands that you could compare with Pulp, Oasis, and the like, but Blur is so much more than that, and with Blur (1997), 13 (1999) and Think Tank the band confirms the fact that I should've known back then - that Blur is / was a musical project of many styles a genres, and that the band should be much more lauded for its alt. rock releases than those associated with the early 1990s.
During the recording sessions for the album guitarist Graham Coxon left the band reduced to a trio. Coxon would not rejoin Blur again until 2009, and the band would remain on a hiatus in terms of recording new studio material.
Think Tank is easily Blur's best effort - ever. Highly recommendable.

NB! All artwork and direction - including the front cover - is credited British artist officially known as Banksy.

[ allmusic.com 2 / 5, The Guardian, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5, Uncut 5 / 5 stars ]

Blur "13" (1999)

13
release date: Mar. 15, 1999
format: 2 cd (2012 remaster)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,44]
producer: William Orbit
label: Food / Parlophone - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Tender" (4 / 5) (live) - 2. "Bugman" - 3. "Coffee & TV" - 4. "Swamp Song" - 7. "Battle" - 11. "Trimm Trabb" - 12. "No Distance Left to Run"

6th studio album by Blur follows two years after the album Blur and it's the band's first not to be produced by Stephen Street. As Blur has increasingly experimented and sought out new styles the change of producer really comes like a natural progression, and frankly had been expected at an earlier stage. The album both follows closely in the footsteps of Blur with its noisier style, but also manages to go its own way by incorporating new elements like trip hop and neo-psychedelia. Producer William Orbit is an English instrumental electronic musician, which may not be heard on the album, but naturally adds in the making.
Apparently, guitarist Graham Coxon had pushed the band towards a more noise rock / alt. rock universe, which had its dawn on Blur, while Albarn dragged the band into a more experimental sound. An episode which had its impact in shaping the album took place in the personal life of Damon Albarn, who experienced a break-up in a long-time relationship with Elastica vocalist Justine Frischmann, which may be hinted at on several tracks. The title refers to the recording studio by Blur, and in addition, when placed close enough, the two digits 1 + 3 [13] form the letter B for "Blur". The cover art is a detail of a painting "The Apprentice" by guitarist Graham Coxon with the addition of the title numbers.
13 doesn't contain obvious pop hit songs, although, three well-fairing singles were released: "Tender", "Coffee & TV" and "No Distance Left to Run". The album was generally met by positive reviews, and it topped the albums chart list as the fourth consecutive by Blur, and the single "Tender" reached number #2 on the singles chart list. In addition, 13 was nominated several awards including the prestigious Mercury Prize Award.
I always found this album a bit strange, but it does win in the long run. The trip hop and art pop elements that Blur elaborate on here are not far from later Albarn projects. What seems an interesting point is the fact that Albarn shortly prior to starting the recording sessions for the album initiated collaborative works with Jamie Hewlett, who would later be the other half of the Albarn-project, Gorillaz. 13 is a bit of a mixed bag with some fine songs but also too many ideas and stylistic expressions that it's difficult to listen to in one go. That impression doesn't disappear with the remastered 2-disc issue with the inclusion of a "Bonus material disc", which takes everything even further in all directions.
After this album, Albarn initiated his (virtual) project-band Gorillaz and guitarist Graham Coxon concentrated on a solo career he had already initiated before the recording sessions for this album.
[ allmusic.com, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, The Guardian, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Blur "Blur" (1997)

Blur
release date: Feb. 10, 1997
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,64]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Food Records / EMI Japan - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Beetlebum" - 2. "Song 2" (4 / 5) - 3. "Country Sad Ballad Man" - 7. "You're So Great" - 8. "Death of a Party" - 11. "Look Inside America" - 12. "Strange News From Another Star" - 14. "Essex Dogs"

5th studio album by Blur released a year an a half following The Great Escape (Sep. 1995) is band's so far final album with Stephen Street as producer. However, you could have the impression that it was made with another producer as it really introduces a new direction in terms of style. There's a change of balance in terms of spatial relationship when it comes to the instrumentation. There's a bold use of distortion and delay effects applied to guitars and vocals, and drums and bass are played more vigorously - with energy and a sneer. Stylistically, it's difficult to label as britpop, although, a few songs still contain elements of that style, but as a whole, it contains punk rock bits, and I find it more indie rock and alt. rock-shaped than any of their albums, so far.
At first, I found the album less appealing than the more classic Blur releases like Parklife and Modern Times..., but along the way I have really come to appreciate this a great deal more. I see the album as a turning point in the band's career, and it has also been enlisted in various best of lists including NME's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and I fully understand the inclusion of the album in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" as the third (and so far final) by Blur. The single "Beetlebum" is Blur's second single to top the singles chart list, and the album is also the third consecutive Blur album to enter the national albums chart list as number #1.
Recommended.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, The Guardian, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]

Blur "The Great Escape" (1995)

The Great Escape
release date: Sep. 11, 1995
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,54]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Stereotypes" - 2. "Country House" - 4. "Charmless Man" - 7. "The Universal" (4 / 5) - 10. "It Could Be You" - 12. "Globe Alone" - 15. "Yuko and Hiro"

4th studio album by Blur originally released on Food Records and produced by Stephen Street is much of the continued journey from Parklife (1995) with a lighter version of britpop, although, they keep to their stylistic output from Modern Life.. with elements of punk rock bits here and there, and in this it's found on "Globe Alone". I don't find the album as consistently good as Parklife, but it's more than just Okay with a few great tracks and some fillers.
Like its predecessor it entered the UK albums chart list as number #1, and it launched the band's first number #1 single hit with the song "Country House".
[ allmusic.com, NME 4,5 / 5, The Guardian 4 / 5, Q Magazine 5 / 5 stars ]

Blur "Parklife" (1994)

Parklife
release date: Apr. 25, 1994
format: digital (1999 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Food Records / EMI Japan - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "Girls & Boys" - 2. "Tracy Jacks" - 3. "End of a Century" (4 / 5) (live) - 4. "Parklife" - 9. "To the End" - 13. "Magic America"

3rd studio album by Blur following the one-year old Modern Life Is Rubbish is like that again produced by Stephen Street.
The album continues the style of britpop with lyrics about everyday-life and a music building on a mix of pop / rock and mod traditions with a few exceptions proving the band was always experimenting with musical styles - something that later on would be much more clear, when thinking of the band's later albums and the various projects of front-man Damon Albarn.
I didn't like much of the britpop at the time except for Suede, and the much talked about duel Oasis vs. Blur was just another obscure pop thing that I didn't involve in. In retrospect, I have made an easy and clear choice about the two bands, and I literally find it hard not to come to the obvious conclusion that of those two, Blur was the only band worthwhile, and with Parklife they truly deserved a considerable spot among the all-time greatest British music artists.
As the band's first, the album topped the national albums charts, it was nominated the Mercury Prize, it won Best British Album at the 1995 Brit Awards, and it's enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 5 / 5, NME 4,5 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine 4 / 5 stars ]

Blur "Modern Life Is Rubbish" (1993)

Modern Life Is Rubbish
release date: May 10, 1993
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,45]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Food Records / EMI Japan - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "For Tomorrow" - 4. "Pressure on Julian" - 5. "Star Shaped" - 6. "Blue Jeans" - 7. "Chemical World" - 9. "Sunday, Sunday" - 13. "Coping"

2nd studio album by Blur follows two years after Leisure and it was originally released on Food Records. it's the first of theirs to introduce a kind of trademark of typical britpop that the debut lacked. All tracks except two are produced by Stephen Street (Steve Lovell produced two tracks and Blur and John Smith primarily produced some short additional intermissions on the album). The album marks a move towards the britpop they would later be much more associated with despite containing various stylistic elements. The tone of the lyrics is an evident ironic sarcasm as heard on typical mod bands like The Kinks and mod revivalists The Jam, and the music heavily builds on especially these two bands repertoire.
I didn't listen to this at the time of its release but have come to like it later on. It's not really great but it has its moments and does contain some original compositions, which makes it more than just interesting, also compared to Leissure, and it basically takes the band's music to a whole different level.
The album is the first of three Blur albums to be enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5, NME 3,5 / 5 stars ]

Blur "Leisure" (1991)

Leisure [debut]
release date: Aug. 27, 1991
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,58]
producer: Stephen Street
label: Food Records / EMI Japan - nationality: England, UK

Track highlights: 1. "She's So High" - 2. "Bang" - 7. "There's No Other Way"

Studio album debut by London-based four-piece Blur originally released on the small independent label Food Records. Blur consists of the two Essex-friends vocalist and keyboardist Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon who teamed up with bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree in the fall of 1988 under the name of Seymour, which at some point in 1990 was exchanged for Blur.
The majority of the tracks are produced by Stephen Street, track #1 and the bonus track #13 are produced by Steve Lovell and Steve Power, tracks #8 and #11-12 are produced by Mike Thorne, and track #6 and the two bonus tracks #14-15 are produced by Blur.
Although, one can't really say britpop without mentioning Blur this is stylistically without typical britpop traits. In fact it's much more in the tradition of a soft version of alt. rock and more so inspired by the Manchester origins of baggy / Madchester style, exemplified by Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and The Charlatans with bits of what should be labelled dream pop.
I didn't realise the album until after coming across "Girls & Boys" in '94, when Oasis came around and the historical UK battle of best britpop band began. I do recall the cover though, as it caught my attention back then, but that's probably the best thing about it, I guess. I never touched on their music until after Parklife (1994), and I have to confess that I didn't quite understand what the fuss was all about. I mean: I didn't find it all that spectacular, anyway. Time considered, everything then was about indie rock, grunge and power pop at this point in music history, or: that was where a great portion of my attention lay. Listening to Blur was like "silly pop meant for a younger audience", in my mind. And listening to it at various stages since then, I haven't really altered my initial conclusion, although, I admit that it's not entirely bad. I just never found it appealing, and I still find it hard to pin out a really good track here. It's all very mediocre, really. Middle of the road 2.5 / 5, yeah.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, Q Magazine 4 / 5, Rolling Stone 2,5 / 5 stars ]