Reviews (page 11 of 13)
With each new Blur album I hear, the more I become convinced that they are the epitome of a singles band.
This album is from 1994, but it feels like something Duran Duran would have put out in the 80s.
Decent album… differ then want I was expecting
Really confusing to me how an album can have so many decent, enjoyable songs and accompanied by so many songs that suck shit. 5/10
5/10. Meh
Is this one considered as Blur's best album? I've always been fond of many tracks of this one but I don't believe it is as good as everyone thinks, it drags quite a lot and gets boring at times, I personally prefer The Great Scape and 13 over this one.
I enjoyed listening to this. Great, crisp sound, high energy tunes. Musically diverse songs, with echoes of everything from the Kinks to Bowie to Syd to Gary Numan. The diverse styles are mostly an attribute, but it also tends to make the album seem unfocused and a bit rambling. They could have dropped several tracks and made a better album. "Boys and Girls" is for sure the top track, and "To the End" is absolutely charming. Fave Songs: Boys and Girls, End of a Century, To the End, Clover Over Dover
So funny to me that this is the sound that brought British music back, not bad by any means just quirky. I did enjoy it but not one of my favourites.
I vaguely remember Boys & Girls from my childhood. I do like it more than some of the other Britpop of the era, but I'm sort of done with the genre in totality. Bank Holiday is pretty dope. However, To The End is boring as hell.
v fun, lost me in the middle a bit but loved beginning and end
Enjoyable but not an everyday listen album.
Favorite songs: Girls and Boys, Parklife, Bank Holiday, London Loves, Lot 105 Thoughts: I’ve been trying to get into blur for a while and this really helped! This is such a nice, fun upbeat album. I listened to it while packing for Sokobanja. But I really did enjoy listening to this album, it was a little bit outside of the box from what I listen to but still quite nice!
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aighto
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Some great britpop tracks on here.
Not really interesting 3/5 Better then Album blur
I feel like this is what it would sound like if the Beatles made an album in the 90s. I can appreciate that
I recognized some of these songs
Ok
Some definite Gorillaz notes, but some other general weirdness
Fav tracks: end of a century, bad head, jubilee, this is a low Buena energía Música para sentirse cool
Me gustó pero no demasiado, tiene canciones muy buenas pero no todas me parecen interesantes de escuchar, algunos sonidos los siento un poco repetitivos. Pero en general es un buen álbum.
Also not bad but boring.
ya lo había escuchado y medio medio
Generally pretty slow, not really my jam.
lots of repeating words not my cup of tea, some good songs Really good beats, hate the singing
Boring
This album lacks some of the frantic pace from other blur records, but instead offers a more experimental sound. Almost as if it was serving as a concept album itself, Albarn gets some practice before his entire concept group, the Gorillaz to come.
Con un clásico en el primer single, el resto del álbum algo... Extraño. Hay un par de temas que me gustaron, pero no podría rescatarlo completo. 3.5
Some excellent songs... but a lot are are either crap, or absolutely shite.
Some brill tracks but inconsistent - better was yet to come ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Some good, some awful. My genre but was never much of a blur fan.
Interesting. Not a huge fan of Blur, but it wasn't bad. I didn't hate it, but not sure there was anything that was going to make my favorites list.
I love so many songs on this album. Yet struggle with it as an album as it has so many week tracks. First for songs are brilliant, next 4 average to bad, "To the end" and "This is a low" are wonderful songs but the bits in between just don't live up to the hype. Tough to rate this due to the disparity between the good and bad. 3/5
ok
They throw lots of different genres at you early : synth-pop, speed-punk, a waltz(!) Some catchy tunes. A few weeks ago Spotify sent me their song, To the End, which is nice. The lead singer songs like a cross between John Lydon & Mark Almond.
„Sometimes I feed the pigeons“ and sometimes ist in allen ersten 4 Blur Alben zu viel görenhaftes LALALALALA, die den durchaus teils zum niederkniehenden „hui!“-Songs eine Breitseite „pfui!“ vor den Latz knallt. Kann Blur erst ab ihrem gleichnamigen und ebenso reifen wie frischen Album und darüber hinaus gern über volle Distanz hören - davor war halt Pubertät und diese hat schon Drive aber auch Overdrive 2.7
Not amazing, and bit too long, it had some nice tracks but nothing incredible
The second half took me by surprise. Some songs are annoyingly repetitive, but a lot of it is cool.
Great album, fantastic production, good flow of songs. Not exactly my type of rock but I would check out more of their music.
I don't think I've ever listened to this all the way through. I liked it! The sound of it just didn't really grab me throughout, despite its significance or whatnot.
This was released at the height of my "nothing but metal" phase, so I disagreed violently with how inescapable the singles from it were, but age has mellowed me, and I can enjoy their cheeky Lahndan britpop these days. Fave track - I'm gonna go with "Girls & Boys" because even though it drove me spare in my teens, it's still inextricably linked to some good summer memories, so it gets a nostalgia bump...
Interesting album, not heard a lot of blur before, but can't take Parklife seriously after the Russell Brand thing. Damon Albarn is awesome though, so I look forward to hearing more Blur albums.
I've known Blur, but this provided a lot of new songs for me. Some of the popular ones I had heard, as well as a few lesser known ones, but I liked the ones I hadn't heard of. Some goofy stuff too, but mostly good British 90's alt-rock. Highlights: -Girls and Boys -End of a Century -Parklife -The Debt Collector -To The End -Clover over Dover -This is a Low
2.5-3/5
Had higher hopes for this one, but still plagues by symptoms of Brit-pop so this doesn't hit as well as their self-titled album. Trying to be critical of the system but still has that 90s optimism sound. Nothing really stands out in here to me.
Not at all my style but I could see the charm.
It's good. Don't love it.
They’re not all just woohoo, good album
Interesting. Reminded me of Genesis
Not bad! I've never listened to Blur for a whole album before, but this pretty good!
what’d be playing in the background of a coming of age film for teens who feel misunderstood by everyone aside from themselves. very 90s.
Surprisingly entertaining and easy listening. Solid music and a look into Brit pop
Kinda on the fence with it. Some songs I think are really cool and unique. I definitely can see where ideas for later Gorillaz records were kind of incubating on here. But a lot of the songs just aren’t really doing it for me, some are even kind of grating to me.
Levy oli aika heittelevä. Hyviä biisejä ja vähemmän hyvin mahtu vino pino.
2.5 rounded up
Ihan mukava levy ja joitain tosi hyviä biisejäkin, mut kokonaisuutena ei kuitenkaan ok:ta parempi
Much campier than anticipated. And a lot poppier.
this one impressed me a little. there's some pretty cool songs here, despite my low expectations going in.
<h1>Hey</h1>
One ok song. I don’t know man come on. This is I don’t know whatever just noise just garbage. I’m giving it two stars for the graphic design.
Enough fucking britpop
..
Yeah, this is absolutely none of my business. Two stars because I’m able to recognise it is good for what it is, regardless of my opinion on the music.
Gives an 80s sound, bounces around between sounding like the clash, or just generic 80s electronica.
Started in a simple jolly and upbeat way, and made me think it would be somewhere between a 3 and a 4 (for my taste). However, it just kept getting more and more quirky, unusual and subtly avant-garde. It feels weird for me to say, but in a way it became unpleasant and frustrating to listen to. Perhaps the instruments/musical arrangement is not to my liking, as it feels quite simplistic. Amusingly, on the other hand, if it just played it safe and stayed generic, it would probably annoy me for being "FIFA rock", vapid and uninspired... I'll settle that I respect it, but don't particularly like it. Feels harsh giving it a 2, and maybe it's just a bad day, but it took me a lot of willpower to even finish... Highlight: "Theme from an Imaginary Film" and "Red Necks" from the Extended/Special Edition were oddly good. Of all things. What? "Alex's Song" ruined the streak tho.
I'd probably like this if I was 18 when it came out...
It’s all a blur…
I was surprised by this album's playfulness and cheery attitude. Mixed with British Punk flavor, polka interludes and French chanson. It sounds crazy, but it's not my cup of tea... With all of these contradicting influences it's hard for me to see the identity of the album.
Imagine that, another overly hyped Brit band that wasn't that good. I am sensing a trend. Just like "Tracy Jacks" this is "...so overrated". They sung about Brit shit I can't relate to and that's why I never got into their sound. The first song, "Girls & Boys" (38M listens - 37M of those in England) is so annoying. It sounds less like 1994 and more like 1982. "End Of A Century" (27M) sounds more like a Blur song/sound but it's super average. Outside of the chorus for "Parklife" (178M) it's a pretty lame song with Captain Jack Sparrow singing about stuff an American can't relate to. "Bank Holiday" was unlistenable. I have no inkling how these guys ever made a splash in the US outside of "Song 2" which is a masterpiece. Everything else is soaked in pub beer and covered in HP Sauce with a side of breakfast beans. If this were released today, it would fall flat (for a second time in the US) and barely dent pop culture. 2 stars
Some interesting songs mixed with a bunch I don't long to hear again.
I don't exactly hate Blur but three albums is absolute insanity
196. ok
Got it - it's Britpop, so we have to hear it. But do we? I wasn't a fan when it came out, and it didn't grow on me in the meatime.
This one grows on you. Just not that much, more like a 2 to a 2.1 ‘Badhead.’
Another album by an OK British band. What a shocker.
better than i expected. guitar tone is great. some songs are very creative. some dumb and annoying. good enough album but it should have ended 9 songs in. definitely didn't need to be that long and definitely didn't need to hear this before i die.
Same kinda thing like the Clash do that I don't like that much
listened to half of it and came to the consensus that Blur is off brand Oasis. I liked 'Girls & Boys', and 'Parklife' would be better if it was Liam Gallagher singing.
Eh? There were some neat songs on this album but it just generally wasn't very memorable to me. Might relisten at some point to see if I was wrong but I'm unsure.
Less annoying than the other blur album I got so far.
Sorry guys when I can’t get into even one song after 4 songs I’m done. I know there’s an audience for this band, but I don’t like it
At its best (aka slowest and lushest), this plays like a lost Beatles album. At its wonkiest (aka least melodic), it's perhaps TOO British...am I allowed to say that, lol? "End of a Century" and "To the End" light me up--feel like Great Ones...from Lennon, not Albarn. The whimsy of the instrumentals (bari sax!) and background vox is also vaguely Beach Boys. All that is to say: no surprise that I like swaths of this.
my only real exposure to blur is their self-titled album, which is one of my favorites all time - some real grit and melancholy layered into what's otherwise boring britpop. this is just the boring britpop. get edgier!!
Parklife - Blur: Girls & Boys bravely asks: What if David Bowie… wasn’t that good? The song is aggressively British and meanders along pointlessly. I know it’s famous, I’ve heard it before, but I still don’t like it. Tracy Jacks is so ‘90s. I could imagine myself skittering around a British Uni wearing a pair of skinny headphones and a plaid jumper listening to this. I would study literature and express an interest in counterculture, alongside an abject hatred for the vague concept of a “businessman.” Regardless of its dated content, I enjoyed the guitar on the song, and found the instrumental last minute to be catchy and captivating. The fadeout to weak orchestral music served as a solid transition to the slower third track. End of A Century touches on the same themes as Tracy Jacks. Everyone is looking for something independent of the mainstream. Even Faux David Bowie. Fauxie. Parklife offers a thesis for what Blur’s album plans on covering. Much like other alt-rock ‘90s albums, Blur is taking a shot at the normalcy of the everyday person’s docile, boring life. I didn’t particularly mind it in any real way. I enjoyed the chanting of the album’s title, which reminded me a bit of “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” Bank Holiday requires an open mind. The track drew upon metal-influences and contained quirky lyrics. I never listen to metal and find the melodies and noise levels common throughout that genre to be a bit grating. Despite the metal-like sound Bank Holiday still managed to sound a bit like the introduction to a sitcom. Badhead is slower and sadder than its peers. The song more so resembles the Beatles, as opposed to the David Bowie x Metallica x Nirvana sound present in earlier tracks. The horns were an interesting touch on the song and nicely complemented the choir in the song's background. The Debt Collector is cousins with Dominic the Donkey. The song is an Italian, Circus-like melody without lyrics, serving as the album’s de facto intermission. Far Out is a haunted version of the Debt Collector. The circus is now haunted by extraterrestrials. The track is a bit disquieting and is again reminiscent of The Beatles To the End incorporates the lead singer’s smooth vocals alongside the seductive chants of a french woman. The song is the least experimental number thusfar, with romantic violins, and a lighter, romantic version of the circus-like feel of the debt collector. The song includes a strong vocal performance alongside a light, whimsical melody, creating a romantic feel. London Loves is alright. It’s a standard ‘90s Alternative Brit-pop song. Trouble in the Message Center was grunge-foward, and incredibly listenable. I enjoyed the gritty guitar, the raw vocals and the chanted chorus. The song also shifts between chrus and verse, nicely breaking the piece up. Clover Over Dover is a laid-back track. The song is easy to listen to and incorporates the circus-like melodies of the earlier songs. The repetitiveness works to its benefit, as the track requires little close attention, and instead allows listeners to mindlessly enjoy the airy feel of the love song. Magic America depicts a man who has an idealized version of America, seeking a perfect life. The song mocks the band, with a dream-like chorus of la-las. Again, I could see this track working well in a film. The last three tracks have greatly turned this album around. Jubilee tackles counterculture, yet again. The use of horns on this track is a solid touch. Without the electric guitar, the song could nearly be a show tune. I find the lyrics, as well as the chorus to be weak. This is a Low is a Pink Floyd track. Well, it’s not. But it could be. I actually didn’t mind this one. The melodic nature of the guitar worked well with the lead singer’s low vocals, making for a comfortable listen. I enjoyed the song’s ambient qualities. Lot 105 brings back that circus sound in full swing. I feel like I’m playing the arcade game where I have to hit the clowns withtthe red balls in order to win thirty tickets. Free Youtube Music. No words; closes out the album. I wish this album was mixed better. I struggle to understand much of what Blur is saying due to how comparably loud the instruments are. A remaster would benefit the band. Additionally, I struggle to properly rank this album. Of all genres, I listen to ‘90s rock the least. I don’t particularly enjoy it, nor do I enjoy Britpop. Despite my struggles, i didn’t completely dislike every track on this album, which must say something about its overall quality, considering the limitations I’m working with. I enjoyed that they dared to do something different with the circus-like tracks and the bevy of melodically distinct songs. Final Ranking: This is a Low Trouble in the Message Center Clover Over Dover Magic America To The End Parklife Tracey Jacks Girls and Boys Badhead Jubilee End of Century Lot 105 London Loves Far Out Bank Holiday The Debt Collector Album Score: 4/10
Eh
kind of didnt like it, and i dont know why because it feels like it oughta be my type of album. ran a little long. theres just so much of damon albarn's voice and it made me appreciate the entire gorillaz discography less. it's like he's showing me all his cool 2000's pop rock toys and every single one makes me cross my arms and shake my head and say "no thank you." Girls & Boys is really a load-bearing tune when it comes to the score, besides that i liked Clover Over Dover a lot. the rest of the album has been already entirely forgotten, except for the measurable elevation of my cortisol levels from being mildly annoyed for most of its duration, which has doubtless taken precious seconds off my life moreso than the established 52 minutes of the album
Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: None Man, the List has me on a pretty bad streak this last week or so. This is a third Blur album. For me, it sits somewhere between Blur's self-titled album, which I didn't much care for, and Modern Life Is Rubbish, which was decent enough, but still not really anything I've thought much about since Feb 2026, when I last listened to it. This album - no, this band - is basically in one ear and out the other. I still don't understand how Damon Albarn went from whatever the hell Blur is to the Gorillaz, which is a masterclass in how to make good music and exemplify how featured artists should work on albums. This is.... whatever. A 2.
Big fan of Damon’s work with the gorillaz, but never really listened to much of blur. My expectations were kinda high for this one and it was kind of disappointing.
Really seems like a “you had to be there” album for me. Not bad, just not very interesting.
Another dog shit album. It sounds like a 90s version of the generic British Punk that overly saturates this list.
Oh boy, another crappy British rock album. Not interesting, didn't like it at all, why is this album here? It could be worse, but I saw nothing redeeming about this one. Even the one hit on this kinda sucked.
Highlights: Tracy Jacks, To The End and Clover Over Dover. 2.2
I've always had a soft spot for Brit pop, but I guess that doesn't extend to the whole genre because this album was not my favorite. I'm not British and I was too young when this came out to have any nostalgia associated with this album. I can definitely hear and appreciate the 60s and psychedelic rock influences here as well as some early Gorillaz sounds from Daman Albarn. I gave this album 2 listens thinking maybe I missed something but it just sounded monotone to me. I really struggled to make it through the whole thing. "Girls & Boys" was pretty catchy, but this album just missed the mark with me.
I didn’t mind this but it’s not something I would go back to. It was kind of silly at times though, there were pieces of it that I liked.
i really just don't like brit pop
Just not for me. Too many of the songs sounded like I just heard them. It was the first album that we listened to that I couldn't wait for it to be over. Everything they did would have been better if it was performed by Oasis. Favorite track was maybe Parklife.
Love the hit single. Wish I loved the rest as much.
Surprised to see Blur have more than one album on this list. This one is okay, kind of generic 90s alt rock. Highlights: "End of a Century"
Oh yay another britpop album. This one is like sifting thru mud and sometimes you find a rock that’s kinda alright. By the second half ur drowning in mud and there are no more cool rocks
Partially known. Meh.
With a name like Blur, I expected heavy metal/hard rock. But this album is primarily Britpop/alternative. “Bank Holiday” is a track with more of a hard rock vibe, but it doesn’t really work. Some of the tracks sound like Oasis. “The Debt Collector” is a waltz-like instrumental - maybe it was included to show that the band can exhibit musical diversity. Same with “Lot 105”, an end-of-album add on. Overall the album is just barely good enough for a 2.5 rating.
Ah ouais mais Blur c'est tout nul en fait
just not my cup of tea
On en a un peu marre des albums de brit pop sah, 2.5+/5
Annoying and bad.
Huge meh
Generic Britpop synth songs and forgettable, derivative pop melodies and vocals.
hate to say it but i dont really see the appeal, maybe ill grow into it but for now its just a bit mid. Best song - Parklife
Blur is a band of two halves. The singles are fantastic, the rest is just garbage. This album is no different. A shame really as I was looking forward to this one.
Not my kind of music
All I knew from Blur was "Song 2" and this was not really like that. This album kinda annoyed me tbh. It was fine Liked Songs: "Girls & Boys" , "End of a Century" , "Parklife" , "Badhead" , "To the End" , "Trouble in the Message Centre" , "Magic America" , "Lot 105"
bez komentarza lecimy dalej
I think Oasis won the battle. To me there weren't any songs that really stood out for me. I love Song 2 from their later album so I was expecting something on par with that and what was not what was delivered.
I’m not sure if I was annoyed because of how British it was or annoyed because it was annoying but I was annoyed. God it was so extremely British (derogatory)
Ich hatte ein bisschen Sorge dass das Album mich ein bisschen nerven würde. Fast richtig: Es nervt mich sehr. Das ist so schmunzel clever und irgendwie nicht gut gealtert, vielleicht mit Ausnahme von to the end und this is a low, die schon so klingen wie Blur und Alban später. Sorry, vielleicht hart aber
couldn't finish it, i knew i'm not a blur fan
Dammit Jim, I'm a shoegaze guy, not a britpop guy. +1 for Girls and Boys. The rest is pretty typical of the time. Still, it's better than Oasis. Didn't finish it. Of their albums, I certainly prefer 13, which I understand makes me a weirdo.
Review - glad I got this album when I did. I enjoyed Village Green Preservation Society so much, and everything you read about it talks about how influential it was to all the britpop bands I've never been a fan of, that I was thinking I should give this album a listen. And now I have, and I can say this album is mediocre. It's more eclectic than I'd expected, and some of the songs are very good. But I truly truly hate Damon Albarn's silly singing voice. What Blur are missing that The Kinks had was some level of sincerity to what they were singing about - Ray Davies was sarcastic and funny and absurd, but there'd be a clear and underlying core of sincerity in his songwriting. Damon Albarn couldn't do that if he tried. And while I can understand that singing in a very noticeably English voice might have been radical in the mid-90s, Albarn's voice just feels put on. I'm no big Oasis fan, but even if they were trying to sound American when they sang they simply couldn't help but sound incredibly Mancunian. Whereas Albarn is putting on a very exaggerated Cockney-ish singing voice and it just doesn't work for me. Glad I got that out of my system. Rating - 5/10 Need to hear? YES
FAR TOO BRITISH. Only thing I knew from these guys was song 2. So this wasn’t quite what I was expecting. Nothin doin
It's fine, very British. It was fun to trace elements of this album to what would become the Gorillaz (2.5)
LOVE the album cover! I've heard a handful of these songs when I worked at the music broadcast in the 90s and 90s rock ruled the airwaves. Never digested the record though. It's alright... the hits are the hits for a reason.
Sounds Bland to me. Prefer their self titled album.
I like the single “Girls and Boys” with its refreshing genderfuck politics, early for 1994, though it gets too repetitive. The rest is a “blur” of samey songs with a super annoying male whiny vocal. Not for me.
if this is supposed to compete with Oasis, that's the funniest joke e'er told. This is Temu Oasis. This is credits music of the original Shameless (derogatory)
--Girls & Boys...a decent groove but I find the vocals grating --Tracy Jacks...really don't dig the 90s Britpop voice. I'm not sure which voice annoys me more, Albarn's or Liam Gallagher's --End of a Century...kind of a Beatles feel; the Britpop I actually enjoy --Parklife...something tells me this is what birthed the Arctic Monkeys. take that as you will --Bank Holiday...interesting tempo change, too bad it's not entertaining --Badhead...another Beatles imitation, I prefer it over the Oasis-like stuff --The Debt Collector...I don't know why this is on here but it's a fun diversion --Far Out...um, okay? just...why? --To the End...an epic ballad of some kind? not gonna lie, I'm really not seeing a vision here. every track kind of exists in its own world. and there aren't enough pop bangers on here to justify its length. maybe I should finish the album before making statements like tha--oh god there are seven more tracks --London Loves...okay, this has a Phil Collins' Genesis vibe I appreciate --Trouble in the Message Centre...switching it up to the Gary Numen impression now --Clover Over Dover...of course the brits have to force a damned harpsichord into every LP --Magic America...sorry, y'all, any magic we Americans had has been replaced with MAGA trash. you should probably leave us to rot. oh, right, this is supposed to be about music --Jubilee...whatever --This is a Low...Albarn has proven himself to be incredibly talented, but the songwriting just isn't there yet. Every decent track on this LP seems to simply reference another artist that did it better --Lot 105...ready to move on to Gorillaz
Average
Meh, it was ok but most of the songs sounded the same.
Not the biggest fan of Blur. The songs weren’t tough to listen to and had some catchy portions, but I was waiting for this one to just be over so I could move onto the next album. I think that since I was so ready to get through this, it diminished the overall experience. Might need to give it another shot in a future listen.
доста разочароващ, имайки предвид, че това е блър. труден за слушане след първата песен
Not sure why this album is good
A whole lot of meh. I think this was way bigger in the UK than the US. Nothing really stood out to me.
ниче не почувствовала
This was a tough one, first album (only on the 3rd) that I skipped through a few songs. I’d give them a chance but after a minute or two, I’d skip to the next. Not my jam.
too loud for me.
Meh, pretty unmemorable
I never really got into Blur beyond Song 2. I recognized Girls and Boys, but couldn't get into the album. I find the funky weirdness works way better in Gorillaz than this band.
Boring!
There’s way too much Brit pop on this list.
Opět ucházející klasik rap.
So British Never enjoy early Blur as much as I think I'm going to. Came to them in the late 90's. Maybe it's not the hip thing, but I prefer their more generically radio friendly singles from later work. It's not necessarily better, just hit me at the right time. This album just gives me low rent Oasis, and I don't really like Oasis. Probably about 4th on their discography for me, just 2 stars
I've always found the song boys and girls obnoxious and therefore never gave the rest of the album a chance. Glad to see 30 or so years later that wasn't a bad decision....
I don't hate this album, but I don't particularly like it either. It doesn't offent me in any way, but I have absolutely no desire to hear a single track from this album ever again.
4/10
proper British,park life is like the most known song I like the guy in it innnnit blud
too British for me
It is THE 90s britpop album. I guess this one is a merited inclusion unlike way to many uninspired records on this brit-biased list. However, it does not do anything extraordinary, it is just a correct record. 7/10 [KEEP]
Not listened to this for over 25 years. I understand why now, how could anyone compare this to anything by Oasis? 90% shite, 2 points only for To The End which is the only track worth listening to, and is actually pretty perfect.
I low key hated this
Not a bad album but that pseudo London/home counties accent is so irritating.
The music of the opening track was quite good & had me optimistic for the journey ahead. The vocals on the other hand were annoying as fuk & unfortunately the remainder of the album followed that track. There were one or two more cuts that I enjoyed musically, but I just couldn't with the vocal. And there were some radio hits on here from my adolescence. I hated them then & I'm not too keen now.
This was annoying and boring
It's funny, I've just spent the week obsessing over the new Gorillaz (Damon Albarn's other project that's arguably now more successful than Blur) album ("The Mountain"). It's so good. Unlike this album which I didn't like very much at all. It just goes to show...something.
2/5 It's music but I think I hate Britpop. Like a lot. I'm four songs in to this two disc album (32 songs total) and I'm so bored. Parklife (The title track, and most listened to song by 100,000,000 plays on Spotify) is dull talking over repetitive music. Frankly I'm annoyed. This is talentless repetitive and NOT catchy (at least to me) I will not be finishing this album if I can help it and oh my god song five has started and I want to shoot my speakers. Why is album this on this list? British people can't season food and they sure as hell can't season music. Hard pass, please stay away from my playlists.
Weaker than the Blur album. A few great tracks, but then too much bland and boring.
2+
Based on absolutely nothing but a gut reaction I could not shake the feeling that blur were overconfident and fakey posh boys. The only thing they seemed to have going for them was a distant pissing match with Oasis who also bothered me from afar. Later, Song 2 would be so catchy that I'd give a few of their singles a listen and casually pick that one up. Outside of their s/t fifth studio album I gave no other record a complete listen and even that was a let down — whoo hoo. So with historical context adequately set I've just now listened to Parklife in its entirety. I didn't miss much. It's overly long and a bit too "at the circus" more than "the park". A more focused edit of the record that eliminated their weaker work would have kept my attention better. Having said that, I appreciate that there is some exploration in the songwriting but they could've done that in demos. Ultimately there's too much pop in this Britpop for me.
I loved this back in 1994. Hasn’t aged well.
We get it, you're british.
I already listened to it
Girls & Boys and Parklife are good songs. A lot of the other songs though were hard to get through. Too cheesy and not in a very endearing way.
Some good some bad just a mid album for 16 songs
Listened to first half. I feel bad, but I find the heavy accent of the vocals annoying.
Meh, album was a blur
Only song of theirs I knew before was Song 2. This album was a disappointment. just generic brit rock garbage
1/3. Surprising given how much I like Gorillaz, but this felt pretty unexciting overall. It's not that it was necessarily bad, just not particularly interesting and I'm not sure it really needs to be on the list.
old school aint fo me
Átlagos, de inkább rossz. Nehezen hallgatható számomra
Yeah, I can't really go into detail other than just it being bad. Would be a 1 star rating, but the greyhound doggos on the album cover made me smile.
I didn't really feel this one. More Britpop in a list already filled to the brim with the genre, and crossed with New Wave? Yeah, I think I'll pass. Favourite Track(s): Clover Over Dover Least Favourite Track(s): Trouble at the Message Centre
Oasis is better
There is a Blur album I like. This one isn't it.
Overstays its welcome - sounds very unique at first but ends up having very little variety in instrumentation, structure, vocals, lyrics, etc. Too goofy for me at times :'( Highlights: "Girls and Boys", "Badhead", "The Debt Collector", "To the End"
Perhaps I'm just not a Blur guy. Started off okay I guess but it was all downhill from there.
Not my style of music, but ok album
De laatste zin van het 3e nummer "End of a Century" vat het album toepasselijk samen: It's nothing special. Staan een paar leuke nummers op maar ook echt een hoop bagger. Voor de Britpop liefhebbers zal dit vast een stuk beter zijn, maar niet in mijn straatje. Kom toch echt niet hoger dan 2 sterren voor dit album.
Vandaag weer netjes geluisterd, maar was dat echt nodig… UK geezers. Ja wat moet ik zeggen dat is gewoon niet echt iets voor mij. Ik schrijf hiermee misschien een heel genre af wat in de UK populair is maar I don’t like it. Het is beschaafd provocerend. Het is rocky maar ook rustig en vibey. Zo laat ik het positief klinken maar ik vind het geheel eerder een beetje meh. Er zit niks in waardoor ik denk ‘holy moly wat een goede band he’, ‘ken je dat ene nummer van Blur’ Ze maken muziek die je prima ff ergens in een serietje kan gooien uit early 2000s. Ik heb de louterinstrument wachtmuziek geliked - The Debt Collector Het mag op maar je doet me er geen plezier mee - 2/5
Just didn’t stick the landing for me
Started strong but lost the appeal after a few songs. Heavy Beatles influence I think.
Honestly, once again it is not for me. It sounds just like the last two I listened to. Hoping for something different.
Listened to most but only really liked bank holiday.
The musicians are talented, but I can’t stand the whiny, affected vocals. The tunes, while varied, all sound directly derived from something else — the Beatles, Bowie, Clash, Cream. Not a good sign if an album makes you think of all the better music it kind of sounds like. A 2.
Uhhhh yeah. So yes it’s better than that shit grunge stuff coming out of the US in the 90s, but comparisons to British Rock of the 60s is a bit of a stretch. That these songs sold well in the UK says more about their music scene than it does about the talent of this group.
In some ways a difficult album to review because it was so culturally significant at the time. I enjoyed how diverse some of the sounds are, e.g barhead vs debt collector, but that being said I just don't love the style of the album. I find the campy laid back vocals quite annoying after one or two listens. I can respect alot of the lyricism and it's clear the album has a message but I'm not quite keen on the sarcastic cynicism. Rating subjectively as a 2 on enjoyment, aware objectively it could be a 4
Couple good songs bit weird
Despite the comps to Oasis (UK and era) these guys do not compare...at all. You can hear the same influences but the sound and songwriting aren't in the same stratosphere. I read that first, then listened, probably a mistake...if one was a fan of this crap.
I never really understood the allure of Britpop. Like, is the whole thing that they are trying to be a modern Beatles or some shit? This album is fine. Just okay. I guess I'm seeing what they are trying to do? It's lame as fuck tho. For the time, tho, would you put this on at a party? Would you dance to this at a concert? I just don't get it, and I love emo.
Well , it's Britpop, so you get what you paid for. I found it to be a bit boring.
hate his voice
Weetje its prim, maar ik zou t zelf niet opzetten. Maar ook niet afzetten 🧣
The very definition of mid in my opinion. A few stand out moments, but mostly average tracks, most of which I found pretty forgettable. Was ready for it to be over by the end. 2.5 ->2
Boring
There's only so much la la la and whoo whoo whoo one can take.
Meh
I only liked one song.
Learned that I'm not really a big fan of Britpop after this album and the previous one I had from The Jam. Bank Holiday was a good listen but nothing else really hooked me on here.
Run of the mill Britrock.
What were the Brits doing in the 90s man? I've never been a huge fan of Blur, in fairness I've never really given them a fair shake, but upon listening to this album it cemented my distaste for them. I just don't get it. Sure, Parklife is out there and does some cool things; found myself bopping along to To the End and Girls & Boys, but overall the album just kinda went in one ear and out the other. Maybe with repeated listens it would grow on me, but something about the sound they're going for here feels very ignorable and stale. Banger album art though.
Very underwhelming....I don't understand it.
I like Blur but this one caught me at a bad time I think. The first two songs I found kind of annoying with how they take the song title of each and say it constantly throughout each song. It felt like I had heard "Tracy Jacks" a good five hundred times by the time the song was over. I think it might just be a tinge more punk than I was wanting and that led me to be. Ok, by the time it gets about halfway in it redeems itself a bit for me, it's more dynamic and actually kind of "chamber pop-y"? It's nice! Overall though this one needs more listens from me before I think I would enjoy it. Really great album cover. I love the motion and energy in it.
Always had a low tolerance for "Britpop" back in the day. Still do. Ok in small doses, but an album end-to-end? Not for me, thanks. Tiresome.
Identity pop, fun for the moment
nothing extraordinary
This album was ok, I could listen to it but I don’t think I would ever choose it 2.5 stars
Oasis won.
Very British The Debt Collector sounds like carnival music (good) VERY British
Some good ones, similar sound to other brit bands of the time.
The younger version of me loved it.
when your only memorable song off the album is also the most annoying one
I liked the part when they yell Blur!
What am I missing here? All of the accolades I read about this album - best album of the 90’s, the definitive Britpop album, etc. - I was expecting so much more and it was so mediocre. Don’t know why they’re so popular. I’d rather listen to Oasis.
The Brits have given us many great bands, Blur doesn't appear to be one of them. I was looking forward to this one, but was left dissappointed and scratching my head. First the upside, I learned who sings boys & girls, that annoying song that worked its way into countless movie soundtracks. Not the greatest start, but mystery solved. The title track Parklife epitomizes this album for me. Lots i like about the song, good backbeat groove, snarky spoken word lyrics that flow nicely into sung chorus, and a good bit of attitude. I should love this song, but I don't. It doesnt come together for me, for everything they did right there is something wrong. It's missing something, actually, it's missing a few things but I cant put my finger on what they are. I didn't like or dislike anything about this album. It just seemed off. I was hoping this would be a great find, but it's not. It's okay at best. The Brits love Blur so I'm certain there will be another album, fingers crossed that will be better.
Ikke favoritt. Helt ok
I listened to Parklife a few times in college, getting into the headspace of young brit punks as I wrote a thinly-veiled ripoff of Trainspotting. Blur was also often just a few lines of lineage back from all the UK EDM sounds that were starting to invade the states. I couldn't get past the blandness back then. Needed the spice of the drum & bass remix. The Gorillaz Blur aint. Now years of banal adulthood have worn away my youthful predilections. I eat plain rice and beans every day and I have the patience of an old oak tree. It's still pretty bland. End of Century, Parklife, and Badhead are good. I can see liking Magic America. It all probably hits better in the UK, I'm sure. But it's gonna be a 2 from a 'murican who wasn't there.
Well, well here's yet another post-punk Britpop album that sounds exactly like all the others. Sleepy go night-night. Influence 2. Hits 2. Quality 3. Intangibles 2. I do not like boring post-punk Britpop, but if I must choose one, I guess it would be Blur. 3.
1, 3, 6
not bad, but didn't do anything for me
Slet slet ik fan :))))!!!
Day670 - i’ve had a few tom waits albums albums and now i’m a tom waits fan. this is my third blue album and now i hate blur
Brit Pop. Certainly. Some good moments, but also quite bland at time. A lot of the theatrical/ show tunes sound production annoyed me. Not sure the big hits justify the rest. Rather hear Oasis.
A little all over the place. Felt disjointed and too long.
Boys who like girls who oh whatever
Maybe one needs to be from the UK or super into mid 90s britpop to want to throat this as deeply as the British press and rags like Pitchfork have. Im not and this is as far on the low end of mediocre as can be.
There's a lot going on in this album. And the songs seem to change direction a lot. At one point I thought I was in a circus.
Didn’t we listen to this already? I don’t know. It’s all… a BLUR. I know I know. A lot of you came to this dog track to hear droning British “rock” and gamble on competitive animal abuse, but I just wanted to take this time to thank all my loyal readers for the approximately 6 “thumbs up” across 300 reviews. It’s thanks to the loyalty of those people that I can strive to continue to make “jokes” like the one that began this paragraph. It appears that another dog is going to have to be put down around the homestretch turn, so I’ll begin my exit by saying it’s in a man to dream *GUNSHOT* *LOUD YELPING* but you’ll find that *SECOND GUNSHOT* in dreams we find out the uhh how’s that go? *GRAINY PA ANNOUNCEMENT ADVERTISING PENNY BARK-A-RITA NIGHT* that we are all uhh the men in dreams or what have you. It looks like they’ve got the corpse off the track, so I bid you all a good evening and please, enjoy the rest of the races. Oh and Blur. *SCATTERED SOBS AMONGST WAILING SIRENS.* Girls & Boys - Both?? How are we going to afford this? Duran Duran called, they said they have urgent word from the Visa fraud department. Thankfully I gave them my credit number promptly and I should be on easy street. Tracy Jacks - Related to Terry Jacks? Songsmith extraordinaire who brought us “Seasons in the Sun.” End of a Century - BLUR PREDICTS Y2K. Parklife - Ahh this is actually pretty good. Love a bit of cockney screeching. PARKLIFE. Bank Holiday - The banality of working life distilled into a mid-90’s punk tinged rock song. This somehow captures the bleakness of the infinity of employment while also sounding like a run of the mill party song. Badhead - How’s your head? Nothing but complaints, really. I kinda lead with the teeth. The Debt Collector - Ah the classic boredom interlude. I love those. Far Out - Through the looking glass, I spy a dapper alligator surfing upon a sea of rubies. From his corncob pipe, a billow of phantoms form a megalophobic nightmare in the cream cheese skies lighting the scene. Now that would be far out. Whatever this was, was more like “close in.” To the End - Even ColderPlay London Loves - Fun little poppy tune. Feels refreshing compared to the last little bit. Also? Like a decade ahead of its time. This has 2004 written all over it. Trouble in the Message Center - Whoa, this guy IS the message center? I would like to commit arson at the message center. I kid the poor man. These la la la’s do have me obsessively fidgeting with my lighter. Clover Over Dover - Mozart Moshpit. Magic America - Magic if in stead of making a rabbit disappear, you were killed in an “unpreventable” mass shooting. God bless the US of A, where civilians spay the ultimate price for freedom. Jubilee - Man I am asleep here. If it weren’t for the dense swath of This is a New Low - Oh it’s just kind of bad, not THAT bad. Lot 105 - No, this is Lot 301. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve peeled greyhound corpses off of a modern day coliseum for psychopaths. It’s now time to end the week on a low. A boring album, that I’m sure was the “soundtrack” to some bloke’s ‘94, but it was simply the drone in the background for me for about an hour. The fun ideas were there, but appeared like pennies in a pile of gruel during the world’s worst scavenger hunt. Not very fun, and in the end, kind of a waste of time. I have donned my corrective lenses and now the blur is gone. I think that’s best for everybody. Especially LensCrafters. Greedy fucks. 2 HIGHLIGHTS: Parklife, London Loves, Clover Over Dover
Niestety nie mój klimat. Nie jest źle ale pierwszy kawałek mnie denerwował już po polowei
Pretty meh after that poppy first track. I tried, but pass
Wow this list is just different varieties of white guy rock, hey. Went into this a bit jaded which has maybe harshed my judgment but I just really really don't care that much about this album. Saved a song: N RYM: N
So for some reason my browser didn't save my review when I refreshed my screen. I do remember saying "More Blur. Hooray." somewhat sarcastically. And I believe I said that I liked each song approximately half as much as I liked the previous song. And I did like "This Is a Low." I believe that's all of it.
Really did not like this. I'm not a Blur hater by any means, but I thought this album would be much better given it's relatively widespread acclaim.
I wouldn’t say I’m much of a Blur fan and this record didn’t fix that. I don’t know what it is but none of the chords or notes just really hit? There’s some nice guitar play but the use of electronics, brass sections and the overal vocale just feel a little to whimsy for me. There are some sick moments, but in general I just cringe.
Groupe connu de nom uniquement. Rien d’interessant dans cet album trop long, les morceaux sont mous et très ennuyeux. Quelques morceaux plus dynamiques le sauvent de la note minimale, pas assez pour me donner envie d’y revenir. =>2/5
Aight
First song was great. The rest was pretty meh.
I do not get this one at all. It started super poppy, and stayed mostly poppy, but felt like it thought it was more serious that than. It didn't make a lot of sense to me. Like, why is there carnival-esque music sometimes? Is it because we're in a park and carnivals can be in parks and that's #parklife? A lot of it felt dumb and other parts snobbish. It's honestly hard for me to articulate why it turned me off so much. Best I can do is say it sounded like something I would like if I had no personality. I guess there were two or three songs that I did enjoy, but the album was 16 songs (and 52 minutes) long. I found the rest bland, boring, and/or lame. While this isn't a list of 1,001 "cool" albums to listen to, I would expect the albums on it to have more style than this. Or, at least, be better. Overall: 1.9/5
1994 brit pop is an era I lived through and haven't spent much time revisiting. Some of the songs on this album are national consciousness level, which doesn't always bode well for a sit down album listening experience. In the end I'd say this is a mixed bag.
I know everyone, including Ray Davies himself, are willing to give Blur credit for being the Kinks of the 90s, but you can leave me out of it! I've always hated how you can hear the sneering at people unlike them in songs like "Girls & Boys", "Tracy Jacks", or the title song. It's not even that they're so nasty about it (like, the Kinks come off homophobic in songs like "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" and "A Well Respected Man"), it's that they're not even funny about it. Like, "Girls & Boys"' much-parodied chorus sounds like nothing more than it does some right wing talk radio guy trying to make fun of liberals and their 27 genders. The only good thing I have to say about this album is that at least it's not Oasis, you know?
This was OK. I'm wasn't in love with it though, I feel it's one of those 'you'd have to be there at release' to get the hype
vocals missed me
i truly don't like Brit Rock
Not for me
Covers a lot of ground in terms of its influences—disco, punk, pop, new wave, early-era Pink Floyd. The results are hit and miss. Damon Albarn envisioned this as a concept album, but the concept doesn’t come across as having been fully worked out. The short bits don’t bring any value to the record, and there’s an attempt at a love song that doesn’t quite get off the ground. But Blur always seemed like they were having more fun than most of their Britpop brethren; and on the few tracks where they throw caution to the wind (‘Girls & Boys’, ‘Parklife’, ‘This Is A Low’), the record is better for it.
I thought I liked Blur, but I didn't like this album.
Didn’t really like it.
Meh. Back half of the album is much better than the front half but I only liked about half the songs on the album anyway. I don’t get the hype.
Stinky stinky stinky. So grating to listen to. A few redeemable tracks... London Loves and Trouble in the Messaging Center are fine
Can't believe this list has four (4)(!!!!) Blur albums on it. Not to tell too obvious of a joke, but these songs really blurred together with all the rest of their stuff.
Toooooooooooo looooooooong
Inte riktigt min smak
music for children
I like blur, weird that they came up for the first and second time in such quick succession, but okay. This album doesn't hit nearly as well for me though. It does establish a 'signature sound' for the band. But the content just hasn't blown me away at 2/3rds through the album. This is a Low was a good song though.
Eh
Didn‘t find it interesting soundwise. At least the text is progressive.
Whiny Brit pop mixed with carnival music or something. Second half was better than the first. Better than Modern Life is Rubbish but still not really hitting for me.
Un gran álbum de brit pop y uno de los fundamentales, creo qué la primer mitad del álbum es muy buena pero en la segunda vuelta pierde fuerza, también creó qué es demasiado 16 canciones para un álbum con tanta redondez y poca fuerza, mi favorita fue London loves, le doy un 6.7 por qué en realidad no creo qué sea un gran álbum.
Generally speaking, the 1990s is my vibe and I’m a fan of most Britpop ( although this tends to be the less well known Britpop brands rather than the big hitters like Oasis and the ghastly Blur. I don’t care how Kinks tinged this album is, I don’t like being shouted at by cockneys, even if he was in Quadrophenia.
Some okay, most terrible
Not my thing. I find the vocals incredibly irritating and the instrumental are nothing to write home about. Girls and Boys is a pretty good song but nothing else really stands out. I was not a fan of this album.
Nah. Too long, too not fabulous.
I recognized the album art to this one, and it seems like I've liked previous Blur albums ok, but this one wasn't it. It's too much right in the brit-pop pocket, which I'm not a fan of. Won't be returning to this one. 2/5
I generally like Damon Albarn projects but for some reason, this one isn't doing it for me.
Meh
Girls and Boys is a great song but another forgettable album for me
Boys & girls is a classic but the rest of the songs on this album were nothingburgers
Poppier than I would have thought, more baroque too, not bad. Gets tiring as it goes on
Properly diagnosed with a case of "every song is okay, but none are reamarkably good". Also, too heavy on the trumpet. Also, commentaries are clearly filled of nostalgia.
I'm very hit and miss with Blur.. they were the 2nd band I saw live and it remains one of the worst gigs I've seen! I do think that they are capable of great moments and theres a couple of them on _Parklife_ in _To the End_ and _This is a Low_. But for the most part, and particularly this era Blur, the mockney, end-of-the-pier schtik is tiring and absolutely grates on me these days. _Boys and Girls_ and the title track being the biggest offenders, two songs I never need to hear again. The album _Parklife_ as a whole sounds of it's time and despite knowing it pretty well, I don't have any nostalgia for it. And whilst I can't deny the catchiness of some of the well-known songs here that I'm not a fan of, there's also a fair bit of filler too, particularly the back end of the album. So not one I need to return to and Blur will remain a playlist band for me.
Eh
2.5 - Meh
i like more oasis sorry
Never been wowed by BritPop, even though I was living there in its heyday--maybe that's why: it was on the radio nonstop. So this one feels pretty overrated to me. I know it's blur's masterpiece and all, but even the hits are kind of a drag. I kind of liked "This is the Low" at the end, but quite a few I wanted to fast forward. I'm not Cool Britannia enough to get it
eh. was good, but don't really see myself revisiting anything, honestly.
Some redeeming songs but not the best
Meh.Ni lo terminé de escuchar. No me acabo d gustar.
generic and repetitive
unoriginal British pop rock that shouts and doesn't do much for me. has some bright spots but not enough to make me want to listen to it again
It was like taking the worst parts of the Gorillaz and amplifying them to be more unbearable and annoying. Mostly just noise and less than great vocals. I can see how it was different for the time. But not for me
Quaint and fun enough. I fondly remember the singles dominating the radio and TV airwaves at the time. It does get a little too silly-willy-British-tea-time-bob's-your-uncle for me in places, though.
I’m listening to a Blur album that does not contain Song 2? I see this is their earlier stuff. I didn’t hate it, but I’m probably never gonna listen to this album again.
5/10. All songs pretty average but Girls and Boys is pretty fire 🙏🙏🙏👍🚲😞❤️🇨🇳💥🤥🙏🥶🥁🥶🚲🇬🇧😞💥👍🤥🤐🇪🇺🤐🇪🇺🚲🤪🔥👍🥶🤫🤐🛳🤐🚳🤐🚲🤪
Girls & Boys set my hopes too high
Breakthrough in Britpop but was overall disappointing after well known tracks. Didn’t really follow a cohesive story and felt kind of muddled. Overall 5/10
Cold cover Decent bit boring but decent 5/10
It was ok but that first song reminded me of Good Charlotte?
Very repetitive songs, but “end of a century “ and “to the end” are great songs
Just sounded like a a much worse version of the Beatles. Maybe would’ve had a better opinion if it didn’t play directly after them.
Big gorilla’s fan so I listened to this album a while back to see what blur is all about. I wasn’t super impressed at the time, but I enjoyed it a lot more this time around. It was a nice easy lesson, but I won’t be adding any of these songs to my rotation. I hear a little bit of the Gorillaz and boys and girls which I thought was kind of cool.
oasis better. damons voice on this album grates on me slightly. i much prefer gorillaz and the new blur album from the last couple of years. Ballad of Darren I think it was called. 2/5
Damon Albarn is so insufferably annoying. Insane to me that the man behind this could also produce the genius records of Gorillaz. Can we have one of those next?
no.
Just didn’t like this album. Not sure why.
I think it was a had to be there sort of situation. Not for me.
this album may have the dogs on the cover but blur did not have that dawg in them when making this
Okay for the genre
This is like the 5th middle-of-the-road 90's British band I've gotten recently and I'm getting a little sick of it. Normally this'd be another 3 stars but fuck that
i fucking hate "Girls and Boys".
I liked this much less than the other Blur. The more songs a British band does where they’re trying to Do A Beatles, the worse it is. Too many of those here.
I once read that you're either an Oasis person or a Blur person — and after listening to Parklife, I can say without a doubt I'm firmly in the Oasis camp. Always have been, still am. There's just no comparison. Parklife feels all over the place. It's quirky, sure, and I get why people say it's clever, but most of the time it just comes off as smug and trying too hard to be artsy. The songs bounce between styles without much cohesion, and while there's some catchy stuff here and there, nothing really sticks with me. If I had heard this back in 1994 or 1995, I'd have shrugged and gone right back to Definitely Maybe. Blur might have been critical darlings, but Oasis had the soul, the swagger, and the songs that hit you in the chest
Vocals are so nasal and grating, but typically British. Annoyingly catchy. Playful lyrics.