Blur

Can’t fathom why there’s so much Blur on this list. Apart from the massively overplayed Song 2 there’s not much to see here. Prefer the older Britpop stuff, personally. 2

I was ready to sigh and roll my eyes at the 161st 90s British pop album on the list, but Blur do bring it. Blur do bring it. Still, it’s 90s Britpop and that can go only so far.

This album made me appreciate just how large my bandwidth is for a 3-star ranking. 1,2,4, and 5 have such slim margins. 3 is a bottomless hole I dump most of these albums into. This was LEAPS ANDS BOUNDS better than Modern Life is Rubbish, which I gave a 3 because it was fine. But I don’t rreeaaallly want to give Blur a 4 even if I actually enjoyed most of it. So 3 it is. But a high 3! 3.9!

Didn't do much for me.

I thought this was fun!

(3/7) "song 2" is fun but it is too grungy for an album of otherwise mediocre britpop

3/3 on Blur albums now, thankfully in chronological order and I'm free of another Britpop band. As an American who was born in the 90s but not big brained enough back then to fully comprehend British pop culture, I only knew Blur before the list as the WooHoo band that rivaled Oasis. Through this list forcing me (at gunpoint supposedly) to finally hear Blur, I was convinced that they are a much better band than Oasis. Where the bar was placed I'll leave up to your imagination. Post-listen: Blur the self-titled album by Blur from 1997 is a more volatile listen over the other two albums on the list. Meaning some songs on this album are Not Good, and others I'm surprised are a Blur song and for the most part, it's a good to great album with some low moments to it. It is funny to hear Song 2 in its own place on the album, the mood shifts in tone from song to song being a theme for the album, and probably reflects something about British humor in the process. Normally I would like those mood shifts but the risk of doing that too often creates a relatively unbalanced album that will have some bad and or boring listens. Maybe the album is a little too long for its own good? I will say that Essex Dogs to close the album sounded more like Spiritualized than a typical Britpop song which ruled. Ultimately I'm giving this a 4/5 because I already rated Modern Life is Rubbish and Parklife a 5/5 and I think those albums are more important to be on an essential list compared to this album, which is better known for its inadvertent best known song in America over the better songwriting you could find on those albums. Great, but not the most fun listen. But probably in the upper tier of Britpop albums on the list

Some of these tracks look like they came off The Beatles White Album (Beetlebum). Overall a fun intro to the new age of Britpop with heavy nods to the 60's British Invasion. Highly Enjoyable and will absolutely listen to again and again.

Song 2 alone is a mammoth of a song, but the whole album is also a fun listen.

love the vibes

I've never been a huge fan of britpop (although I like it). And, for whatever reason, I am more familiar with other bands like Suede, Oasis, or The Verve. However, I found this album pretty good and interesting. Some tracks sound like lo-fi pop, whereas others are 2 min punk pop, and still others lean towards some experimentation. Overall, I enjoyed the album, and this is definitely at least a 3,5 star album for me. Some of the songs I particularly enjoyed: "Beetlebum", "Song 2", "Country Sad Ballad Man" (very good start of the album), "You're So Great" (probably my favourite together with "Song 2"), "Death of a Party", or "Strange News from Another Star".

hahaha listening to the cd for this one :) perfect actually considering I've been feeling very British lately. I'm a blur girl for sure sorry not sorry oasis!!! sidenote, actually one of my favorite album covers. It wasn't too long ago when I learned the connection between blur and gorillaz, I never deep dived into Blur's music til like several years ago and then one day I was like "this sounds like the guy from gorillaz lulz" thus began my britpop era. I have a feeling that if I grew up during peak Blur era I would totally have a Damon Albarn poster in my room, GOD he's such a heartthrob. Blur also played a part in my bass loving journey. I can play Girls & Boys very poorly. 🫡 speaking of bass I WANNA LEARN ESSEX DOCTOR DAMN THAT'S A GOOD BASSLINE beetlebum is one of the songs of all time and I stand by that. in my humble opinion, on your own is when I start to hear some early gorillaz influence but it's also kinda scattered through out this album. I watched a Blur documentary and I know this is when they started to stray away from britpop(ty Graham) I'm sure that gave Damon some freedom. I know that Song 2 is in the overplayed song hall of fame but it's a banger that cannot be denied. <3movin' on, beetlebum,

*cracks knuckles & takes toke of my pipe* We are in for some lore here. I recall hearing Beetlebum & Country House on the radio growing up on the indie channel (if youre ever in albany, tune into 97.7). SOON after, I found gorillaz and made the connection even sooner after that Damon was the connective tissue. I recall going full obsession mode with Damons work in like 2005 and ripping all of his music to my mp3 player, that included this masterpiece of an album. Bettlebum and Song 2 are the clear hits here but damn i think theres so much more substance here. Like Death of a Party is a BOP. As a fun fact, On Your Own is TECHNICALLY Gorillaz' first song. it was the first song made by Damon where he wanted to break conventions / experiment and the rest of the band hated it. He had to fight for it to be on the album. Actually, the rest of the band hated this album since it was much more experimental and not 'brit pop' which is one of the leading factors to Blur taking a hiatus. I’m just in love with the pre-Gorillaz era of Blur the most. Hearing Damon transfer slowly into more experimental stuff is exciting. More favs: MOR, On Your Own, Look inside America, All your life, death of a party,

This is an album that would've played a lot better with a bit of an edit. There's a couple of bangers here. A few solid tracks. And several entirely forgettable tunes, and at 14 tracks in desperate need of an editor. That being said, what's good is really good in here.

1st Blur album I've listened to. Enjoyed it.

Average apart from Essex Dogs

I rather enjoyed this one but nothing on here besides that song really grabbed me.

# Album Name: Blur # Artist: Blur # Rating: 4/5 # Comments: Good album. Much stronger first half than the second tbf. # Top Tunes: beetlebum / song 2 / country sad / MOR / on your own / retro # Would I listen to it again? Yes

Just supremely mid 90s rock.

Might just be nostalgia talking but listening to this again after a number of years, I still love it. More of a proto-Gorillaz, grab-bag of influences, from Beastie Boys to Bowie, than their earlier albums.The "I can make my guitar sound like a chainsaw guys!" riff of Essex Dogs remains excellent.

Wär geiler wenns nd so lang wär

Ну хто ж не знає цих чуваків? )))

Pretty much song 2 and filler

Fav song: Theme from Retro

Beetlebum is such a tune

Damon, I'm sorry I wasn't familiar with your game. I thought Blur was strictly Britpop. Parklife was fine, but I think this is the best they could get. Don't quote me on that, though, since I kind of avoided Blur because I hated most of their better-known songs. I'm not the biggest fan of "Song 2" either, but I think I'm going to give them a chance now (probably a horrible idea). That Damon edit on TikTok also adds points to them.

Day 86 Damon you GOTTA tell me your dealer man 😭 Fav track: News from Another Star

Альбом что-там про состояние альтернативной сцены в девяностых наверное, я хз. Оценка: 6/10.

a bit blunt and boring expect for song2

guapardo

Driving late-90s British radio rock. Albarn's highly recognizable vocals give it an occasional edge, but it mostly made me want to listen to Bloc Party or Gorillaz.

Their best record!

I loved the first two songs, but it fell off for me after that. The bass on “Song 2” is sick. “Beetlebum” is very melodic and a great song

Better than the last Blur album- and I really enjoyed it

Great. If not the best blur album. A couple great songs but none of the other stuff ranks with their best. But a wonderful transitional work.

I love Blur!

Мои самые любимые. Американскую эру не особо люблю, британская эра уже моя душа. Меланхоличный альбом в дальнейшем стиле Американской эры. Красавчики

Well, that was certainly a mixed bag. I actually appreciate this album, because it marks the moment Blur moved away from straightforward Britpop. Apparently guitarist Graham Coxon was the one that inspired Albarn to take a rawer, more lo-fi approach after listening to a lot of Pavement. It’s also where Albarn started heading toward the experimentation of Gorillaz and his other side projects later on. The problem? Pavement had much better hooks than this! The first half is nice, though. “Beetlebum” and “Song 2” are classics (even if the latter is overplayed). “Country Sad Ballad Man” is a wacko, ironic anti-rocker, “M.O.R.” pretty much rocks hard in comparison, and “On Your Own” is a mean, interesting stomper. “Theme from Retro” is quite cinematic, hinting at the more interesting stuff Albarn would go on to do with Gorillaz. The second half sucks to high hell: dull rock track after track sung and played with zero effort, almost as if it was meant to piss off fans and the press. Was that the point? It ends with the eight-minute-plus “Essex Dogs”, an unexpected track that’s as dark and weird as you could imagine. Cool, but odd. So, what’s up with this album? Did Albarn et co. get bored of what he was doing? Probably, and thank heavens he did, because what came later was far more interesting. It’s really criminal that three Blur albums are on here. I shudder to think of the day I have to listen to more Blur, but apparently Parklife is nice. 2.5 stars for this one.

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

woo oo

My second Blur album to review, this one giving us Beetlebum, On Your Own, and the all-conquering Song 2. A good listen before they went and grew up with the "13" album.

Really loved this record, sounds like the band is stretching their legs and getting a little weird but still maintaining strong melody and craft. Country Sad Ballad Man is straight up Pavement (which is fine by me) and other indie rock seems to have imprinted on the Brit-Pop stylings. The group jumps from Beatles-esque, to spacey electro, to punk, and in hindsight foretells the coming of Gorillaz pretty clearly. Song 2 is an all-time banger, it makes you feel like you're levitating no matter how much you hear it.

Contains the classic "Song 2". Heards normally.

I was really excited for this one but left slightly disappointed by some of the filler songs on here. Still good though.

I know Blur is widely loved in indie rock circles, including by many artists I like a lot, but to me Blur usually misses the mark. There are 3 or 4 songs on this that I might choose to listen to again, but most of it is kinda boring.

Heard a few of these but most of this is new to me. Pretty decent rock in general. Not a fan of Beetlebum. Best track: Song 2, M.O.R Rating: 8/10

The wife is a rabid Blur fan and I’m a casual. Never really listened to this one closely. It’s fine and has moments, but doesn’t hold up to their earlier albums.

ブリットポップが短命と言われるのは、blurがこういうアルバムの方向性に舵切ったからじゃないか、と思います。 イギリスというよりアメリカのオルタナに寄っていて、曲ごとの最後の終わりかたとかまじでオルタナ。 あとは、曲ごとに全然味が違うからいろんなサウンドをこの一枚で楽しむことができる。逆AC/DC

Their best album for me, full of lovely songs and some masterpieces

it's not that it's bad, it's that I wasn't really in the mood for that kind of thing I think

I love Damon Albert’s voice but some of the lower songs in the album prevented it from being a 5.

im so tired of blur. its just awful

I put Damon Albarn in the same category has Trent Reznor: they are some guys that you have to be in a certain mood to listen to them. Blur is that for me. Its very eclectic and I don’t know if my mind processed everything. I didn’t hate it, but not loved it either. 2/5. Beetlebum: 3,5 Song 2: 5 Country Sad Ballad Man: 2 M.O.R.: 3 On Your Own: 2,5 Theme from Retro: 2 You're So Great: 3 Death of a Party: 3 Chinese Bombs: 2 I'm Just a Killer for Your Love: 2 Look Inside America: 3 Strange News from Another Star: 2 Movin' On: 2 Essex Dogs: 1

Song 2 may live in the annals of banger history but it honestly makes the rest of the album sound like garage band nonsense by comparison. I was prepared to like this album but they squandered that good will fairly quickly. There’s a lot of bands that have a sound like this, and plenty that do it better…

Song 2 is a classic, the rest of the album is pretty different and not really my fave.

One hit wonder. Song 2 is really good, but the rest couldn’t build on it. Maybe the second album is where they find an identity.

Blur does blur things. Woo hoo.

Song 2 is an anthem of the 90s. The rest is pretty good alternative rock.

Not a disaster but I didn’t like it

Disappointing.

Classic Blur, fantastic britpop album

I already know what I'm giving this one - but a few notes. I love Blur, but I didn't listen to them that much in the 1990s. In fact, I was listening to Gorillaz for years before I knew that Damon Albarn was involved -THEN I began to get interested in Blur - especially after I saw their vidoe for "The Universal." I think of them as the Kinks of the 1990s. Very British - a few exceptional singles - but their real artistry is especially apparent when listening to an album from start to finish, as a whole. To me, this one has more of a sonic throughline than a lyrical or thematic one, as their earlier albums displayed. This self-titled album, with the woo-hoos of "Song 2" isn't my favorite Blur album, but it's still a no-skips affair. It's weird and experimental at times, radio-aligned pop at other times, lo-fi (nearly twee) jams here and there, grungy-punk in songs like "Chinese Bombs" and never boring. Like their contemporaries in Radiohead, Blur are nearly always distinguishable without being overly repetitive. It's true artistry IMO. 4 stars.

This was mostly interesting to see where Damon Albarn was at musically during this period. It is very frontloaded with the good stuff, with the album getting less interesting as it went on. I could kinda hear some seeds of Albarn's music that I would enjoy later on, but generally this was mostly just okay. Standouts were "Beetlebum" 'Song 2" "Country Sad Ballad Man" and "You're So Great"

Cool, interesting, vibes, grungy, a little nostalgic

It was fun and interesting and I would listen again but probably not going on my regular rotation. Good to get more context behind the WOOHOO song though. Torn between 3 & 4

Gets a bit too much towards the end, but loved the first half

8.8

it's amazing just how much more listenable blur got once they stopped trying to put on a cheeky chappie veneer, and just started rocking out. does anyone else agree that death of a party feels spiritually like the first gorillaz song?

3,5

Sometimes this sounds like a wannabe the Beatles, sometimes a wannabe the Smiths

Pleasantly surprised by this one - really enjoyed it!

Song 2 is cool - didn’t care much for the rest of it

This might be my favorite Blur album...but I'm not sure if it's a 5/5. Am I comfortable with Blur not having a 5/5 album? Honestly, all it might take to bump this over the edge is a better tracklisting that doesn't kick the album off with its two best songs; after that start even a very solid rest of the album feels like it's downhill from there. Fine lines I guess

Pretty disillusioned with britpop albums after being bombarded with them recently. Despite this, it’s pretty decent. Solid music but as with every Blur album, it’s way too long. Song 2 was my fav song of the album. Beetlebum (my fav first listen) Anna Look Inside America were my other highlights

Quintessential Britpoppin'

I don't really like anything about this album. The composition, arrangement, production. Self-indulgent and noisy without clear direction. Feels like the studio was lacking someone to tell the band no. I can appreciate a more downtempo or experimental album but this just meanders through relatively uninteresting ground for an hour, petering out into nothing for so long that it feels more like 2 hours. I know Blur was influential contemporarily but this album today feels like it's here off Song 2 alone.

Agree with a lot of the criticism: Front loaded the album with the best 2 songs, lot of experimental self-indulgence filling time. I did like Death of a Party, and there were some quality passages otherwise, but other parts felt like unlistenable noise.

The inicial part of the album (2 first songs) is really amazing, after that, the album turning to a real 90s rock album. Have 5 musics really good, but should be more short.

"Song 2" is iconic, and I find that I want the whole album to be that. However, both "M.O.R." and "You're So Great" are really appealing today.

what a handsome man.... his eyes..

Just writing this here… Oasis are much better the blur! But good album nonetheless.

There's a lot to love on this album, it starts strong but is possibly a little self indulgent in places and tracks a little longer than necessary that loses some punch

As a teenager in the 90s from the uk i have been asked many times, Blur or Oasis? At the time i didnt care about either, and not much has changed since… this album is a lot less pop than blurs previous stuff, and you can tell that they are really trying to push themselves musically, and most of the time that kinda works… song 2 is the clear standout memorable rack of the album, closely followed by beetlebum… but the rest of it is mostly of good standard… not my favourite blur album, probably not one that ill ever fully revisit… but a good listen

just a bit of fun really!

It's a very decent album. I think Beetlebum is my favourite Blur song. The other singles are great (Blur singles are always great). Death of a Party is nice and dark too.

In spite of this list's seeming propensity toward Britpop, this one seems to shine brighter than the rest. I wish that Blur had made more of a scene stateside, as I think they're as talented as any other rock band. I dig the sound they produce, this album being my favorite of theirs so far. I can't think of anything lacking on this album. Is it the best album of all time? Certainly not, but the musicianship, the production, the song styles all jell together well. I find myself enjoying just about everything here. Now can we move on from Britpop, for just a little bit?

Vibe: white horse pt blur 2, scrubs soundtrack fro the rest Songs saved for later: 0

Fine

I know Blur as a band with a couple of good songs, but hadn’t heard this whole record before. I’m really enjoying it, for its sense of chaos, the fuzzy guitars, the vocals that don’t seem to take themselves seriously, the interesting beeping here and there. This is more interesting than I thought it was going to be based on what I remember of Blur from 90’s radio. (And in context with the rest of the album, I now see that “Song 2” was intended as a bit of a joke, so I have some more appreciation for it. It was a little annoying at the time.)

Almost 4. Something about the affect is off-putting but the songs are strong.

I'm not a big Blur fan. I actually prefer Gorillaz because I feel they have a more unique sound. I'd listened to this album before, and the only things I remembered from that listen were a couple of tracks besides the well-known "Song 2" (which brings back good memories of playing FIFA on the PS1). This latest listen hasn't changed my mind. I can appreciate what they're doing, but I just don't connect with it.

Je l'aime moins qu'avant mais toujours cool quand même

Still rocks 🤘

1997 felt like a bleak year for music, and this record really didn’t help. I’d loved Modern Life is Rubbish and Parklife, but The Great Escape felt like a slight letdown, after these earlier two earlier records. ‘Beetlebum’ was the first single release from this album and I remember thinking it sounded like a return to form, but there's a dense, weighty, dreariness to the whole album that I just couldn't get on with. ‘Song 2’, and ‘You’re So Great’, are the other highlights for me, but I felt that tracks like Essex Dogs just dragged the whole thing down. Now, nearly thirty years later, it seems to have held up pretty well! Looking at this record in the context of their whole back catalogue and various individual pursuits, it makes so much more sense than it did at the time. Their refusal to remain static is something that makes them great. In hindsight, another Modern Life or Parklife would have been too much. Listening today, this record sounds far more enjoyable than I remembered it being, but Modern Life remains their masterpiece.

I really do like Blur. They are one of the greatest British, no English, pop bands. They manage to go between corking pop tunes, thoughtful introspection and wig out oddity. They tip their hats to Bowie, Beatles, Madness, and more and remain uniquely Blur. This album also does probably all of that, is it their best? Probably not but it is still fabulous.

Ok but nothing great

Maybe if I had listened to this album back in the day it would have some nostalgia merit. Listening now, it was ok, but not very memorable. Certainly a mix of different styles.

It's kind of a good name for it: other than song #2, it was mostly just a blur.

Familiar with the singles, the rest was enjoyable. Not really a fan of Blur but this is a decent album

pivotal album