Blur

Taking influence from slacker band Pavement, there is a lo-fi sleepy feeling pulsing throughout the album. Album opener "Beetlebum" may not have the energy of their previous singles, but it more than makes up for it in melody. The songwriting is much more personal than the character studies you will find on other Blur songs. Despite being one of their best known songs, I have never cared for the satirical "Song 2", and it does feel odd sitting next to these mellow tunes. Coming out once the band was fully established and opening with two of their biggest songs, I went into this expecting a hits album with maximum mainstream appeal. I was pleasantly surprised by the relaxed vibe of this album.

I like the strong guitars on the first track I like song 2 Theme from retro was weird and kind of broke up the album in a strange way. Not sure what they were trying to do here. It suddenly feels like I'm listening to the Beatles. Which is fine, it just shocked me tonally. They have really strong guitars! This is an experimental album. I think I like it, but it's not an easy listening kind of record. I want to look up the band's intentions behind creating this, because it's definitely fun, but I want to know if they themed it. This is the first album on the list so far that I've relistened to immediately to try to see if I missed something/ capture more nuance.

Yes amigo yes, me encantó bbs, la vdd algunas canciones no fueron nucho mi estilo pero nada que unas 20 repeticiones no resuelvan

Probably the Blur album I like the most, perhaps because it moved away from the cheeky chappie sound of their earlier stuff, burying some of the vocals under layers of distortion. The fuzzy guitar work on this really made me pay more attention to Graham Coxon (although sadly Song 2 has become far too overplayed)

A fun and varied album. I regret not listening beyond the single “Song 2” which I loved when it came out. Should have bought the album.

i forget if i've ever listened to this album in full before or not....? either way tho, this one's pretty solid. i think i've always been less of a fan of blur compared to damon alburn's later work with (as?) gorillaz but it's still good. i guess it makes sense then that i prefer the tracks that sound more like gorillaz, like "death of a party" and "i'm just a killer for your love", but my favourite track might be "theme from retro", with the sludgy vibe, electric organ and unintelligible vocals making me feel like it was composed for me specifically. and obviously "song 2" is great, although it's a shame it's only 2 minutes (and 2 seconds) long. i don't fuck with it so much when it's doing more standard britpop stuff, but there's thankfully much more on offer with this album. it's pretty great overall, but idk if i'd wanna listen to it on loop really? i'd much rather just switch to demon days...

Very good album again

luvly, very groovy, quite rad

Didn't know Bowie was such an influence on the band. Really enjoyed this. Thank you!

I’m just a silly American who cannot comprehend Britpop, but boy oh boy do I like that “Woo hoo” song. This is very stylistically diverse in a good way. I really like the songs that begin acoustic and build as they go on. Favorites were Beetlebum, Song 2, On Your Own, You’re So Great, Look Inside America, and Movin’ On.

This album is jam-packed with catchy hooks. Albarn is such a skilled songwriter. Far more Beatle-esque than anything Oasis ever released

In the Oasis v Blur Britpop War, I was very much on Team Blur. Oasis were Pissed Up Ladz Ladz Ladz Music. Blur were the sensitive art school kids, which was very much my side. By the time Blur came out, I was getting a bit bored of the Britpop scene, but still liked this album as a swansong. Song 2 was clearly taking the piss out of American rock. Hilarious that it was their breakthrough in the so-called land of the free! Anyway, definitely not their best album (Modern Life Is Rubbish wins that award), but still a decent effort and the last Blur record that's worth your while listening to.

So many betters songs on this album from the radio hit Song 2.

Big Gorillaz fan, but had not yet gotten around to Blur so I was pleasantly surprised to see this waiting for me. SO glad to have finally got to this one and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Beetlebum show the great lyrical writing that he would go on to hone later in his career and its a great opening track, only to be followed by one of the best song Damon ever made. Song 2 is an eternal classic. A riff on grunge at the peak of its popularity, but holy shit do they absolutely eviscerate this track. So unbelievably catchy from every single instrument and the very Kurt Cobain inspired nonsense verses are phenomenal. Despite my praise for Albarn, I have to also give huge props to the rest of the band, they allow his vocals to sound even punchy with the fantastic instrumentals behind him. Some sick guitar on songs like M.O.R and On Your Own. The drums on On Your Own as well sound so dynamic and completely force its way to the front of the noise. Coxon also gives a pretty solid vocal performance on You're So Great. Definitely hear some proto-Gorillaz sounds (Death of a Party just straight up sounds like a Demon Days cut in a best way) throughout as well. Second half is not as strong for me, but its still pretty listenable. Definitely worth the listen for the evolution of British music in the 90's and Damon as an artist.

Kjempeglad for å se Blur men ikke mitt favorittalbum fra dem 4.5

another britpop beatlecore

Woohoo! They kinda remind me of the beatles sometimes?

Хороший альбом, не так что бы эталонный но может быть даже когда нибудь приобрету на виниле т

Starts off incredibly strong with "Beetlebum", one of the greatest 90's britpop songs of all time. It's super saccharine atmosphere just oozes 90's bliss, and the song's outro is phenomenal. Immediately after this though we get the instantly recognizable "Song 2". The "woo hoo" song as others know it as. It's a parody of grunge rock, but it's played so straight that you wouldn't know that Albarn and Coxon were taking the piss out of the genre. The rest of the album is quite a mixed bag, what I find interesting about it though is that despite the inconsistency it definitely shows how versatile Damon and Graham are. They experiment with dancey, psychedelic, noisey and even country-esque styles in these various songs and all are pretty good in their own way. While not every moment stands out like the very beginning, it's cool to hear essentially proto-Gorillaz music as I could definitely see many of these tracks decorating one of their albums down the line. I can see why an album like this would be a little underwhelming compared to their more deeply britpop records from the past, but Albarn was never going to stay tied down to one style of music and approaching Y2K a record like this makes sense. It was their international breakout record for a reason. Definitely a grower for me, but still I rather enjoyed this one and will continue to play it every now and then. Groovy!

definitely their best i’ve heard of theirs, really good songs, had a semi punky sound at some point

Beetlebum - I think he’s on it

Good stuff

its blur. its awesome

great guitar and of course i love damon albarn!

Biased rating 100%, this is nostalgic for me

blur

Way better than I remember

Starts STRONG with Beetlebum, making me wish I was more aware of them in the late 90's holistically. Instead, I merely heard Song2 on the radio, which is great and still a great second song on the album. Country Sad Ballad Man put a big grin on my face. It got a bit murkier from there, still good but not brain-shakingly good. Chinese Bombs is a rager, love it!

Trop bien

I had never sat down to properly listen to this album and I enjoyed it more than I expected! half the time blur is fooling around and i cant take their music seriously because of it but was pleasantly surprised that this album seemed decently organized

4 de 5 Blur se aleja de el Britpop y comienza a probar con sonidos experimentales, lo-fi, introspectivos y alternativos, los cuales, hacen que la banda alcance una reinvención audaz y fresca que modernizan el trabajo presentado. A destacar: Track 1 - Beetlebum Track 2 - Song 2 Track 7 - You’re so Great Track 8 - Death of a Party Track 11 - Look Inside América Track 12 - Strange News from Another Star

This was much better than I expected, I thought it would just be some generic rock songs, which admittedly it was at times but overall very good. Favourite - Song 2

Excelente álbum, parece en partes una precuela de Gorillaz

This is the first Blur album I’ve listened to from start to finish - it’s great! Favourite track: Hard to pick, but it’s tough to beat Song 2

I don't know why I never took the time to listen to this album. I always liked Song 2, but never went further. This album was really good! I will definitely add this to my collection.

Review - this is a much better album than the last Blur one I got. Once they're open to influence from American bands they were a lot more interesting. The influences are very clear (every time I heard a song and thought "this sounds like Pavement", or "these backing vocals are like Eno-era David Bowie", I saw mentioned once I read about the album on Wikipedia. And there are plain influences that aren't mentioned directly in the reviews on Wikipedia. The lead guitar at times is incredibly Pixies, and You're So Great (a truly wonderful song) is Graham Coxon trying to be Lou Barlow. So while it loses points for originality compared to other Blur music, it is at least good, so I couldn't care less that it's less original. Rating - 8/10 Need to hear? YES

Good fun album, a lot of tracks I’d never heard, a good mixture on this album

a gente aprende a dar valor a uma coisa boa quando aprende o que é ruim. ouvi vários álbuns ruins nesse desafio nos últimos dias. esse álbum do blur que eu nunca dei muito valor, de repente ficou bom

As an Oasis fan, Blur is my guilty pleasure hahaha Seriously, nothing they did beats Parklife (1994), but that's a great album. Song 2 is an intencional awful song. When you listen to it knowing that, it makes perfect sense. But for me, the only problem is that this track should be the last one in the album, cause it may cause a little distraction on the sight of the great songs this album has. But... it's just a small detail. That being said, let's get back to the character: Oasis: so mad fer it. Blur's shite life.

way more experimental and interesting than Song 2 would suggest

Excellent overall. An interesting variety of influences are made abundantly obvious (which is great if you like those influences). Song 2 took me back to playing hours and hours of FIFA World Cup 98 on the Nintendo 64.

Blur is one of those few bands I bought at the time because they were on trend, generally I don’t care about being cool. I have Parklife and the Great Escape but they are not my favourite band and wasn’t really looking forward to this. But wow this was fantastic! They’ve come away from their faux-Kinks sound and have just decided to embrace indie post punk. Feels like a new beginning hence the eponymous album title, normally reserved for first albums. Way to go!

Country Sad Ballad Man 💚💚💚💚💚

Blur definitely have better albums but I love this for how they're still finding their sound, and I genuinely think Beetlebum is one the best Blur tracks.

Made an impression, ironically

This was okay

'She'll suck your thumb / She'll make you come / 'Cause she's your gun.' I know what that means w/o knowing what it means, if that makes any sense, you know what I mean? That's kinda how I feel about this record: if I'd go ahead & say I dig this album, I'm not sure what that would mean, but then again, dismissing it would be equally meaningless. The album is, it seems to me, essentially meaningless, but somehow it's not complete blah or rot, & I hate to admit that I may've been wrong 'bout Blur all along. But then again, maybe I was exposed to the wrong Blur, b/c, tho this is not quite at Pavement's level, these Brits do American indie pretty damn well, & it was always Blur as Brit shit that I had resisted. +, the comp to Oasis is empty.

Cool 90s album

Good album and great band. 2 or 3 big hits but the others songs so so.

love blur, love Blur by Blur. Very nostalgic album for me, listened to it a lot in high school. Very much their most "American" album and was their big shift away from that BritPop sound that skyrocketed them into the stratosphere. The Albarn/Coxon relationship is about as strong as it ever was on here & I love the nighttime melancholy pall that's all over this one. The album cover is just a hi-speed snapshot of an orderly pushing a gurney at night but it was always really striking to me. The live version of Chinese Bombs on Bustin + Dronin is maybe my favorite Blur thing. The riffs on Just a Killer are so good. The gap between this and what Oasis was doing simultaneously is pretty stark imo, Oasis was pretty content to stay in their wheelhouse and put out good stuff but Blur looked west and sourced the sound for this album from the cooler American contemporaries; Pavement, Yo La Tengo, Guided by Voices, etc. Great move and suggested Albarn's unquenchable thirst for new sounds on new projects. Favorite Tracks: Beetlebum, On Your Own, Chinese Bombs, Death of a Party, I'm Just a Killer for Your Live, Essex Dogs

Icónico para toda la vida.

Movin' on sounds like suffragette city, like kind of a lot Faves: Song 2 MOR On Your Own You're so great Death of a Party

Blur are a million times the band Oasis are. Listen to any album and there's far more invention and thinking there. They prove they can do the fun and bombastic just as well (Song 2, On Your Own). Not all of this sticks though, which I find with a lot of Blur albums. So I find it hard to give it a 5, but it's fun and it's interesting for the ride.

I find this one a bit tricky. For a long time this was my least favourite blur album and I still don't love it in the way I do with at least 4 of their others... However, with this listen I definitely grew to like it a lot more. I think it's pretty stellar for the first 10/11 tracks and either loses it a bit or I got distracted. The guitar work is fascinating all the way through as Graham really leant in to the crankier sounds he can pull off. On your own is possibly my all time favourites blur track, I just love the feel of it and the space given by the guitar part along with the heavy use of guitar FX to build the hook. Yeah, I can imagine I'll end up loving this, but right now it's a strong 4.

Solid album front to back. One of those bands that I always thought should have been bigger outside the UK. 4/5 from me.

top of the pops!

A really nice album

I think this album will continue to grow on me, thus a 4

Excellent. Possibly best blur album. Longer shelf life than oasis.

As good as Parklife. The album artwork being blurred is really funny to me. Like yeah, why wouldn’t it be? 4/5

Pretty solid album from beginning to end.

락이다. 여기 피파 노래 있음!! 위-후 하는 거. 다른 곡들은 쏘쏘.

90’s Britpop ⭐️Song 2

You’re so great def my fav, relieved to find he made this at 29 and not like 18

buen album, algo que hubiese escuchado en la adolescencia, en este momento no es quite my tempo

A great album, but as with all Blur albums it contains tracks that are clearly experimental. Good - I already have this album in my music collection.

It’s been at least 20 years since I played any Blur – probably this album. “Song 2” got me back into them after the disappointment of The Great Escape, and it still sounds like a glorious blast of artistic regeneration. In fact, the whole album draws a line in the sand – the end of Britpop and the beginning of a new adventure. The first half of the album is a smorgasbord of different styles and approaches, not so much to see what sticks, but the delight in trying out something new. It’s to the band’s credit that so much of it works. Highlights abound – the fore-mentioned “Song 2”, the lo-fi chug of “Country Sad Ballad Man”, the adrenalin fuelled pop perfection that is “M.O.R.” and the eight-minute plus closer “Essex Dogs” – with its furtive spoken-word hum and buzzy electronics. It’s been a sweet couple of hours getting reacquainted. 8/10

En fejl, jeg ikke har hørt den her før.

not my favorite blur album but a very very good one with some world music influences that foreshadowed gorillaz

This was the era of the band that I really took notice. More variety, melancholy, anger, regret, and above all, comfort in their skin.

I never get tired of listening to Blur. This album is no exception. It didn't exactly blow me away, but it's still very good. 4/5

lifes a blur

Cuando decidiste experimentar, sale este disco

Having listened to this and Parklife, it’s close, but I think I prefer that album slightly more. It’s very close, but the songs on that record are just a tad bit stronger. Don’t get me wrong, this is still very good. Song 2 is a classic and there’s not really a bad song on this.

me gustó bastante

Some absolute quality, You're So Great is top tier album track. But lose interest at points

Song 2 is such a banger.

I didnt mind it, but i also didnt finsih it, i had no time sadly, if i did then i def wouldve given it 5 stars and listened to it all <3

Blur helped drive a stake in Britpop by switching things up and showing they were far more than a mere pop band.

Banger of an album

Parts of this album sounded very Presidents-esque

Oh we blurrin. This is good but it is absurd that anyone has ever said the sentence "Blur is better than oasis!" I don't think they need to be compared other than a way of like comparing Nirvana to Pearl Jam to Soundgarden; they're all making music at the same time but that doesn't mean they're doing the same thing and need to be directly compared. The little culture war there is really interesting to be because A) Oasis is miles better and B) Gorillaz is miles better. Maybe there will be more Blur that changes my mind but nothing other than song 2 or some of you're so great touch anything on Definitely Maybe. Comparison notes aside, it's good to hear where Damon is coming from. As a primary Gorillaz fan and secondarily a sometimes Blur enjoyer, it was good to focus on his brit pop side and not the cartoon. I like the cartoon more. But these songs are very fun, I can see why this would be someone's favorite band. It's hard to not compare his personal outputs, though, as the entirety of the ST Gorillaz album is better than this album. Still feeling a strong 4, but it would be a hard argument to get this up to a 5. I'm back, I read the wikipedia page! This is their lofi anti brit pop album apparently, more Beck and Pavement than Oasis so I can vibe with that. Doesn't change the score but now I'm more interested to hear their britpop albums; I had always assumed growing up that this was the quintessential Blur album because it has Song 2 on it. Listening to some of Parklife and The Great Escape I get the comparison more.

this found me on an angsty day and i’m so grateful for it!

Not sure how I feel. Pretty unique album, favorite song is Strange News from Another Star, the album is interesting to say. I’d have to listen a couple times to really get a feel but I’m sure it’ll grow on me.

Song 2 is such a stand out track.

Good album. 2 big hits on it and plenty of experimentation.

First thoughts: “on your own” sounds like a Mott the hopple song, and it’s lit. This album is everything I enjoy about the 90’s without going over the top into cringe slop territory. There’s so many different songs on here, there’s honestly something for everyone. This isn’t even a debut but I still hear influence of so many bands. Roxy was another one, stooges is another. It’s crazy how they can go from glammy sounding, to acoustic, to grunge, to garage rock and keep it cohesive.

Oh hell yeah brit pop from the 90s I have heard this one so much, They got Bowie on this thing I mean I love damon albarn or however you spell love this easy 4

this was good in the way where you know something is good but it doesn’t fully click. the back end bumped it up to four instead of three though.

hm. svidio mi se, i više od toga, al mislio sam da će biti trunku bolji. svakako nije na razini parklifea, koji mi je bio genijalan, premda je, rekao bih, stilski raznovrsniji. sadrži i grandž parodiju "song 2" koja je amerima postalo neironično dobro pjesma i jedino što su od britpopa u stanju probaviti - naprosto nevjerojatno

I knew the 3 big songs, but not the rest of the album. Ya, it was good, I really liked the rest also.

Het lukt blur goed om passende effecten, riffs en geluiden bij elkaar te zetten waardoor het klinkt alsof als een recept waar alle ingrediënten perfect gebalanceerd zijn en smaken als een hele fijne saus. Het is een album met heel veel fantastische nummers, maar ook nummers die ik zou overslaan. Bij andere albums van blur zoals parklife of 13 heb ik dat minder, die zijn toch net iets meer favoriet bij mij.

Met dit album merk je dat het al wat experimenteler en wat veder weg is van de typische brit pop. Dit geluid is wel alternatiever maar je hoort ook dat ze op sommige nummers weer op het bekende terugvallen waardoor het album wat inconsistent voelt. Op dit album staan wel de betere nummers maar als heel album niet hun beste, wel een van de interessantste. Parklife is wat dat betreft sterker maar ook gelijk wat minder gewaagt. Misschien wilde Damon Albarn al wat meer naar een andere sound maar houd je legacy en bandgenoten je wat tegen. Weet dat natuurlijk niet en zou eens in de geschiednis moeten duiken maar zo voelt het een beetje. Songwriting van Damon Albarn blijft wel op elk album goed. Zou het een 3.5 willen geven maar als we gaan afronden heel klein beetje meer naar een 4.

Toeval wil dat ik helemaal in de Gorillaz zit op het moment, het nieuwe album heeft me helemaal in deze rabbit hole gezogen. Naast dat ik dat album op repeat heb staan ben ik me ook gaan verdiepen in de oudere albums. Blur stond ook nog op dat lijstje, en dit album stelde niet teleur. Wat me opvalt is dat Blur als rockband niet de behoefte voelt om constant die gitaar kapot te rossen (af en toe natuurlijk wel). Muzikaal en creatief gezien vind ik dit van een hoger niveau dan bijvoorbeeld Oasis wat destijds als rivaal werd gezien. Damon Albarn fascineert me steeds meer. Het is zeldzaam om een artiest te zien die zo lang relevant blijft en zich telkens opnieuw uitvindt zonder dat het geforceerd voelt.

First half of the album extremely strong but drops off on the back half IMO. but first half is better than the oasis album i rated so i have to also give it a 4. has some bangers but also some duds at the end

Better than I remembered 👍

Des morceaux très variés.

4/5 Song 2 alone has become so well-known, even though it’s largely misunderstood. But this album showed that Blur not only had life post Britpop but thrived as well

This was the album Blur made to break into the American market, something they studiously avoided with their previous albums, and it worked. With a more American indie-rock sound than what they'd previously produced, this was a bit of a stylistic departure for the band, though I've never really been able to decide if I preferred them before or after the change. Whichever way I slice it, this is a great album to have playing when I've got things to do, through there are a couple of tracks that make me stop and pay attention when they come on. So let's give this one a not-quite-perfect four and a half stars.

Rv

Like a cooler version of the Pixies but maybe not even that is a fair comparison. But indeed an extremely cool and confident feel to them. Chord progressions stood out as some of my favorite aspects as well as the vocals. Really good variety while staying with a consistent listen through.

3.5/5 Woohoo

Another fun album that will stay with me for a while. For a Britpop group, this album is immensely American. The guitar takes obvious influence from alt-rock and grunge bands from the Stars, while precipitating sounds that would later be mad popular by the 2000's garage rock revival. The guitar and the constant American references in the lyrics reall make it obvious that Albarn and co looked away from the UK fir this album, and while it loses some stuff that made so many Britpop albums work, it gains a certain bravado that feels particularly American. If I has one complaint about this album, it's that while certainly good, and even great, it lacks something that would make me come back to it more. It's really good, but lacks something that would make it an absolute must listen classic. Maybe in an attempt to experiment they're own sound, they made theirs fit very clearly in line with an American sound that I'm used to. As well, the weirdness that is in this album doesn't feel that built upon. Albarn would experiment more with his next group, and with better results, but this here it lacks a originality in a way that all Britpop bands don't, even if they're derivative. Its still a good album though, and well-worth a listen, especially Song 2, which is one of those perfect rock songs that sou ds like it's always been there. Would recommend, but don't expect your life to change. Highlights are Beetlebum, On Your Own, Movin' On, and the previously mentioned perfect Song 2.

Fav: Beetlebum Song 2 Death of a Party *also if you can listen to the extra track dancehall from the japanese edition!

I never quite got this album when I was young. Today I learned that Blur was heavily influenced by Pavement and the album makes so much more sense to me now! The combination of Brit Pop and American indie rock is brilliant, but it just didn't click before today. Now I love this. In the war between Oasis and Blur, Blur is still my band and it's not even close. Sorry to sleeping on this one guys!

I've been a Blur skeptic/agnostic, but this puts most of my indifference to rest. Really strong stuff.

Love the many weirder parts they have here

I forget how much i actually really like Blur lol.

Blur to me has always felt like the bridesmaids of Britpop, sure, they were undoubtedly the second biggest band of the movement (Oasis were bigger, I won’t hear otherwise), but they never seemed to settle into the Britpop label as other bands did. Of the big four, Suede practically invented the sound, Pulp were able to reinvent themselves because of the movement, and Oasis is a band which can only exist inside the confines of a national musical wave. Blur did produce Britpop music and did experience success because of it, yet to me, they have always sort of felt like outsiders, joining in because that is what was popular at the time. Blur never really did have that classic album, I suppose Parklife was their closest, but even that didn’t quite achieve the level of acclaim that their contemporaries had; Oasis had What’s The Story, Pulp had Different Class, even The Manic Street Preachers had The Holy Bible. Blur, or more accurately, Damon Albarn, never really felt like they belonged, or like their hearts were in it. If you ask a Blur fan their favourite album, you would most likely hear the answer 13, which has far more to do with the American indie/alternative scene at the time than with Britpop. Blur’s self-titled is the band's first array into that sound, the famous example being Song 2, which is said to be a parody of Nirvana and the Grunge scene, but Blur is full of experimentation. I do consider myself to be a massive Britpop fan, Pulp are a top two band all-time for me, yet I never really connected too much with Blur. I feel like each Blur album has a handful of amazing songs, but then the rest is just simply average to good. I feel as though most of their albums are bloated. Damon’s vocals are also hit or miss for me. Sometimes he sings with great passion, and other times he sounds uninterested. I do quite like them on this album, however, as it seems at times like he is doing a David Bowie impression, which is a positive in my eyes. I think it really isn’t any surprise that Damon went on to do Gorilliaz, whereas Pulp, Oasis, Suede, etc., fit the Britpop movement, and therefore produced the music that they felt represented them. Noel Gallagher or Jarvis Cocker didn’t go on to reinvent themselves because they accomplished what they wanted to in the 90s. You can tell that Damon always dreamed of more. Say what you want about Gorillaz, you can tell that it is the music he always wanted to make. As for Blur, I actually did just re-listen to this album the other day, so the timing was quite nice as it was still fresh in my mind. I think this may be the best Blur album; there isn’t really a bad song here. I definitely enjoyed it more than I did in the past. Even though Blur have never been my go-to Britpop band, I would still take a second-tier Britpop band over 90% of all other bands. Best Songs: Beetlebum, On Your Own, You’re So Great Worst Song: I’m Just a Killer For Your Love Score out of 10: 8.5

Song2 is great even if it gets overused.

Excellent late 90's Brit Pop. Blur, along with Oasis, and Pulp was a huge wave back then. Excellent album. "Song #2" was a huge international hit. Other songs i liked were "Death of a Party", "Strange News..." and "Beetlebum"

This started out slow and I was like, oh no, not another boring washed out 90s album. Then every song was better than the previous, more creative and ahead of its time, and by the end I was like, holy cow, I can name like 4 or 5 bands that would have been influenced by this!! While I don't know if Blur necessarily did it the best, but bands to come that were influenced by them certainly did! So this album is one of the few that in and of itself, I would give like a 2, but because of how influential and ahead of its time it seems to be, I'll give it a four.

8/10 – Very Good

4/5

slur- bong 2

Very enjoyable. ★★★★

Song 2 poznamm od prej, pa se kkšno

Gewoon heel vet album, iconisch

I remember really trying to like this album at the time. The high points are great - Beatlebum is on of the best songs of its era. However, like a lot of Blur albums the quality control is lacking, with a lot of 'experimentation' that doesn't encourage repeat listening. Some great songs, but not a great album.

Good on them for changing direction away from Britpop. The attempts at being "experimental" feel a bit chaotic, and the more traditional Indie elements can be a bit dated by the standards of the US scene. Still, this album turned out to be way more enjoyable than I expected.

Maybe I’m more forgiving of Rock. There’s a lot of good tonal ear candy in here. Some of the songs are surprisingly emotional and reflective, some are meta-critical of entertainment, and others are all sound no meaning. But nothing felt strange or too underbaked to me. Good overall.

4.1

Woo Hoo! Blur accidentally wrote the best UK grunge track ever while trying to distance themselves from the Britpop scene and get back to the raw energy of the band I first saw supporting The Jesus and Mary Chain in '92.

go to another party and hang myself - - - gently on the shelf ive heard this album a couple times before but this time more of the songs are sticking

Very good album, i like it

This is the Blur album I've heard the most, because I bought it for my Damon Albarn-obsessed girlfriend when it came out. I liked Blur, but was a casual fan at best back from when "There's No Other Way" was a staple on 120 Minutes. As straightforward as "Song #2" and "M.O.R." are, this album still has plenty of Blur eccentricity. I appreciate their artistry, even if it's not something I need to hear repeatedly. I saved my favorites (including "On Your Own") a playlist, and I'm good.

I didn’t know what to expect, but I enjoyed it. There’s a sort of grit from the guitars and effects chosen that really add to the tone of the album. For a song title as uninspired as Song 2, it was an instant favorite. The tracks seem to go back and forth between impulsivity (Chinese Bombs) and then introspection (Death of A Party). Even “Essex Dogs” begins with revving noises and slowly fades and closes out the album. Listen Again?: Yes, I have a feeling it will grow on me even more.

Really enjoyed it!! Will have it in my playlists.

Anything with Damon Albarn has my interest, and this certainly earns my attention! I don't mean to automatically go comparing them to Gorillaz, but I do love that Blur gets into the same sort of weird genre experimentations here, going from punkier cuts to trip hop detours like it's nothing. It works for me! To the rotation it goes! Standouts: Beetlebum • Song 2 • M.O.R. • On Your Own • Death of a Party • Essex Dogs

This one seemed more consistent to me than their other albums on the list, it's got more of the sound I associate with Blur in my head, less wackiness for the sake of wackiness, but still dynamic enough to have some tracks that stood out during the listen

2026.01.23.

WOOOOHOOOO Oasis can suck it. Like everyone else in the US, I bought this back in the day for "Song 2" which is now played at every sporting event everywhere. But the rest of the record is pretty good - Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon both have been pushing the envelope on pop music for a long time by now and this record is a good example of that. The music and lyrics have a great, sloppy, snotty, sarcastic feel to them. Beetlebum, Song 2, On Your Own are all banger tracks, the last song is kind of a mess though.

Tuff not super crazy but not bad just a solid b or C would listen to as background to stuff

7/10

Exuberant, emotional, punchy, restrained and unhinged. How Blur manages all of these sensations cohesively across an album, and sometimes within individual songs, is the wonderful strength of this album. The self-titled album is wrought from a broad sonic pallet, notably including organ loops, and dub echoes. Stylistically, the album's songwriting sways, lurches, and wobbles, all while never leaving the listener (unpleasantly) confused. While the album is a paragon of rock-craft, with excellent songwriting and execution, the degree to which it is finely wrought is both a feature and it's highest insurmountable hurdle. Damon Albarn's precise and thoughtful songwriting plays a referential role, keeping the musical direction rooted in familiarity, while giving room for ideas to grow. "Theme from Retro", notably, presents a minor-chordal rhyming with the chord progression of the Animal's "House of the Rising Sun," but cleverly on Albarn's part, with added tonal movement that moves away from (while never abandoning) the forlorn menace of the aforementioned, into more sad and introspective territory. "M.O.R" borrows from Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging". The album is rife with noisy distortions, judiciously applied to nearly everything at one point or another. Vocals, organ, synth, and of course guitar are less metallic though, and saturated more like a soaked and broken jagged wet wooden crate of treasure they found on the seafloor. Graham Coxon's guitars seem overdriven to the point where the feedback welling up between fretted notes are the actual notes. Incomprehisible dub-echoed vocals take center stage on "Theme from Retro", buoyed by a claustrophobic organ that dominates the sonic landscape. There is also digital looping technology present, which outside of electronic music (and less-wieldy analog tape loops of decades past) I have not heard as present in composition, as on Blur. At the farthest reaches of the album's noisiness, shrill feedback peal can be heard low in the mix, carried through the crescendoing outro of "On Your Own". It is slight, and ephemeral, but unmistakable. Even more so when the song suddenly shifts, everything cutting out, to solo the vocals. The liberal use of organ keyboards on Blur also helps unground Albarn's pop-sensible songwriting from the realm of the Beatles' ivory tower, attaching it to lineages that kept the line to the pubs and dancehalls intact, such as the Kinks (who's use of piano at their time set them apart from guitar-bass-drums groups like aforementioned Four and the Stones, as well as glam groups like T-Rex who also bear influence on Blur's sound). Another notable decision, the acoustic guitar in "Song 2", the album's most driving song, is a nuance that pulls pleasantly away from overt aggression of high tempo, staccato riffs, and young hooligan "WOO HOO"ing, giving the punky song an unexpected dimension of depth. It's in the moments of deliberate decision, such as sharp cuts from chaos to more serene moments, or when the continuation of a leading guitar line, via ad nauseam repetition, transitions subtly into a support line (as in the final laps of "M.O.R", brilliantly) that the album's writing and production ascend into something unique and new, for the time. It's also in this careful assemblage of so many small but potent sonic details, something that still sounds fresh today (Albarn is thoroughly presaging his own future pop successes here. How different from The Gorrilaz is this album truly?) that Blur's self titled album achieves a surprising longevity. This album has longevity, uniqueness, craft, intention, and a raw energy. All these together are rare. And special. My only hesitation to giving the album five stars is that, in the end, all of the fine-cut craft of decision-making comes off as a little precious. Even the album's closer, "Essex Dogs", at eight minutes long, and leading with a delightfully unsettling tempo-agnostic tremolo guitar riff, while a fully welcome foray into outer reaches of the bands' creativity, still feels like the cork on the lightning in a bottle, where the bottle was the point the whole time, rather than the lightning itself.

Great stuff by the boys.

Solidt første lyt. Faktisk ikke nok Blur jeg har hørt gennem livet. Andet og 3 lyt var også positive. Men det bliver aldrig bedre end de første 2. Så dem høre jeg nok igen en dag.

I didn't realise Blur actually sounded like this. I thought they were going to be much more Pulpy, not this grungy dirty feel. Really enjoyed it, although occasionally forgettable (Aside from Song 2)

At last on this list, a 90s album worth re-listening to.

i fw gorillaz pretty heavy but i never really got into blur. definitely just for a lack of trying tho, this might be my breakthrough

Song 2 might raise this one whole star

87/100 Mon premier album de Blur. Je m'attendais à un album Britpop classique à cause de toutes les comparaisons Oasis vs Blur. Au final même si il y a évidemment des éléments de ça, l'album explore pas mal de styles et d'influences. Je retrouve un tas d'éléments Trip hop qui sont excellents et globalement les instrumentales sont extra quasiment tout le long. Le rythme est vraiment bien géré et il y a pas de moments de flottement à mon goût. Maintenant le chant de Damon m'a géné à plusieurs moments et il y a quand même des morceaux fillers. Globalement très bien

Super good enjoyed it fr

Blur over oasis tbh. This album feels like heavy to listen to but in a good way. The guitar is awesome ofc. Idk how to describe it but the album cover matches the vibe of the album perfectly. It feels like running and seeing streaks of orange light. Fav songs: song 2, you’re on your own, death of a party(!!!)

slightly to the right of Britpop and the music I know from them best. I've listened to a lot of this album before, but not a whole play through of it. the instruments in this album are probably the part I like the best, I feel like they are put on central stage for it and make it an engaging listen. rating: 7.6/10 fav track: Essex Dogs (or maybe beetlebum, just classic)

Hade höga förväntningar men vet inte hur bra det verkligen var, mycket låter rätt likt och fattar inte riktigt innebörden, men mitt typ av sound iaf!

Solid,

Fun album, obviously starts out hot with the songs everyone knows but stays consistent with some gems I hadn't heard before

Great album

Some solid tracks

Mega super album, na pewni wrócę do niego kiedyś. Moje klimaty. Muzyka prosta lecz brzmienie fenomenalne. Nie wiem co więcej napisać

Fun!!

Nunca he sido tan fan de Clapton, aunque entiendo el por qué se le considera uno de los mejores. Solo creo que no es completamente para mí, aunque disfruto de el álbum en general.

ok

The peak of Brit pop no question.

Beetlebum Country Sad Ballard Man You’re So Great

solid, 4/5

3.9 2x+ catchup 1/8/26

A classic. Lots of hits

Yeah, most people only know the WOOHOO song but there's much more to enjoy. Beetlebum is such a fantastic opener, it has this crazy psychedelic dense sound that is super unique and chilling. The whole thing is easily the most psychedelic britpop album I've ever heard, with super woozy sounds, mellowed out guitars and vocals that remind me of some super underground slacker rock. That also leads to a few redundant songs and failed experiments. To be quite honest, I think they built upon the sound of this album on their next one and made it stronger. There is sort of a weaker dance crossover cut on On Your Own, and Theme From Retro is a bit too drugged out maybe. Still, there's explosive highlights like M.O.R. with bombastic guitars flying all over the song, or more lowkey and acoustic ones like You're So Great. Death of a Party is also one of my favorites, very fascinating sounds and genre fusions. All in all the album is not super consistent but definitely a fun and exciting listen

One overplayed song and then a fever dream of songs.

The back half of this album is a fabulous psychedelic feast. Enjoy it.

Bussin

'wow this sounds like gorillaz'

Good album with legendary song - Song 2. 7.1/10

My kind of music. Obviously Song 2 is great but it was good to see more of their music. 8/10

A great album, probably their best? Hard to go past Parklife, though

Blur’s self titled album is significantly better than I expected. I haven’t listened to much of them and always thought Parklife was overrated. But this grittier, almost punkier version of them is up my alley. Bettlebum is a fantastic opener, side A in general is great. Song 2 is fine, it might be the most over played song in history. 8.7/10

This is Blur’s best album and it’s not a close contest. The album starts with their best song and is followed by their most famous song. What’s not to like? Seriously, Beetlebum is a monster of a song. Dark, moody and provocative. There are a few duds (On Your Own, Look Inside America), but the good tracks do enough to make up for it. I commend the band for trying something new and fresh. Oasis released an album a few months later and it was a disappointing rehash of their previous album, just a lot worse and without any actually good songs. Blur took a chance with this. It doesn’t always pay off, but even if just for the opening track, this is well worth a listen.

Instantaneously love 💛

know it well, bangers

Palion nostalgiaa ja hittejä, sitte amatöörimäistä kakofonista räminää. Rakoileva kokonaisuus.

blur>oasis

This really hit in all the spots for me. It is fantastic, rarely ever dull & interesting sonically throughout. Not every song sounds the same & the try different styles throughout. It was alot better than The Good, Bad, & the Queen album earlier. 4

Better then "Modern Life is Rubbish in every possible way

I am one month older than this album and probably have the strangest association with it: nothing says Christmas like “Song 2” by Blur! My uncle used to play it every Christmas Eve when I was a little girl. I was the only child in a group of adults and was always pampered by everyone present. I would dance around and go wild in my red velvet dress, and when the “woo-hoo” part came, one of my relatives would take my hands and lift me up in a big jump. It’s a core memory for me, and I’ve loved the song ever since.

A classic. Not a huge Blur fan but this particular album is great

Classic late 90's vibe

I went through each and every Blur album from the start and recall enjoying each album and finding the next one better than the last. I only really knew Song 2 off of this but found it had so many good songs and is worth a listen

Knowing "Song 2" from the endless overplay on festivals, I was quite curious about this band in the late 90s. How surprised I was, it wasn't anything I expected. I loved the opener "Beetlebum" but was taken by surprise of the eclecticism of this album. From the lo-fi psychedlia of " Country Sad Ballad Man" to the Bowie-esque songs like "M.O.R" and "On Your Own" to the rattling guitar noise of "Essex Dogs". It forced me to dive deeper into their catalogue, which made me a fan ever since. So much more then Brit-Pop, and yes, I dare to say this, so much more than Oasis! 4/5

That song that goes 'woohoo' but like, hard.

A lot of great songs and a real rock spirit and attitude.

8.5/10 fav songs: Country sad ballad man death of a party

good album

Not going to win any prizes in lyricism but it’s a fun album with a variety of sounds.

Fun rock album that I definitely enjoyed! I loved the punchy drums on the album and the guitar was great.

Knew the big ones, of course. But enjoyed this as a total package (even if it was a bit long). A proper album with a vision.

I’ve always have been keen of Cool Britannia BritPop. Maybe because I have lived in London for a while at the time. And Dallin Albarn’s Gorillaz proved me right. So I was a bit disappointed to not felling more listening to this album.

Blur er så nostalgisk for mig. Man kan virkelig høre stilen som senere blev til Gorillaz i dette album. Jeg er kæmpe fan.

- I know this album pretty well. I’ve always slightly preferred Great Escape and Parklife for whatever reason, but I love this album, too. Tons of great songs (On My Own is my fave one) and only a few skips (e.g., Country Sad Ballad Man, Theme from Retro, Chinese Bombs, Essex Dogs). - I like Damon’s affected voice (minus the falsetto), and I think the music on this album is interesting and tight, but also easygoing… good bass, guitar, and effects to enjoy. - Blur (and contemporaries) were pretty formative for me and my musical tastes, and I’m very much enjoying revisiting this. And sorry, I liked both Blur and Oasis, lol.

I was very much on the Oasis side of the (clearly manufactured with hindsight) Blur vs Oasis rivalry when I was a kid. Looking back however, it's pretty clear that, while I don't always like Blur's music, they were by far the more interesting and varied band. This album is one of their better ones. It tails off a bit towards the end and would probably have benefitted from only being 10 or 11 tracks long, but I still enjoyed it a decent amount.

Prefer parklife and other Gorillaz albums

Yeah it's alright

Like most Blur albums I enjoyed it, not my favourite Britpop group. The big hit of this is the least Blur sounding song on the album.

Blur did go out of their early Britpop sound to embrace a more "90s" kind of sensibility. Solid late 90s rock album.

Woohoo.

great album, but loses some momentum as it goes on

Tell me you’re sad the Beatles broke up without telling me you’re sad the Beatles broke up

I was really resistant to this album. When I saw it appear in the my list I put it off for months. I have no idea why. I have nothing against Blur, but for some reason I thought 'I just can't.' I finally forced myself to listen, and you know what? I liked it quite a lot. Graham Coxon is under rated as a guitarist. There's some good stuff on here.

A lot more eclectic than I was expecting. Usually 90's britpop feels like nothing more than Beatles worship fed through the lens of alt rock. Which this album has a bit of, Beetlebum is straight up (I Want You) She's So Heavy. But you got more alt rock ragers like Song 2, and stuff that's predicting Albarn's work with Gorillaz. My only real complaint is whoever chose Beetlebum as the opener is a moron, lol. That's a closing song if I've ever heard one.

80/100. Compact and packed with some of their classics, shows a grittier side of blur. It balances accessible hooks with rawer production and moodier tones.

Arranca bien, se pierde un poco después

This was so interesting sonically. So many strange white noise moments but it remains musically sound. Truthfully I was not familiar with much of Blur’s work beyond “Song 2” off of this album but truthfully while it’s still a great song it’s far from the most interesting on this album. I read up that this album was a major pivot in the bands previous style and I think it’s definitely worth the listen. Especially on some great speakers. Moody elements, grunge-y, and even some harder hitting stuff but I think that’s where I was least interested.

This album starts with a bang with "Beetlebum" and "Song 2." After that it is a sonic hodge podge and not everything works. But it's always interesting, kind of like their version of The Beatles White Album. There's even a song with a writing credit to David Bowie, "M.O.R.," and a grungy country song ("Country Sad Ballad Man") When many bands would play it safe, Blur was pushing the envelope and I love that about them.

I am a sucker for unique 90's rock albums. There is a lot to like here, a lot of the songs take really strange turns and none of the songs sound like any other song on the album. Also Song 2 is an all time banger, and I don't even care that the song was made as a joke (maybe they should have made more jokes because it is a really good song). This is close to a 5 for me, but there are a couple of songs that I am not really crazy about. High 4.

Blur is a vibe. +1 star for beetlebum I do enjoy it.

Lækkert low key album med kæmpe hits. Helt sikkert et album jeg ville sætte på igen.

This was a fun one

Upbeat and cool. I didn't realize Song 2 was the name of that song. I know it and like it.

Song 2 wasnt the 2nd song...

opening track was truly awful and I felt disappointed, I had somehow expected more. However it rapidly perked up and each track seemed better than the one before. Bitter disappointment averted

Woooohooooo! Naturally, the best track on the album. Road to World Cup, anyone? IYKYK. Didn't mind this. Some decent tracks, an obvious pastiche, easy to listen to. Wouldn't say it's a strong 4, but it's definitely better than 3. I'm left satisfied hearing it, but not really left wanting more.

Beetlebum is the best britpop song i listened to this SO MUCH In college i had forgotten this album is in fact too long though, if it ended on Look Inside America it might be perfect

Obviously Song 2 is well known, but this is a strong and interesting record.

Best Song: Song 2 This is a first time listen of the whole album. Of course I knew Song 2 as that was played on a loop in 1997 on the radio. Overall the album is a slightly better than average grunge album. I'm not really sure why it made this list. It's not bad but is definitely not anything mind blowing. 4/5.

I really liked this. You really notice Blur moved on from Britpop here into pastures new, a welcome change. The songs are more chill (except the breakout hit) and the entire vibe is more Trip Hop and Jazzy than their earlier album. It's a bit more experimental too, especially with the weird jam that's the final track. Makes me excited to dive a bit deeper into Blur's later catalog because this is really solid.

Essex Dogs is a masterpiece.

first go around I was like.. no. and stopped listening. then came back to it today and I really like it. Got some psych rock, punk, pop, bowie-y. it's a bit of a jam. :)

Much weirder than I expected. Felt more like Gorillaz offcuts than what I expected Blur to be. Graham Coxon is all that’s keeping this from being another Damon Albarn solo project.

Song 2 is a great name for a hit

Rad

Triaging the weekend albums in order of interest and this one wins out. I'm often mixed on Blur -- like I really enjoy Damon Albarn as a musician (particularly Gorillaz), but that is somewhat in tension for my general ambivalence towards brit-pop. This album was among the more enjoyable from Blur that I've listened to. Certainly it covers more ground than some others, with "punkier" bits like Song 2 living alongside the acoustic nostalgia of You're so Great, the psychedelia of Theme from Retro, balladry of Strange News from Another Star, and general indie-alternative elsewhere. While the diversity is entertaining, it does make for an album without any real centralizing appeal. Favorites from the listen were Song 2 -- a dumb and fun song that lives an altogether too-short life with its wonderfully fuzzed-to-hell bass and freewheeling nature -- Death of a Party, I'm Just a Killer for Your Love, and Essex Dogs -- a rough-cut spoken word outro with dubby elements that works quite nicely. I could certainly see myself coming back to this one time and again -- 4 / 5.

Beetlebum is a fun one. Song 2 is a classic. Theme from Retro has a spooky vibe to it! Reminds me of some Gorillaz with how he’s speaking in it. Death of a Party is a pretty fun psychedelic one. That was a solid hard psychedelic ride there. Better than I expected after the first few songs. Low 4. That being said it’s ridiculous we’ve only had 1 Gorillaz album and like 4 Blur albums.

Prettay prettay prettey good

🧡

Great album, definitely brought me back to the 90’s

Great album with lots of personality. Song 2 was a favorite for me.

WOO HOO!

Gorillaz demo album

Not their best but still good

Pretty decent I guess. Surprising I hadn't listened to this already, although I am not a particularly great fan of britpop. A good listen, some really good tracks.

Not totally for me, but I can appreciate it

Lets goo

Gott stöff!!! elska damon albarn íslandsvininn

Nice! What a great eclectic bunch of rock songs. I’ve loved Song #2 since I was a wee child. It may be a little nostalgia but that song will never fail to pump me up! A few of the songs don’t really land for me but still an overall fantastic outing for Blur. 8/10 Favorite tracks- “ Beetlebum” “Song #2” “On Your Own”

I'm slightly disappointed, but still I am glad I finally listened to this album after wanting to for a long time. Song 2 is honestly one of my favorite songs ever, so I was hoping to find some similarly amazing songs on this album, but that really didn't happen. Sure, a couple songs stood out over the rest along with Song 2, like M.O.R and Death of a Party. Most of the songs, however, just felt... there. The album is pretty long. I feel like a couple songs could have been kept for the deluxe version. Altogether, would listen again and probably will listen to most of these songs again, but as a whole, probably not.

It was ok

I honestly completely forgot because I listened to this yesterday and a lot happened, but I remember thinking it was great and was a 4 star album!

otro mas que es pura cabilla

Isch no cool. Het sehr gueti derbi u ou söttigi wo me kennt.

Song 2

If I’m being honest with myself, it was a lot better than I think I wanted it to be.

The album starts out super strong and maybe slows down as it goes (the last 3 tracks aren't exactly as interesting...) but overall it's good and you can hear some of the tracks that will make the DNA of Gorillaz.

It wasn't anything spectacular, but it was a fun listen. Some songs are very memorable, others, well, aren't. All in all a 3.5/5 album.

I really liked this band. Several good songs. Music was good too. Remind me of the Kinks.

Fun one. Song 2 of course!

It’s 90s britpop. Song 2 is song 2, m any to be a jok but a very catchy one at that. I did like MOR, but other than that (and I know they’d hate this) it just sounds like oasis.

Favorite tracks: You’re so Great

blur’s music has been such a comfort to me this year. i’ve really grown to love all of their albums, and this one is no exception. i wasn’t crazy about it on first listen, but i’ve come to appreciate the genre/sound range that they cover on this project. it really showed what they were capable of at that point in their career, and catapulted them past britpop. my favorite song is Look Inside America, which could very well be my favorite song of theirs period. i also love Beetlebum (might be their best song), You’re So Great and Death of a Party :)

cool stuff

Wow, never been too crazy on Blur, didn’t like their debut and enjoyed Magic Whip quite a bit but why the hell did I never listen to this one cus it’s phenomenal.

Not totally classic blur but an interesting step into experiments, especially from Coxon. The bangers are there, (Beetlebum, Song 2, On Your Own), some classics (Killer For Your Love, MOR, Death of a Party), some good freakouts, some out and out weird ones (Theme From Retro, Essex Dogs) and a Coxon solo effort seemingly dropped in from a different record entirely. Not listened to it end to end in a long while. I enjoyed it. Except the pointless "hidden track" obviously.

not for me but one song was good

Some great songs on this album

im a blur enjoyer. and just britpop in general

Blur give us another pretty good but not great album

Pretty good.

Good mix of Nirvana style grunge and poppy boy band sound. I can see why it's in the mix

I love their music. 4/5

Me gustó, muy sólido Nota: 3.8

Way too fucking long and all the songs sound the same.

Great album! Finally an album that feels like I've been missing out by not having heard yet. While I don't really like the singer's voice and some of the songs aren't exactly my cup of tea, it was an awesome listen to a solid collection of very well put together experimental songs. The name fits the vibe for sure.

Great britpop

Not Blur's best album but a still late-90s classic.

Had heard of them, but hadnt really checked them out so this was a pleasant surprise. I generally liked the music. Its nothing incredible but its nice. I dont see what all the hype around Song 2 is about. Not to say i dont like it, i do. Maybe not as much as everyone else. Anyway, solid album. 4/5

Aaah, ça c’est plus dans mon secteur! J’ai toujours trouvé cet album là intéressant dans leur discographie, parce qu’on sens le début de la transition d’Albarn vers Gorillaz, surtout sur On Your Own (qui est soit dit en passant un BBB (Big Badass Banger)). Parlant de Bangers, à part Beatlebum et l’usé Song 2, y’a pas tant de hit à se mettre sous la dent, la deuxième moitié de l’album est plus une vibe qu’un tapis de danse. J’aurais bien aimé que The Great Escape, qui selon moi représente le meilleur que ce que Blur peut offrir, soit présent sur la liste, mais je peux me consoler avec Parklife

Oh man, "Song 2" took me right back to the days of playing FIFA 98 on our family PC! Just for unlocking that amazing memory, I’ll give this album 4 stars! The rest of the album didn’t do much for me, but that nostalgia is hard to beat!

They are topmost among those post-Smiths very English smarty bands that I feel I should like more than I do. The first two songs are five stars, but the rest struggle to stay in focus for me, and I feel I should apologize for feeling such a way, which is peak Britpop, earning this just above average.

It would be cool if Song 2 was the 3rd track

This was too enjoyable, dude should stick to making uninteresting cartoon music.

The only Blur album I got when it came out. Such a fun album. I bought it because of Song 2, but it’s the other songs I enjoy more now.

Hell yea, a Blur album I haven't dived fully into. This is going to be a great pleasure! The music video for "Beetlebum" is perfection. I need to go down the rabbit hole of Sophie Muller's music videos considering I've already seen hers for "Venus Like a Boy" and this album's following track "Song 2". About that second song, Pavement is one of the bands I have seen in concert most and story behind Blur's impersonation of their great American counterparts is great lore. Great too to follow up a Bowie album with "M.O.R." which alludes to Eno and Bowie's experimenting with identical chord progressions on Lodger. The third and final Sophie Muller music video for the album is for "On Your Own". I'd rate it over her "Song 2" effort but even that one is great. In love with how this song ends. Holy shit "You're So Great" is such a Guided By Voices song, I love it. Go Graham Coxon! Give your best impersonation of an American doing an English impersonation. Previously I had probably only heard the 3 singles that were included on Blur's The Best of compilation, so "Death of a Party" is my standout among the rest. Fantastically sad song. Nothing against the rest of the album but it doesn't inspire me to write much. Glad the boys got to experiment I guess. Not a bad time to bring up the Theory of Side A which I will lightly define as the phenomenon of full LP releases rarely having enough material to make side B even half as good as the first side. This album fails miserably and I'm such a full album listener it probably means I'll play this one a lot less. Hopefully I'll remember to put "Death of a Party" on a playlist, the one perfect track on the last side. "Essex Dogs" is a nice closer though. Ultimately my ranking averages out to a 4 based on 4 perfect tracks and a few more really great ones.

Fun Listen

Enjoyable, listening to it after a long long time. Only criticism is maybe Albarn’s vox are a bit lame here and there

Really strong start. MOR and On Your Own are arguably my two favourite Blur songs, and the opening two tracks are solid. However, the rest didn’t really do it for me. It felt quite long and uninspiring at times. One of those albums where a number of 9-10/10 songs are watered down by an equal number of 5/10’s, averaging it out at a solid 7-8/10

I kind of blur in the 90s. Maybe I was a bit young but have picked it up since I really really enjoy it but it’s just not quite top drawer. Some songs are a clear five but others felt like they were slightly obscure

Solid.

Love a bit of blur. Helps me to concentrate bizarrely, given their name.

Wat een vet album! Staan een paar pareltjes op :-)

Wooohooo!

Oh Blur. I remember being 12 and screaming woo-hoi in a futsal competition in school and I was the only one who knew the reference (trying to be the cool kid and failing hard at that age). Aathough I never listened the whole album before I was familiar with the singles. I feel the first 5 songs are qute strong and display well the sound of this time in Blur's career that I feel is their best, and the sound that they are known of. There are a lot of different ideas in the album and I do appreciate them, although the album is cohesive the second half is not as good as the first. 4/5

Jury out

1997 brit alt rock. Wish I knew them when listening to the strokes back in the day. Post punk.

Good, just not for me

So cool. Each track is rife with unique, exciting sounds. It’s a pretty long album with some challenging cuts, but it was interesting and ever-changing. It demanded my full attention, and it didn’t let go the whole way through. I’m glad I heard this one today. Will definitely revisit. 7.5-8/10 Standouts: Beetlebum Song 2 Death of a Party

I love Blur but I felt that this had a few stabs out tracks and others were filler. Overall good.

Standardni Blur album, u smislu da ima sve od vrhunca britpopa i srodnih žanrova do pjesama za koje je upitno ko je odobrio. Bitno je da ima Beetlebum, u dugom nizu njihovih fenomenalnih pjesama jedna od najboljih, a i još nekih stvarno dobrih. Sveukupno je dobar utisak. Prolijeće u sekundi što je uvijek dobar znak.

Blur by Blur: 8/10, A very strong opening, an okay middle, and a great ending. As the first album I got in the 1001 albums generator, this is a great way to start it, with an album from a band that I already enjoy, but this is the first time I've heard it in full. Admittedly, I am a massive Gorillaz fan and don't expect Blur to live up to the strength of Damon's work after their original breakup. As a shift away from britpop and more into heavier rock sounds, Blur's self-titled shows immense capability in how effectively they could completely change their sound. Song 2 is the big hit here, and the only song I'd heard from it before, and it perfectly encapsulates the post-britpop alt-rock style they landed on. Essex Dogs is probably my new favorite here, as it shows a crazy level of technicality and ability to experiment in unexpected ways, reminding me at times of some softer Nine Inch Nails songs. I look forward to exploring more of Blur as they really seem to have a versatile sound and a deep dive is well overdue for me.

One of Britpop's classic

Good balance of power pop, arty stuff, and on occasion surprisingly raw.

Now we're talking! Finally an album I already have. This opens with my favourite Blur song of all time - Beetlebum. This song is transcendental. I love these songs. Death of a Party is such a lekker vibe. Essex Dogs is ahead of its time. This album still sounds fresh and full of ideas. I can now hear how it’s influenced current bands - especially the guitars. Alex Turner heard Chinese Bombs and decided he wanted to be in a band. I guess I should say something about Song 2. I'm very pleased that Blur have this big crossover hit that's also a rock banger. And they've never tried to recreate that magic in a bottle moment. Respect them for that, plus a whole load of other things that probably have nothing to do with this self titled album! Damon Albarn is one of the greatest frontmen and musicians and musical visionaries. He doesn't get enough credit. I've loved him for over 30 years and listening to them as an older person makes me emotional. Blur got even better after this - Think Tank is my favourite Blur album - so gotta save my 5 stars for that masterpiece.

The album starts great with Beetlebum and Song 2 but is mixed after that.

Blur moving away from traditional britpop and going for a more original sound worked out surprisingly well for them, being one of maybe like two britpop bands who didn't just die with the genre.

Surprisingly sarcastic. Clearly went over my teenage head

Well, I did like this one. I like Blur and I like Gorillaz and here we find Damon Albarn nodding his head in both directions. A drop in quality towards the end. I give it 4.

You're so great and I love you.

Can hear the influences and the contemporaries of Blur throughout the album. Certainly an album that embodies the 90s British rock/punk sound.

Not as experimental as 13, but there's like 3 skips. 7/10

I knew a few of the singles, but I went into this album expecting to be bored. Man, this album rocks. Blur showing here just how varied and textured they are as a band. There’s some obvious early signs of Gorillaz here, alongside songs sounding like The Fall and early Pink Floyd. Just a great showcase for the band being much more than their early Britpop sound.

Blur: Blur: This is actually pretty damn solid. Pretty unique and inspired, and the quality of the songs is just high overall. Fun and creative listens, and despite the length it wasn't really boring. They're not like catchy or something like that, but this was pretty cool and I'm glad to have listened to this. The songs could be a little more dynamic, if that makes sense? It doesn't quite jump at you, but its all rather good so thats just a nitpick to explain why this isn't some uber high ranking. 8.25/10