Blur

Half a good album.

Before I listened to this whole album I would have described myself as a Blur fan. Now not so sure... I'm surprised at how much I didn't like this album. After the first two songs (which I grew up hearing all the time), nothing really stood out to me. I guess I am just a fan of 3 Blur songs (including Girls & Boys, not on this album).

Good. Felt like background music

Decent album with bunch of good songs. I enjoy Damon’s work with Gorillaz more

Nothing memorable.

This one is tough. I listened tot his in 1997 and it wasn’t my jam. Of course I liked song 2 but that’s not representative of This album. If I had to pick blue or oasis I go oasis all day the album started strong but slowed for me right around theme for retro. They brought it back with the Bowie influenced stuff towards the end but then Essex dogs rounding out the album kinda lost it for me again. Over all a fine album but meh

Holy shit it’s so much longer than I was expecting. Bring back the 2 hour long albums!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no out standing thoughts on this icl. Love me some Song 2 though, hell yes.

Always fell on the oasis side of these two bands, but glad to get a fuller picture of blur. Don’t think I’ve listened to this all the way through. Much more nuanced and skilled than I expect from Blur. Some nice variety and different sound. Maybe just misses out on 4*, but close! (3.5)

Has very peak peak song (song 2) in here but the rest I’m not going crazy over. Songs added: 6/32

Never liked Britpop bands but this album goes away from its formula. Creative compositions, it flirts with experimental pop, the production is varied and creative. Good album.

Coxon was one of my top artists last year, but this was mid

Ok album but, except for Song 2, it did not excite me.

There are some good moments beyond ‘Song 2,’ but nothing here really stands out

Overall this was a pretty good album. Some of the production was a bit too bizarre for my tastes, but this album had several enjoyable songs.

Album #2 by Blur and I’m still not impressed. I’m sure we’ll get 5 more to confirm their mediocrity. I’m struggling between a 2 and a 3. It wasn’t good, but was it wasn’t as bad as my other twos. Going with 3 to start the new year on a positive note.

There’s some good music being played here, but I’m not all for the antics that Blur throws in as well. The broken record static, the reverb, and the distortion all take away from what I’d like to be listening to. Overall it’s an okay album, but I wish it was simpler.

Well, this was certainly better than Parklife, so there's that. Song number 2 is a banger, I was hopeful the album would carry that vibe and energy and in spots it did, there was definately a bit more of an edge, a little something you can sink your teeth into. Unfortunately, those are offset by some misses, and those misses were horrid. Overall, interesting album with more good than bad.

Album cover is cool at least

Hitti ekki alveg í mark en góðu lögin góð

Ahh, langaði að hún fengi fjórar. Fínustu hugmyndir þarna (og þrjú góð lög) en annað ekki nógu áhugavert eða bara hreinlega leiðinlegt (lítið samt).

Liked it

I think I'm going to give this one a 3. I feel like it started off really strong and at first was thinking a 4 all day, but more I listened I started to not like it as much.

For as much as I was turned off by Parklife, this one was pretty good. I found the music better, the songs less boring/annoying, and the changes in style to work well together to keep it engaging. It ended up being something I would say I liked. I thought it started out strong with Beetlebum and Song 2 (the only one I was familiar with). The next few songs were pretty good too. Mostly I think I liked the instrumentation compositions in that stretch. It did start to lose steam around Theme From Metro, and it never quite regained the momentum it had at the start. There were some good moments sprinkled in, but the last half felt weaker than the first. The vocals were probably the worst part of the album for me, and they started to grate by the time it ended. That was worsened by the album's length. Much like Parklife, it just felt too long for what the album offered. I think it would've been a much better album if it were about 15 minutes shorter. Not all of the songs on it were great, so definitely some could've been omitted. I'll give Blur props here, as this was pretty solid. I still think there were some issues that detracted from elevating it higher. Even so, it was an enjoyable listened that I liked more than not. Overall: 3.3/4

Love this

6/10

This album would have been perfect if combined with 13 (perhaps with music is my radar added). Great hits, love the more orchestrated direction they were going. Some of the filler definitely gives a sense of where Albert would go, but is less gripping than Gorillaz (death of a party). Chinese bombs feels a little out of place

I liked the guitar tone, unique sounds, instrumentation, and arrangement in each song, but I was just underwhelmed on the whole?

I bought this album when it came out on the strength of Song 2, but also on the back of owning Parklife. This is musically complex and interesting, with strange and at times discordant sounds. It is probably a few songs too long.

not really my thing, wouldn't listen to it again

Liked about half of this pretty well

Paar banger drauf - song 2 all time classic, overall gut zum anhören, aber kickt jetzt auch nicht direkt für nen zweites listening. Tws bissi anstrengend. Eher nebenbei gehört. Vllt nochmal versuchen.

1. beetlebum - kinda know this one already and liked it. nice fuzzy guitar at the start. bass just kicked in, liking how it's building up. beat drop at the chorus, liking the chorus. the vocals and lyrics are quite nice as well, although i would rather listen to oasis (manchester!!!!!). different from the britpop that i was expecting. distortion at the end is realllly nice :) 2. song 2 - who doesn't know this song already? the guitar is nice on this, wasn't expecting it to be soo fuzzy on this album, but i am liking it a lot more than parklife. very grungy, especially compared to their britpop hits that i know. don't have much else to say. 3. country sad ballad man - twangy. damon albarn's voice is starting to annoy me. guitar during the chorus is nice. about halfway through the song and i have nothing to say apart from it's alright. same with the other two songs. nearly four minutes in got loud and it's getting good. the ending is good, rest of the song is a bit meh. 4. mor - almost a minute in, just got loud and good. so far, the quieter parts are agony, but the louder, more distorted parts of this album are good, probably because it's harder to hear damon albarn over the guitar. 5. on your own - more electronic. the guitar has been great throughout. wish damon albarn would shut up though. wish some of these songs were a bit shorter, it would be great if i liked them, but i don't and it's dragging. ☆6. theme from retro - liking the guitar and the drums at the start. organ just started, liking this more than the last songs. a lot more atmospheric/vibier, great so far. keyboard is reallly nice as well. more pulp-adjacent? sounds sleazier. ending is also great. probably going to be my favourite if the rest of the songs are anything like the first five. 7. you're so great - do not like this immediately. all the worst parts of whiny american 90s indie music. hate the crackling sound effect. the guitar is good in this but i'm getting a bit sick of it now, sounds very similar to all of the other songs. if oasis isn't on this list and blur are i'm going to blow myself up. how have i still got a minute left???? ☆8. death of a party - this was in all of us strangers and i liked it in that, but am now not looking forward to it considering the rest of the album. again, guitar is really nice, but the same distorted, fuzzy effect as literally all the other songs. keyboard and bass are nice, especially in the verses where the guitar stops and they get more of a chance to shine over the guitar. chorus is great. about halfway through and bit worried how there is still another half left. really enjoyed actually :) 9. chinese bombs - short song!!!!! punkier, liking the verses more so far. alright, liked it more than some of the other songs, but not much to say. 10. i'm just a killer for your love - drums are nice. bass is also nice. getting a bit tired of the constant distortion and fuzz of everything. guitar sounds squelchy((?) not sure if that is the right word lol), but i'm liking that. wish this was about half the length, still not entirely enjoying it, but it would still be a bit more enjoyable. 11. look inside america - right away do not like damon albarn's voice in this one, begging for the mega distortion to come back. liking the violins in this. bass is really nice as well. who says kooky??? just over halfway through and this album would've been a lot better for me if it was half the length. liking the moments with the harp near the end, but didn't last very long lol. ☆12. strange news from another star - very excited for this album to end now. more quieter, nice break from the constant fuzz. chorus has just started and is really nice. bowie inspiration is very clear on this one. just after second chorus now and loving it, even as it's getting louder again. loved this one, not excited for what the next song has to bring for me. 13. movin' on - again, alright, but nothing else to say. about halfway through this one, if someone put this on, i wouldn't complain, but i definitely wouldn't reach to put it on myself. squeaky distortion reminds me of the instrumental in the paw paw negro blowtorch by brian eno. 14. essex dogs - bracing myself for eight (8!!!!) minutes of this...... liking the bass and the spoken word so far, but still about seven minutes left. three mins left and will maybe try and relisten another time, getting the feeling i might enjoy this one more without the slog of an entire blur album before it. same issue as yesterday, highs and lows are even more drastic and not as many highs for me :( felt a bit uneven throughout - some really great ones, but a lot of it was just alright for me. pulp+oasis (and basically any other britpop band) over blur any day.

the turn away from their britpop sound makes this sonically interesting, you can hear the American grunge/metal influence, song 2 sounds on the surface like a lost Nirvana track. but lyrically this was way weaker than parklife.

6.5 / 10

An uneven album that has some very quality high points, but is very musically inconsistent and I feel struggles to define itself. Doesn't help that the best songs is by far the shortest and feels like an odd inclusion around the rest of the album. Solid but needs more direction. Top tracks: Song 2, Death of a Party, Movin' On

Weird

Shocked at how much I enjoyed this record.

I enjoyed listening, it’s a good album

Not bad, pretty well varied, though I do feel it could use some tightening up.

Favorite Track: Song 2

155 Es Blur siendo Blur en un disco llamado Blur donde hay canciones conocidas de Blur.

My crusade against britpop continues to cool down, but honestly? Is this even a prime example of britpop? They have different instrumentation from track to track, they actually use some pedal effects, and most importantly they have varying BPMs; long gone are the days of The Verve‘s static BPM. If anything this even reminds me of Pavement, and a look at their Wikipedia page confirms my thoughts, and now it feels very derivative, though luck britpop! 3/5

classic but lowkey only song 2 is good rest is mid loll

It was OK, I think maybe a little bit confused

Decent

Enjoyable but other than song 2 not many top level songs thing very normal interesting album.

Felt like an Americanized "Modern Life is Rubbish" taking influence from Pavement, Big Star, 90s grunge. The first bit is really good, but it falls off at the end at least on first listen as the act wears thin. This can also pertain to Modern Life is Rubbish 3.5/5- probably could go up to 4

I think i like it better now than when it came out. I’d revisit it.

Doubled vocals and Oasis-sounding instrumental suggest that this is a Britpop cornerstone album, and I'm a little surprised it didn't perform even better on the charts. In the opener, Beetlebum, it's almost gazey with the way the vocals are delivered and mixed. Quite hard to make out any lyrics apart from the title, and the guitar matches the melody loudly enough to drown out any finer details. It's a cool effect, and the interlude guitar part is really good, so it ends up being one of my favourites. Song 2 is also an obvious hit: it's short, sweet, and gets to the point immediately. And it has the poppy "yeah-yeah"s and "woo-hoo!"s the general audiences just eat up. Myself included, of course. From there the band falls into a mess of genres rooted in punk rock and early-90s alt. M.O.R. is a solid classic-rock-sounding track that lacks any major riff or melody that would make you want to come back. (The vocals are pretty great though. I point this out because in other tracks, like On Your Own, the singing is quite bad, and it's only the wacky guitar playing (etc.) that keeps them afloat.) Theme from Retro is straight out of a late-60s British movie soundtrack, what with its organs, slow airy drums, and sci-fi-ish synths played on a keyboard. It's jarring and slightly disappointing coming from a 1997 album. (Strange News from Another Star is the same era-wise, but sonically it's far more interesting.) Retro is followed by the peculiar but extremely memorable You're so Great, which is about as upbeat and "groovy" as a percussionless song can get. And it manages this even with an old crackly sound effect playing throughout. Chinese Bombs is the closest Blur gets to pure punk, meaning it's far from unique, but still passable. 3/5 Key tracks: Beetlebum, Song 2, You're so Great

3.7 - not the most gripping album.

Obviously Song 2 is the ripper everyone knows but otherwise fairly ploddy brit pop.

I can't slag an album for not being "Parklife," which is, by far the best Blur record. I came to this album pretty late in my discovery/re-discrovery of Blur. It's good. It's spacey and weird, and fun. But a classic? I don't know. 6/10

I wanted to like this more than I did. Kind of unremarkable to me except for Song 2 which of course, slaps to the moon and back.

Funny to get this album only a week after randomly getting Oasis. Song 2 is a catchy song but I don't enjoy it that much anymore after hearing it for the 100th time. Listening to 'On Your Own' now for the first time I liked that song way more. I thought I really liked the outro of 'Strange News from Another Star' however this is probably because it sounds exactly like 'Brain Damage' by Pink Floyd. 'Essex Dogs' is an insane song but I kind of love it. Overall the psychedelic athmosphere of the album is great for experiencing once although I don't see myself listening to it again anytime soon 3.5/5 stars

The first 2 songs were the best. I prefer some of their other albums over this one. Not great, not terrible.

Several members of Blur have gone on the record to say that they wanted this to be their American Rock Album. And you can hear it: grunge, alternative, indie-rock, and more. I guess Pavement was a big touchstone, which tracks. This album has a lot of the lower fidelity, quirky, texturally inclined indie stuff going on. And a song like You're So Great pushes it far enough that it almost sounds like a Guided By Voices song. I'd say this was a success overall. The core of Blur's brit-pop sound is very much here, but the indie aesthetics come through very clearly too. And it doesn't sound super disingenuous or put on either. They even scored a couple of hits in Beetlebum, and more notably Song 2. Beetlebum is one of the more British songs here: I believe it's a Beatles tribute, and it sounds it. On the other end of things, Song 2 is basically grunge: it's pretty much 100% fuzz, grunge attitude, and punk songcraft by volume. After this, Blur is pretty good. A lot of unconventional song structures and experiments with texture abound here. Most of them are very successful, from the aforementioned You're So Great's lo-fi pop, to the fuzz punk of Chinese Bombs, to the songs here that get a little trip-hoppy. I do think this could've been cut down a little, and every song does not feel essential. However, the consistency is generally there. A couple of neutral notes: it's interesting that a lot of the styles Blur is lifting from American bands here is from 5-ish years before this came out. It worked with their sound well, but it kind of does feel like Blur are playing cultural catch-up a little. Also, this was marketed as their weirder, more adventurous, "scarier" comeback, and I don't fully see it. I think this lands squarely into pop-rock, even with some of the weirder ideas, and I would be interested to hear these ideas pushed farther. Which, admittedly, may be what Blur offers on 13, which I should probably check out. Even if this isn't exactly what I was looking for, it was a cool step for Blur, and it largely paid off.

Кроме Song 2, тут больше особо ничего и не выделяется.

Simon likes this a lot. I found it a little samey

A period of blue that is not my favourite but still a good listen with a couple of standout tracks.

I like an effects pedal as much as the next man unless the next man is Graham Coxon. An occasional good tune on here, but a lot of it is just spoiled by an over-reliance on weird noises.

Is very ok

Good first half…lost me as it progressed. But the first two tracks are bangers.

Song 2 still bangs. The rest of it is just okay 90s Britpop. Oasis won the war.

Blur is one of the handful of Britpop bands I can appreciate. However, this album - which I never took the time to listen in full before - was a bit less exciting than I hoped. First couple of songs are great (Song 2 is famous for a reason, it sure caught lightning in a bottle), and I really enjoyed Death of a Party and the hallucinated feel of Theme from Retro. But the remainder of the album kind of drags on, and sometimes feels a bit dull. Most songs have great instrumental openings, then fall flat due to pop-ish (and often exceedingly muted) vocals. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad music ; Blur is a competent band, they're more diverse and creative than Oasis, and I can appreciate their various influences (from Bowie to The Pixies) and sonic experimentations. But overall it remains a pure product of its time ; even if it has aged reasonnably well, it fails to rise to the level of "classic album" in my opinion. A pleasant listen, but not truly memorable. 6/10

It's an album I only moderately enjoyed listening to; it's probably a bit too rock for my taste. I almost hesitated to give it a poor rating of 2 stars, but it deserves better. However, I readily acknowledge the presence of Blur's hits and that they have their own quite recognizable style.

Blur has always been more creative and more fun than the other britpop bands, even if most of their music is basically pop I never liked. This album is at least a moment of clarity. I read that main influence would be Pavement… yeah, maybe a tiny bit. The guitars finally open up, the sound is less clean, and it is by far less … British… from that creepy Oasis era. Easily their best album, and the only one I can listen to without pain from the whole Britpop scene.

3.5 - Solid album

Another Billion play song with "Song #2", but outside of that the rest really is just a blur.

6/10

Pretty good for 90's alternative/commercial rock

Olipas jotenkin outo kokemus. Alussa levy lähtee ihan mukavasti ja energisesti liikkeelle mut sit jotain tapahtuu ja loppuplatta onkin melkoista sekameteliä ja läpisoitantaa

Oli tässä jotain yritystä, mutta vähän tumputtamiseksi jäi.

Kai tää on blöörin joku vähän identiteettikriisilevy. Ainaskii sisältö on aika monisyistä. Joukkoon mahtuu tyyliltään monenmoista veisua. Eikä siinä, kyl mää tästä pändistä tykkään ja tää levykin on ihan jees. Jollain tapaa ei vaan lähe se yleissaundi joka tässä vallitsee. Kai se on vähän ominaissaundia sille ajalle, kun tää on pykästy pihalle. On tässä levyllä yks omista lööri-suosikeista eli avausraita Beetlepummi. Laulu kax on kans ihan takuuvarma hitti. Siit oon jotain juttua kuullut, että tekivät sen vähän kieliposkessa ajatellen sitä miltä ameriikkalainen rokkimusa kuulostaa, kun ison veen takana ei ollut blurraus kelvannut. No se sit men kivasti sillä ylipäänsä mantereella läpi. Mut, kokonaisuutena levy on "ei loistava eikä huono" eli iso kolmonen taas vaihteeks pöytään.

An interesting album, with an array of different styles. I'll go a high 3.

I like their other stuff more

A collection of some decent songs, bit less mainstream than I expected. (Will update review later)

Interesting choices at times. Enjoyed more than Parklife.

Didn't stand out in any way from the other works of blur or similar bands. Decent one time listen while i drifted to sleep. Would not listen again though.

This was more interesting than I was expecting. I'd only heard Song No. 2, which is still a great song. The rest of the album was more varied and energetic than I was expecting.

Boring the first blur album i got “Modern Life Is Rubbish” was way better

I HAD NO IDEA BIG TIME RUSH SAMPLED SONG 2 FOR THEIR SONG WINDOWS DOWN IMAGINE MY FACE WHEN I HEARD THE BEAT

Bit Boring 🥱

Average Brit rock from the 90s, saved by song2

Not bad. 2.5/5

cool

Just okay vs previous release

blur are good.

It was okay, had some solid hits in there and others that just kinda passed by (in a blur) without me really noticing them.

Some songs I liked. Some songs I didn’t. One I skipped after about a minute. I liked the alternate vibes of this album but it didn’t mix super well with its psychedelic element. It was relatively cool to finally discover the song that’s on like every single commercial ever. Wouldn’t listen again.

After 2 days of rap I was really happy when Blur appeared today. Then I listened to it, what a disappointment, apart from the first two tracks which I already knew and like, the rest is such a dirge. As a Mancunian I was always more Oasis than Blur in the 90's, turns out I was right.

Haiku review: To escape Britpop, to escape The Great Escape, Blur looked to the West.

They're no Oasis, that's for sure. ;)

Good

Song 2 has to be one of the most recognizable songs for most millennials, I feel like it was everywhere when I was a kid. Other than that I felt like the album was pretty average.

Again, I wish we had a more granular way of rating these albums. Song 2 is an all-timer and I did like a lot of the rest of this album. It's pretty unique but overall too long. I'm falling right between a 3 and a 4, but if I give it a 4 I'm saying it's the same as Californication, and if I give it a 3 I'm saying it's the same as all the other generic stuff we get on this list. Doesn't feel fair either way.

6/10 Cards on the table, I was never a britpop guy. I was too busy binging on grunge and punk at the time It was popular, but I'm always happy to give a chance to something I may have overlooked in the past. I obviously knew the big singles, it was hard to miss them as a living being in the late 90s, and this album starts off strong. I expected Beetlebum to be a tone setter, with its languorous vocal delivery, backed with a solid rhythmic base and some good melodic hooks to give it energy, but things seem to vary pretty wildly from then on. It kind of feels like a melting pot of different ideas, from both a musical and production point of view and it doesn’t really flow all that well as a result. It’s quite front and back loaded for me, with a big old lull of inconsistency in the middle. After the first couple of tracks, the consistency really dips and I found some of the tracks were fairly dull and uninspiring, despite apparent attempts to inject some experimentation and verve to proceedings. The production was odd, in that from one song to the next the vibe and tone would change from crisp and full to almost four track cassette demo levels of quality, which was quite jarring. I felt that the second half picked up quite a bit and some of that experimentation started to enhance the music, rather than feeling so disconnected from it. There was some great songwriting in places; interesting chord changes, nice harmonies and that aforementioned rhythmic base all contributing. There were also some tracks that leant towards the Gorillaz sounds that Damon Albarn would work with later in his career, which I enjoyed. I think this album has the makings of a very good 40 minute album, but as it is, it's just a little bloated and inconsistent, particularly in the middle. Beetlebum - A britpop classic. It’s almost lazy in its delivery, but the dynamic change into the chorus is great and the subtle backing vocals are solid. I like the way the vocal pushes and pulls the emphasis of the beat here and there. Song 2 - A throwaway joke of a song that becomes your biggest worldwide hit? Of course. It’s very simple and short, but it’s another classic. It’s got great energy and solid hooks, and that’s all it needed. Country Sad Ballad Man - You couldn’t drop the intensity much more. This is a fairly meandering little number. It feels like Graham Coxon is doing his best to inject something into it, but it just kind of plods along and Damon Albarn doesn’t sound like he’s particularly arsed about it. There are some nice moments here and there, but it does plod along a bit too much for me. M.O.R. - This is more interesting straight off the bat. Some cool guitar work, and when it launches into the song proper, there’s much better energy. The melodies are pretty good, and there’s a good bit of variety in the dynamic, which keeps things moving along. It’s not spectacular, but it’s pretty good. On Your Own - This is a bit of an odd one. It sounds like they’re trying to do two different things at the same time. There’s some semblance of an attempted anthem, alongside some sonic experimentation that sort of drowns out the base song, and it doesn’t really pull off either thing. It all just feels a bit muddled. Theme From Retro - We’re on to a wash of sound that just drudges on. It’s another lean towards experimentation, but it’s not experimental enough to actually be interesting. There’s no drive or variety to it at all, it just kind of exists and then stops existing. You're So Great - There’s something quite Dinosaur Jr about this track. It’s pretty nice, but compared to the rest of the album so far it very much feels like a demo, rather than a finished track, which is a bit odd. Death Of A Party - And we’re back too full on production. There’s more than a hint of Gorillaz to this. It’s got a bit of creeping menace to it in the verses and a nice switch up into the chorus. The organ part is great, and it’s got a good swagger to the rhythm, and Albarn’s delivery works much better on this one. This is much, much better. Chinese Bombs - Another stylistic switch up. This is almost punky, it’s got some good energy to it and it’s super noisy. Pretty good, but the stark changes in production style is confusing me quite a bit. It doesn’t feel all that coherent. I'm Just A Killer For Your Love - This is a bit cleaner, except for the vocal. The post chorus development is pretty good and has a bit of cool swagger to it. On one hand, I quite like the tone of this, but it doesn’t necessarily add in enough range or variety into the dynamic to really keep me fully engaged. The thrust of the rhythm is good though. Look Inside America - Good morning lethargy is a fairly fitting opening lyric for some of the tracks on this album, although not this one. It’s another stylistic switch up, but there’s some really good drive and pace to this one. The strings feel a bit forced, to be honest, but the pre-chorus and chorus are solid. The breakdown is a bit weird, but in a good way. Although it switches styles about a bit, it all feels like it’s pulling in the same direction, which is pretty satisfying. Like it. Strange News From Another Star - It’s got an interesting intro and then drops into something more plain. But it’s a good kind of plain. This is a really solid, relaxed effort that builds nicely into different sections. It’s quite Bowieish, even in Albarn’s vocal delivery. The production is simple but effective, and the sparing use of soundscaping really helps develop the dynamic depth , and then it launches into a noisy burst at the end, which it feels like it’s earned. Another good one. Movin' On - And the drive is back. I feel like this album has saved some of its best work for the end. This is hardly reinventing the wheel, but its got a good bit of zip to it, the experimental work all serves the narrative of the song and doesn’t overwhelm and there’s some really good build and release of tension and range. It definitely kept my attention, and had me tapping along. Essex Dogs - This is a cool end to the album. It’s got another edge of Gorillaz to it, and sonically, it’s really interesting. It’s got a really solid groove, and the subtle sung vocal that drifts in and out behind the spoken word vocal is great. Again, the experimental edge enhances rather than overshadows, and it ebbs and flows in a really satisfying way. A quality closer. And we get a bit more experimentation as a bonus track, which is a bonus bit of fun.

Firstly I must admit that I'm Oasis over Blur, I'd probably also take Damon Albarn's Gorillaz over Blur but nonetheless was excited to listen to this album all the way through for the first time. Outside of the the two openers everything was new to me. I will say that I think prefer this version Blur to their radio friendly Britpop sound but nonetheless this album still meanders along without every truly grabbing my attention. There's nothing necessarily wrong with any of the songs here, on the flip-side, there's nothing engrossing about any of them either. Decent overall but no higher. Favourites: Beetlebum, Song 2 Least favourites: Country Sad Ballad Man, Movin' On, Essex Dogs Rating 6/10

beetle, song2

I think it's a decent album, I like the overall composition. I don't think there's anything outstanding about it and there were also a few weak tracks. 3.4

second song is clearly why this is on here, the rest is fine but nothing special. 3.5 rounded down. 3/5

Oasis better

It got better is it went along

Recognized Song 2 and the rest was easy enough listening, but no stand outs to make me want to explore further.

I'm a big fan of Blur but was not a big fan of this. Sounded like a combination of cool Graham Coxon riffs with some proto-Gorillaz tunes but it didn't really work. Apart from Beetlebum and Song 2 of course.

Not quite Park Life but up there as Blur's best recordings. The energy of Song 2 and a mixed bad of lo fi guitars and synths make for an interesting album and reflection of the 90's

Better than the other Blur album that was on this list, but only slightly. Song 2 is still good, provided you haven't heard it in a while, but the rest was forgettable.

Can you guess which song I've heard more than others? This was pretty good, wish I had listened to it more when I was younger.

actually more varied that I expected. a bit of brit-pop some garage. not bad.

Super fun as always. If I had never heard it, I may feel like it is too in to itself if I am being honest. A little incohesive at times.

Ah yes, I remember listening to this after wondering who created Song 2. I still find it pretty striking how it sounds nothing like the rest of the album. This album has quite the variety, seemingly taking inspiration from different artists and styles, which makes it a fun listen. But in the end, I don't *love* this album, or any of the songs that much.

This album makes it painfully obvious that the list was created in the early 2000's. While it's fine, it's definitely not an album I would consider particularly good or even influential. It's a fine album with Song 2 being the obvious popular one that I'd heard very often before. But while its songs sound nice, it doesn't have that "influential" vibe that I would expect from albums in this list.

A lot of the building blocks for what would be the Gorillaz. A great listen, and fun throughout

I had only really heard Song 2 before this. I liked the first half of the album quite a bit, toward the end it felt like there was stuff on there that didn’t really measure up to the other songs. But still, pretty good album.

This was one of those that you know but you didn’t know you knew. Weird. Good though. Like pimento cheese. I’d eat it.

There’s a few really fun tracks and cool experimentation. I’m not the most fond of his voice, but I can appreciate the style here. A few tracks left a bit to be desired

Easily the best of the 3 Blur albums we have had so far. This one had some cool trippy aspects to a lot of the songs which I was getting down to. Kept reverting back to pretty typical British 90s rock which is not my fav, but overall this was much higher over my expectations!

This was all right, a little Nineties nostalgia, but I got bored with it by the end and the memorable Song 2 has been overused in advertising.

I personally prefer their Brit pop Kinks- inspired era but this had some great songs on there which really derive from their usual sound, something I can respect although I don’t know too much about their publicity struggles and why this album helped to get them more popular in a way. I actually didn’t like side 1 all that much other than the first 2 (the hits) and the last one on there. Side 2 was better in my opinion with some more interesting and unique songs. That’s something I like about Blur, in the 3 albums i’ve heard from them they like to change it up as they go through an album. There was a clear focus on American indie rock as was the intention which was executed fine but didn’t really interest me in comparison with the more blasting punky songs on here, I guess that’s because it fits what I like about Blur. Although, as I said, the last song on side A was really great and sounded very American Indie rocky, it specifically reminded me of Yo La Tengo and even more specifically their “I can hear the beating heart as one” album. Mostly though I liked a select few songs and the rest were just ok. Favourites: You’re so great, Death of a party, Chinese bombs, Movin’ on and I guess the first 2 although not something I would actively listen to myself as they get played quite a lot anyway. Overall, 6/10.

Okay but not great, British

I like this, I’ll have to listen again. This grew on me. Not obsessed with the first half, but the back half creeps in and really made me enjoy this record more. Strange News from Another Star sounds like an old Bowie tune. I really like how they interpolate Song 2 into Movin’ On, huge fan of that. Also enjoyed the sound of Chinese Bombs…but so short! I had no idea this is where Song 2 came from! Also so short! And I had no idea that one of the creatives from this band went on to form Gorillaz. I’m happy I listened to this. But I don’t think it resonates greatly with me. 3/5

Enjoyable album, good bit of versatility, obvious stand outs were beetlebum and song 2, there's a good reason they're the most well known.

3.0 - Ok

This record was ok! Song 2 is a classic, but not much of the rest jumped out at me. Cool guitar work, laidback vibes, not bad!

Pretty decent, feels a bit bloated but not bad by any means.

Blur always edged out Oasis for me - more art-school mischief, less pint-glass bravado. When they veered into American indie territory, chasing Pavement and Sonic Youth, things got deliciously strange. Still, Britpop never fully caught me until The Libertines showed up and set it on fire with poetry and ruin.

It’s alright. It’s very average

Sounds like a Gorillaz knockoff.

This didn't do much for me.

Besides the hits this really didn’t do that much for me

Some bangers but as a whole I don't love it. 3.5 realistically but landing on a 3

It's pretty good, energetic and engaging but at the same time the sort of experimental, too cool for you vibes that they bring, special Albarn, make the record. While the obvious standout is "Song 2", I really liked the second half of the album, which has a more laidback vibe with songs like "Look Inside America" or "Strange News from Another Star".

Yeah I dunno, its Blur again, Song 2 the obvious hit since we've all heard it a million times, I liked beetlebum alright, maybe better than parklife, but the rest just confirmed I don't like blur too much

83/1089 having listened to one album each from Oasis and Blur (Morning Glory and Blur respectively) i think i can say that i’m team Oasis. I think Blue has some cool moments and maybe higher heights in some ways but as a whole Morning Glory is far superior. i found that a lot of these songs sort of blended together and weren’t what i was expecting/hoping for from Blur Essex Dogs was a really cool track to end on, very vibes-based and prog, i wish more of the album had given me this kind of experimentation faves: Song 2 of course, Essex Dogs, Movin’ On, Death of a Party 62/100

Song two was the only song I knew and the only song I enjoyed. After the record was done Spotify played a bunch of recommended artists based on this record. I liked all those songs better than this record.

It's got that "wee hoo!" song we all know. Otherwise pretty cool 90s rock with a punk/grunge flavor, some acoustic stuff. It's got some stranger stuff on there too, a little experimentation with sounds and things.

Pretty mid song wise. I still like Song 2 and enjoyed Strange News From Another Star which I don't know if I had heard before. Very Artic Monkeys vibe going on. Cover: 5/5 good composition and very emo style appropriate for the album.

I bought this CD off eBay in 2011. Solid, enjoyable, but I don’t think it transcends. Still disappointed they didn’t bring Del the Funky Homosapien in for a feature.

Never got into the whole Britpop craze - the closest I came was enjoying the Oasis albums. Or maybe loving the Trainspotting soundtrack - yeah, that's probably it. I did/do like "Song 2" but mainly when it's blasted at sporting events. The rest of this didn't bother me as much as I expected it to. And obviously it hasn't changed since 1997, so I suppose I have. (I considered the possibility that I have grown, but that seems unlikely.) I am finding, however, with a lot of these albums I like them for about 4-5 songs but then get tired of them and like them less by the end of the album. I wonder if that is related to the way our consumption of music has changed in the streaming age where we can call up any song any time we want and we are mainly listening to playlists and not albums. Do I just not have the attention span for an album that I used to? Whatever the case may be (maybe it's just because it's Friday afternoon,) I dare say I like this album.

Album was a bit all over the place. Some juvenile sounding stuff, some slower songs, some more poppy. Overall not too bad b

Not as good as the other album of theirs that was on here but maybe I just wasn't paying attention. Also Song 2 sucks and the Ottawa Senators suck. Just to make it clear.

It is a good album, I realy liko the secondy music in the album...I don't remenber when but i listening the secondy yet. But in geral it's good to listening and relex.

Pretty standard Brit-rock with some really good guitar tones throughout. “Song 2” is one of the most famous rock songs ever, so that definitely counts for something. Best Track: Song 2

Favourite Track: Beetlebum, death of a party

Damon Albarn owes an awful lot to Bowie (a lot of artists do but some make it more obvious). Also didn't realize THAT song was by Blur or called Song 2. A fine record and a decent record, but I think I prefer Damon as a cartoon

Good stuff. Just doesn’t get me excited enough for anything more than good.

Nostalgia brings the score up I guess.

A bit of an old childhood favourite this one. I remember thinking how different it felt when it came out, especially compared to their previous output. In hindsight, there’s a fair bit of filler in between the good tracks but this still holds fairly well

There are a couple of good tracks on this album, Song 2 being by far the best.

Really enjoyed the first half of this album. The second half drops off a but for me and feels a little uneven, but still a solid 90s album. Highlights: “Country Sad Ballad Man” and “On Your Own”

Everyone knows the "one song" off this album. I'm more familiar with Blur's catalog, but I have never listened to this album in it's entirety until now. Glad I did.

Better than Parklife. Still fairly boring.

Song 2 hits like a stone, but that's all. 6/10

I recognized the first two songs. The rest was mediocre. Death of a Party gave me Air vibes. Low 3.

A bizarre inclusion. Good record. But kinda a boring, meandering, and uninteresting entry in a great Blur catalog. 2.5/light 3 is my real score. Nothing to dislike; but they have some awesome records, so there’s really no reason to waste time with this one.

Upper end of three, but got a little boring after a while.

I’ve heard one of their songs before. It was cool to listen to but tbh I didn’t finish

It was alright. Good album, probably won’t listen to most of the songs again. Kind of dense. Favorite songs were Beetlebum and Strange News from Another Star.

Interesting listen. Really good run to start, then there were a few I wasn't too crazy about. Some parts of the instrumentals reminded me of Portishead. Not as crazy about this as Albarn's other stuff

Never really got along on with Blur, but it’s probably still a 3/5. Seems like the only rating I’ve been giving out. It's not as good as Madvillainy.

Need to give it another listen soon and will

Great one two opener but dont feel the rest of the album lives up to it

Classic 90s rock sound. Very distinct vibes from Blur. Not my favorite, but it’s good for what it is.

Good …

Really enjoyed the first two songs but didn’t really like the rest of the album

No jaa, Song 2 taas loistaa ja pomppaa joukosta, mutta muuten sellaista vähän quirkyä rokkia mikä ei kauheesti iske. Ei taaskaan huonoa, mutta en löydä oikein mitään erityisen hyvääkään. Parhaat: Song 2, Strange News From Another Star

Eh. Some good songs on here no doubt, just didn’t love this in its entirety.

This was kinda fun - hadn't really listened to Blur previously. 3.5ish

Very jammy in an Oasis covers Zeppelin kind of way. Song 2 is a classic riff and it's neat to see what else was around at the time. I think a lot of it is kind of meandering, none of the lyrics super jumped out to me but I think I'm listening to music differently now that I play it so much. I think Damon Albarn is sort of a syllable/melody first writer (evidenced by Gorillaz IMO) and I have never really listened to Blur but I can see where other music of his comes from. All the songs have a vibe that gets the message across.

Much better than I remember as a teen. Very multilayered.

i like the most when there isn't guitar and it sounds like gorillaz

Not bad. Not really my cup of tea either

One of the greatest and most recognizable songs of all time in Song 2. Absolutely legendary and almost 30 years later, the song is still fantastic and you can't help but rock out to it....which apparently immediately outs me as an American. I had no idea they were this huge in the UK. For other confused Americans out there, the lead singer and chief song writer for Blur, Damon Albarn, also created The Gorillaz. This self-titled album was basically a rebirth after they almost broke up. They wanted to evolve from the Britpop scene and this album was a huge risk that paid off. It's harder, more experimental, and often times quite dark like in Death of a Party. Overall it's a great rock album and a great example of a already popular band reinventing themselves and ascending to new heights.....which we have seen so many times and is what separates legendary artists from the the status quo. It's a big risk. Much easier for a solo artist than a band.

Song 2- 🌟 (star of the album) Song 2- 💕 (enjoyed) Country Sad Ballad Man, Theme from Retro- 👎(did not enjoy) Bettlebum, M.O.R, You're so Great - 🤷‍♀️ (eh)

Me gusta mucho Blur, aunque este no es mi albúm favorito. Siempre me ha gustado más Parklife o The Great Escape. Que por cierto el documental Blur: to the end fue genial.

I was previously familiar with "Song 2" from this album. It's a good song, and much of the rest of the album isn't bad either. It doesn't really grab me much either after one listen. I would listen again, but not necessarily excited to do it right away.

Despite being a fan of Damon Albarn, this was the first time I’d listened to Blur. This is a surprisingly eclectic and very British mix of sounds and styles. “M.O.R.” brings Beatlesque power pop while “Chinese Bombs” sounds like first-wave English punk. “On Your Own” sounds like a group sing-along at the pub. ‘Theme From the Retro” recalls early Pink Floyd, while “You’re So Great” wouldn’t be out of place on a Guided By Voices LP from the same era. Things start to take on a demo/outtake quality the deeper into the album you get, and while this may be worth revisiting, Gorillaz to my ears sounds eminently more fresh and vital.

Song 2 is etched into my brain for no other reason that it was one of the first easily findable files on the internet when the MP3 first came along. It's also great riff and catchy tune.

my least fav of the good Blur albums, not disgustingly British enough

It probably says something when the best song on your nearly hour long album is a two-minute song that goes “Woo-Hoo” constantly. Every sports arena in the world thanks Blur for their service because of those two minutes. Outside of Song 2, the rest of this is hit-or-miss. There some other good songs here, but nothing I’d go crazy for. I think there’s potential that I see Blur as more than a one-hit wonder. But that potential’s not really here. Favorite track: Song 2 Other hits: M.O.R., On Your Own, You’re So Great, Beetlebum

Fun but a little long. Favorite Song: Theme from Retro

Las primeras canciones están guays, pero luego va en decadencia poco a poco haciendo que pierda el interés

Song 2 is the big radio hit.

So long

Classic 90s album. Nuff said!

Blur have a reputation for being more of a singles band than an albums one. This does nothing to break that. Beetlebum and Song 2 are great but there’s also a lot of weird experimental sounds that didn’t need to make the final cut

I like Blur. A lot. This album was the last one I purchased, and I remember why. There are songs that are too experimental, there are songs that are just noise… and the there are songs which are so wonderful it hurts to have them alongside the rest of the album.

There's a lot more variety here than I was expecting. Didn't like most of it though.

WOOHOOO

Song 2 is a 5* song and there were a few other decent listens too, but overall I found the album quite mid tier

Not my usual genre... So it is very hard for me to rate fairly ..musically it sounds like seventies funk meets 90's rock. If you gravitate towards that...it is a clear winner!

Song 2 felt familiar. Rest was a bit hectic.

7/10 - very good britpop, song 2 being the obvious highlight

It was fine

The music is fine but I lost a lot of respect for Blur when I watched them bully Nardwuar during one of his interviews.

At first it was a 2 but then I heard Curtis playing it again and was like okay this is alright… so 3 it is.

I sometimes feel like these albums get put on because they have that one song that everyone knows. There were some good ones on this album but most just felt like random.

Of course I knew Song 2 was a banger. I first got introduced to Damon Albarn through his other project Gorillaz. He's incredibly talented, and I love how Gorillaz let him try new things out that didn't necessarily fit Blur. So it's cool to finally circle back to actually hear what the band was that didn't match the sound of the newer work he wanted to release as Gorillaz. But M.O.R. was pretty great too. On Your Own is too. A few songs in, and it's clear that Blur has a distinct vibe from Gorillaz, but yeah it's still unconventional. Some of the songs just felt like they were another genre just for the sake of it, despite that they weren't bad songs. The songs weren't bad at all. The album however didn't flow, didn't have a theme. So that kind of holds it back, but it IS new/unique and well made. I would listen again but probably wouldn't recommend it except to fans of Damon Albarn.

Interesting what they did with Disc 2 being the live versions, I liked that. Actualy music: I only liked 2 songs (the obvious ones)

Vintage Brit-pop… a fun listen for the most part.

song 2, M.O.R., youre so great, Chinese bombs are good, the rest are boring

Blur published great records, but I'm afraid this one is NOT one of them - despite its high ratings. The opener „Beetlebum“ is brillant, catchy and yet rough, but the rest of the records contains plenty of noisy crap and medieocre tracks, that are instantly forgettable. Which is why I decided to give this record away many years ago and give Parklife and/or The Great Escape an additional spin instead.

Can hear the grunge influences. Soundgarden or Judas and Mary Chain in places. Guilty of not listening to the albums over best ofs and compilations. A fascinating album with incredibly high highs and self-indulgent lows. One of those albums that should be shorter. Can an album with so many skippable songs be a 4/5? Or should you rank it as tho it's the sum of its best 4 or 5 tracks?

This was a good listen! I’ve been having a major Oasis phase and though I do see some parallels… this feels a little more flat. Some of the production is incredible, like On Your Own. Essex Dogs was an interesting way to cap off the record as well. Damon has such a unique voice I immediately recognized it when I started listening. I’ve only heard his gorillaz work! Overall, it was decent. On a better day I might lean closer to 4 but I think a 3 is justifiable.

Good if retrospectively unexceptional?

This does like 8 genres and usually worse than an actual artist in the genre But lowkey this probably should have a higher rating I just hate music this morning

Song 2 is the second track and is undeniably catchy. Didn't really vibe with the rest of the britpop though

I’ve never been a particular blur fan as always found the way Damon Albarn sings to be very annoying That said, this was much better than I remembered it being A decent lofi scuzzy album this

Good album. I really like "Song 2". Not sure how these guys ended up being compared to Oasis.

It’s ok

Mid 3 Best song: beetlebum Damen and the boys show here why they're a quintessential "best of" band. Bold choice putting the 2 bangers right at the front. Rest of the album has far less effort in production but is p good, but it gets worse in second half

A very solid album. From the opening track ‘Beetlebum’ through to the absolutely rocking (albeit short) ‘Song 2’ and beyond - this puts to rest any notion of Blur as anything short of excellent.

Gutes Album, aber ein paar Stücke hat man inzwischen so oft gehört, dass es sich ein bisschen erschöpft hat.

disappointing. i really expected a bit more.

Woohoo! The band who's most famous song is called "Song 2". This album has a wide variety of musical flavors, from punkish rock bangers to zoned out cinematic passages. One thing though is the album feels like your drunken English uncle who happens to be talented at music threw it together. Sometimes I have no clue at all what the vocalist is trying to get across. Decent overall.

Couple good songs

An interesting bridge to 00s indie rock, but not one I personally enjoy

this album sounds so derivative of other popular rock that came before it. song 2 sounds like its trying to be nirvana. strange news from another star sounds like its trying to be bowie. why dont I just listen to them instead?

Woo-hoo!

Early 2000s British rock, first half of album was solid, second half was uneventful. Lot of overdriven guitar and other noises and sounds.

Première partie très cool, deuxième partie rompiche

Beetlebum is the only good Blur song.

i'm such a fuckin yank. Damon Albarn's voice in this context rather than Gorillaz is jarring to me lol. this is honestly a pretty well-rounded album. a lot of studio fuckery and experimentation that gives each track its own flavor. perhaps all the American indie rock influence piped into this made it easier for me to latch onto than britpop. deserves to be one of the 1001? i mean if you're dead set on having 3 Blur albums this one does have its own character and importance. but i would lean on Parklife and probably 13 as the only inclusions. but if you choose this over 13 i won't be mad

Blur – Blur (1997) | Britpop / Alternative Rock | Avg: 6.69 | Favorite Song: “Beetlebum”* Blur marked a turning point for the band, shedding the bright, cheeky nature of Britpop in favor of grittier textures and more introspective songwriting. Blur is a mixed but fairly rewarding experience. “Beetlebum” comes out on top, and it’s easy to see why—it’s emotionally charged, melodically rich, and sets the tone for a darker, more mature Blur. Tracks like “Song 2” and “Death of a Party” also show up well, bringing that fuzzed-out edge without losing cohesion. However, I'm not as high on those as others are. The back half of the album seems to lose me a bit, with a few dips into the 5 or even 3 range. That kind of inconsistency is expected with a transitional album like this one; there’s experimentation and moodiness, but not every idea lands. Still, there’s a lot of charm in the record’s looseness. When it works, it really works, and even when it doesn’t, the band sounds like they’re breaking free of a formula. Blur may not be as polished as earlier records, but it makes up for that with depth and rawness.

This was an album with music played by people.

What's the deal with every band eventually saying 'this song almost didn't make the album, but XYZ said it was a hit...and I guess they were right'? I'm sure it is true sometimes, but do bands really have no idea what could be a hit or not? Anyway, Blur supposedly wrote Song 2 as a pisstake of Nirvana, and it is of course their biggest song ever. Blur has always been a good to great band, but this album is where they kinda slipped a bit, imo. Still good, but they did better work both before and after this one. For the record, my Britpop list goes 1. Pulp >>>>>> 2. Blur > 3. Suede >>> 4. Oasis, so I don't know how that factors into this rating. It's not a 4, but better than a 3 too, so...I guess it is a very high 3. :shrug: :whoohoo:

I could see blur being one of my favorite bands if I was born 10 years earlier.

Decent. I like some of the songs. No one can understand the impact of Song 2 though. It was everywhere. Blur is one of those bands that has some songs I absolutely love, and the rest I find ok.

Oh, wow. Song 2 was actually the second song on the album. Whaddayaknow?

After listening to this album, it feels like it was made with the intention of being a rock album that explored uses of machine or alienlike noises to make something new. Some songs feel more typical and imo, balance the experimental elements towards appealing to those new to these sounds. Personally my favorite parts were the beginning and end of the album, as the middle seemed to me like a lot of noise and I had a hard time feeling musicality. Definitely a well produced album, though some of the choices with mixing, especially with vocals and the effects, did seem a bit unorthodox. Maybe the album was going for an unsettling vibe partially, but I think either way it isn’t a casual listen but rather an experience for certain states of mind. My favorite songs were beetlebum, song 2, look inside america, amd strange news from another star. Once I looked back breifly to remind myself, I think the fade outs were where most of my issues with the album lie though, worth another listen sometime.

I didn't listen to Song so Song 2 was kind of confusing

Got some good stuff but a little drav

Song 2 is awesome. Very fun. The rest of the album is fine, but forgettable.

In all honesty, not being British has limited my awareness of Blur as a band. They have 1-2 songs on the radio here, they never caught my attention outside of "Song 2" which freakin' rocks! Everything else I heard was down tempo and meanderingly boring. I bought their greatest hits cd years ago, and sold it, only had 3-4 songs I'd want to hear more than once. Outside of that I remember the tabloid beef with Oasis as being their biggest thing here in the states, two bands I never gave a shit about so that wasn't of interest either. Standouts for me... "Beetlebum" was enjoyable, must've been a hit somewhere as it has 90M listens. "On Your Own" is a solid track, good energy kind of song, coulda been a Gorillaz song. I enjoyed "Death Of A Party" as well, that one is very Gorillaz-esque. "I'm Just A Killer For Your Love" has a good rock groove. I'm not sure how they became a global sensation and on every cover of every music magazine in the late 90's. They're good but not great. 3 stars, the warts like "Essex Dogs", "Chinese Bombs", & "Strange News..." were too much to overlook.

När albumet kom, var känslan att Blur till slut vunnit kriget mot Oasis (även Shity-fansens debut krossar allt annat de båda antagonisterna producerat). Hur står den sig då idag? Nja, precis som Blur i övrigt känns det lite småtråkigt så här 25 - 30 år senare. De två inledningsspåren håller fortsatt hög klass, men totalt sett är det lite intetsägande. Det mals på utan att riktigt rycka tag i en. Närmare till ett lägre betyg än ett snäpp uppåt.

Standout Songs: Song 2 M.O.R. You’re So Great Chinese Bombs Movin’ On This album is honestly kind of boring and a chore to get through. Outside of a couple of the faster paced songs, it’s just so… mild. It’s not bad. Some sections of this album just seem to drag a bit, making its 56 minute run time feel like 2 hours.

I can see myself coming back to relisten to a couple songs here and there, but not the album in full. It's missing the energy they had in Song 2

I don't think I've ever listened to this album all the way through. In the war between blur and Oasis - I liked Pulp. Don't get me wrong, I think Beetlebum is a brilliant opener, On Your Own and M.O.R feel more like the blur that I remember and enjoyed, along with tracks like Movin' On it's fun and playful, they don't seem to take themselves too seriously. I think it's a great experimental album for blur but I'm not sure that I wouldn't skip this and probably go straight to 13 which I think best melds their love of US underground with their britpop roots. This album for me is at times not experimental enough to be interesting and not nostalgic enough to be draw me back in. So many 4 and 5 stars in blur's catalogue but for me this is a 3. It's decent but that's about it. Except for Song 2, I can't stand Song 2 - not because it's particularly bad but because it's so overplayed and I'm tired of hearing it everywhere.

Strong start here but it gets ethereal and whispy after that. Loses it luster for me. I've liked Parklife and the one with the train on it much more. This one just isn't that great to me. Listenable but not worth revisiting. Also song 2 is a bop but it reminds me of middle school basketball cause it was warm ups for the whole time I played ball. Weird blast from the past, good song though

Song 2 is the hit of the album. Huge late nineties hit. The first half of the album has that late nineties alt/indie pop rock sound - a notable shift from the early to mid nineties as we transition into more Britpop influenced radio songs. The second half of the album is a little harder sounding - more like Godsmack-ish - heavier distortion effects on guitar, more use of noise. There’s a lot of influences on this album - Sex Pistols, Oasis, Velvet Underground/Lou Reed all come to mind. Other notables include Country Sad Ballad Man, Death of a Party, Look Inside America, Movin’ On.

Oh another British pop-rock album. Yawn.

Pretty good

Not bad, but really bounced off me

Blur has an album that is nearly an hour long! They have more songs than Song 2 after all. But actually, this is a pretty solid album. There is another song I know by them that isn't on this album... Blur had a second album! Who knew. I'm going with 3.

Overall pretty fun

Song 2 is the best. Rest is ok

downloaded 1,2,5,6 and 11. listened years ago

6.5/10 Pretty much just Nevermind

I enjoyed it more than Parklife. Solid album, sounds a lot more like Oasis which I doubt they wanted to accomplish. I could start to hear some more experimental stuff come in that would lead to the Gorillaz. Overall not too shabby

The first two tracks are typical, impactful Blur immediately recognisable and strong. I've always had a soft spot for 'Beetlebum' and the song 2. Beyond those, the album gets a little messy. I usually appreciate Blur's ability to maintain their style while offering good song variation, which typically keeps me engaged throughout an album. On this one, however, the flow feels a bit off, and it can be disjointed. There are certainly interesting moments within the songs, but the lack of continuity detracts from any overarching album theme. It also has a more pronounced classic rock vibe than their other works, with some heavy themes explored. It didn't quite land as a hit for me, but it's not entirely terrible.

Song 2 was bar far the best song

Enjoyed this one, and of course Song#2 is a classic, and the standout track in this album. Solid 3/5 for me.

Hmmm I found myself enjoying several individual tracks, but as an album it felt somewhat... disjointed? There's a little bit of everything on this, which typically is my thing, but here it felt sorta inauthentic. It almost felt like Blur were taking a step back from the brit pop explosion for the first time and realizing “wow there’s a lot of other cool music going on right now, we don’t have to just do brit pop, we can do other shit”… and then they tried a little bit of everything on this album. So there's a Portishead track and a Radiohead track (theme from retro for sure) and a Kinks track (look inside America has strong kinks energy) and more. Some of it works better than others? I’ve never really been a big trip hop fan (I really don’t get Portishead), so those inclusions were a bit lost on me (I’m looking at you Essex dogs, all 8 minutes of you). The Radiohead influence I actually found quite jarring. This thing came out after the bends and before Ok computer, but certain melodies and instrumental choices felt very The bends/creep inspired. I mean I’m sure Blur was an influence on Radiohead in some way since Blur was the bigger band at the time. But the darker/moodier melodies and guitar tones felt very Radiohead. And they did it so accurately that it felt distracting at points. Took me out of the experience. To be clear though, I did enjoy this album overall. The song writing is great. There’s some really catchy stuff here. I can feel the influence of this album on many future rock albums. And I can feel Albarn creeping towards the gorillaz sound which I think is perhaps the “final form” of these early experiments. This album is way more interesting than every oasis album, which doesn’t say much but what’s a blur review without a reference to Oasis. I love and respect that they are experimenting with their sound and taking a ton of swings on this thing rather than just doubling down on their britpop stuff. Not that there’s anything wrong with that stuff. It just seems that the band is saying through this album, we’ve done that sound and we don’t have anything more to say with it and we want to do something different… and I think that’s a hard realization to have and pursue. So I really respect that. Perhaps with more listens, the album of it all will come together in my mind. For now I kinda just want to take the tracks I love and stick em in a playlist. It’s a 3.5 for me but I’m going to round down. Stuff I liked….
 Beetlebum - love the falsetto chorus, great track Song 2 - it’s an all time grunge, alt rock banger. Weirdly I was introduced to it through an MCR cover, which still rocks. The original is the superior version of course. Plus, it’s one of those great examples of art meant as satire that was ultimately taken literally and loved unironically…. which always makes me laugh. Country Sad Ballad Man - some nice slacker rock, has pavement vibes with a hint of country 
 You’re so great - just a sweet, catchy little acoustic track. Loved it. Might be my new favourite Blur song. Chinese Bombs - great punk track. Almost felt like Arctic Monkeys before Arctic Monkeys.

Eh. A few good songs and a few that just drag.

Other than a couple of throw-away songs on this album, I thought it was fine. But this is the 3rd album by Blur that has been on this list of 1001 for me to review so far. More evidence that this list is just too long. Another ho-hum three star album.

3+ Stars (9/15)

Beetlebum and Song 2 are great. Pretty nostalgic for me, having just been at the age to discover "proper music" when the album came out. The rest is bitty, though. Some interesting experimental elements. Too much discordant, quite unpleasant sounding lo fi.

Really strong start to this one but fell off a cliff at the halfway point. I do struggle with Blur. I like the singles but beyond that there’s very little of interest to me.

gud

Très différent de Song 2 que j'ai beaucoup trop écouté (et qui était une blague apparemment). C'est plutôt bon. Je donnerais 7/10, pas 8/10.

Their 4th best

Cover 6.5 Doesn't entirely live up to expectations or up to time. But it's not 80s "butt rock" or 70s disco which faired worse as far standing the test of time. Granted both disco and butt rock found their niche here and there, but 90s alt has yet to be scorned and reviled at similar levels (save one or two rock groups who people simply enjoy hating on (Nickelback, etc.). Overall, I'm glad I listened to this album. I didn't care for it when it originally came out, but I was less open than I am now.

Better than parklife

Above average album from this late 1990s/early 2000s British era. Song 2 is an all-timer. Nothing too remarkable but nothing particularly unenjoyable either. 6/10 (3/5)

A couple great stand outs, but otherwise a fairly generic sounding "garage"/grunge album.

Never really got Blur, apart from a few undeniably great tracks. First time listening to one of their albums start to finish - still don't get it.

nice enough

One banger and the rest meh

Nice enough

Even as a big damon fan, I find listening to most Blur albums is not really for me. I would say about every other song on here is good though

Maybe the Blur album I’ve liked most on this list, if only for sounding less generically britpoppy. Still, aside from Song 2 (the only one I’d heard before), pretty mediocre. Favorite: Song 2

6/10 - can kinda be slept on a bit tbh. Doesn’t quite have the more high brow music that comes to dominate blurs later work

Love Blur, Damon Albarn is seriously talented. Not my favourite album though, I much prefer Parklife and The Great Escape. Song 2 is iconic tho

3.5

Too much filler among the killers

I only knew the second track, which is the one everyone knows. I had it on a mix CD I made in high school, so it was one of my cruising the neighborhood rock out tunes. In the back of my mind, I always thought I should listen to the full album, so I was happy to see this prompt. The rest of the album lacks the energy of Song 2, however, so I was disappointed. The vibe really settles in on the last few tracks, and there are some good vibes and sounds, but for the most part, uneventful.

Get off to a great start but tails off into something pretty uninteresting it’s a shame cause I was excited when this one came up

One song that’s recognizable but otherwise forgettable.

beetlebum and song 2 are so good and the rest of the album is just a....blur

Beetlebum Song 2

Some solid singles, Enjoyable album overall.

Not a bad album, just kind of boring.

The joke song becomes the hit and the rest is solid but can see why a little levity/self sabotage can create something better.

Some songs you’ll recognize. Green Day feel

90’s rock classic

i dig it. song 2 is lowk modern indie classic. country sad ballad man is lowk whiny but thats def the point. i like M.O.R. nothing stands out a whole lot but none of it is bad thats for sure. very brit pop. i can taste the bowie. i like it but it also doesnt stand out. i lowk just cant do the brits ig

A lot of stylistic experimentation on this one ends up making the album feel a little disjointed. Definitely a big departure from the ‘90s Brit-pop sound of their earlier albums. This feels like a very talented band with varied musical interests feeling around for a new direction. Favorite tracks: Song 2, I’m Just a Killer for Your Love, Look Inside America

It's ok, I guess?

Just OK.

O disco começa muito bem com Beetlebum e já engata com a clássica Song 2. Uma pena que, além dessas duas, meu único destaque seja para a bela Strange News from Another Star. O resto do disco passeia entre faixas agradáveis e outras esquecíveis. Momentos como Essex Dogs tornam o disco praticamente um borrão na minha memória. Nada do que ouvi no disco homônimo do Blur é propriamente ruim, mas esperava mais.

Started off strong but fell off pretty quick.

Rating 3.25 Notable songs: song2, beetlebum You know what for a blur album this actually wasn't that bad. The first 2 songs are obviously bops, especially in the UK. The ones following were alright and weren't too bad. I never got to the end songs due to time but it was actually okay, which I don't often say about blur. Probably their most notable album though.

Did not give this album as much attention as I would've liked when listening. Beetlebum is nice.

Some good songs in there but not anything that really hits home for me.

Beetlebum // Song 2 // Country Sad Ballad Man // Theme from Retro //

A diverting listen, but wouldn't be back. I don't really get Blur, they straddle, and stay in, the boring parts of Britpop. Quite dreary without too many musical flashes. I'm m not a fan of the songwriting. An extra star for Song 2 brings up the rating.

Not sure I've heard this album before. Not as good as the previous album we had. Song 2 and beetlebum are pretty good though. Progeny said this last time, but I was never a big blur fan Still a 3 if not 3.5

It’s got this classic rock thing blended with texture sometime that I really appreciate.

Better than Coldplay

This has aged better than I was expecting, and has some decent songs on it. Nothing too exciting, but I'd happily listen to again.

OK rock