Blur

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

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

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

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

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

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

im so tired of blur. its just awful

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

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

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

Blur does blur things. Woo hoo.

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

Not a disaster but I didn’t like it

Disappointing.

Classic Blur, fantastic britpop album

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

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

Cool, interesting, vibes, grungy, a little nostalgic

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

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

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

3,5

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

Pleasantly surprised by this one - really enjoyed it!

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

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

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

Quintessential Britpoppin'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

just a bit of fun really!

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

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

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

Fine

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

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

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

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

Still rocks 🤘

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

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

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

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

pivotal album

This album was alot more rock heavy than I remembered during blurs rise. But I do find it dragged out

Good but not great.

Weaker four stars than what's the story but still good. Beedle Bum and Song Two are the standouts on the album.

Song 2 - what a banger and Eessexx was so cool to whole album is diverse and fun killed britpop which is a bummer but its a solid album

turn off the hacks right now this is better than parklife

Three-leaning-four

Not the biggest fan of Brit pop, but this is some of the best it has to offer.

Not bad

Meh, I expected more to be honest. Bold move putting the two best tracks right at the start.

I expected more

paar bangers maar ook veel mid

Blur definitely sounds like a band trying to get away from the Britpop sound here, and honestly, that was probably the most interesting part of the album for me. There’s a much more American ’90s alternative-rock influence throughout this thing. Obviously you’ve got Song 2, which has that loud, distorted grunge sound, but elsewhere I thought I heard shades of bands like Stone Temple Pilots and maybe even Nine Inch Nails. Either way, there’s a lot more variety than I was expecting, and I liked hearing Blur experiment with different sounds. The problem is that the album itself never completely grabbed me. There were a few songs that caught my attention, but some of the deeper cuts just weren’t that interesting to listen to. I appreciated what Blur was trying to do more than I actually enjoyed a lot of the individual songs. Song 2 is still easily the standout for me. It’s just a great, quintessentially ’90s song, and there’s a reason it became as huge as it did. Overall, this was a good album to listen through once, and I respect Blur for trying something different instead of sticking with the same sound. I just don’t see myself coming back to the whole thing very often. There are definitely a few tracks I’d revisit, but as an album, it lands at about a 3.3 out of 5 for me.

It’s no wonder song 2 was the hit from this album. It’s interesting to see the 90s slacker effort was a thing across the pond too. On your own was the only other track that seemed like a marketable song.

Three pretty good songs and a lot of filler.

Loved some of the songs, but it didn’t grab me like some of their other stuff and Albarn’s Gorillaz.

Diverging a little from the classic Blur sound, I think this one holds up well, even if it's hard to escape the front loading of Beetlebum and Song 2.

Song 2 is forever a stand out. The rest is alright rock, maybe boarding on punk at some points. 2nd blur album I've had from list, and only two days apart. Other than song 2, nothing stood out for me between the two albums

Thought a couple of these songs were RHCP tracks. Take that as you will

God I can't stand Song 2 any more... but the other singles from this are rather good... You're So Great is a little twee but generally sweet and Death of a Party and I'm Just A Killer For Your Love are sinister and broody, a little like something Pulp would have done on This Is Hardcore. And did I know that David Bowie and Brian Eno contributed to M.O.R.? I did not. Kind of makes sense though on re-listening. Oh man, it's very much like Boys Keep Swinging in places... this one is somewhere between 3 and 3.5 for me. In addition to Song 2, I can't really abide Chinese Bombs either.

This Alternative Britpop album feels like wandering through a half-familiar British town where everything looks ordinary, but every street corner has something slightly off about it. The guitars shift between rough distortion, jangly riffs and noisy textures, while the rhythm section keeps the songs moving with a loose, sometimes awkward energy. Damon Albarn's vocals can sound conversational and detached one moment, then suddenly more melodic or agitated the next. Rather than settling into the polished confidence of straightforward Britpop, the album keeps pulling in different directions, making me feel like I'm never quite sure whether I'm supposed to sing along, laugh at what I'm hearing or just keep walking.

I didn't know britishpop but omg it was awesome

Good record but makes one realize how better suited Gorillaz is as a platform for Albarn

Great album n.2 Song is the GREATEST WHOO HOOOOO .. 3.5

A thread. Slowly weaved through fabric pulling it together loosely. Gaps here and there.

Damon Albarn writes better songs than you. It's just a fact. Straight up. No matter who you are or what realm of the musical pantheon you occupy - he's just a cut above. If you come across a Blur song you don't like - go to the next one. That will probably be better. And if that one doesn't tickle your itch - move on. Still not satisfied? Try another album. Once you've exhausted the Blur catalog you can slide over to any number of Albarn affiliated/lead projects - Gorillaz, the Good, the Bad & the Queen, Rocket Juice and the Moon - or his solo offerings. All excellent and better than what you have to offer. No matter who you are. Unless you're David Bowie.

This is a pretty good album. Once ended up in the practice room of some local band in central PA that smoked some crack and then played Song #2.

Quintessential dad rock album? Maybe. Not a dad, but still love it. Listening to it in full at my age was a blast. When it was released, the only song I cared about was the second one. Today, that is the only one I would skip.

Song 2 is a song of all time for me, but obviously given its origin story, doesn't sound like the rest of this album. Unfortunately, I like Song 2 and not the rest of this album. Rating: 2.5

It's probably not the greatest thing that this is my first Blur record. That being said, it appeals to my taste the most in the sense that this is their "lo-fi indie" record, with a disgustingly heavy Pavement influence ("Country Sad Ballad Man" does sound like you fed S&E and CRCR into a blender), but I'm ultimately not sure what to make of it. I think I loved it?

8/10

I don't think this album is as consistent as the past 3 Blur albums had been. But Beetlebum is one of my all time favourite songs so I can't judge too harshly. Song 2 is also the perfect sports anthem, to the extent that I don't mind the Ottawa Senators bulldozing my team cus I get to hear Song 2 every time they score.

I like Blur; at least I thought I did. "Beetlebum" is a great opening track while "Song 2"'s pointed jabs at grunge is a unironically a brilliant song. "On Your Own", "You're So Great" and "Death of a Party" are reasonably decent songs on what is otherwise a surprisingly shit album; "Look Inside America" is woeful, as are the penultimate and final tracks "Movin' On" and "Essex Dogs". I expected this to be an easy 3*. The back end of the album is fucking awful though. Would rather pluck bollock hairs of an evening, than listen to most of this again.

Less poppy than the first one I listened to. Still heavy Brit but seems a little more creative and deeper?

Ei niin kiva blyrrilevy, vaikka tässä blyrriläisten paras biisi onkin: songi kakkonen.

Perus brittipoppijunttaa. Vähän rasittavan aneemisen kuulonen laulaja, musiikissa ei isoa vikaa. Basic sets, eli perus setit.

Excellent album for the first half but can’t help but think it tapers off thereafter and the last couple of tracks are just unnecessary fillers. Heard it before? ✅ Listen again? ✅ Rating out of ten? 7️⃣

Damon Albarn is very good at making music

Song 2 is great. The rest was just okay.

Probably not my favourite blur album, but there are some good tracks.

am Anfang starke Beatles vibes sind blur mein guilty britpop pleasure? und Damon Alban wurde dann gorillas und ist auch bansky??? c

V [Beetlebum]* #1 [4.0] #2 [] #3 [] [Song 2] #1 [3.5] #2 [] #3 [] [Country Sad Ballad Man] #1 [3.5] #2 [] #3 [] [M.O.R.] #1 [3.0] #2 [] #3 [] [On Your Own] #1 [3.0] #2 [] #3 [] [Theme from Retro]* #1 [4.0] #2 [4.0] #3 [] [You're so Great] #1 [2.5] #2 [] #3 [] [Death of a Party] #1 [2.5] #2 [] #3 [] [Chinese Bombs] #1 [2.5] #2 [] #3 [] [I'm Just a Killer for Your Love] #1 [2.5] #2 [] #3 [] [Look Inside America] #1 [2.5] #2 [] #3 [] [Strange News from Another Star] #1 [3.5] #2 [] #3 [] [Movin' On] #1 [3.0] #2 [] #3 [] [Essex Dogs] #1 [3.0] #2 [3.5] #3 [] Final Score: 3.0/Pretty Good

Woo hoo!!!

This is a decent album by Blur but not one my favorites by them…that goes to The Great Escape then Parklife. Favorite tracks: Beetlebum Look inside America Song 2 Least favorite: Theme from Retro and Essex Dogs I almost knocked it down another star for just how pointless and just there to fill time the last song is, then it has a hidden track that also goes nowhere. Still there are few solid songs, but I think you are probably better off sticking to the albums that came before this one.

I was a big fan of Blur's first 3 albums in the mid-90s, and a moderate fan of their fourth, so this album was a bit of a shock when it first came out. It's way less "cute" than the first 4 - there are no stories about characters like "Tracy Jacks" or the "Charmless Man"; no carnival music interludes. It's grittier and more American-sounding. It took guts to step so far away from what was their bread-and-butter, but this was the beginning of the end of my Blur fandom. The music is good (except for "Essex Dogs" which goes from merely annoying to sounding like a broken dishwasher), Damon's voice is sometimes good and sometimes super annoying (with weird filters on it), and the songwriting is pretty different and much darker than what we're used to with Blur. Overall, it's a fine album but it's not the one I reach for when I want to listen to Blur.

Weeeeho

Låååångt ifrån deras bästa

boring!

Like the rougher guitar sound. The quieter songs give it a nice balance too.

Graham Coxon was always my favourite member of Blur and this is his album more than anyone else's