Blur: Classic Or Dud

Is Coxon involved in this album?

― Steve Reich In The Afternoon (Against The 80s), Thursday, February 19, 2015 7:20 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Involved? He's pretty much the driving force behind this record even seeing the light of day! Coxon and Stephen Street pretty much took the stuff they'd recorded in Hong Kong and moulded it into some kind of releasable shape while Damon was off touring his solo record. Damon (somewhat reluctantly, by the sounds of it based on how he came across discussing the record during the press conference with Zane Lowe) then added vocals and lyrics to the re-shaped backing tracks. Seems to me that the record is based on a lot of jamming which has been cut and pasted together, a la 13, with Coxon and Stephen Street in the William Orbit role. The record probably wouldn't have seen the light of day if Coxon and Stephen Street hadn't decided to try and make something of it... seems like Alex and Dave thought that nothing was going to come of it, and Damon didn't see it as any kind of priority.

I thought it was terrible as well.

Not a Blur fan but I quite liked the new one. As usual, the sticking point for me is Damon's voice which on some tracks I like and on others I can't stand. Here, I dislike it and he sounds way more old-manny than he should since he's still mid-40s.

quite like this yeah

needs different chords in the chorus maybe but it sounds juicy, glad a bit of sonic maximalism has been restored

Going off the general attitude of some of the band members in the press conference, and details of how the album was put together, I'll be very surprised if this comes across as something more than a collection of B-side quality material. If there's anything as good as 'Caramel' on here, I'll be amazed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQQObIQ63T0#

tom petty could sue blur as well!

(it sounds a bit like 'you got lucky')

I like this song a lot. Like A LOT a lot.

I liked the other song but I love this new one. Very XTC.

The song is pretty good, but honestly, the lyrics really suck.

And they're really noticeable. I wouldn't care otherwise.

this is great yeah. reminds me of a Supertramp song but god knows which.

Goes on a bit long and does not do enough with the idea for me. I have no issue with the lyrics - this being pop music after all and these kinds of general slogans are what makes the single sing.

this song IS great, we will need a new thread for a new Blur album. never thought i would see the day.

See, I have all those nice 2cd boxes of all the Blur albums (see the fopp thread for when and how much) but this new one is mot going to be like that is it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eR-SzHggms

See, I have all those nice 2cd boxes of all the Blur albums (see the fopp thread for when and how much) but this new one is mot going to be like that is it?

...do you mean "the music on this new album is not going to be like the music on all the previous Blur albums, which I own, is it?" or "this new album is not going be reissued in an expanded historical edition before it comes out as itself, is it?" ?

Not into this track at all.

Sadly I agree. Sounds like a Great Escape era B-side. Very throwaway.

nice but they're coasting.

thought experiment: what if a new blur single was this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrQpymNPfFU

Eew, I always hated that sweeping ballady with strings Blur, so I'm glad nothing has sounded like this^ so far.

...do you mean "the music on this new album is not going to be like the music on all the previous Blur albums, which I own, is it?"

No. I sincerely hope it does not.

or "this new album is not going be reissued in an expanded historical edition before it comes out as itself, is it?" ?

Actually, I wouldn't be at all surprised if it did.

Kind of getting the sense this album is not going to be good after listening to 3 songs. There are only 10, right? Yikes. I'm a pretty big Think Tank apologist, so I was optimistic.

I like 2 out of 3 so I'm looking forward to it.

'Go Out' is probably the worst song I've heard by anyone this year.

don't understand the love 'There Are Too Many of Us' got here, that synth string sound is quite ugly and the vocal melody only has a single mediocre idea the whole time.
i heard a low-quality recording of the album performance show and it didn't seem to really succeed either as pop (being fairly lacking in hooks and choruses except for 'Ong Ong' i think) or as something more experimental like 13 or Think Tank so i'm not really sure what they were going for. maybe there'll be more interesting details that will come through in better quality?

I like all of it so far tbh. It sounds like a Blur album, unlike Think Tank, which in retrospect was sort of a Gorillaz album in disguise.

I'm going to assume there are no obvious singles on this album, so the ones they've selected are very likely to disappoint out of context. Being Blur, people are naturally tripping over themselves in a hurry to be massively disappointed, as is fashionable

I don't think I'd like to be disappointed. I really like Think Tank, so as far as I'm concerned they went out on an up note. It wasn't as great as Think Tank, but I have no complaints about an album that contains a song like "Out of Time."

As 13*. I really need to proofread my posts.

Think Tank was extremely shit

I mean, it was good for two tracks, then it dived off a cliff

Well, yeah, but then after Crazy Beat it did climb back up every now and then.

"Battery In Your Leg," "Caravan" and "Ambulance" are prob in my top 20 Blur tunes

yeah those are the other two sings I'll allow

something like Brothers And Sisters has aged about as well as corporal punishment

Out of Time, Caravan and On My To The Club are great (though the last one outstays its welcome)

Being Blur, people are naturally tripping over themselves in a hurry to be massively disappointed, as is fashionable

― PaulTMA

Don't agree with this at all. I think most people want this to be really great, myself included. Suede pulled off a great comeback album there's no reason Blur shouldn't either. This latest song is the only one I've disliked so far so really not sure what to expect.

Think Tank was almost great. I could lose Crazy Beat, We've Got a File On You, Brothers & Sisters and Jets but the rest of it is solid. Ambulance, Battery In Your Leg and Sweet Song are up there with the best songs they've ever done.

.. And furthermore..

To be honest, hearing how the record was made to begin with has pretty much ensured my expectations are set quite low.

half of Think Tank was some of the very best they've done and even though the other half was forgettable it's still probably one of their better albums overall, their albums weren't usually very consistent. Good Song is lovely as well as the others people mentioned

As a non-fan Think Tank is the only Blur album I have time for, so I can understand if their historical fan base didn't like it

Right now, the Coxon-less Think Tank's got the upper hand over these three songs. "Out of Time" and "Sweet Song" will be hard to beat.

I think they're great Damon songs, but the stuff I've heard from The Magic Whip makes me realise that they weren't really Blur songs.

Out Of Time live at Hyde Park 2009 with added Coxon guitar trickery was fantastic.

I think they're a singles band who think they're an albums band.

I'm not sure I agree with that: some of their best moments for me are album tracks, rather than singles. I think they were/are an albums band, but I always thought they crammed too much stuff onto their albums. Most of the albums they released in the '90s are at least 10-15 minutes too long, IMO.

When you're a great singles band you're not allowed to be a great albums band too apparently

Modern Life Is Rubbish is perfect and has no filler. Parklife comes close but I never need to hear the title track again. I even enjoy the more throwaway songs like The Debt Collector and Far Out.

Agree with Turrican that their album tracks are often their best songs. Apart from For Tomorrow, The Universal, Beetlebum and To The End my top 20 Blur songs would all be album tracks.

Anyone see the stream of them playing the album live last night? Sounded pretty solid. A couple of the ballads could have been from Damon's solo album - in that downbeat style he has that really started with Think Thank - but there was lots of classy Coxon guitar that seemed to really elevate the material. Sounded like a well-balanced album. Hard to really judge the unheard songs on one listen, but there seemed to be quite a lot of substance.

Modern Life Is Rubbish is perfect and has no filler.

― Kitchen Person, Thursday, March 26, 2015 1:26 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hmm. I dunno, 'Turn It Up' to me is the very definition of a filler. You could probably lose 'Miss America' and 'Resigned' too and I wouldn't miss 'em. In fact, the second half of that record pales in comparison to the first half for me. 'Villa Rosie' and 'Coping' are okay, I guess, but they're no 'Star Shaped' or 'Blue Jeans'.