Blur - Blur (1997 Album) Full Album Review and REACTION

[@user-fb6cw6cb2i]

Some people just don’t get this this album but that’s alright. Those who do, understand the masterpiece this album is. One of my favorite albums of all time.

[@najlis1784]

Yeah

[@StephenOBG]

My 90's hits absolute.

[@latenightlogic]

No it’s just personal taste. I’ve listened to it many times and I don’t personally rate it, although I acknowledge how important it is.

[@ilyas_elouchihi]

My favourite Blur album

[@mynameismark25]

What's to get? Blur are like Chameleons. This album is Graham pretending to be Scott Kannberg.

[@williamandres1042]

"You are so great" was written by Graham Coxon, he is the lead guitarist of the band. He is singing there too, no Damon Albarn, so funny that you did not notice the voice being so different (you thought it was Damon singing bored? WTF?) . IMO that song is very nice, Graham is a very talented guy. Good reaction BTW.

[@gavinjohncarter]

Coxon is my spirit animal. I love him. I actually have a ticket to see Blur at Wembley in July (on my own 😑) I can't wait to see Graham shredding in person.

[@riquiffer]

Typical american, liking Song 2 and disliking the actual good songs on the album... Beetlebum, You're So Great, Death Of A Party, Strange News From Another Star... music doesn't get much better than that. And it's nothing to do with the nostalgia factor, because I wasn't even born when this album came out. This is a band who fell completely out of love with pop and decided to take the fully opposite way. After the Britpop battle they were being insulted on the streets and seen as loosers to most of the UK public. This is a full artistic statement to show they weren't a basic Pop Rock band for teen girls. The musicianship had always been there but was overshadowed by the ironic lyrics and the up beat tunes. This album has beautiful melodies, unique soundscapes, great lyrics, impeccable guitar work, singalongs, fast songs, mellow songs... what's there not to like? Plus every song is filled with so much detail and quirky sounds that you can pick on something new with each listen

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

We’re Canadian

[@riquiffer]

@@WelpHereWeAreOnKZbin Yes, Canadian. I totally meant Canadian. Edit: and Canadians are American

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

And Australians are New Zealanders

[@riquiffer]

@@WelpHereWeAreOnKZbin If you say so...

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

If you say so too

[@darrenfinlayson]

Great album from a great band, seeing them play in Dublin in 2023

[@gavinjohncarter]

I'm seeing them in London in July & I'm so excited that I'm actually a bit scared lol.

[@stussysinglet]

Bettlebum, Death at a Party and Strange News from another star are amazing songs.. Song 2 and M.O.R are also really great... The whole album is pretty much a masterpiece...

[@Lovver420]

“You’re so great” is a brilliant song. Listeners would understand this song and some specific tunes on this record more if they familiar with the whole 90s American lo-fi recording scene with groups like Pavement, Silver Jews, Guided by Voices, etc. This is not a type of easy listening pop album that will hook you from the first listening.

[@JayKFilmz]

As a lifetime Blur fan ( Dont you love when someone says that phrase like to say settle down expert is here 😂😂) from the states who listened to this album constantly on release I think this isnt their best album as a whole . This album though is an important step in the creation of Gorillaz as Damon starts to explore more with sounds and beats . This is an exploring and changing album for Blur. Its also a product of the many musical changes happening as music reached the 2000s . To me this is the dissect point of Blur from pop sounds to more everything is good to try. Yes some songs needed tightening but I still love this albums main 6 or 7 songs . Just sayin …. PS the song Youre so Great was written and sung by lead guitarist Graham Coxon. Thats his style

[@gavinjohncarter]

Country Sad Ballad Man is such a Gorillaz song. I could easily picture it being on the first Gorillas album.

[@rabbithole8922]

Fun Fact: Beetlebum is Billie Eilish's favorite song

[@pievancl5457]

this is one of those albums (like a lot of 90s albums) where you listened to it from front to back countless times and grew to love every song. there are so many musical nuances in these songs and so many original motifs and melodies that slowly congeal into something more the more that you listen. i miss when albums used to be like this... you could immediately tell that there was a craftsmanship there, and the artist was challenging you to figure out what they were trying to assemble

[@TapestriMusic]

Aw man, what a great album! 13, magic whip and think tank are probably my favourites, this one is fourth place. I've listened through their entire discography and most of it is great and highly enjoyable

[@TapestriMusic]

@@the_oslovian Yes I'm a huge fan of damons somber songs and that album has that.

[@TapestriMusic]

@@the_oslovian Yea, he was one of those artists that I discovered as a teen and in turn it inspired me to make my own music Eternally thankful for his work

[@TapestriMusic]

@@the_oslovian I always wanted one but I only got an acoustic. I'm thankful for it now tho.. it suits me much better

[@TapestriMusic]

@@the_oslovian I not sure! Rings a bell for sure, what's it called?

[@gavinjohncarter]

Magic whip & think tank don't get much of a mention these days cos they were later albums but both are fantastic.

[@luisrios1774]

It’s not my favorite blur album but I love that it’s a great album of post modern art. It makes notice of the previous decade. It doesn’t matter cause it wants to surpass it cause the band did structure for 3 albums. The ultimate statement is freedom

[@iantellam9970]

One of the best albums of the 90s.

[@microwavecucumber33]

Albarn doesn’t control everything about the direction of Blur. It’s seen as a group project which can seem to contradict in styles due to each musician having different ideas for their music. Which in my opinion makes this album very unique. He mostly has control over the lyrics, but every now and then, another would come in. For example, You’re so great and Coffee and TV, both written by Coxen, followed Coxen’s style. As for tracks like Far Out and Alex’s Song, written by Alex. I’ve listened to Blur since I’ve been alive, my dad loved to play it for me. Especially this album, Parklife, and Modern Life is Rubbish. And only Coffee and TV from 13. I never got into Blur’s albums during the end of the 90’s and 2000’s, I just felt like it was becoming a secondary Gorillaz to Damon Albarn, which I believe shows through the songs at the time. What I do find interesting about 13 was that the album was full of 13 tracks spanning across some of their albums that didn’t make the cut.

[@radiator-gb7pk]

Totally. It's not a 'project'. Blur were an actual powerhouse of youth culture in the UK in the 90's.

[@supaman6713]

I'm pretty sure some of these songs were making fun of American grunge, at least that was the case with Song 2, don't know why they were so short though

[@Gymbo-Baggins]

Americans love it when English bands make fun of their music. Being its so diverse that it even includes 1st and new waves. Maybe they were mocking Bush

[@velocity1852]

You’re so greats one of my favorite songs. It’s supposed to be sad

[@iantellam9970]

Mine too.

[@pitipiti_]

Now you have to react to parklife and go to the other round to understand the sound shift that this album is all about

[@festivitycat]

I did watch to the end! This is one of my favourite albums and it's really interesting to hear it with 'fresh ears', vicariously through your video. I agree it's at least 50% nostalgia-driven. I was 13 when this came out so it will always be important to me. They're definitely not the strongest songs they wrote and it's not the most exciting album they wrote. As Americans listening to it 25 years later, with no cultural context (history of the band, previous albums, what it was like to live in the UK in 1997, etc) I think your take is pretty fair. But yes, people do exist who will choose to listen to the whole album - I do at least a couple of times a month.

[@DinJerr]

You guys need to hear a bit of Parklife to understand why the record companies were "Whoa there..." cautious.

[@radiator-gb7pk]

Parklife is subversive and experimental in its own way though.

[@pievancl5457]

as a 90s kid this song defined my middle school years. got this for my birthday along with final fantasy 7 for ps1... those 2 go hand in hand in almost all of my memories from 6th grade. what a great time to be alive

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

13, parklife and modern life is rubbish are way better.

[@ilyas_elouchihi]

I personally prefer this album over the ones you mentioned, but they're great nonetheless

[@eggzaki]

the bad pun and the follow up sarcastic ridiculous laughter made me love this video already

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

😂😂😂😂

[@TapestriMusic]

I'll tell ya what's great about it! (I still enjoyed this video btw! Thumbs up) Nr 1. MYSTERY! (I'm coming back to that 1) First point! I love the goofy vibe and humour that Blur brings, that's coming from a guy who hates parody music and "joke songs" so why does this work? It's got a whole lot of heart and that goes for a lot of their work, you can tell that they're having fun and Damon Albarn is known for criticising artists who take themselves to seriously. Point two! Lyrics I love that many of Damon's lyrics are cryptic to the point of incomprehensible. The voice is an instrument, that happens to be able to formulate words'n'shit but when I hear a good guitar I don't need it to actually tell me a story, I just need it to make cool sounds happen to my earholes. Enjoy the sound of words rather than what the words are saying. Point three! 'Fuck it' attitude. In some ways this album should not sell, it's wonky, disjointed and unpolished... Or is it? The lyrics makes no sense.. or do they? This album is ironic and not very serious.. or is it? This album is just a 90's pop rock album.. or is it? This band is just a pop group and a product.. or are they? I would say time proved them to be much more interesting. This album planted some huge seeds and showed that the band really wanted to be more than oasis P.S I have big brain ultra long obsessive psychopath attention span for music (and things like this) so I like a song that picks a mood, colour palette and tempo and just stays in that world for a long time. The worst songs on this record are the ones you liked lol 😂

[@Gymbo-Baggins]

Music shouldn't be a complicated escape room. It should invoke an emotion..this album doesn't.

[@TapestriMusic]

@@the_oslovian Battery in your leg live is one of damons best performances, so much emotion

[@TapestriMusic]

@@the_oslovian also the upon the westway I believe it's called? The one where they perform on a rooftop?

[@TapestriMusic]

@@the_oslovian also "for tomorrow" Live is always amazing

[@TapestriMusic]

@@Gymbo-Baggins it doesn't? Sure does for me.

[@Gobbluth666]

Most Blur albums grow on me.. Takes a while..

[@gavinjohncarter]

I'm not sure how popular this will be but the album 'Meltdown' by Ash is definitely worth listening to. I only stumbled upon this album because 2 songs from it were used in Shaun Of The Dead & I wanted to find those songs. I now listen to it constantly. It's one of the unsung gems of the early 2000's (2004 specifically) it's very of its time but it's truly a diamond that many people don't even know about.

[@evilashxero]

Not everything is for everyone. It's cool.

[@cheerio4000]

how many days did this take to record my goodness 😭

[@goldboy150]

Parklife is the album to do. Also, I’d recommend doing the parklive live album from Hyde park 2012.

[@gavinjohncarter]

I tend to listen to that more than the actual studio albums because they're so great live but also they do more obscure songs like 'Young and lovely'.

[@goldboy150]

@@gavinjohncarter it’s a great album. There is so much passion in the performance and personally I reckon you can’t beat graham’s live work. The only thing that annoys me about that album is that charmless man and there’s no other way aren’t on it. There’s no other way is an example of what they can do live Vs studio - they Jack up the tempo a few notches and it has so much energy.

[@skyh3008]

Graham Coxon wrote and sand lead vocals on You’re So Great. Not Damon Albarn.

[@marcosf8595]

Beetlebumb is a masterpiece

[@gavinjohncarter]

13 is a better album by them, incidentally. I think it may be their best album tbh.

[@jboy9336]

Mate I fckng love Blur

[@DamonAlbarn21]

Is not the best Blur album for a firts reaction.

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

Parklife

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

Definitely maybe

[@moonlightkayla4903]

i love song 2

[@velocity1852]

13 or Parklife would’ve been a better listen

[@zeitok8]

wow really disappointed with this one since you enjoy ween, many criticisms you make here may well go into a ween album ¿?

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

Well. Can’t say we lie. Sometimes things strike us differently

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

Blur 13

[@racephase]

it was fine but nothing special compared to Suede's Coming Up (and all their b-sides of that period) a year earlier.

[@radiator-gb7pk]

Cursory, dismissive and fairly clueless. One of the best albums by one of the greatest British bands of all time.

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

Totally agree.

[@radiator-gb7pk]

@@WelpHereWeAreOnKZbin Nevermind mate give the old Alice in Chains a rest and have another bash.

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

Sweet! Loved them ! Great idea !

[@radiator-gb7pk]

"sweet"

[@WelpHereWeAreOnYouTube]

No. Sweet sweet !

[@latenightlogic]

Too many nothing songs for me to be a direct bullseye.

[@DerekDerekDerekDerekDerekDerek]

13

[@Gymbo-Baggins]

This band as talented as they are perceived seems like they set out to dismantle music single handedly. Sour sounds with depressed forced off key singing. Ok if your trying to get out front and re-invent, try to make it better not so much unique. It's creative but uncomfortable to listen to a band try and fool me into aligning with their experiment. Sorry I actual like some Blur but the same goes for Radiohead. This was bowie/Eno/Smiths and something else that sorta puked up. Also liked Magic whip and think tank a whole lot more