Blur: The Best Of | ||||
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Greatest hits album by | ||||
Released | 30 October 2000 | |||
Recorded | 1990–2000 | |||
Genre | Britpop, alternative rock, indie rock | |||
Length | 77:08(CD1) 43:38 (CD2) 89:35 (VHS/DVD) | |||
Label | Food/Virgin/Parlophone | |||
Producer | Stephen Street, William Orbit, Steve Lovell, Steve Power, Ben Hillier | |||
Blur chronology | ||||
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Damon Albarn chronology | ||||
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Singles from Blur:The Best Of | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 88/100 [1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Drowned in Sound | 6/10 [3] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [5] |
NME | 9/10 [6] |
Pitchfork | 8.6/10 [7] |
Q | [8] |
Robert Christgau | A− [9] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [10] |
Wall of Sound | 86/100 [11] |
Blur:The Best Of is a greatest hits compilation album by English Britpop band Blur,first released in late 2000 and is the final Blur album by Food Records. It was released on CD,cassette tape,MiniDisc,double 12" vinyl record,DVD and VHS. The CD album includes 17 of Blur's 23 singles from 1990 to 2000,plus non-single,"This Is a Low". A special edition of the CD version included a live CD. The DVD/VHS version contains the videos of Blur's first 22 singles. In 2000 the album,which has had enduring sales,hit number 3 in the band's native UK,and hit the US charts at number 186. The cover is by artist Julian Opie. The painting of this Blur album can be found at the National Portrait Gallery in London,England.
The album received a positive critical response. Of the reviews collected from notable publications by popular review aggregator website Metacritic,the album holds an overall approval rating of 88%. [1]
On the chart ending 7 March 2009,it was reported by Music Week that the album passed over one million unit sales in the United Kingdom. The album has since been certified five times platinum in the United Kingdom. Making it Blur's best selling album to date in their homeland.
A proposed title for the album was Best Blur Album in the World Ever, [12] in reference to the compilation album series The Best... Album in the World...Ever! (which often contained songs by Blur).
All tracks written by Damon Albarn,Graham Coxon,Alex James,and Dave Rowntree.
No. | Title | Original album | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Beetlebum" | Blur (1997) | 5:05 |
2. | "Song 2" | Blur (1997) | 2:02 |
3. | "There's No Other Way" (Edited version) | Leisure (1991) | 3:14 |
4. | "The Universal" | The Great Escape (1995) | 4:00 |
5. | "Coffee & TV" (Single edit) | 13 (1999) | 5:18 |
6. | "Parklife" | Parklife (1994) | 3:07 |
7. | "End of a Century" | Parklife (1994) | 2:47 |
8. | "No Distance Left to Run" | 13 (1999) | 3:26 |
9. | "Tender" | 13 (1999) | 7:41 |
10. | "Girls & Boys" (Single edit) | Parklife (1994) | 4:18 |
11. | "Charmless Man" | The Great Escape (1995) | 3:33 |
12. | "She's So High" (Edited version) | Leisure (1991) | 3:49 |
13. | "Country House" | The Great Escape (1995) | 3:57 |
14. | "To the End" (Edited version) | Parklife (1994) | 3:51 |
15. | "On Your Own" | Blur (1997) | 4:27 |
16. | "This Is a Low" (Edited version, not released as a single) | Parklife (1994) | 5:02 |
17. | "For Tomorrow" (Visit to Primrose Hill extended version) | Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) | 6:02 |
18. | "Music Is My Radar" | Non-album single | 5:29 |
Total length: | 77:08 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "She's So High" | 5:24 |
2. | "Girls & Boys" | 4:21 |
3. | "To the End" | 4:08 |
4. | "End of a Century" | 3:00 |
5. | "Stereotypes" | 3:27 |
6. | "Charmless Man" | 3:31 |
7. | "Beetlebum" | 6:09 |
8. | "M.O.R." | 3:09 |
9. | "Tender" | 6:20 |
10. | "No Distance Left to Run" | 4:09 |
Total length: | 40:58 |
Weekly charts
| Certifications
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Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released the albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Parklife is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994, by Food Records. After moderate sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "To the End", the title track and "End of a Century".
Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album Leisure (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour. After the group returned from an unsuccessful tour of the United States, poorly received live performances and the rising popularity of rival band Suede further diminished Blur's status in the UK.
Think Tank is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 5 May 2003. Continuing the jam-based studio constructions of the group's previous album, 13 (1999), the album expanded on the use of sampled rhythm loops and brooding, heavy electronic sounds. There are also heavy influences from dance music, hip hop, dub, jazz, and African music, an indication of songwriter Damon Albarn's expanding musical interests.
Blur is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 10 February 1997 by Food Records. Blur had previously been broadly critical of American popular culture and their previous albums had become associated with the Britpop movement, particularly Parklife, which had helped them become one of Britain's leading pop acts. After their previous album, The Great Escape, the band faced media backlash and relationships between the members became strained.
13 is the sixth studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released on 15 March 1999. Continuing the stylistic shift away from the Britpop sound of the band's early career, 13 explores experimental, psychedelic and electronic music.
"M.O.R." is a song by English rock band Blur from their eponymous album. Released on 15 September 1997, "M.O.R." reached number 15 in the UK Singles Chart on its release as a single in September 1997. Worldwide, it reached number 45 in New Zealand and also charted in Australia, Canada, and the United States.
Bustin' + Dronin' is a remix compilation/live album by the band Blur. It was originally only released in Japan but was also released in limited quantities in the UK and the US, and being released only on double-CD format. The first disc featured all the remixed songs from the band's eponymous album, Blur. After five albums with the same producer, Food Records turned the songs from Blur over to other producers for remixing. The band later chose William Orbit to produce their sixth studio album, 13. The second disc featured their live at John Peel's live session called "Peel Acres". Due to its low key, limited release in the UK, Bustin' + Dronin' only reached number 50 on the albums chart, though it is the only import release by the band to chart in the UK.
"Parklife" is a song by the English rock band Blur, released in August 1994 by Food and Parlophone as the third single from the band's third studio album, Parklife (1994). The song contains spoken-word verses by the actor Phil Daniels, who also appears in the music video, which was directed by Pedro Romhanyi.
"Coffee & TV" is a song by British rock band Blur. It was written by the band's guitarist, Graham Coxon, who also sang lead vocals rather than frontman Damon Albarn. The song appears on Blur's sixth studio album, 13 (1999), and was the second single released from the album on 28 June 1999. The lyrics describe Coxon's struggle with alcoholism and the song's video, featuring a sentient milk carton searching for Coxon, won several awards. Commercially, "Coffee & TV" reached No. 11 in the United Kingdom and No. 26 in Ireland. It was a major hit in Iceland, where it peaked at No. 2 in September 1999.
"Tender" is a song by English rock band Blur from their sixth studio album, 13 (1999). Written by the four band members about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's breakup with musician turned painter Justine Frischmann, the song was released in Japan on 17 February 1999 and in the United Kingdom on 22 February as the album's lead single. "Tender" became Blur's 11th top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number two the week after its release. It also reached the top 20 in Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain.
"Girls & Boys" is a song by English Britpop band Blur, released in March 1994 by Food Records as the lead single from the group's third studio album, Parklife (1994). The frontman of Blur, Damon Albarn wrote the song's lyrics with bandmembers Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, while Stephen Street produced it.
The discography of English rock band Blur consists of nine studio albums, six live albums, five compilation albums, one remix album, two video albums, four extended plays, 35 singles, 10 promotional singles and 37 music videos. Formed in London in 1988, the group consists of singer/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/singer Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Three years later, their debut release, the Madchester and shoegazing-tinged Leisure (1991), peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart. Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) inaugurated the Britpop phase of their career. Its multi-Platinum follow-ups Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995) helped the band achieve mainstream popularity in Britain; every Blur studio album from Parklife onwards has topped the British charts.
"To the End" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It appears on their third studio album, Parklife (1994), and was released as a single in May 1994 by Food Records. The song describes a couple unsuccessfully trying to overcome a bad patch in a relationship, and features full orchestral accompaniment with a choric refrain in French by Lætitia Sadier from Stereolab. The song was produced by Stephen Hague, unlike the rest of the Parklife album, which was produced by Stephen Street. Blur have produced several different recordings of the song.
"End of a Century" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. Released in November 1994 by Food Records, it was the last single to be released from their third album, Parklife (1994). The song reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, considered a disappointment by Andy Ross of Food. Damon Albarn later stated that "End of a Century" may not have been the best choice for the album's fourth single, and that "This Is a Low" would have been a better alternative.
Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur is a two-disc compilation album by Blur, released by EMI Records on 15 June 2009. It is Blur's second retrospective collection, succeeding 2000's Blur: The Best Of and coincides with the band's 2009 reunion performances.
All the People: Blur Live at Hyde Park is a pair of live albums by British band Blur, recorded during their Hyde Park reunion shows on 2 and 3 July 2009. The albums were initially exclusively available on the Sandbag website at £15 for the double CD, or £10 for the mp3 download. The title All the People is a lyric from their song "Parklife".
Parklive is the third live album by British rock band Blur, released on 13 August 2012. The live album recorded the band's performance at Hyde Park, London on 12 August 2012, as part of the companion concert to the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony. The title is a play on their 1994 album Parklife.
Leisure is the debut studio album by English rock band Blur, released by Food Records on 26 August 1991.
The Magic Whip is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London, and released by Parlophone on 27 April 2015 and Warner Bros. Records on 28 April 2015. It was the band's first studio album in 12 years since Think Tank (2003), marking the longest gap between studio albums in Blur's career, and the first in 16 years since 13 (1999) to have featured the original line-up. The album also marks the return of the band's longtime producer Stephen Street following Blur (1997).
rolling stone blur album guide.
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