Blur – Parklife (1994)
What did you do in the Britpop Wars, Grandad?
Well, firstly, I was in my mid thirties with two young kids, so had other things on my mind. I'd also seen it all before with Stones/Beatles, Pistols/Clash, but I did go out and buy Blur's breakthrough album Parklife.
It's difficult to avoid comparison with Oasis's contemporary album, so let's get them out of the way. Oasis were/are one dimensional, doing what they do very well. If it's your thing there's no comparison. Blur's music displays far wider influences and risk taking and doesn't always hit the mark.
So, why did this breakthrough after two moderately successful previous albums (neither of which I've ever heard). I'd put it down to two catchy tunes, which caught the public zeitgeist - opener Girls & Boys, a bouncy number and the iconic Phil Daniels narrated singalong chorus of Parklife.
But there's lots more to enjoy here - Tracy Jacks draws on the Kinks and the Jam for influence, and has more depth than I remember, while on End Of A Century, Damon Albarn seems to do a mockney We Are The Walrus. Bank Holiday is straight punk, while Badhead is a gentler ballad, which I could imagine Julian Cope having done ten years earlier.
There's a silly little Dutch instrumental, The Debt Collector, followed by the Syd Barrettesque Far Out.
There's a real sixties feel to the gentle To The End, while London Loves has a likeable post punk art school feel, and I'm hearing shades of Hawkwind in Trouble In The Message Centre. I feel a bit of a lull in the album over the next couple of tracks, but do remain slightly puzzled why former Everton defender Earl Barrett wants to go to Magic America. This Is A Low is a fitting gentle climax to the album, ignoring the cheap organ instrumental (and singalong silliness) Lot 105.
It's a really good album. Not everything works, but a lot does. And they leave the impression of having listened to thirty years of pop music to get to this point, unlike some around at the same time.
4* - Blur's third album is full of ideas, and decent songs
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