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Modern Life Is Rubbish established Blur as the heir to the archly British pop of the Kinks, the Small Faces, and the Jam, but its follow-up, Parklife, revealed the depth of that transformation. Relying more heavily on Ray Davies' seriocomic social commentary, as well as new wave, Parklife runs through the entire history of post-British Invasion Britpop in the course of 16 songs, touching on psychedelia, synth pop, disco, punk, and music hall along the way. Damon Albarn intended these songs to form a sketch of British life in the mid-'90s, and it's startling how close he came to his goal; not only did the bouncy, disco-fied "Girls & Boys" and singalong chant "Parklife" become anthems in the U.K., but they inaugurated a new era of Brit-pop and lad culture, where British youth celebrated their country and traditions. The legions of jangly, melodic bands that followed in the wake of Parklife revealed how much more complex Blur's vision was. Not only was their music precisely detailed -- sound effects and brilliant guitar lines pop up all over the record -- but the melodies elegantly interweaved with the chords, as in the graceful, heartbreaking "Badhead." Surprisingly, Albarn, for all of his cold, dispassionate wit, demonstrates compassion that gives these songs three dimensions, as on the pathos-laden "End of a Century," the melancholy Walker Brothers tribute "To the End," and the swirling, epic closer, "This Is a Low." For all of its celebration of tradition, Parklife is a thoroughly modern record in that it bends genres and is self-referential (the mod anthem of the title track is voiced by none other than Phil Daniels, the star of Quadrophenia). And, by tying the past and the present together, Blur articulated the mid-'90s Zeitgeist and produced an epoch-defining record.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Rick Koster, Violin - John Metcalfe, Viola, Strings Arranger - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer - Mark Pharoah, Violin - Ivan McCermoy, Cello - Lousia Fuller, Violin
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Roddy Lorimer, Flugelhorn - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - Richard Edwards, Trombone - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer, MixingEngineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Saxophone, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer - Phil Daniels, Narrator
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Roddy Lorimer, Trombone - Tim Sanders, Tenor Saxophone - Simon Clarke, Baritone Saxophone - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Tim Sanders, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone - Simon Clarke, Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - The Kick Horns, Section Horn - Neil Sidwell, Trombone - Graham Coxon, Clarinet, Guitar, Writer - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Producer, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Producer, Drums, Writer - Stephen Hague, Producer, Accordion, Engineer - STEPHEN STREET, Remastering Engineer - Laetitia Sadier, Additional Vocals - Chris Tombling, Strings - Graham Coxon, Producer, Clarinet, Guitar, Writer - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer - Leo Payne, Strings - Audrey Riley, Strings - Rick Wentworth, Strings Conductor - Chris Pitsillides, Strings - Khalil Chahine, Strings Arranger
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer, Sound Effects (SFX) - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Saxophone, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer, MixingEngineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
DISC 2
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Producer, Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - David Rowntree, Producer - Graham Coxon, Producer, Guitar, Writer - Blur, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Vocals, Writer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Bob Kraushaar, Engineer - Pet Shop Boys, Additional Production, Remixer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer - Pete Gleadhall, Programmer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - David Rowntree, Producer - STEPHEN STREET, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Producer, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Producer, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Producer, Guitar, Writer - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Producer, Engineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Producer, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Producer, Guitar, Writer - Blur, Vocals, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Producer, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Producer, Drums, Writer - Stephen Hague, Producer, Accordion, Engineer - STEPHEN STREET, Remastering Engineer - Laetitia Sadier, Additional Vocals - Chris Tombling, Strings - Graham Coxon, Producer, Clarinet, Guitar, Writer - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer - Leo Payne, Strings - Audrey Riley, Strings - Rick Wentworth, Strings Conductor - Khahil Chahine, Strings Arranger - Chris Pitsillides, Strings
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Producer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - David Rowntree, Producer - STEPHEN STREET, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Producer, Guitar, Writer - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Keyboards, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Percussion, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - David Rowntree, Producer - STEPHEN STREET, Remastering Engineer - Graham Coxon, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Writer - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Keyboards, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
John Smith, Engineer - Alex James, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer, Digital Remastering Masterer - Graham Coxon, Guitar - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Vocals - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer, Digital Remastering Masterer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
Alex James, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Writer - Graham Coxon, Writer - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Writer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 2012 BBC Music under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Alex James, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Writer - Graham Coxon, Writer - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Writer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 2012 BBC Music under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
John Smith, Engineer, MixingEngineer - Alex James, Producer, Bass Guitar, Writer - Dave Rowntree, Drums, Writer - STEPHEN STREET, Producer, Remastering Engineer, MixingEngineer - Graham Coxon, Guitar, Writer, Background Vocals - Blur, MainArtist - Damon Albarn, Producer, Guitar, Vocals, Writer - Frank Arkwright, Remastering Engineer
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 1994, 2012 Parlophone Records Limited
Album review
Modern Life Is Rubbish established Blur as the heir to the archly British pop of the Kinks, the Small Faces, and the Jam, but its follow-up, Parklife, revealed the depth of that transformation. Relying more heavily on Ray Davies' seriocomic social commentary, as well as new wave, Parklife runs through the entire history of post-British Invasion Britpop in the course of 16 songs, touching on psychedelia, synth pop, disco, punk, and music hall along the way. Damon Albarn intended these songs to form a sketch of British life in the mid-'90s, and it's startling how close he came to his goal; not only did the bouncy, disco-fied "Girls & Boys" and singalong chant "Parklife" become anthems in the U.K., but they inaugurated a new era of Brit-pop and lad culture, where British youth celebrated their country and traditions. The legions of jangly, melodic bands that followed in the wake of Parklife revealed how much more complex Blur's vision was. Not only was their music precisely detailed -- sound effects and brilliant guitar lines pop up all over the record -- but the melodies elegantly interweaved with the chords, as in the graceful, heartbreaking "Badhead." Surprisingly, Albarn, for all of his cold, dispassionate wit, demonstrates compassion that gives these songs three dimensions, as on the pathos-laden "End of a Century," the melancholy Walker Brothers tribute "To the End," and the swirling, epic closer, "This Is a Low." For all of its celebration of tradition, Parklife is a thoroughly modern record in that it bends genres and is self-referential (the mod anthem of the title track is voiced by none other than Phil Daniels, the star of Quadrophenia). And, by tying the past and the present together, Blur articulated the mid-'90s Zeitgeist and produced an epoch-defining record.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 32 track(s)
- Total length: 01:44:50
- Main artists: Blur
- Label: Parlophone UK
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company ℗ 2012 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
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