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'Parklife' was released in 1994 as Blur's third album and was the album that finally made Blur superstars. The two songs that accomplished this were 'Girls and Boys' and 'Parklife'.
In my opinion this is blur's best album although for many Blur fans it isn't. It depends on whether ... Read review
Although Blur had long been recognised as one of the premier bands responsible for the ... more
reinvigoration of Britpop in the 1990s, it's 1994'sParklifethat truly provided the template for the entire movement. At a time when Oasis were aping the sounds of their pub-rock heroes onDefinitely Maybe, Blur drew from the legacy of the Kinks and Small Faces to create an album that's as English as a rainy Sunday in front of the gas fire.Parklifeis full of songs that, quite frankly, don't make much sense outside of the British Isles, songs that find joy in the mundane, like "Girls&Boys" (a song about working-class holidaymakers in the sun) and "Parklife" (a day in the life of a cheeky, unemployed bench-sitter). Witty, ironic and irreverent,Parkliferemains one of those rare albums that sum up a specific place and time (Britain in the mid-1990s). For that reason alone, it can be considered one of Blur's finest albums. --Robert Burrow
Postage & Packaging:£1.21 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: too many, it's sublime from start to finish Disadvantages: NONE
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4. Parklife (3:05) -
This is the first Blur track that I truly loved when I first heard it. More so than 'Girls and Boys' and thus it holds something special in my mind. 'Parklife' featuring the vocals of actor Phil Daniels is about Urban life with the well know chorus 'All the people, so many people, and they all go hand in hand...'. An absolute classic and great for jumping around to at nightclubs. Believe me - I've ... ...
5. Bank holiday (1:42) -
This is a punky sounding track, fast and furious and brilliant.
8/10
6. Badhead (3:25) -
This is another marvel, a greatly constructed track with catchy lyrics, verses and chorus.
9/10
7. The Debt Collector (2:10) -
This is the first instrumental which may surprise you if you listen to the ... more
Blur consist of singer/songwriter Damon Albarn, drummer Dave Rowntree, Alex James on Bass and Graham Coxon on guitar.
At the time of release critics reagrded it as the most diverse collection of pop songs on one original album since The Beatles 'Sergeant Pepper's'. Maybe this is slightly over the top but still it is very mixed.
'Parklife' was released in 1994 as Blur's third album and was the album that finally made Blur superstars. The two songs that accomplished this were 'Girls and Boys' and 'Parklife'.
In my opinion this is blur's best album although for many Blur fans it isn't. It depends on whether you loved the mid-90's britpop era. This album virtually announced the start and heavily influenced the britpop era and for that reason it is number five on my all time top ten albums list.
-------------- Track-by-Track --------------
1. Girls & Boys (4:50) -
This track is about taking the satirical view of the club 18-30 culture. It has a great rhythm and dance beat explaining why it was so popular. Not one of my favourites though.
8/10
2. Tracy Jacks (4:20) -
This is about the story of a 40-year-old man who rebels against his dull existence by running naked around a seaside town. The bored civil servant cracks up because he finds normality 'just so overrated'. 'Tracy Jacks' is certainly not overrated. It is a great track with good lyrics and instrumentals.
8/10
3. End of a Century (2:45) -
If you never hear a blur song except this then you will have experienced a great side to Blur. The melodic, mellow chilled-out nature of this track is glorious. Was released as a single.
10/10
4. Parklife (3:05) -
This is the first Blur track that I truly loved when I first heard it. More so than 'Girls and Boys' and thus it holds something special in my mind. 'Parklife' featuring the vocals of actor Phil Daniels is about Urban life with the well know chorus 'All the people, so many people, and they all go hand in hand...'. An absolute classic and great for jumping around to at nightclubs. Believe me - I've done it many a time.
10/10
5. Bank holiday (1:42) -
This is a punky sounding track, fast and furious and brilliant.
8/10
6. Badhead (3:25) -
This is another marvel, a greatly constructed track with catchy lyrics, verses and chorus.
9/10
7. The Debt Collector (2:10) -
This is the first instrumental which may surprise you if you listen to the album from start to finish. It is basically fairground music with added sounds. Very calming.
7/10
8. Far Out (1:37) -
When I first heard this I thought 'what a load of junk and it's an album filler' but with repeated listening it grew on me. They play some novel instrumentals in the background while Alex James basically names a load of stars. It may sound awful and some people think it is but I see it as Blur doing what they do best - trying to be different and experiment musically. Can't imagine Oasis doing it. 10 out of 10 for originality.
8/10
9. To the End (4:04) -
Another great track and was released as a single. It starts off slowly but then speeds up a bit. Damon's Singing on this is superb.
9/10
10. London Loves (4:14) -
'London Loves' is a song about London's obscurities and the media. It's standard Blur stuff but nothing particularly special compared to others on this epic album.
7/10
11. Trouble in the Message Centre (4:09) -
Another good track with excellent lyrics, sounds and melodies but not their best.
7/10
12. Clover over Dover (3:22) -
One of my favourites this, so mellow and calm yet still full of life. Particularly love the lyrics of this track 'I'm on the white cliffs of Dover, thinking it over and over, well if I jump it's all over, a cautionary tale for you'. It may sound depressing but think again, there's nothing depressing about it at all.
10/10
13. Magic America (3:38) -
A bit like the last track with a kind of calming feeling. It's about 'Bill Barrett', a wide-eyed fool with a love of American culture. This is real britpop bouncy stuff and Damon excels as usual. Love the lyric explaining america 'there are buildings in the sky and the air is sugar free'.
9/10
14. Jubilee (2:47) -
'Jubilee' is a raw punky style track with the usual jokey lyrics. It is about a teenage misfit who only wants to watch telly and play on his 'cuomp..you..ter..games'. Pretty good.
8/10
15. This is a Low (5:16) -
Another mellow one but this has got true quality from start to finish. It's inspired by the shipping forecasts and the title means an area of low pressure. The acoustic guitars and Damon's calming voice do it wonders. There are the usual sublime lyrics as well - 'Hit traffic on the dogger bank, up the Thames to find a taxi rank, sail on by with the tide and go to sleep'. One of my faves.
10/10
16. Lot 105 (1:19) -
An instrumental with a wurlitzer which starts slowly and picks up with Damon shouting 'La la la la la la la la la'. A good way to end such as varied and interesting album.
7/10
---------------------------------
'Parklife' is probably one of greatest and most diverse collection of styles all fitted together on one album. There's the Disco, punk, new wave, easy listening and the good old bog standard Britpop.
As with other Blur albums, Damon employs a mixture of colourful characters to explore his ideas and eaxh song is constructed brilliantly by Stephen Street.
Blur have proved over and over again that they have what it takes and deserve all their success and more. It is unlikely that their Oasis could even dream of producing such varied and talented songs.
If you haven't got it buy it right now, you won't be disappointed unless you only like 'dance' music.
Advantages: Great songs Disadvantages: Bit too chirpy
...opening chords to closing fade, Parklife is as splendid a work of Brit Pop as you are ever likely to experience, as light hearted, frothy and insubstantial as pop gets, while still hiding a grim and moody sensuality at its heart. Most of the attention was inevitably focused on the pretty boy good looks of Damon Albarn, but this album is as much of a triumph for guitarist Graham Coxon as the happy go lucky frontman. There's plenty of stuff on here ... ...which helps you understand, and Parklife is a truly wonderful example of pop music at its archest. ************************************* Girls & Boys ************************************* Jolly Up your fairground, boys, the street urchins are back in town with their up tempo Oompah Oompah triumph, as Damon comes over all Club 18-30 - "Girls who are boys who like boys to be girls who do boys like they're girls who do girls like they're boys, always ...
thehud 23.10.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Parklife - Blur
Advantages: Fantastic collection of songs Disadvantages: None
I expect everybody knows or knows about this album by now but I couldn't resist having my say on what is truly a classic album by one of my all time favourite bands.
"ParkLife" was released in 1994 featuring the greyhound racing cover (a soft spot for the band, Damon in particular). It features Blur's usual line-up of Damon Albarn, Dave Rowntree, Alex James and Graham Coxon - all have done other musical projects aswell, but I digress. In fact, I ... ...old as it still sounds so fresh and interesting to me.
Tracklisting:
Girls & Boys
Tracy Jacks
End of a Century
Parklife
Bank Holiday
Badhead
The Debt Collector
Far Out
To the End
London Loves
Trouble in the Message Centre
Clover over Dover
Magic America
Jubilee
This is a low
Lot 105
There are many highlights and few lowlights to this album and the best known tracks are probably "Girls & Boys" and "ParkLife" - both massive hit singles. ...
blurbubble 25.04.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Parklife - Blur
Advantages: British guitar music was back on the map Disadvantages: absolutely nuffink
...synonomous of generation. Blur's Parklife was the sound of the English layabout striking back, great tracks include the title track "Parklife" with the lads backed up with cockney rap from Phil Daniels, "Boys and Girl" and "End of the Century" to name but a few. This album paved the way for a whole generation of British guitar music, for which, I for one, owe a debt of gratitude. ...
JohnnyBravo 13.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Parklife - Blur
Advantages: Excellent album which did infact put Blur back on the map. Disadvantages: Couple of poor tracks!
...an effort until 94 when Parklife appeared on the shelves. It would have been the best album of the time only for Oasis..Definitely Maybe but to be second best to that album doesn`t make it bad in any way.
The Inlay way also quite good in the style of dogs racing with the numbers on the back as if the tracks were names of dogs!
This album is amazing fluent from start to finish although some tracks sound similar. It is full of energy, originality, ... ..."We are Back"
1 Parklife starts with GIRLS AND BOYS. The perfect start to a great album. Full of energy and imagination. "Streets Like a Jungle, So call the Police" Why? I don`t know but it sound great. The whole track "Girls who like girls to be boys and the boys to be girls....yap yap yap excellent!
2 TRACEY JACKS was never single material but was the type of quality track you find on the best albums. Very imaginitive again and continues the ...
kingbill 03.08.2006 (04.10.2008)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Parklife - Blur
Advantages: Lots of great tracks Disadvantages: They get stuck in your head
This was the first Blur album that I bought, and was a favourite of mine for a long time. This was one of the albums that really brought the UK music scene to many peoples attention - then they called it Britpop! There's not a bad song on the album, and there are 15 or 16 songs in total. The singles give a good view of the album but are not necessarily the best points. Songs such as This Is A Low and Bad Head show that there is another side to Blur ...
bjlangley 06.09.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Parklife - Blur
Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency...
How does it compare to ...
Value for Money
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Reviews which might be of interest for "Parklife - Blur"
Advantages: SOME really impressive stuff Disadvantages: Maybe a different style was not good for them
So then, Blur!! what a band !!
six great albums:
Leisure
Modern Life Is Rubbish
Parklife
The Great Escape
Blur and now
Blur 13, this albums consists of basically 13 songs hence the name, 4 of these songs are pretty well known :
Tender
Bugman
Coffee + TV
and
No Ditance Left To Run, the rest are a change in style of song writing work for Blur,
unlike their older hits Parklife and Chamless Man.
Blur have changed for this Album maybe they've matured.
But this album is definetly only for the bigger fans of the band,
for the others the change may be too big for their liking. ...
Jojbucki 24.09.2000
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of 13 - Blur
Advantages: Songwriting still sparkles... Disadvantages: ...but self-indulgent and stale
Tellingly, in the July 2000 issue of Q, Graham Coxon of Blur rated "Country House" as the worst song Blur have ever recorded. Not that the song itself was bad, but it was given an overblown production which surgically removed whatever freshness the song may have had.
The above is probably a good summing up of the album as a whole. Overblown production and self-indulgence wrecking several songs. It certainly lacks the freshness, sparkle and energy which characterised its predecessor, "Parklife".
The news isn't all bad - "He Thought Of Cars" is an indicator of the forthcoming change of direction which would characterise the "Blur" album; whilst "Universal" is a candidate for Best Blur Slow Song. But real highlights are few, and the whole thing feels like the dog-end of the Parklife phase of Blur's career.
I blame Britpop... ...
Advantages: Better than "Leisure" Disadvantages: In retrospect, feels like a practice run for ParkLife
After the so-so "Leisure" album, which showed only brief sparks of promise, came this MUCH more substantial offering...
This was the first in the trilogy of Blur albums which explored Britishness in all its frolics and follies - the fashionable boredom of "For Tomorrow", the Great British Sunday in "Sunday Sunday". It also pinpointed the British infatuation with Americana in "Miss America" - a theme the band would return to with "Magic America" and "Look Inside America" on Parklife and Blur respectively.
They also began a more playful experimentation with styles and instrumentation, with the stop-start rhythms of "Chemical World" and the juddering guitar tratments on "Oily Water". Plus they introduced the brief tradition of silly, smile-inducing instrumentals, with the glorious "Intermission" and the seaside nostalgia ...
Blur: Damon Albarn (vocals, recorder, Hammond organ, harpsichord, melodica, keyboards, Moog synthesizer, vibraphone, programming); Alex James (vocals, bass); Graham Coxon (acoustic & electric guitars, clarinet, saxophone, percussion, background vocals); Stephen Street (keyboards, programming); David Rowntree (drums, percussion, programming). Additional personnel: Phil Daniels, Laetitia Sadier (vocals); Louisa Fuller, Rick Koster, Mark Pharoah (violin); John Metcalfe (viola); Ivan McCready (cello); Chris Tombling, Audrey Riley, Leo Payne, Chris Pitsillides (strings); Simon Clarke (flute, alto & baritone saxophones); Stephen Hague (accordion); Tim Sanders (soprano & tenor saxophones, trombone); Roddy Lorimer (flugelhorn, trombone); Richard Edwards, Neil Sidwell (trombone). Producers: Stephen Street, Stephen Hague, John Smith, Blur. Recorded at Maison Rouge & Rak Studios, London, England from November 1993-January 1994. After many decades of rock, there's an equation that still holds true--there's only twelve major chords to choose from. And if you listened to the British rock press, you'd think that they invented them. Wedged in between retro and revisionist sits Blur. Wearing the hat of a Ray Davies-type sociologist, Blur's Damon Albarn weaves tales of modern London laced with the suspicion that indeed, the empire HAS ended. Albarn's fascination with urban decay was apparent on MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH, but with the followup PARKLIFE, Blur embraces the modern. During the instrumentals, PARKLIFE plays like a surreal game show. Layering the aesthetic of the 1980s film "Brazil" with the Kinks' "David Watts," Blur is quite possibly the new British hope. While Blur emerged from the same fertile, neo-glam soil as Suede (Albarn's girlfriend, Justine of Elastica, used to be Suede's rhythm guitarist), Blur is the king among the new British glams. The disco rhythms and keyboards in "Girls & Boys" highlight Albarn's cutesy look at romance in the 1990s. A climate where everyone is "looking for girls who want boys who like/Boys to be girls who do/Boys like their girls who do/Girls like their boys." Laments Albarn, "Oh I should be someone you really love." If it's solid pop songs with a bite you're craving, you'll love PARKLIFE.
Album Reviews
Q (10/01, p.85) - Ranked #15 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime" Q (12/99, p.82) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s." Mojo (1/95, p.51) - Included in Mojo's "25 Best Albums of 1994" - "...PARKLIFE shares its ragamuffin rambunctiousness with past masters like The Small Faces and The Kinks but has a contemporary sense of the surreal..." NME (12/24/94, p.22) - Ranked #2 in NME's list of the `Top 50 Albums Of 1994.' Alternative Press (7/95, pp.94-95) - Rated #71 in AP's list of the `Top 99 Of '85-'95.' Q (6/00, p.76) - Ranked #22 in Q's "100 Greatest British Albums" - "...Tempered by a wistful elegiac quality that brilliantly captured England's mixture of madness and mundanity. 'This Is a Low' is one of the most poignant songs ever onthe subject of The British isles." Rolling Stone (6/30/94, p.73) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...With one of the year's best albums, they realize their cheeky ambition: to reassert all the style and wit, boy bonding and stardom aspiration that originally made British rock so dazzling...this is explosive pop..." Spin (8/94, p.87) - Highly Recommended - "...Blur cultivates that new wave look and sound, evoking the halcyon days of yore when London produced weekly pop sensations the way today's American college towns produce Superchunk clones..." Alternative Press (10/94, p.74) - "...taking MODERN LIFE's `For Tomorrow' to its logical retro conclusion, but making it all seem so shiny, spanking, sparkly new, that the next time there's a '60's revival, they'll have to ask Blur if it's ok with them first..."
Titles on disc 1
1.
Girls And Boys
2.
Tracy Jacks
3.
End Of A Century
4.
Parklife
5.
Bank Holiday
6.
Debt Collector
7.
Far Out
8.
To The End
9.
London Loves
10.
Trouble In The Message Centre
11.
Clover Over Dover
12.
Magic America
13.
Jubilee
14.
This Is A Low
15.
This Is A Low
16.
Lot 105
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