After many decades of rock, there's an equation that still holds true--there are 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.
Recorded at Maison Rouge & Rak Studios, London, England from November 1993-January 1994.
Producers: Stephen Street, Stephen Hague, John Smith, Blur.
Personnel: Graham Coxon (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, clarinet, saxophone, percussion, background vocals); Alex James (vocals, guitar); Damon Albarn (vocals, strings, melodica, recorder, harpsichord, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, vibraphone, programming, background vocals); Laetitia Sadier (vocals); Louise Fuller, Mark Pharoah, Richard Koster (violin); John Metcalfe (viola); Ivan McCready (cello); Chris Tombling, Chris Pitsillides, Leo Payne, Audrey Riley (strings); Simon Clarke (flute, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Tim Sanders (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Phil Daniels (trombone, horns); Richard Edwards, Roddy Lorimer (trombone); Stephen Hague (piano); Stephen Street (keyboards, programming, sound effects); Far Out (bass guitar); Dave Rowntree (drums, percussion, programming).
Recording information: Mason Rouge, Fulham, London, England; Rak Studios, St. John's Wood, London, England.
Director: Kevin Godley.
Photographers: Bob Thomas; Brunskill.
Unknown Contributor Role: Stephen Street.
Arranger: John Metcalfe.
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).
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..." 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." 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." Alternative Press (7/95, pp.94-95) - Rated #71 in AP's list of the `Top 99 Of '85-'95.' 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..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.56) - Ranked #72 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "Years ago, when albums were this magical they had titles like SOMETHING ELSE BY THE KINKS." Mojo (Publisher) (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 (Magazine) (12/24/94, p.22) - Ranked #2 in NME's list of the `Top 50 Albums Of 1994.'
Blurs Best! Brilliant Pop! If I had a nickel for everytime someone connected "retro" and "revivalist" with this album I'd be able to buy that Blur Singles Box Set. But seriously, Blur are very talented and not simply "updating" the Kinks and the Jam. "Girls & Boys", "Parklife", and my personal favourite, "Tracy Jacks", are some of THE catchiest pop songs you'll EVER hear. Blur has perfect chemistry. Damon Alburn, the singer, writes wonderful, satiric lyrics and incredible melodies. Graham Coxon, the guitarist, is the key to how fresh they sound, he brings punkish, indie rock leads to each song on this album. Alex James brings the pop with his bouncy basslines and Dave Rowntree...hes a good drummer. Anyway, Parklife has many awesome songs and lots of diversity. "Bank Holiday" is fast-paced punk but is Soooo catchy and fun, "To The End" is a beautiful slow-jam, and "London Loves" and "Trouble in the Message Center" are awesome new wave/glam rock. Contrary to popular belief, this album isn't "too british". Anyone with any appreciation for great pop rock needs this album. A very entertaining, fun, intelligent, witty, album thats both complex and consistently wonderful throughout. Submitted by a reviewer (long beach, ny) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Parklife - 16 tracks of brilliance.... I first heard this album about 2 weeks after it was released. I'd not heard much by Blur before then, except "there's no other way". However when I put on the cassette and heard "Boys and Girls" for the first time - my ears were glued to the speakers! This has to be one of my favourite albums of all time, from the funny cockney type songs such as "Clover over Dover", "London Loves" and "Bank Holiday", down to the classic blur-indiesque tunes of "End of a century" and "Badhead", and not forgetting balads such as "To the End" and "This is a low", this album has something for everyone and its magic - pure brilliance. Submitted by a reviewer (London, UK) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
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