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Blur - Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur Audio CD

A fair review of the Blur "Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Blur reviews here, or go back to the Blur tabs.

Blur Band: Blur
Title: Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur
Rating:
Release Date: 2009-07-28
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Beetlebum 2: Girls And Boys (7'' Mix) 3: For Tomorrow (Visit To Primrose Hill Extended) 4: Coffee And TV (Radio Edit) 5: Out Of Time 6: Blue Jeans 7: Song 2 8: Bugman 9: He Thought Of Cars 10: Death Of A Party 11: The Universal 12: Sing 13: This Is A Low 14: Tender 15: She's So High (Single Version) 16: Chemical World 17: Good Song 18: Parklife 19: Advert 20: Popscene 21: Stereotypes 22: Trimm Trabb 23: Bad Head 24: Strange News From Another Star 25: Battery In Your Leg

Really good music
This is one of my favorites of all their work. I love Blur the more I listen to them. .


Hopefully a beginning to something new

blur showed their talent early with "Sing" that later on made the soundtrack for a cult movie, you might remember - Trainspotting. For some guys, blur started (and probably ended) with "woo-hoo" (for your reference the title is Song 2) the song that made them famous in more places than they were before, and gave access to mainstream radios that are reluctant to air anything longer than 3 minutes unless it's paid programming. Luckily this important milestone is included in the compilation, showing the potential of the band capable of doing more than its -somemetimes embarrasing - early releases, like the video for There's no other way (check their Starshaped dvd for the original version of the sinking crew)
While for others in the britpop scene electronica has been a fine flavour added to the guitar riffs, blur was not afraid to build songs on "processed beats", and release songs for their loyal fans that some of others would have thought to be out of scope for them.
My personal favourite is Beetlebum, the opening track, perhaps the most beautiful way to say "I love you", and unfortunately one of the most emotionally frustrating moment I've ever heard recorded. On the other hand, Parklife, one of their best is joyful and colourful, you just want to jump up and down as you hear it. . .
All in all. . . a best buy for those who want to dive in deeper. . . . .


Excellent title for a Blur collection
As so often happens when coming across some music that is enjoyable, I immersed myself in the back catalog, and by that time Blur's was already entailing four studio albums, albums that showcased quite a musical difference from the self-titled LP. I'll admit to being one of those Americans who didn't know much of anything about Blur before Song 2. And I loved every minute of it. Whereas the Greatest Hits collection showcased the vast amount of singles, this album truly comes across as a beginner's guide. . . a smattering of hits and album tracks from those five albums and the subsequent two afterward. Its more of a superbly constructed personal mixtape or iTunes playlist for the band than anything, showcasing some extraordinary songs not released on their own like Trimm Trabb, Badhead, This is a Low, and Advert.

Every compilation package for any band comes with its faults, and this is no different. Some big hits are missing (especially for the US audience, Country House and There's No Other Way could've made the cut over some of the other singles). No track from their incredible b-side collection is represented. And there's nothing new to give those of us with the studio albums reason to go out and buy this (maybe that's a good thing. . . though probably not from a marketing standpoint). But if I were to be on the lookout for a quality introduction to one of the best bands of the 90s, this comes pretty close to how it should be.

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You can see a complete list of all Blur discography, or go back to the Blur tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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