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Rating: The official announcement of the new reunion of Blur has come these days. The reunion was completed by a performance at the Brit Awards 2012, with Damon Albarn, to be honest, not in top form, and by the announcement of the iconic Britpop band as the headliner for the closing ceremony concert of the London 2012 Olympic Games, scheduled for August 12 in the British capital, at Hyde Park. Thus, there is no better moment in this new decade to review the band's most representative and timeless album: "Parklife," the third work of the band.
Released in 1994, it is one of the 4/5 fundamental britpop albums, probably the one that synthesizes its essence more than any other and contributed to its mass spread outside of England. It's a compact yet very varied album, where the Madchester influences from the two previous albums, especially "Leisure," are mixed with typical mod influences, high-level orchestrations, and a pop songwriting style that is quintessentially Kinksian, Beatles-esque, and above all Albarnian. The album opens with "Girls & Boys," whose famous bassline and compelling chorus first made it a chart-topping single and then a precious gem in the crown of British music. The second track is "Tracy Jacks," a solid pop rock piece with an engaging riff and a chorus that instantly sticks in your head, enhanced by a Madchester patina that doesn't hurt and finished with delightful accompanying strings. It is followed by the pleasant ballad with strong Britpop veins, "End Of The Century," one of the most loved pieces by the Essex quartet’s fans. The fourth track is the title track, and it is the most mod findable on the album: starting from the The Who-inspired riff, masterfully conceived and interpreted by Graham Coxon, up to the recitation of verses entrusted to mod icon Phil Daniels, actor in the legendary film "Quadrophenia." But what particularly pleases is the historic chorus, which is rigorously sung by Albarn: a true liberating anthem to outdoor life, free and carefree, typical of the immense English parks. Then comes the transition eruption of "Bank Holiday" to reach a triple typically sixties passage, particularly reminiscent of "Sgt. Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band" by the Beatles or "The Village Green Preservation Society" by the Kinks: the ballad "Badhead" and the orientally psychedelic "The Debt Collector" and "Far Out." Following this pleasant moment, typical of a '67 era concept album, is the beautiful "To The End": a classic Blur orchestral chorus, a celebrated example being the splendid "The Universal" from the next album, embellished by the sweet French voice of Lætitia Sadier from Stereolab.
The album then accelerates with the funky "London Loves," where Alex James gives us further demonstration of his splendid bass playing skills, already highlighted splendidly with "Girls & Boys." From here on, the album pleasantly flows along the lines of what has been said before: "Trouble In The Message Centre," "Clover Over Dover," and "Magic America" are three prototype standards of the typical '90s Britpop song in Blur style, while "Jubilee" is a classic and well-executed piece akin to "Modern Life Is Rubbish." The penultimate track is the splendid and critically acclaimed "This Is A Low," a track almost twin to "To The End," where the chorus is more compelling than ever, bringing the listener to a serene, liberating, and carefree closure with the short but very intriguing "Lot 105," a sort of non-bonus track bonus track, which places a sweet and highly welcome cherry on an already regal quality cake.
What can I say: fantastic album and legendary band. It will be an incredible privilege to be at Hyde Park on August 12 and witness firsthand one of the most important events in British music of this new and difficult decade.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Girls & Boys (04:50)
Street's like a jungle
So call the police
Following the herd
Down to Greece
On holiday
Love in the 90's
Is paranoid
On sunny beaches
Take your chan-ces
Looking for
Girls who want boys
Who like boys to be girls
Who do boys like they're girls
Who do girls like they're boys
Always should be someone you really love
Avoiding all work
'Cuz there's none available
Low battery thinkers
Count your thoughts
On one two three four
Five fingers
Nothing is wasted
Only reproduced
You get nasty blisters
Du bist sehr schön
But we haven't been
Introduced
Girls who want boys
Who like boys to be girls
Who do boys like they're girls
Who do girls like they're boys
Always should be someone you really love
Girls who want boys
Who like boys to be girls
Who do boys like they're girls
Who do girls like they're boys
Always should be someone to really love
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh
Looking for
Girls who want boys
Who like boys to be girls
Who do boys like they're girls
Who do girls like they're boys
Always should be someone you really love
Girls who want boys
Who like boys to be girls
Who do boys like they're girls
Who do girls like they're boys
Always should be someone you really love
Girls who want boys
Who like boys to be girls
Who do boys like they're girls
Who do girls like they're boys
Always should be someone you really love
Girls who want boys
Who like boys to be girls
Who do boys like they're girls
Who do girls like they're boys
Always should be someone to really love
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
oh oh oh oh oh
02 Tracy Jacks (04:20)
(Tracy Jacks) works in civil service
(Tracy Jacks) it's steady employment
(Tracy Jacks) it's a golfing fanatic
(Tracy Jacks) but his put is erratic
(Tracy Jacks) saw a Harley Street doctor
(Tracy Jacks) who prescribed healthy living
(Tracy Jacks) but he's getting past forty
(Tracy Jacks) and all the seams are splitting
everyday he got closer
he knew in his heart he was over
i'd love to stay here and be normal
but it's just so over rated
(Tracy Jacks) left home without warning
(Tracy Jacks) at five in the morning
(Tracy Jacks) got on the first train to Walton
(Tracy Jacks) and stood on the seafront
(Tracy Jacks) threw his clothes in the water
(Tracy Jacks) and ran around naked
(Tracy Jacks) got stopped by the police
(Tracy Jacks) and escorted back home
everyday he got closer
he knew in his heart he was over
i'd love to stay here and be normal
but then it's just so over rated
and then it happened on a Tuesday morning
Tracy Jacks bulldozed down the house he lived in
saying it's just so overrated
everyday he got closer
he knew in his heart he was over
i'd love to stay here and be normal
but it was alway over rated
03 End of a Century (02:45)
She says there's ants in the carpet
Dirty little monsters
Eating all the morsels
Picking up the rubbish
Give her effervescence
She needs a little sparkle
Good morning t.v.
You're lookin' so healthy
CHORUS:
We all say
Dont want to be alone
We wear the same clothes
'cause we feel the same
We kiss with dry lips
When we say goodnight
End of a century.. it's nothing special
Sex on the t.v.
Everybody's at it
And the mind gets dirty
As you get closer to thirty
He gives her a cuddle
Glowing in a huddle
Good night t.v.
Your all made up
You're looking like me
Chorus
Can... you... eat... her... yes... you... can...
Chorus x2
End of a century.. It's nothing specialx2
04 Parklife (03:05)
OOYY!!
Confidence is a preference
For the habitual voyeur
Of what is known as
(Parklife)
And morning soup can be avoided
If you take a route
Straight through what is known as
(Parklife)
John's got brewers droop he gets
Intimidated by the dirty pigeons
They love a bit of it
(Parklife)
Who's that gut lord marchin?
You should cut down on your porklife mate
Get some exercise
CHORUS:
All the people
So many people
And they all go hand in hand
Hand in hand through their parklife
Know what i mean?
I get up when i want except on wednesdays
When i get rudely awaken by the dustmen
(Parklife)
I put on my trousers on, have a cup of tea
And then think about leaving the house
(Parklife)
I feed the pigeons
I sometimes feed the sparrows too
It gives me a sense of enormous well being
(Parklife)
And then i'm happy for the rest of the day
Safe in the knowledge there will always
Be a bit of my heart devoted to it
CHORUS
Parklife (Parklife)
Parklife (Parklife)
Its got nothing to do with your
Vorsprung durch technique you know
And its not about you joggers
Who go round and round and round and round.....
CHORUS
05 Bank Holiday (01:42)
Grandma needs new dentures
To eat the crust on pizza
Been taken out by her daughter
Because she thought she oughta
The kids are eating Snickers
Because they're so delicious
Then there's sticky fingers
And mother loses her knickers
CHORUS:
Bank holiday comes six times a year
Days of enjoyment to which everyone cheers!
Bank holiday comes with a six pack of beer
Then it's back to work - A. G. A. I. N.
Barbecue is cooking
Sausages and chicken
The patio is buzzing
And neighbours they are looking
John is down the fun pub
Drinking lots of lager
Girls and boys are on the game
And all the high streets look the same!
CHORUS
Back to work - A! G! A-I-N!
Bank holiday!
06 Badhead (03:25)
BADHEAD
So Far
I've not really stayed in touch
Well you knew as much
It's no surprise that today
I'll get up around two from a lack of anything to do
And I might as well just grin and bear it
Because it's not worth the trouble of an argument
And you
Not really stayed in touch
Well I knew as much
It's no surprise that today
I get up around two with nothing to do
Except get a touch of flu
And I might as well just grin and bear it
Because it's not worth the trouble of an argument
And in any case I'd rather wear it
It's like a badhead in the morning
I know
And I might as well grin and bear it
Because it's not worth the trouble of an argument
And in any case I'd rather wear it
It's like a badhead in the morning
And I might as well grin and bear it
Because it's not worth the trouble of an argument
And in any case I'd rather wear it
It's like a badhead in the morning
I know
08 Far Out (01:41)
I spy in the night sky don't I
phoebe io elara leda callisto sinope
janus dione portia so many moons
quiet in the sky at night hot in the milky way
outside in
vega capella hadar rigel barnard's star
antares aldebaran altair wolf 359
betelgeuse sun sun sun...................
10 London Loves (04:15)
A malady has taken him over
Coughing tar in his japanese motor
The lights are magic
And he feels lucky
And he's got money
Shoots like an arrow - oh
London loves
The mystery of a speeding car
London loves
The misery of a speeding heart
Its love u like, and everyone's at it
And words are cheap when the mind is elastic
He loves the violence
Keeps ticking over
So sleep together
Before today is sold forever
London loves
The way people just fall apart
London loves
The way you just don't stand a chance
London loves
The mystery of a speeding car
O-oh o-oh o-oh o-oh
London loves
The mystery of a speeding car
London loves
The misery of a speeding heart
London loves
The mystery
London loves
The way people just fall apart
London loves
The way we just don't stand a chance
London loves
A speeding heart
11 Trouble in the Message Centre (04:09)
I am the message centre
Local and direct
Room to room
An operator
(No calls today, dear
They'll just have to wait, dear)
I call
And I collect
(So just strike him softly
Away from the body)
You're made up too shiny today
There's so much trouble
Your thoughts are just
Pissing away
It's so much trouble
I am a manager
And I am in control
As the local delegator
(No calls today, dear
They'll just have to wait, dear)
I offer no guarantee at all
(So don't take it lightly
You passed your sell-by date)
You're made up too shiny today
It's so much trouble
Your thoughts are just
Pissing away
It's so much trouble
A new typeface
A new day
It's so much trouble
You can't remember ten minutes ago
It's so much trouble
Too much trouble
12 Clover Over Dover (03:22)
I'm on the white cliffs of Dover
Thinking it over and over
But if I jump its all over
A cautionary tale for you
I'd like to roll in the clover
With you over and over
On the white cliffs of dover
And then I'd let you push me over
and if that is the fact then in actual fact
it's not where it's at
and it's over
and if that is the fact then in actual fact
i'm not where it's at
and it's over
yes it is
And now the bluebirds are over
Over the white cliffs of dover
So when you push me over
Don't bury me I'm not worth anything
14 Jubilee (02:47)
Jubilee slouches in his settee
He's losing all will to move
He got dippy, too much telly
He watching 24 hours of rubbish
He got butane, he got plastic bags
His eyes are going square - oh yeah
He's no raver, just anti-social
He not going to cut his hair
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how
Seventeen
He not mean enough
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how
Seventeen
He not keen on being like
Anyone else
Jubilee's dad, Billy Banker,
Thinks his son's a slob
Should get out more, stop scabbing,
He really should go and get a job
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how to do it
Seventeen
He's not mean enough
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how, where to go
But he just don't get out enough
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how, where to go
But he just don't get out enough
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how to do it, talk to girls
But he's just to spotty
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how
Seventeen
He not keen on being like
Anyone else
So he just plays on his computer game!
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how to do it
Seventeen
He's not mean enough
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how, where to go
But he just don't get out enough
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how to do it, talk to girls
But he's just too spotty
He dresses incorrectly
No one told him how to do it, where to go
He's not keen on being like anyone
He's not being like
Jubilee is not like
Anyone else.
15 This Is a Low (05:07)
And into the sea goes pretty England and me
Around the Bay of Biscay and back for tea
Hit traffic on the Dogger bank
Up the Thames to find a taxi rank
Sail on by with the tide and go asleep
And the radio says
(chorus)
This is a low
But it won't hurt you
When you are alone it will be there with you
Finding ways to stay solo
On the Tyne, Forth, and Cromarty
There's a low in the high Forties
And Saturday's locked away on the pier
Not fast enough dear
On the Malin head, Blackpool looks blue and red
And the queen, she's gone round the bend
Jumped off land's end
(chorus x 3)
16 Lot 105 (01:18)
La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la - ha ha
La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la - ha ha
La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la
Eighteen times a week, love
Ha ha ha ha ha!
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Other reviews
By danieleerpiccoletto
It's a timeless, smooth, and clean record throughout its duration.
This is exactly the strength of 'Parklife': an album that presents new facets in each of its songs, simply stunning.
By ste84
These Blur aren't bad, eh Ste!
This album forced me to take a step back and also appreciate the music of Blur which is totally different from that of Oasis and, I reluctantly admit, even a little smarter.
By temi
Parklife was an enormous sales success, crowned by a slew of awards, a record still unbeaten.
Listen to this album, you won’t regret it.
By 2000
Parklife today can be the true emblem of Britpop alongside Different Class and Morning Glory.
An album that satirizes that generation of burnouts, average people, without "charm", the middle class ironically narrated by a group not exactly sober.
