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Rating: THE REVIEW
"A heavy cruiser free to wander without routes", that's how a music magazine (Mucchio Selvaggio) described Blur a few years ago; a definition that came back to my mind while listening to this "Parklive," recorded at Hyde Park during their concert last summer on the occasion of the closing of the Olympics, available for download and order from the end of last August on the internet and from next December 4th available in stores as well.
Fresh off winning the Brit Awards 2012 with the lifetime achievement award for "outstanding contribution to music," the four launch into what will be one of the two best concerts of their history; the other being the one they did also at Hyde Park in 2009: both held more than twenty years after their debut, quite an interesting and curious fact.
Now I won't sit here and list all the tracks they performed (I'll just tell you that, compared to the 2009 setlist, there were nice surprises, like the revival of the trips of "Caramel" and "Sing," the live version of their latest piece "Under The Westway," emotional and moving, perhaps even better than the studio version, and the instrumental and crazy "Intermission"), what I want to emphasize instead is that the band's 360-degree open-mindedness, "surprising in its style spinning and sound plantation flying over" (again Mucchio Selvaggio), can potentially take them anywhere: "Modern Life Is Rubbish"; "Parklife"; "Blur"; "13"; "Think Tank," are albums that not only have shown a evident, extraordinary evolution in their music, but also an enviable ability and freedom to move in very different musical spaces and this concert (and the previous one in 2009) is further proof of this, with Coxon increasingly unleashed, among jagged and hyper-distorted riffs, noise-like digressions in psychedelic empires with a noiserock and shoegaze imprint and refined and acoustic moments and an Albarn increasingly mature and deep in interpretation.
Will a new Blur record come out? Who knows, it's pointless to ask since even they don't know, but they certainly have earned the freedom to do whatever the hell they want, a fundamental element for producing great music.
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Summary by Bot
Blur's 'Parklive' captures a landmark live concert at Hyde Park, following their Brit Awards lifetime achievement. The review praises the band’s musical evolution, their wide-ranging style from shoegaze to acoustic, and highlights standout tracks like 'Under The Westway'. It celebrates the band’s freedom and maturity, making this performance one of their best.Tracklist Lyrics
05 Under the Westway (live from 13, Matt Butcher mix) (03:16)
08 Young and Lovely (05:13)
09 Colin Zeal (live at Wolverhampton Civic Hall 6-9-2012) (03:09)
11 Mr Briggs (BBC Maida Vale session) (03:30)
16 Under the Westway (live from 13, Matt Butcher mix) (04:21)
23 Under the Westway/Commercial Break (06:34)
27 Young and Lovely (live at Wolverhampton Civic Hall 6-9-2012) (04:39)
Blur
English rock band formed in Colchester; core members include Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree. Rose to prominence during the Britpop era and later explored experimental and electronic sounds. Active from 1989 to present.49 Reviews
