25. Parklife - Blur 1994
Such was the impact on modern, British culture, this album had, some clueless critics asked questions to the band about the ideas behind "their debut album", when in fact, this was the band's third full length release, and the first two were hardly unsuccessful, but in comparison to 'Parklife', they were relatively low-key. The record, was essentially taking the overall approach of previous album, 'Modern Life is Rubbish', and taking it to its natural conclusion. When touring the U.S. off the back of their arty, Baggy-influenced, Shoe-gazey debut, 'Leisure', front man, Damon Albarn, began missing simple things about living in southern England. After listening to the quintessentially English 1960's rock band, the Kinks, the seed was sown. Against a backdrop of a Grunge Rock, obsessed world, 'Modern Life Is Rubbish' didn't fare as well as expected, despite a couple of hits lifted from the record. After 'Modern Life...', Albarn started writing very prolifically and the songs were encompassing many different styles and sounds. Albarn's complete disbelief at what was making the band, Suede. so popular, as well as his disdain for all things American, at the time, were definite catalysts for many of the songs on offer here. 'Parklife' was nearly going to be called 'London', but that decision was changed, late on in the creation. Oasis' Noel Gallagher, went on record to say that it was like "Southern England personified!" He was not wrong in the slightest. From the cheeky, Two-Tone, inspired title track that features 'Quadrophenia' star, Phil Daniels on narration duties, to the Punk-Rock leanings of 'Bank Holiday', you might as well be drinking a pint of Lager in an East-End pub called The Red Lion, reading The Sun, with a West Ham shirt on on your lunch break from your brick-laying job. First track and lead single, Girls and Boys, is a synth pop anthem that conjures up images of squads of sun seeking Brits in packs of males and females getting inebriated in a Spanish holiday destination. There is subtlety though in the war-time ballroom sounding ballad, 'To The End', where Albarn displays a softer, less "laddish" persona. Ably backed by three immensely talented musicians, Alex James - Bass, Graham Coxon - Guitar and Dave Rowntree - Drums, on 'Parklife', Albarn scored a home-run, or a test century, to keep it British! This record and Oasis' 'Definately Maybe', released the same year, were the marquee releases of what would become known in the mid nineties as, 'Britrock'. Oasis were the yin to Blur's yang, as they were none-more-northern, all Manchester swaggers, slack jawed, Beatles obsessed, city fans with a less poppy, louder, brash, northern attitude. They were the scallies to Blur's, Geezers. All the cultural overtones aside, Blur's third record was a varied, inspired and superb collection of
songs. That it would come to represent where the U.K. was at the time, and soundtrack many a house party across the land, was a happy accident. It has now gone platinum in Britain, 4 times over and topped the UK album charts and featured three top 20 singles and one top 5 singles. This album is worth a listen, for the hilarious British pier-organ influenced closing track, 'Lot 105', alone.