From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Blur
Studio album by Blur
Released	February 10, 1997
Recorded	June 1996-November 1996
Genre	Alternative rock Indie rock
Length	57:01
Label	Food Virgin Records America
Producer	Stephen Street, Blur
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Pitchfork Media (7.3/10) link Rolling Stone link
Blur chronology
The Great Escape (1995) Blur (1997) 13 (1999)

Blur is the fifth album by Blur, released on February 10, 1997 in the UK. It reached #1 in the UK album chart, while making significant headway in the US with "Song 2" becoming a hit there and earning Blur a gold record in the process. It also spawned several hit singles in the UK, most notably "Beetlebum" and "Song 2".

The album's style was resultant of Blur's dropping their previous Britpop mantle in favour of lo-fi and alternative rock recordings, reportedly at Graham Coxon's urging. As a result, Blur was a hit primarily because it proved that Blur could evolve beyond their Britpop roots, in contrast to other formerly Britpop bands such as Oasis, who critically disappointed with their 1997 release Be Here Now. The album's move from Britpop was emphasised by this being the first Blur album not to use Stylorouge cover-art and also not to have lyrics and chords printed in the liner notes, instead having a composite photo of the band in the studio spread out over three panels.

The album has been certified Gold in U.S.

All tracks written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, except where noted.

1. "Beetlebum" – 5:04
2. "Song 2" – 2:02
3. "Country Sad Ballad Man" – 4:50
4. "M.O.R." (Blur, David Bowie, Brian Eno) – 3:27
5. "On Your Own" – 4:26
6. "Theme from Retro" – 3:37
7. "You're So Great" (Graham Coxon) – 3:35
8. "Death of a Party" – 4:33
9. "Chinese Bombs" – 1:24
10. "I'm Just a Killer for Your Love" * – 4:11
11. "Look Inside America" – 3:50
12. "Strange News from Another Star" – 4:02
13. "Movin' On" – 3:44
14. "Essex Dogs" – 8:08
    • Japanese release has "Dancehall" as a separate track, calling it a "Bonus track for Japan." – 6:25
    • English release only includes "Interlude" as a hidden track, "Essex Dogs" itself is only 6:15 long
    • With both "Dancehall" and "Interlude" included as hidden tracks, "Essex Dogs" clocks in at 11:25

*Produced by Blur

• The cover art portrays the blurred image of a nurse pushing a hospital bed. The album was originally titled Five (this being their fifth album), and the nurse in the cover art had a halo.

• The song "You're So Great" was the first song written by Graham Coxon to appear on a Blur album (his only previous solo outing on a Blur record had been the B-side "Rednecks"). It was performed solely by him and can be seen as the start of his solo career. The extreme lo-fi recording of the track is typical of songs on Coxon's first solo albums.

• "Strange News from Another Star" is named after Strange News from Another Star, a collection of eight short stories written by the German author Hermann Hesse between 1913 and 1918.

• "Country Sad Ballad Man" was inspired by P. J. Proby.