Blur - Parklife

Modern Life Is Rubbish established Blur as the heir to the archly British pop of the Kinks, the Small Faces, and the Jam, but its follow-up, Parklife, revealed the depth of that transformation. Relying more heavily on Ray Davies' seriocomic social commentary, as well as new wave, Parklife runs through the entire history of post-british invasion britpop in the course of 16 songs, touching on psychedelia, synth pop, disco, punk, and music hall along the way. Damon Albarn intended these songs to form a sketch of British life in the mid-'90s, and it's startling how close he came to his goal; not only did the bouncy, disco-fied "Girls & Boys" and singalong chant "Parklife" become anthems in the U.K., but they inaugurated a new era of britpop and lad culture, where British youth celebrated their country and traditions. The legions of jangly, melodic bands that followed in the wake of Parklife revealed how much more complex Blur's vision was. Not only was their music precisely detailed -- sound effects and brilliant guitar lines pop up all over the record -- but the melodies elegantly interweaved with the chords, as in the graceful, heartbreaking "Badhead." Surprisingly, Albarn, for all of his cold, dispassionate wit, demonstrates compassion that gives these songs three dimensions, as on the pathos-laden "End of a Century," the melancholy Walker Brothers tribute "To the End," and the swirling, epic closer, "This Is a Low." For all of its celebration of tradition, Parklife is a thoroughly modern record in that it bends genres and is self-referential (the mod anthem of the title track is voiced by none other than Phil Daniels, the star of Quadrophenia). And, by tying the past and the present together, Blur articulated the mid-'90s zeitgeist and produced an epoch-defining record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Alex James Vocals, Guitar, Noise Audrey Riley Strings Bob Thomas Photography Brunskill Photography Chris Pitsillides Strings Chris Tombling Strings Damon Albarn Programming, Vibraphone, Recorder, Vocals, Melodica, Synthesizer, Organ (Hammond), Strings, Moog Synthesizer, Harpsichord, Vocals (Background) Dave Rowntree Noise, Drums, Crowd Noise, Percussion, Programming Far Out Crowd Noise, Guitar (Bass) Graham Coxon Vocals (Background), Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Saxophone, Clarinet, Vocals, Percussion Ivan McCready Cello John Metcalfe Viola, Arranger John Smith Engineer, Producer, Engineer Kevin Godley Director Laetitia Sadier Vocals Leo Payne Strings Louise Fuller Violin Mark Pharoah Violin Phil Daniels Narrator, Trombone, Horn Richard Edwards Trombone Richard Koster Violin Roddy Lorimer Trombone Simon Clarke Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone) Stephen Hague Piano, Engineer, Producer Stephen Street Programming, ?, Sound Effects, Keyboards, Producer Tim Sanders Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)