I came late to the game on Blur, I'll admit it. They've been around for...what?...29 years now? And the first album that I ever actually broke down and bought by them was The Great Escape. And I didn't like it......then.
But, like Blur, I've changed. I've evolved. And, after a long, self-induced boycott on Blur, I've come back (as have they) in a big way with 2003's Think Tank.
In my running for the not-so-coveted BlueKitchen Album of the Year, Think Tank is a diverse collection of songs that is a career-defining record for any band...except maybe for Blur. It starts quietly and expertly with Ambulance and Out of Time, and then brings in producer Fat Boy Slim for the first single, Crazy Beat. And, while it is a jam, I think it may be the weakest song on the album, and not just because it's gotten some radio play. It, forgive me, may just be too Fat Boy Slimmy, what with the wah-wah voice and abrupt bursts that have you questioning the volume level you thought you had perfectly set. It would fit nicely on a Various Artists record titled Songs to Pogo To, but here I just feel it bangs around on an album that didn't need to bang around.
See, there I go. I absolutely love this album, but have chosen to use a paragraph to knock a song on it...that I actually like! Christ, I'm negative.
Anyway, back to the praise. I'm sure many of you rabid Blur fans (what are you, 65 years old now?) were wondering how the boys would fare after losing guitarist Graham Coxon to the dreaded "artistic differences" between he and songwriter/vocalist Damon Albarn. If Think Tank is any indication...they haven't missed a beat. Not even a crazy beat, yeah, yeah. -Eric Morris
I came late to the game on Blur, I'll admit it. They've been around for...what?...29 years now? And the first album that I ever actually broke down and bought by them was The Great Escape. And I didn't like it......then.
