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Blur: The Best Of

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Untitled
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(88/100)[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Drowned in Sound6/10[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
NME9/10[6]
Pitchfork8.6/10[7]
Q[8]
Robert ChristgauA−[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Wall of Sound86/100[11]

Blur: The Best Of is a greatest hits compilation album by English Britpop band Blur, first released in late 2000 and is the final Blur album by Food Records. It was released on CD, cassette tape, MiniDisc, double 12" vinyl record, DVD and VHS. The CD album includes 17 of Blur's 23 singles from 1990 to 2000, plus non-single, "This Is a Low". A special edition of the CD version included a live CD. The DVD/VHS version contains the videos of Blur's first 22 singles. The tracks 'Beetlebum' and 'Song 2' appears in the same order and tracklist of Blur (1997) where it originally appeared. The album, which has had enduring sales, hit number 3 in the band's native UK in the autumn of 2000, while denting the US charts at number 186. The cover is by artist Julian Opie. The painting of this Blur album can be found at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England. The album's cover bears some similarity to that of Queen's 1982 Hot Space.

The album received a positive critical response. Of the reviews collected from notable publications by popular review aggregator website Metacritic, the album holds an overall approval rating of 88%.[1]

On the chart ending 7 March 2009, it was reported by Music Week that the album passed over one million unit sales in the United Kingdom.

A proposed title for the album was Best Blur Album in the World Ever,[12] in reference to the compilation album series The Best... Album in the World...Ever! (which often contained songs by Blur).

Track listing

Disc one

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

No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."Beetlebum"Blur, 19975:05
2."Song 2"Blur2:02
3."There's No Other Way" (Edited version)Leisure, 19913:14
4."The Universal"The Great Escape, 19954:00
5."Coffee & TV" (Single edit)13, 19995:18
6."Parklife"Parklife, 19943:07
7."End of a Century"Parklife2:47
8."No Distance Left to Run"133:26
9."Tender"137:41
10."Girls & Boys" (Single edit)Parklife4:18
11."Charmless Man"The Great Escape3:33
12."She's So High" (Edited version)Leisure3:49
13."Country House"The Great Escape3:57
14."To the End" (Edited version)Parklife3:51
15."On Your Own"Blur4:27
16."This Is a Low" (Not released as a single)Parklife5:02
17."For Tomorrow" (Visit to Primrose Hill extended version)Original, shorter version on Modern Life is Rubbish, 19936:02
18."Music Is My Radar"Previously unreleased, 20005:29

Disc two (Limited Edition)

Recorded live at Wembley Arena, 11 December 1999.

  1. "She's So High" – 5:24
  2. "Girls & Boys" – 4:21
  3. "To the End" – 4:08
  4. "End of a Century" – 3:00
  5. "Stereotypes" – 3:27
  6. "Charmless Man" – 3:31
  7. "Beetlebum" – 6:09
  8. "M.O.R." – 3:09
  9. "Tender" – 6:20
  10. "No Distance Left to Run" – 4:09

VHS/DVD

  1. "She's So High"
  2. "There's No Other Way"
  3. "Bang"
  4. "Popscene"
  5. "For Tomorrow"
  6. "Chemical World"
  7. "Sunday Sunday"
  8. "Girls & Boys"
  9. "Parklife"
  10. "To the End"
  11. "End of a Century"
  12. "Country House"
  13. "The Universal"
  14. "Stereotypes"
  15. "Charmless Man"
  16. "Beetlebum"
  17. "Song 2"
  18. "On Your Own"
  19. "M.O.R."
  20. "Tender"
  21. "Coffee & TV"
  22. "No Distance Left to Run"

Both the CDs and the DVD were released as a box set in the United States in November 2007, but this release has since been removed from distribution.[13]

Personnel

Blur
with
  • Blur – Producer
  • Jack Clark – Mixing Assistant
  • Al Clay – Mixing
  • Jason Cox – Engineer
  • Tom Girling – Assistant Producer
  • Stephen Hague – Producer, Engineer
  • Ben Hillier – Producer, Mixing
  • Jeff Knowler – Assistant Engineer
  • Damian LeGassick – Programming
  • Steve Lovell – Producer
  • Gerard Navarro – Assistant Engineer
  • William Orbit – Producer, Engineer
  • Jeremy Plumb – Art Direction, Design
  • Steve Power – Producer
  • Iain Roberton – Assistant Engineer
  • Andy Ross – Engineer
  • John Smith – Producer, Engineer
  • Sean Spuehler – Programming
  • Stephen Street – Producer, Engineer
  • Greg Williams – Photography

Charts and certifications

References

  1. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for The Best of Blur". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  2. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Blur: The Best Of at AllMusic
  3. ^ Blur: Best of + live CD at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 November 2007)
  4. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
  5. ^ Brunner, Rob (1 December 2000). "The Best of Blur". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  6. ^ Sutherland, Steve (October 2000). "Blur: The Best of Blur". NME. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  7. ^ Juzwiak, Richard M. (21November 2000). "Blur: The Best of Blur". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 August 2017. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "The Best of Blur". Q: p.120. November 2000. {{cite journal}}: |page= has extra text (help)
  9. ^ Robert Christgau review
  10. ^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City: Simon and Schuster. p. 89. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. ^ Wall of Sound review
  12. ^ "Blur: The Best Of – album info". Vblurpage.com. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  13. ^ Amazon.com details for "Blur: The Best Of"
  14. ^ "Australian chart positions". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Austrian chart positions". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 June 2005. Retrieved 2014-01-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0BAEAAAAMBAJ&lr=&rview=1
  18. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 2012-01-15. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. ^ "German album positions". musicline.de. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  20. ^ https://books.google.co.uk/books?lr=&rview=1&id=0BAEAAAAMBAJ&q=blur#v=snippet&q=blur&f=false
  21. ^ http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1995a.htm
  22. ^ "ブラーのCDアルバムランキング". oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style. Retrieved 16 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ "New Zealand chart positions". charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ "Norwegian chart positions". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ "Swedish chart positions". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  26. ^ "Swiss chart positions". hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ "British chart positions". chartstats.com. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  28. ^ "Blur Album & Song Chart History". billboard.com. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  29. ^ id MUST BE PROVIDED for UK CERTIFICATION.
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