Somewhere along that whole “personal musical evolution” thing, I was somehow steered in an alternate direction and taken way off course of my intended destination. It was something to the effect of the alternate 1985 created in Back to the Future II, for all our movie buffs out there. The very first record I owned was In Utero by the now long dead Nirvana. I was immediately in love with the record and always thought it superior to that other one they released a few years before; what was it called again? After that came the introduction of Weezer’s Weezer to my small but growing record collection. In theory one would think that I would naturally start back-cataloging to the bands that influenced my then heroes of rock. Maybe start indulging in Sonic Youth, the Pixies, the Smiths, the Cure, and some Elvis Costello. That wouldn’t be the case, though. My fellow cohorts were listening to something completely different by the mid-90s, and I followed them, what came about was me listening to…
[I’m going to censor myself here]
Due to that gross misdirection on my part, I missed a band that would eventually become very important to my own personal catalog: Blur. What I basically knew about Blur was what everybody in the sports arena world knew about Blur: Song 2. I liked Song 2, it very much rocked and didn’t sound like anything ‘pussy’ that I might have been turned off to at the time. Basically, that’s where my relationship with Blur began and ended. And then, somehow I once again got back onto the aforementioned track of my “musical evolution” and slowly started listening to a bunch of bands that I had missed out on and did, indeed, start back-cataloging. The first thing that I owned by Blur was their 2000 best of release, which gave me a very nice introduction to the band. After that came the buying of actual full-length records. Gasp! Would I be able to handle such a crossing? Yes. I would. And I enjoyed it very much. Along with the Blur records came my purchasing of Graham Coxon’s solo efforts, which also tickled my pink enough to make me happy and smile. Blur eventually became one my favorite bands, a reliable source of listening enjoyment.
That of course brings us to 2003. At some point last year, we all read (I’m assuming we all read) that Blur was starting to record tracks for its new album. I was excited like a small school girl. The next piece of news was a shocker, no Graham Coxon; he was gone, he wouldn’t be doing the record with the band. That created an air of mystery. We know what usually happens when a key ingredient to something good disappears. It usually turns to shit. What would be the outcome of such a turn of events? Would the band be able to churn out a record that was comparable to 13, Parklife, or Blur? Or would they fall victim to having a missing member and release a piece of trash album? That was the real question.
What they unveiled to the world, after spending a few months in Morocco, was Think Tank. As it turns out, this latest installment into the Blur songbook collection wouldn’t be completely Coxon-less; he appears on one, that’s right one, track on the record. What the rest of the record would’ve sounded like if Coxon had been on the entire production is anybody’s guess. There would surely be more of a presence of guitars on the record if Coxon wouldn’t have been MIA.
“Ambulance”, the album opener sets the mood for the record and the sound the band would take throughout the whole of it. Like 13, Think Tank has a large amount of computerized sound in the background. The acoustic element is still found, of course, as David Rowntree still pounds on the drums. Albarn comes in with the prolific line: “I ain’t got/ Nothing to be scared of” and Blur doesn’t have anything to be scared on in this new venture, even without one of their original members tagging along.
“Out of Time” follows with inoculate guitar behind the great bass work done by Alex James. The track is dripping with overdubbed parts and variant instrumentation such as bells. Like the opener “Out of Time,” it is surrounded by a masterful tapestry of synth-induced sound. The overall track is a quiet, perfectly setting up for the almost “Song 2” quality of “Crazy Beat,” ripping in with pounding drums and grinding guitar.
A great majority of the sound on Think Tank is inorganic. You have the creative elements of acoustic instrumentation, with James taking his driving basslines to the center stage. Rowntree, as well, does great work on his drum-kit, adding to the organic element of the record. As always, though, Blur makes the computerized elements sound perfect for whatever it is they’re doing. The walls of sound, beeps, and explosions of synthesizer are exactly where they should be.
If Coxon had indeed been in the whole time with the recording process the album may have very well been a 10. 13 was a show in their greatness as song writers and record makers. Nevertheless, Blur has shown that even without Graham they can still put out a great and solid record. At least one person I know has said that, “Blur has become the UK version of Weezer.” Talk about harsh, but unlike our stateside nerds, Blur is still putting out quality instead of quantity. Still, as another friend of mine put it, “The best track on the album is the one with Graham on it.”
"Ambulance", the album opener sets the mood for the record and the sound the band would take throughout the whole of it. Like 13, Think Tank has a large amount of computerized sound in the background. The acoustic element is still found, of course, as David Rowntree still pounds on the drums. Albarn comes in with the prolific line: "I ain't got/ Nothing to be scared of" and Blur doesn't have anything to be scared on in this new venture, even without one of their original members tagging along.
"Out of Time" follows with inoculate guitar behind the great bass work done by Alex James. The track is dripping with overdubbed parts and variant instrumentation such as bells. Like the opener "Out of Time," it is surrounded by a masterful tapestry of synth-induced sound. The overall track is a quiet, perfectly setting up for the almost "Song 2" quality of "Crazy Beat," ripping in with pounding drums and grinding guitar.
A great majority of the sound on Think Tank is inorganic. You have the creative elements of acoustic instrumentation, with James taking his driving basslines to the center stage. Rowntree, as well, does great work on his drum-kit, adding to the organic element of the record. As always, though, Blur makes the computerized elements sound perfect for whatever it is they're doing. The walls of sound, beeps, and explosions of synthesizer are exactly where they should be.
If Coxon had indeed been in the whole time with the recording process the album may have very well been a 10. 13 was a show in their greatness as song writers and record makers. Nevertheless, Blur has shown that even without Graham they can still put out a great and solid record. At least one person I know has said that, "Blur has become the UK version of Weezer." Talk about harsh, but unlike our stateside nerds, Blur is still putting out quality instead of quantity. Still, as another friend of mine put it, "The best track on the album is the one with Graham on it."
1. Ambulance
2. Out of Time
3. Crazy Beat
4. Good Song
5. On The Way To The Club
6. Brothers and Sisters
7. Caravan
8. We've Got a File On you
9. Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club
10. Sweet Song
11. Jets
12. Gene by Gene
13. Battery In Your Leg