Modern Life Is Rubbish [Bonus CD] [Bonus Tracks]

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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
As a response to the dominance of grunge in the U.K. and their own decreasing profile in their homeland -- and also as a response to Suede's sudden popularity -- Blur reinvented themselves with their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, abandoning the shoegazing and baggy influences that dominated Leisure for traditional pop. On the surface, Modern Life may appear to be an homage to the Kinks, David Bowie, the Beatles, and Syd Barrett, yet it isn't a restatement, it's a revitalization. Blur use British guitar pop from the Beatles to My Bloody Valentine as a foundation, spinning off tales of contemporary despair. If Damon Albarn weren't such a clever songwriter,...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - Stephen Thomas Erlewine
As a response to the dominance of grunge in the U.K. and their own decreasing profile in their homeland -- and also as a response to Suede's sudden popularity -- Blur reinvented themselves with their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, abandoning the shoegazing and baggy influences that dominated Leisure for traditional pop. On the surface, Modern Life may appear to be an homage to the Kinks, David Bowie, the Beatles, and Syd Barrett, yet it isn't a restatement, it's a revitalization. Blur use British guitar pop from the Beatles to My Bloody Valentine as a foundation, spinning off tales of contemporary despair. If Damon Albarn weren't such a clever songwriter, both lyrically and melodically, Modern Life could have sunk under its own pretensions, and the latter half does drag slightly. However, the record teems with life, since Blur refuse to treat their classicist songs as museum pieces. Graham Coxon's guitar tears each song open, either with unpredictable melodic lines or layers of translucent, hypnotic effects, and his work creates great tension with Alex James' kinetic bass. And that provides Albarn a vibrant background for his social satires and cutting commentary. But the reason Modern Life Is Rubbish is such a dynamic record and ushered in a new era of British pop is that nearly every song is carefully constructed and boasts a killer melody, from the stately "For Tomorrow" and the punky "Advert" to the vaudeville stomp of "Sunday Sunday" and the neo-psychedelic "Chemical World." Even with its flaws, it's a record of considerable vision and excitement. [EMI's deluxe 2012 double-disc expansion of Modern Life Is Rubbish contains the U.K. version of the 1993 album on the first disc and a host of B-sides and rarities on the second. Opening this collection of flip sides is the non-LP A-side "Popscene," the 1992 single that announced a clear break from Blur's baggy past and ushered in a retro-obsessed present. From there, the B-sides pile up quickly and with them Blur gain considerable momentum: by the end of the disc when they're tossing off defiant beery covers of "Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Made for Two)" and "Let's All Go Down the Strand," their Brit-pop concept is clearly articulated and their musicality is chaotically assured.]
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 7/31/2012
  • Label: Virgin Records Us
  • EAN: 5099964480824
  • Catalog Number: 44808
  • Sales rank: 101,239

Tracks

Disc 1
  1. 1 For Tomorrow (4:21)
  2. 2 Advert (3:45)
  3. 3 Colin Zeal (3:16)
  4. 4 Pressure On Julian (3:31)
  5. 5 Star Shaped (3:26)
  6. 6 Blue Jeans (3:54)
  7. 7 Chemical World (6:33)
  8. 8 Sunday Sunday (2:38)
  9. 9 Oily Water (5:01)
  10. 10 Miss America (5:35)
  11. 11 Villa Rosie (3:54)
  12. 12 Coping (3:24)
  13. 13 Turn It Up (3:22)
  14. 14 Resigned (6:12)
Disc 2
  1. 1 Popscene (3:14)
  2. 2 Mace (3:25)
  3. 3 Badgeman Brown (4:48)
  4. 4 I'm Fine (3:03)
  5. 5 Garden Central (6:00)
  6. 6 For Tomorrow (6:01)
  7. 7 Into Another (3:55)
  8. 8 Peach (3:57)
  9. 9 Bone Bag (4:04)
  10. 10 Hanging Over (4:27)
  11. 11 When the Cows Come Home (3:50)
  12. 12 Beachcoma (3:38)
  13. 13 Chemical World (3:44)
  14. 14 Es Schmecht (3:36)
  15. 15 Young and Lovely (5:03)
  16. 16 Maggie May (4:06)
  17. 17 My Ark (5:57)
  18. 18 Daisy Bell (A Bicycle Made for Two) (2:48)
  19. 19 Let's All Go Down the Strand (3:41)
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Album Credits

Performance Credits
Blur Primary Artist
Damon Albarn Organ, Piano, Keyboards, Vocals, Melodica, Moog Synthesizer, solina, sleigh bells, Jupiter 8, Casio
Simon Clarke Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone
Graham Coxon Acoustic Guitar, Guitar, Percussion, Electric Guitar, Tambourine, Triangle, Background Vocals, Moog Synthesizer, Slide Guitar
The Kick Horns Horn
Alex James Bass, Bass Guitar, Hand Clapping
Helen Kamminga Viola
Ivan McCready Cello
John Metcalfe Viola
Dave Rowntree Drums, Hand Clapping, Timpani, Loop Drums
Tim Sanders Tenor Saxophone
Paul Spong Cornet
Kate St. John Oboe, Soprano Saxophone, Cor anglais
Stephen Street Hand Clapping, Peruvian Box Drum
Roddy Lorimar Trumpet
Duke Quartet Strings
Duke String Quartet Strings
Rick Koster Violin
Louisa Fuller Violin
Neil Sidwell Trombone
Technical Credits
Rod Stewart Composer
Blur Composer, Producer
Clive Langer Producer
Damon Albarn Composer, Additional Music
Graham Coxon Composer, Additional Music, Background Noise
Alex James Composer
Steve Lovell Producer
Dave Rowntree Composer, Additional Music
Stephen Street Producer
Alan Winstanley Producer
Frank Arkwright Remastering
Miranda Sawyer Liner Notes, Interviewer
Harry Dacre Composer
John Smith Producer, Engineer
Scott Minshall Reissue Design
Darren Evans Reissue Design
Paul Stephen Paintings
Paul Gribble Paintings
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