Parklife

	Chart positions ; Explanation of the data
	Albums
	Parklife
	Singles
	Girls & Boys

chronology
Parklife
Studio album from Blur
Publication ; (s)	April 25, 1994
Label (s)	Food Records ; Parlophone ; EMI Records
Format (s)	CD , LP , MC
Genre (s)	Britpop
Title (number)	16
running time	52:39
occupation	Damon Albarn - vocals , Hammond organ , harpsichord , vibraphone , Moog synthesizer , melodica , music programming ; Graham Coxon - guitar , clarinet , saxophone , percussion , backing vocals ; Alex James - bass , vocals ; Dave Rowntree - drums , percussion , music programming ; Stephen Street - keyboard , music programming ; John Metcalfe - Viola (Track 2) ; Ivan McCready - violoncello (Track 2) ; Louisa Fuller - Violin (Track 2) ; Mark Pharoah - violin (Track 2) ; Rick Koster - Violin (Track 2) ; Roddy Lorimer - flugelhorn , trombone (Tracks 3,6) ; Richard Edward - Trombone (Track 3) ; Simon Clarke - flute , alto saxophone , baritone saxophone (Tracks 6,7) ; Tim Sanders - tenor saxophone , soprano saxophone (Tracks 6,7) ; Neil Sidwell - Trombone (Track 7) ; Audrey Riley - Cello (Track 9) ; Chris Pitsillides - viola (Track 9) ; Chris Tombling - violin (Track 9) ; Leo Payne - violin (Track 9) ; Stephen Hague - accordion (Track 9) ; Lætitia Sadier - vocals (Track 9) ; Phil Daniels - spoken vocals (Track 4) ;
production	Stephen Street
Studio (s)	RAK Studios, London ; Maison Rouge, London ;
March 7, 1994	Girls & Boys
May 30, 1994	To the end
August 22, 1994	Parklife
November 7, 1994	End of the Century
January 5, 1995	This is a low

Parklife is the third studio album by British rock band Blur and was released on April 25, 1994. It went platinum three times in the UK in 1994 and received four awards at the BRIT Awards that same year .

prehistory

Was recorded Parklife between November 1993 and January 1994, London . It was produced by Stephen Street , one of the UK's leading music producers . He also took on this role on the following Blur albums. John Smith and Stephen Hague acted as sound engineers for the recordings . Parklife was brought to market in Europe by the then EMI labels Food Records and Parlophone, and in North America it was published by EMI Records . Since the end of EMI and the takeover of Parlophone, the distribution rights have been with the Warner Music Group .

The photo on the album cover shows a greyhound race and was taken on November 2nd, 1988 in Essex by sports photographer Bob Thomas.

meaning

With the album Parklife and the accompanying single Girls & Boys , Blur achieved a commercial breakthrough in England and, in 1994, marked a milestone in British music history together with the debut album by Oasis . Parklife landed at number 1 on the album charts in England, but could not assert itself internationally like the single Girls & Boys . Although the album is stylistically very versatile, it is one of the classic representatives of the retrospective revival of British rock and mod music of the 1960s. Furthermore Parklife music of New Wave -Bands like XTC and Wire influenced (especially the song Tracy Jacks ) and also cites the electronic pop music of the present.

Track list

All songs are penned by Damon Albarn , Graham Coxon , Alex James and Dave Rowntree. Except for Far Out (Alex James), Albarn is responsible for all of the lyrics.

page 1

Girls & Boys - 4:51
Tracy Jacks - 4:20
End of a Century - 2:45
Parklife (feat. Phil Daniels ) - 3:05
Bank Holiday - 1:42
Badhead - 3:25
The Debt Collector - 2:10
Far Out - 1:41

Page 2

To the End (feat.Lætitia Sadier) - 4:05
London Loves - 4:15
Trouble in the Message Center - 4:09
Clover over Dover - 3:22
Magic America - 3:38
Jubilee - 2:47
This Is a Low - 5:07
Lot 105 - 1:17

Bonus track (Japan)

Girls & Boys ( Pet Shop Boys Remix) - 7:16

backgrounds

Girls & Boys

Girls & Boys caricatures the behavior and alcoholism of British vacationers in southern Europe. The song contains a Eurodance keyboard sound, which is rather untypical for Blur . A music video by director Kevin Godley and a remix by the Pet Shop Boys were created for the song . The song was the biggest chart success of a Blur single to date, at number 5 on the British charts.

Tracy Jacks

Tracy Jacks , according to Damon Albarn, covers the story of a character from the British coastal cities. After Parklife was released, voices were raised claiming the song was about a transvestite, as the album's booklet features a drawing by Graham Coxon of a golfer in women's clothing alongside Tracy Jacks' lyrics.

End of a Century

End of a Century was the last official single from the album. The music video was filmed during a performance by the band Alexandra Palace in London , but the single was less successful than the previous ones at number 19 in the UK charts.

Parklife

Parklife was created with the participation of British actor Phil Daniels , who spoke much of the spoken text of the song. Guitarist Graham Coxon recorded a saxophone part for the piece, and the song reached number 10 on the charts.

Bank holiday

Bank Holiday refers to the UK bank holidays . The fast-paced, punk-like song describes alcohol consumption and extravagant partying.

Badhead

Badhead is a slow piece by u. a. Trumpets can be heard. The song was an integral part of Blur's live set list for many years.

The Debt Collector

The Debt Collector is the first of two instrumentals on the album. It was originally called Why Is The Time Signature of 3/4 Obsolete In The Late Twentieth Cenrury and is in a waltz time.

Far out

Far Out is bassist Alex James' contribution to the album. It contains an organ intro and deals with James' interest in astronomy . It was only played live once, in June 1995 at Mile End Stadium in London.

To the end

To the End has French text passages sung by Lætitia Sadier from the band Stereolab . The music video for the single was shot in Prague , the song reached number 16 on the charts. Later a completely French-language version with the singer Françoise Hardy was recorded.

Unlike the rest of the songs, To the End was produced by the band, John Smith and Stephen Hague.

London Loves

LondonLoves includes an electronic beat that with a music workstation type Yamaha QY19 was created. The text was inspired by Martin Ami's novel London Fields .

Trouble in the Message Center

Trouble in the Message Center may include a. Room names of various rooms from a New York hotel that Albarn noticed during a stay there. It was only played live in 1994 and 1995, and again in early 2015.

Clover Over Dover

Clover Over Dover includes a sample of howling gulls. The keyboard in the song is reminiscent of a spinet.

Magic America

Magic America secretly addresses and criticizes American popular culture and cultural misunderstandings between the United States and Great Britain. The name of the song's protagonist, Bill Barratt , alludes to Barratt Developments , a manufacturer of prefabricated houses.

Jubilee

Jubilee is another fast-paced and punk-heavy piece on the album. It was a regular part of Blur's live setlist in the mid-1990s.

This is a low

This Is a Low was written by Albarn while the band was on tour in 1992. In the text are u. a. Land's End and the Doggerbank called. A promotional single of the song was released in early 1995.

Lot 105

Lot 105 is the second instrumental piece on the album that concludes the album. It was often used as intro music during the Parklife tour and was recorded on a Hammond organ .

reception

source	rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone
Pitchfork
Laut.de

Parklife is considered to be Blur's magnum opus . Pitchfork picked it number 2 on the 50 best Britpop albums and number 54 on the 100 best albums of the 1990s. In the selection of the 500 best albums of all time by the New Musical Express , it reached number 22. The magazine Spin lists Parklife at number 171 of the 300 best albums from 1985 to 2014.

“The record became the essence of the Britpop genre and had a slew of well-crafted hits that had much of the cynicism of the kinks in the 60s. [...] Parklife remains Blur's most intense work. It's connected to the past, but it sounds decidedly modern. "

- Jake Kennedy

Parklife was included in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die .

literature

Stuart Maconie: Blur. 3862 days. The Official Chronicle , 2000, Hannibal, ISBN 978-3-85445-176-1

Web links

Individual evidence

↑ Chart data: [1]
↑ 10 things you didn't know about Blur's Parklife album on radiox.co.uk (accessed April 12, 2020)
^ Power, Martin: The Life of Blur. London: Omnibus Press 2018.
↑ Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine on Allmusic (accessed April 12, 2020)
↑ Review by Paul Evans on Rolling Stone (accessed April 12, 2020)
↑ Review by Lindsay Zoladz on Pitchfork (accessed April 12, 2020)
↑ Review by Sven Kabelitz on Laut.de (accessed April 12, 2020)
↑ The 50 Best Britpop Albums on Pitchfork (accessed April 12, 2020)
↑ Top 100 Albums of the 1990s on Pitchfork (accessed April 12, 2020)
↑ The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time on New Musical Express (accessed April 12, 2020)
↑ The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014) on Spin (accessed April 12, 2020)
↑ Dimery, Robert (ed.): 1001 albums - music you should hear before life is over, 8th edition, Edition Olms Zürich 2015, p. 736.

[charts-1] Chart data: [1]

[2] 10 things you didn't know about Blur's Parklife album on radiox.co.uk (accessed April 12, 2020)

[3] Power, Martin: The Life of Blur. London: Omnibus Press 2018.

[4] Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine on Allmusic (accessed April 12, 2020)

[5] Review by Paul Evans on Rolling Stone (accessed April 12, 2020)

[6] Review by Lindsay Zoladz on Pitchfork (accessed April 12, 2020)

[7] Review by Sven Kabelitz on Laut.de (accessed April 12, 2020)

[8] The 50 Best Britpop Albums on Pitchfork (accessed April 12, 2020)

[9] Top 100 Albums of the 1990s on Pitchfork (accessed April 12, 2020)

[10] The 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time on New Musical Express (accessed April 12, 2020)

[11] The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014) on Spin (accessed April 12, 2020)

[12] Dimery, Robert (ed.): 1001 albums - music you should hear before life is over, 8th edition, Edition Olms Zürich 2015, p. 736.