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The Great Escape [Double CD]

Blur | Format: Audio CD

3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)

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Blur are an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change—influenced by English guitar pop groups such as The Kinks, The Beatles and ... Read more in Amazon's Blur Store

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Product details

Audio CD (30 July 2012)
Number of Discs: 2
Format: Double CD
Label: EMI Catalogue
ASIN: B007SAKU14
Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | Vinyl | MP3 Download

Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (39 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 59,633 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

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Disc 2:

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2. To the End (La Comedie) Blur Et Francoise Hardy 5:05 �0.89 Buy MP3

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14. Parklife (Live) Blur 3:42 �0.89 Buy MP3

15. For Tomorrow (Live) Blur 7:02 �0.89 Buy MP3

16. Charmless Man (Live At The Budokan) Blur 3:22 �0.89 Buy MP3

17. Chemical World (Live At The Budokan) Blur 4:12 �0.89 Buy MP3

18. Eine Kleine Lift Musik Blur 4:18 �0.89 Buy MP3

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Product Description

CD Description

Blur's fourth album, The Great Escape was originally released in 1995 and was the first Blur album to crack the US charts, as well as going triple platinum in the UK. This special edition is remastered, repackaged and includes a bonus disc with some previously unreleased material.

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3.9 out of 5 stars

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Great Great Escape 21 May 2001

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

This was the album that very nearly broke the back of Blur in their native Britain. Released at the same time as Oasis' ''(What's The Story) Morning Glory)'', which sold considerably more copies, Blur became victims of the age old British adage of putting someone on a pedastal so you can knock them down. Suddenly, lead singer Damon Albarn couldn't walk down the street without someone yelling the latest Oasis tune in his ear. It was the mother of all backlashes. Which is strange, because ''The Great Escape'' is a superb album. Fizzling with musical invention, (the ethereal, nightmarish guitars on ''He Thought Of Cars'') and lyrical gems, (''They're on the leather sofa, they're on the patio./And when the fun is over, watch themselves on video'' from ''Stereotypes''), it was a noted progression from ''Parklife''. Guitarist Graham Coxon established himself as the finest of his generation, bending his sounds around Albarns songs in much the same way as a painter colours in the white gaps of a rough sketch (especially on the melancholic ''Best Days''). The grandiose ''The Universal'' is a genuine throat lumper, swelling with Bacharian strings. And ''Entertain Me'' revisits the stomping disco beat of ''Girls And Boys'', matching a cracking tune with yearning lyrics. It's no surprise to learn that The Smiths were idols of Albarn and co.There's even the token punk song, (''Globe Alone''), that Blur always throw on to their records. It's a measure of Blurs self belief that the ensuing backlash following ''The Great Escape''s release didn't break them. And it's a sign of genuis that they went on to make even better records. Because this is an excellent album.

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Too long 5 July 2009

By Guy Peters

Format:Audio CD

Whereas the release of Parklife was still a bit overshadowed by the death of a certain Kurt Cobain, the band's prominence during the next year ensured Blur would get all the attention with the release of its 1995 album The Great Escape. Oh yeah, how could I forget: there was the whole overblown Blur-Oasis feud that was so ridiculous it must have been a set-up (and did they really have that much in common?). Well, the one good thing it led to was that the album sales got a boost and that's always a good thing. People like Robbie Williams make a living because of events like that. Anyway this review is about the long-awaited sequel to Parklife, but come to think of it, the whole superficial nonsense surrounding the new album was fitting. On many levels, The Great Escape was treated as a decent sequel, but a few listens made sure you'd alter that view. If anything, this album is the less commercial, less lightweight and less optimistic (well, the previous one does sound optimistic compared to this one) counterpart of Parklife. Even more so: from the album art, to the lyrics, to the purposely more detached music, it's a release that's obsessed with appearances.

While those who weren't paying attention thought of it as another jolly album, most people did smell the rotten core beneath the shiny surface (cf. the last page of the booklet). Well, "rotten" may be an exaggeration, but the lives that are depicted during these songs are utterly devoid of content and genuine emotions. "Stereotypes" evokes the introduction to David Lynch's Blue Velvet, a world where everything seems perfect, too perfect, uncomfortably perfect. And the protagonists? Well, they have to get their kicks out of naughty games.... Quite similar to the mechanic jerk-pop of "Stereotypes" are "Ernold Same" (musically, one of the least interesting songs), a portrait of catatonia, and the Specials-influenced "Fade Away," whose protagonists happened to stumble into their lives, hollow inside. Of course, Albarn's antipathy towards America made sure he created some decidedly English (British?) stories, such as "Country House" and "Charmless Man." Both of these songs are probably the reason why many people thought of The Great Escape as a sequel. Nearly as catchy as the bouncy stuff on Parklife, they combine the more traditional song-writing skills of Ray Davies (a merger of Face to Face's infectiousness and Arthur's seriousness) with the sounds and ideas of the nineties, with especially Coxon coming off as particularly inventive (I should dedicate an extra paragraph to his underrated skills, but I'll pass on the honour to the specialists). The charmless man knows his Claret from his Beaujolais and pretends he's notorious gangster Ronnie Kray, but ultimately, "no one's listening," while the professional cynic in "Country House" (allegedly based on some guy they'd worked with) is doomed to be lonely. Interesting side-note here: there's also a reference to Oasis' second album, with "Now he's got morning glory, life's a different story" (or is it the other way around, can somebody tell me?).

Anyway, during these songs, the pitiable characters are wallowing in their empty existence, or dreaming of escaping their dreary lives, like in "It Could Be You" (about the lottery - "Don't worry if it's not your lucky number, because tomorrow there is another"), "He Thought of Cars" (actually a quite darker and more interesting song than the title suggests) and "The Universal" ("Tomorrow is your lucky day") that aims for the heights of "This Is a Low," and nearly makes it. Interestingly (to me, that is), two of my favorite songs on this album are ones that hardly anyone ever mentions. The first is the silly "Top Man" that has "Julian Cope" all over it in capital letters (that's probably why then - isn't Cope the greatest of all British eccentrics?), the second is the danceable "Entertain Me" that's a fitting addition to this album, with it's near-robotic rhythms, phoned-in vocals (and Albarn does sound a lot like Mark E. Smith here!), and typical Blur-chorus. I've also grown quite fond of the weird ballad "Yuko and Hiro," while "Globe Alone" once again proves the band is quite good at making Casio-punk. Despite some weaker songs ("Ernold Same," the tough but sub-standard "Mr. Robinson's Quango" and "Dan Abnormal" (it's an anagram - remember Dan Abnormal also appeared on Elastica's debut?)), The Great Escape doesn't deserve the bad reputation (well, that's my impression) it has today. OK, it was an overproduced album, but I consider that a part of the package. At this point, they had painted themselves into a corner (and luckily their next direction would be something entirely different), but inside this overlong and quite uneven release, there lurks another excellent 40-minute album. Read more ›

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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The band's most misunderstood album 7 Sep 2000

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

Although I can understand why so many people slate this album, I can't agree with them. Sure, it may be somewhat overproduced, but LISTEN to the album instead of going along with the majority and you'll discover a much-maligned classic. Of course there are poor tracks (TOPMAN and and Dan Abnormal for me), but there are also some of the bands best ever tracks (The Universal, Stereotypes, Best Days and the stunning He Thought of Cars).

This album was recorded at the peak of Britpop, just as Parklife when ballastic, and when released, got much more favourable releases than Oasis' What's the Story? It was only when the backlash kicked in towards Christmas '95 that everyone started slating the album. Perhaps the melancholy feel and depressing lyrics (even the Country House lyrics are depressing when you listen to them!) are hard for many to listen to, whilst Oasis' required no real effort on the listener's part.

One day this album will be given the credit it deserves.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than memories... 7 Oct 2012

By Jason Parkes #1 HALL OF FAME

Format:Audio CD

For years I've held the opinion that 'The Great Escape' was a folly - the gushing reviews at the time were O.T.T. and Blur would have been better off releasing a few singles/e.p.'s instead of a whole album. My view before picking up this box-set at a bargain price was there were four killer songs ('Best Days', 'The Universal', 'He Thought of Cars', & 'Yuko and Hiro') and the rest was sub-'Park Life'-tosh (...or worse). But I was wrong and revisiting the album it seems much better than memory suggested.

I am still of the opinion that the best Blur-albums remain 'Modern Life is Rubbish' and '13' - 'Park Life' has a whole bunch of filler lesser than tracks here ('Clover over Dover', 'Magic America' anyone?) and the eponymous album was annoying after Damon's anti-American-whining reverting to "Tonight Matthew we'll be imitating Pavement circa-'Wowee Zowee'. I've also seen a few music journo-sorts raving over this album and gave my tape away to a charidee-shop years ago. So, coming across it cheap, time to revisit?

There are some extremely annoying/overfamiliar songs here which certainly step into self-imitation and disingenuous irony, but in the sequence of the album they seem to make sense. Well, apart from 'Ernold Same', which is absolutely godawful and one of Blur's worst moments starring a misjudged Ken Livingstone (who seemed to become a Labour/ex-Labour/Labour-parasite of bands since Red Wedge. No wonder Damon described himself as a Communist after the Blair-comintern tried to co-opt him!). It does seem absurd that 'Country House' was a single when something as great as 'Young & Lovely' was lost on a b-side of a multi-format - though it does belong to the clutch of anti-Dave Balfe songs, riffs on The Kinks' 'House in the Country', has the disturbing "blow me out!..."-coda, and the great Balzac/Prozac-juxtaposition.

Recorded in the post-'Park Life' imperial phase 'The Great Escape' is strange as it charts the rise/decline/fall - some of this is weakness like the reference to Oasis' 'Morning Glory' (which I don't think was released at the time) and when singing songs about their present it can nail the record to the dire Age of Britpop (as Eric Hobsbawm may have had it). Like Pulp's 'This is Hardcore', it's slightly annoying that Albarn & co had whored themselves around since almost splitting a few years previously and wanted to be a pop-band. But when they get it, find out it's empty and the screaming girls/cocaine/chart positions etc don't fill the void. So, yes, 'The Great Escape' is one of those rock-star-blues-albums. Which is interesting as you can file it next to 'On the Beach', 'In Utero', 'Hotel California', the aforementioned 'This is Hardcore', 'Songs of Faith and Devotion', 'Vitalogy', 'Station to Station' etc...

The band appear to be moving towards a wall - dressed like Heaven 17 circa 'Penthouse & Pavement' and having a great time and thinking of cars...This means you get some dull tracks which feel b-sidey ('Mr Robinson's Quango', 'It Could Be You') and self-parody ('Charmless Man', the chorus of 'Stereotypes'). But, as I said, listen to it as a whole and you might get the notion why the 5-stars and 10/10 reviews followed.

'Stereotypes' is weird, a blend of 70's Kinks with Elastica with an annoying chorus and an ability to transport me to some dodgy indie-club in the mid-90's. Still quite a good song...'Fade Away' and 'Top Man' not so great as they just seem to be Damon having a go at being 'More Specials' and Fun Boy Three respectively (his single with Terry Hall at the time was fantastic and one of Tezzer's finest moments). 'Globe Alone' builds on 'Bank Holiday' and 'Jubilee' and points towards 'Blur' and 'Bugman', while 'Dan Abnormal' (a name Albarn used when guesting on Elastica's debut) remains kind of pop and a bit psychedelic. 'Entertain Me' is even better and feels like Cobain rewriting 'Girls and Boys' post-success and after getting into The Fall's 'The Infotainment Scan.'

...but it does come back to the great tracks here: 'Best Days' countering the self-celebration of Britpop with an arrangement that would fit on the hallowed 'O.K. Computer'; the reworking of an unreleased Tricky-collaboration intended for the Nearly God LP 'The Universal' (...perhaps slightly less effective after being used in a long-running advert); and 'Yuko and Hiro', which focuses on a couple "working for the company" in the Far East as surrogate for 'Damon and Justine.' This continues the melancholy of songs like 'Blue Jeans', 'Badhead', and 'This is a Low' and moves towards 'Tender' and 'No Distance Left to Run.' It does feel like a bit of a lost Eno-solo track from 'Taking Tiger Mountain...' and like something got fused in the 'Trainspotting' soundtrack....

The bonus cd is one of the less interesting in this series - the 'Mile End'-live material reminding that Blur were more focused on 'Park Life'-ambitions made real and as with the previous LP, the b-sides aren't as exciting as those you got for the first two albums (...though likely the band The Horrors got their name from a b-side from 'Charmless Man'). If looking for better bonus material I'd point to the first two, or 'Blur' and '13'...

Perhaps Damon Albarn should re-work this material as a musical/opera - 'The Great Escape' does seem to be where things like 'Monkey' and 'Dr Dee' started and like 'The Good, the Bad & the Queen' and the second/third Gorillaz albums, working as a sequence. 'The Great Escape' was certainly better than my memories... Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars the best album of blur

It is the second time I buy this album. I lost it when I was young and now I buy it again not so young.
Perfect.

Published 6 months ago by Carlos

3.0 out of 5 stars Stereotypes

Wow, this is the essence of singles and filler. "Country House" is all sorts of fun, "The Universal" is gorgeous, and "Charmless Man" is ironically one of the most charming songs I... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Lord Anon

5.0 out of 5 stars Still Great

I bought this album YEARS ago and lost it... I picked it up again and it is still exceptional. A fantastic piece of pure Blur, social satire and fantastic tunes, with a little... Read more

Published on 7 Dec 2010 by j053phadam

4.0 out of 5 stars Why does every blur fan follow each other like sheep on this...

I always liked Blur and had been meaning to purchase all 7 albums and see for myself the wonderful life of Blur. Read more

Published on 29 Nov 2010 by J. Arthur

5.0 out of 5 stars Grows on you

With the success of 'Parklife' you would be forgiven in thinking that Blur would take a step back to have a break and enjoy the high life like most of their peers. Read more

Published on 20 July 2010 by Al

4.0 out of 5 stars Good record

This record is good. It has many classical Blur songs, like Country House and Charmless Man. A must for any collector of British music.

Published on 20 April 2010 by R. Dyr�y

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent but nothing special

One of Blurs more poppy albums with some quality songs in it. Its not as good as many of the ealier albums but an enjoyable listen all the same. Read more

Published on 17 Nov 2009 by N. Thompson

3.0 out of 5 stars UK Music

This is a little too clever for itself, which is what makes it more unique perhaps than some of the other albums. "The Universal" is one of my favourite songs ever.

Published on 30 Aug 2009 by WJR

5.0 out of 5 stars Euphoric

This is a euphoric, melodic and fresh British record which ranks among Blurs greatest. Damon Albarn's lyrics are witty and incisive which compliments Graham's fantastically unique... Read more

Published on 16 Jun 2009 by John Dwice

5.0 out of 5 stars There best album to date

This is a great cd, buy it as you'll love it.

Other suggestions are Parklife (def Britpop/indie sound, Blur (Really Rockie))and Leisure (Early Britpop). Read more

Published on 11 Jun 2008 by Alice Dempsey

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