https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/two-blur-albums-damon-albarn-regrets/ https://tinyurl.com/2dbr2k68 The two Blur albums Damon Albarn regrets Sam Kemp SAT 3RD DEC 2022 14.30 GMT It’s rare for musicians to love their creations unconditionally. Albums aren ’t children, after all. While an artist might feel satisfied in the heat of t he moment, they frequently find themselves looking back on their past work wit h their hands over their eyes, unable to fully understand why they chose to ad opt a certain approach so unflinchingly. Damon Albarn is one such artist. In f act, the former Blur frontman has dismissed not one but two albums by the era- defining Britpop group. Blur’s debut album was a long-time coming. By the time they released Leisure, they’d been together for a decade. Damon Albarn met guitarist Graham Coxon a t school in Colchester, where they started hammering out songs in dusty practi ce rooms. Eight years later, at Goldsmiths University, Graham and Damon were i ntroduced to Alex James, who joined the fledgeling outfit – then known as Cir cus – along with drummer Dave Rowntree. After signing to Food Records, they c hanged their name to Blur and commenced work on their first full-length studio album. These were the hangover years of the Madchester movement. At that time, Blur w ere all erudite literary references, baggy t-shirts, even baggier beats, and s hoegaze textures. Damon’s favourite cut from Leisure – which he later descri bed as “awful” – was ‘ She’s So High’ , a murky blend of vaguely psyched elic UK pop. Damon’s lyrics are devoid of personality, and the album failed t o make a significant impact on the UK charts, peaking at number 48. That being said, it did cement Albarn as the charismatic face of “The Scene That Celebr ates Itself”, a huddle of English bands – Chapterhouse, Stereolab and Swerve driver – who regularly played at London’s Syndrome Club. Surprisingly, Albarn was equally dismissive of Blur’s 1995 album The Great Es cape, which features some of the group’s most famous tracks, including ‘Char mless Man’, ‘The Universal’ and the Battle of Britpop single ‘Country Hous e’. In 2007, Albarn confessed: “I’ve made hundreds of mistakes. I’ve made two bad records. The first record, which is awful, and The Great Escape, which was messy.” When Bur released Leisure, they were suffering from a lack of identity. By 199 5, they were experiencing the exact opposite problem. The Britpop explosion an d the death of grunge had allowed them a degree of comfortability. As a result , they crafted an album devoid of the sneering intensity and wit that had defi ned Parklife, content to rehash the same tropes – Yuppie anxiety, urban malev olence, etcetera – with none of the initial vigour. -- 猜猜看是哪兩張？ --

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