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82. 'The Great Escape' - Blur (1995)
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In 1995, Blur released 'The Great Escape', an album that not only marked the height of the Britpop movement but also reflected the cultural and musical shifts of Britain in the mid-90s. Coming at the peak of their rivalry with Oasis in the infamous Battle of Britpop, the album saw Blur pushing beyond traditional Britpop boundaries, incorporating lush orchestration, genre experimentation, and character-driven storytelling. Though it became an instant chart success, The Great Escape also hinted at the band's desire to evolve, setting the stage for their later, more experimental work.
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#Blur #TheGreatEscape #Britpop #DamonAlbarn #Oasis #BattleOfBritpop
Transcript
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to the Long Live Rock and In 1995, Blur released The Great Escape, an album that not only marked the height of the Britpop movement, but also reflected the cultural and musical shift of Britain in the mid-90s. Coming at the peak of their rivalry with Oasis in the infamous Battle of Britpop, the album saw Blur pushing beyond traditional Britpop boundaries, incorporating lush orchestration, genre experimentation, and character-driven storytelling.
00:00:30
Speaker
Though it became an instant chance success, The Great Escape also hinted at the band's desire to evolve, setting the stage for their later, more experimental work. Joining me to discuss this album is my co-host, Mr. Felipe Amorin. How are you doing, man? Doing great, man. How are you? Good. Yeah, very well. Thank you. It's been a while for us because we've both been on a little bit of a holiday, haven't we? Exactly. We had the off-holidays. I had my holidays. And then we're back. It just seems to perfectly work that we always go away at the same time. It was a great escape, wasn't it? There you go. Very good. Very good. ah Yeah, excellent. Well, let's crack straight on. I mean, yeah, I purposely chose this album. So I chose this album today because um it's always been in the list because I really enjoy it. But on top of that, we listen, as you'll remember, we recently did the Oasis album where we sort of talked about the reunion, the gig coming up, as well as did a album discussion about what's the story Morning Glory. So I thought it'd be brilliant in the Battle of Britpop to sort of do the same album that came out in 1995, Morning Glory for Oasis and The Great Escape for Blur. so
00:01:29
Speaker
This will be good, it'll be a good little comparative episode and the research I've done has been really interesting, especially sort of seeing how different these two albums are about how they both represent the same sort of thing in a way. So yeah, anyway, let's crack on. But before we do the terms and conditions, if you're listening to us for the first time, please make sure if you're if you're listening to us on Apple or Spotify, ah make sure you hit follow so that you're up to date with all of our new episodes. And if you're watching, I should say on YouTube, then make sure to hit like and subscribe on this video so that you stay up to date with all our new content.
00:01:59
Speaker
So in that vein, let's crack on. The album, as I said, is we're doing The Great Escape by Blur. It was released on the 11th of September, 1995, recorded between January and May of the same year at the Maison Rouge and Townhouse Studios in London. The genre is obviously Britpop and the album is 56 minutes, or almost 57 minutes long. And it was released through the label Food and Virgin and it was produced by Stephen Street. um So yeah, i need anything you want to start off with?
00:02:29
Speaker
she yeah um Actually, I want to talk about the fact that all the Britpop bands seem to, at a certain point, they want to stop being Britpop, isn't it? Yes. yeah They want to move on because I think it's it's the need for survival, isn't it? but You don't want to be ah associated with a genre.
00:02:48
Speaker
it's all done long yeah you but Do you think that that's the same for Aces? Because this is going to be a talking point that I had for later. andt in ways as i um yeah well I think but with them they would always claim that they're always bigger than everyone else. so So they can just do what they want, yeah they can continue on Britpop.
00:03:07
Speaker
whereas the smaller bands had to struggle. I don't i don't think anyone who was part of Britpop likes to be associated with Britpop in a certain way. like but anymore Because what the exuers it it belongs to the past, it was great by the way, but the point is no one wants to be a part of a movement that ah is associated with one period in time and it never happened again.
00:03:28
Speaker
yeah i think that's i think that's and they all tried to do something slightly different at the end of it in order to survive not many bands actually managed to do that yeah blur is one of them good point ah Well, in that vein, let's talk about the Battle of Britpop. So for those who watched or listened to the Oasis episode, we gave you a nice, or was it the Foo Fighters one? Or a bit of both actually, we gave you a nice little history about Grunge, because Grunge is very important as Britpop was Britain's response to Grunge, because Grunge was a little bit too melancholic and depressing and introspective for the Brits. um weed that We, I say we Brit it the Brits,
00:04:03
Speaker
We'd just come out of ah of ah the 80s with a Thatcher as Prime Minister, a lot of people in the country, very unhappy. And with his newfound optimism for life, Tony Blair was in charge, ah the economy was doing well.
00:04:16
Speaker
And so Britain, what what we call called Britannia, there was a little phase at the at the start of the 90s where people were just like, things are good, things are great. And so Britpop emerged where it was sort of very distinctly British, clever lyrics, catchy melodies, a focus on British life, class struggles, youth culture, but all whilst being a bit tongue in cheek and a bit not so serious.
00:04:37
Speaker
Yeah, and Blur is really good at being not so serious, aren't they? Definitely, yeah, yeah. um So a tiny little bit of background about Blur. um They were at the forefront of Britpop along with Oasis and a bunch of other bands, you know, like Pulp and Suede. Their 1994 album Park Life was a massive success um because it celebrated British life with upbeat tunes, catchy melodies and witty witty lyrics.
00:05:00
Speaker
ah But now talking about the actual battle of Britpop, which was Oasis versus Blur. And this was actually a media-fueled rivalry. I don't think the bands actually have that much problem with each other. I mean, maybe they played up to it as the years went on to try and get a bit more attention. um But the the thing the interesting thing is that this wasn't a musical battle. This was a cultural battle.
00:05:21
Speaker
yeah I'll explain why. If you look at Blur, Blur were often seen as kind of like the posh kids in Britpop. Art school, middle class, you know, represented by their posh London roots. um The music was a bit more introspective, you know, a bit ironic, sort of laced with social commentary. um Whereas is Oasis came from Manchester, which if you're generalizing for those who are not from Britain, Manchester is a poorer area than britain than London.
00:05:51
Speaker
So already, just from where they're from, you've got that distinctive divide. Manchester's very working class, um quite poor on itself, and Oasis represented that.
00:06:04
Speaker
Yeah. And ah with with Blair, you got to because they lived in London, right? So the thing is, if you but if you're living in London, you've got to have a certain amount of money to start with. So that hence then be associated with like the posh side of Britpop. But I think also London's like a cultural like center, isn't it? So it's all about, you know, academic degrees and people, well, theoretically, very clever. and Not always in reality, but in theory, yeah, supposedly, everyone is clever, or trying to be clever, trying to be you know the the best in what they do, whatever. So I think, yes, that rivalry, parts of it might have been real.
00:06:47
Speaker
But again, I think it's just like Beatles versus Rolling Stones. They were really good friends. they still like Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger are still good friends and other stuff. But they they always played into the the battle as a ah as a way of getting some marketing, isn't it?
00:07:01
Speaker
and it's it's it's it It worked, right? It always worked for the Beatles and Stones and always worked for Blur and Oasis, I guess. And I think it's interesting to see that the singles that they released at the same time was a Roll With It by Oasis and Country House by Blur, isn't it? Those two songs, they sum up those two bands really well. And um the simplicity of Roll With It and the, how can I put it?
00:07:28
Speaker
um satire Yeah, the satire and in country house, isn't it? It's more is is's is more, it's not like, a um in your face, like, roll with it. You've got to interpret the lyrics in a certain way. you gotta to see It's sarcastic whilst roll with it. It's more like, this is what it is. and We're not pretending or whatever. So there's a little bit of that. And I have a question for you. Do you think this is not only the Battle of Britbop, but the Battle of the North versus the South?
00:07:59
Speaker
Is that kind of like, there like you said, Beatles v. Stones, right? Beatles from London, the Stones of War. But yeah, I do. And I think ah people inherently side with who they're, where they're from. And I think without, yeah, I agree with you, without even listening to the music, I think someone from London may be slightly biased initially and just being like, hold on, wait, Blur from London? Well, that's me. So yeah, I'm with Blur. Do you know what I mean? Even if you just have to pick a side. Well, even the accent is quite evident, isn't it? With Liam Gallagher singing. If you listen to a razor song and listen to Blur, you can kind of tell where they're from.
00:08:36
Speaker
Yeah, I completely agree. I think you've perfectly summed up what lyrically distinguishes the two bands in this battle of Britpop. You've got blur with very satirical takes on some things, but at the same time, quite serious things like, you know, especially, you know, we're going to explore the lyrics of this album, but you've got, you know, isolation, mental health struggles, the hollow pursuit of success, ah middle class anxieties, all these problems. Whereas Oasis were very much rooted in in things like um I don't know, escapism, self-belief, saying, you know, you can do things for yourself. So I feel like Oasis provided get gave the country a much needed boost in terms of screw politics, screw the man, screw the government, do things for yourself. Whereas Blur weren't so in your face about it. It was quite subtle the way they were trying to put away their satirical lyrics. Do you believe they're less optimistic about life?
00:09:34
Speaker
I do. I do. And um I mean, yes, let's let's go on to this now. ah So as Felipe mentioned, yeah, the the the battle culminated when Country House and Roll With It ah both came out on the same day. Can you believe it, bro? The same day. But that is a proper battle of Britpop.
00:09:52
Speaker
ah Blur won the single battle as In Country House went to number one and I think it sold more that year than Roll With It did but overall as we know What's the Story Morning Glory has gone on to become one of the most famous and successful British albums of all time whereas The Great Escape probably hasn't quite reached those heights I think it's fair to say.
00:10:10
Speaker
But this was ah that this was a defining moment for the Battle of Britpop and I'm talking about the release of The Great Escape, but it also signalled the beginning of the end for the Britpop era and here's why. The lyrical themes of The Great Escape highlight and captured the disillusionment of Britain in the mid-90s and this is what we're going to talk about.
00:10:32
Speaker
Right, so the lyrics. The lyrics, yeah. Yeah. This is what we were talking about earlier, about the the satirical nature of it. So whilst Oasis and a few other bands were very much, you know, like, um you know, hyped up by the media, Britpop's Golden Age at this point began to wane.
00:10:52
Speaker
because people started to, I don't want to say wake up, because that's not, I don't think that's very fair to say about the general public, but after you get the the the optimism, like I was saying about in the early years of the 90s, people started to just see that actually, you know, we're starting to see a bit more of the introspective side of British culture, which is actually the same things they're celebrating, but looking at it from a different angle, which I think blurted really well, because that the great escape is a reflection of this shift.
00:11:20
Speaker
It was a bit more melancholic, a bit more critical. um It so even criticized the same things that bands like Blur were singing about a few years earlier. yeah so interesting Yeah, yeah, it is. and I think that that there's a, it's funny, because like, you can't really call this a concept album. But there is that doesn't it feel like one? It is. i learn for me i mean you Normally people wouldn't say it is but in terms of like the the lyrics and well, the album cover, which you have just on your background there. And which is like, it's all fake, isn't it? You see that guy, you know, like,
00:11:58
Speaker
ah with a fake smile. and as is is all I think they we're trying to show that we try to escape. What I've got on my background here is is a scene from from ah the video clip for a Country House. And Country House, is this guy, but mind you, they're playing a board game in the video that is called Escape from ah the Rat Race.
00:12:19
Speaker
So basically it's that illusion that you're going to escape, you're goingnna you're going to be somewhere else, you're not going to be like working long hours and feeling miserable and you're gonna find you you're going to finally achieve that point where you have a country house and you can spend your time there. Yeah. And, and and and it's like, and they playing the board game in the video, and at the end of the video, they everything that happened is just them, like dreaming about that life. And they just in their small flat, it looks like a small flat in a big building central London, like, it's, it's, it can't get more ah rat race than that. You know, yeah. And I think there's, there's an overall view of, of the um
00:12:58
Speaker
How can I put it? Like common people's lifestyle as something that is really depressing in the end of the day. I think that, I just want to, if you're not familiar with the album, ah go straight to the song, fade away if you want to understand what the album's all about. Probably not the best song in the album, but the lyrics for me ah is about the predictability of modern life, especially when you have an average lifestyle. That's what it is. So you have the couple um and the lyrics, started with them they stumbled into their lives.
00:13:28
Speaker
and in a vague way became man and wife. So it's like not even their marriage is something that's that is meaningful. People stumble into each other, they get married, and then they get jobs, they work long hours, they don't see each other. And they live in an area with people from the same background, they becoming more and more of the same.
00:13:46
Speaker
And I think that ah the the whole album is about this. This song sums up the album in terms of lyrics. And my favorite line from the album is from the song, Air Nodes Same, which is a reference to our Nodes Lane by Pink Floyd. yeah ah But ah this phrase is kind of like, it's I find it really depressing, but it it it sums up the album. Today will always be tomorrow.
00:14:12
Speaker
that phrase is yeah what sums up the album for me, is is the feeling that nothing will ever change and you you just want to pretend it's not happening. And I think they, my problem with this album is after listening to a lot of songs about that, you feel quite depressed at the end of it. But I think they do it in in ah in a ah in a kind of a um it's a bit of there's a bit of comedy to it isn't it it's a bit of humor but I think I think the music is upbeat enough yeah the lyrics to not take such a toll on you I mean this isn't Radiohead or like you know Leonard Cohen where that's all the music and the lyrics are depressing um but it's interesting what you said that they were I've got
00:14:50
Speaker
about four or five different categories of that we can put songs in lyrically. You were talking about, you know, I suppose you could say the emotional struggles of those songs that fade away. Two to add to that, He Thought of Cars and the Universal. If you look at He Thought of Cars, it kind of explores these feelings of detachment, confusion, he feels a bit alienated from the world. yeah And what they what what else they do well on this album is that the character stories they create.
00:15:17
Speaker
There's several characters throughout the album that are just fantastically done. ah The Universal, I mean it definitely reflects sort of like the nature of modern life and how shallow it is yeah and and And you have the news, like the newspaper saying, look, it's really crap, but one day we'll get better. So hang on to it. a hate school side as Well, it is, but it's not. It's like, it's like, it's like the, it feels to me like there's the immediate line to you about, you know, just hang on there. We will get better, but we're not offering you any solutions. We're not helping you out. You keep on going how you've been going. Yeah. We're going to try, you know, we'll get you through whatever.
00:15:57
Speaker
um another one of those categories would be isolation and suburban life which i think is quite interesting because you know we've mentioned country house um which is the opposite they're basically saying if you get out of the city get out of your little suburbs and you you can be happy not not blur but you know some of the some of the song lyrics uh best days you know the i just the title the idea that your best days are ahead of you which is just what you said it's about keeping the people ah ready you know don Don't worry, keep grinding on, keep doing your 9-5 job, keep working hard because the best days are ahead of you.
00:16:31
Speaker
but actually I think when you look at the lyrics of songs like best days, you realize that the track it reflects on sort of sadness, being lonely, ah being stuck in a routine, looking back and actually feeling the opposite of the best days are behind you. Yeah. Very interesting, isn't it? Yes, exactly. And and it's funny because like, ah they mentioned this, some people might laugh when they say that, you know, you live on your best days now. And some people are going to agree with you. That's the course, isn't it? Other people seem to laugh at you when they say these are the best days of your life.
00:17:02
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. And for me, it's ambiguous, isn't it? Because it could be like what you're saying that these are the best days of your life. That can be two things. You actually live in an amazing time. You might not realize it yet. Or your life is not that great. This is the best you're ever going to have. Yeah, that's a great point. That's one way of interpreting it. Again, I don't find it really uplifting. Yeah.
00:17:32
Speaker
but i mean it's funny but But then as a counter to that, you've got a song like Charmless Man, even from the title. If you dig into the lyrics, you can see more of what it means, but the title gives you a good idea. um It's like ridiculing a character that has, I mean, he's got this success, but yeah it all feels a bit superficial. ah He's wealthy, he's well connected, he's successful, but he lacks
00:17:56
Speaker
He's like, his friends are fake. His lifestyle is fake. He's like, no one seems to be really interested in in that man. People just like, you know, hang out with him because they're going to get something out of him. And I like that one specifically, because I think everyone knows one or two people like that, yeah yeah or more. yeah But at least one person exactly like that character. I'm pretty sure everyone knows.
00:18:20
Speaker
So it's almost like we're getting, you know, we've talked about what five or six songs already lyrically, yeah and you feel some songs are almost taking the mick out of the working class man. yeah Some songs are all women and some songs are almost taking the mick out of the wealthy man or woman. yeah Others satire.
00:18:35
Speaker
the working class person, others satire the working class man, others celebrate the working class man and others celebrate, it's just everything, isn't it? It's a proper scope of British life in the 90s, which I know we've said about Oasis and we've said this before, but it's a completely different take on it, isn't it? Yeah, it is. And when you have that variety of veils or takes on on those subjects, it means you can't tell what's the band's opinion about anything.
00:19:03
Speaker
which I find amazing. Great point. yeah It's like they're not they're not giving you a solution. it's They're not even saying, they're not even, yes, great. It's like you're just watching life as a movie. yeah you know You're not participating and you're not trying to change the script. They're not saying, look guys, this is crap. You should do something else. They're also not saying, ah this is great or or whatever. it's just It's just an observation. now that that's ah yeah That's a valid point I guess. As I already mentioned, the character studies on this are fantastic. It is like like like you just said, an observation, watching the world go by. You, Co and Hero.
00:19:39
Speaker
yeah ah to a couple working in a monotonous office job. I think you said this, ah is this the song you're referencing earlier? No, no, that was Fade Away. Fade Away is actually a couple, but that song is a similar story. like People share in a workspace, but they don't know each other. They pretend to know each other. They pretend to have a good time together. They're clearly just working for the the the company or to to make their boss ah happy or whatever. yeah And they work in because that's all they can do. And and they not think it's about pretending to be happy, which is something that a lot of people do, isn't it? Yeah. I think with all those songs, though, um um for me, especially Country House and Charmless Man,
00:20:21
Speaker
You can you can see those songs as a movie in your head as you start listening to them. I can see the charmless man. i Most of them. are most I can I can visualize that I was listening to this to to this album again today on on the bus and I close my eyes. I was like, man, I can see that guy. Yeah. and um The other category I'm going to mention, and I'm only going through this in in a lot of detail because I think the lyrics are arguably the most important thing about this album. ah So the character studies of Mr. Robinson's Quango, say Nuki and Hero, The Charmless Man, and the one I haven't done yet, ah the criticisms of consumerism and conformity. And this is where I was saying we were
00:21:04
Speaker
ah Attack attacking, satirizing people who like buying things, yeah especially stereotypes, you know people stuck in repetitive lives, following your normal social conventions, following your friends, doing what your friends think is cool. It is basically a saying don't conform to what society thinks normal, do your own thing.
00:21:27
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think there's, yeah, there's a lot of that. Yeah. The other one, which the title is perfect, is it could be you, which I think is a, if I'd read it, oh, what did my notes say? Yeah, reflective of the lottery culture and believe, but this is what you said earlier, believing that there will always be something that. It won't happen to you, you know, one day you're going to be rich. Keep paying your 10 pounds a month to get your lottery ticket because one day it will happen to you, you know. But, you know, are we not guilty of it? You and me, I know we both do the Omaze house draw, don't we?
00:21:57
Speaker
Why not? It could be us. I do. That's not an advert. We haven't got paid anyway. By the way, Omaze, if you guys... Yeah, Omaze, if you want to sponsor this podcast, that'd be absolutely welcome. Should we just say we're sponsored by Omaze? He's going to make us look better. I don't want to get sued. I'm the one who gets the emails if we get sued, bro. You just turn up to record. I don't have to deal with that shit.
00:22:17
Speaker
it' pretty yeah but Yeah, wait a minute. If you if you win the Omaze stuff, would you just move to the country? Oh, you are already in the country. I'm already here. Yeah, I just upgrade my house. Yeah. Yeah. So you are you are on the Oasis side. I'm on the Blur side. Is that it? not with off lives Yeah. Yeah. I suppose. Yeah. And like locally, you know, i where we look, where we Yeah, where we are in the country. ah But anyway, all good for lyrics. yeahs Yeah, excellent let's move on let's tune up to the musical innovation and experimentation because this is what makes this album so important. If the album was just a bunch of great lyrics over standard Britpop music, then I don't think it would have the same reach, legacy and success as it did have.
00:23:04
Speaker
On top of what they've done lyrically, which we've as we've just discussed is fantastic, they've done a bunch of stuff musically as well, which I think is fantastic. And the same thing, I've got a couple of sections. So I've got orchestration and expansive production. Songs like The Universal, yeah starts off orchestrally, carries on strings the whole way through orchestras. in um Is it in Country House? Yeah, Country House has got the brass section. dead yeah the Like that, playing that.
00:23:33
Speaker
the The orchestration of this album is magnificent and I was very impressed with Oasis and Morning Glory. And by the way, guys, I personally will be comparing this to Morning Glory throughout the episode. um And that's not to because I love The Great Escape and that's not for me to shit on Oasis. It's because they both came out in 95. it was the Battle of Britpop and these two albums came out in the same year and I think it's right to compare them because you have two different sides of Britpop, completely different sides as we said culturally, um locationally location and even musically as well.
00:24:06
Speaker
um and even you know yuko and hero that minimalistic sound almost electronic atmospheric ambience subtle but with orchestration there that provides really something yeah there's a similarity with pet sounds in a way that the band wow the band is less relevant than the songs right Am I right to say that? Bro, that's a comparison. like Because they don't bother yeah they don't bother much about playing and look at me playing my guitar riff. There's a couple of really good guitar tracks. There's that all like there's amazing bass lines throughout the whole album. That's the one thing. The bass really brings life to the songs. But as a general rule, at some points, all you can hear is the orchestrations and the vocals. So it's it's it's almost like saying, we don't want to sound like a rock band.
00:24:58
Speaker
That's an amazing shout bro. I didn't even think about sort of comparing it to like, because I think people, I think you look at Britpop and naturally I think you think, oh, well, it's not like classical music, is it? It's not as talented as that. People look at it as a bit of a second rate kind of rock music. But when you've got people like Damon Albarn, writing the music behind it and the rest of the band, you know, I know they all contributed. That's a great shout man. Yeah. And it very much feels like that.
00:25:27
Speaker
um But also they collaborated with Stephen Street, who is their long-term producer. And when a band evolves and grows to the next stage and they know what they want, if you've got a producer there who is on side with you and on board with you and knows that you want to get to the next stage and knows what he or she has to do to drag you there with them, that's that that's only a good thing, isn't it, having a producer like Also, I think um You've got to put your ego aside if you want to do that, because if you want to produce an album like they did, it's less about your playing, it's less about your music skills, yeah less about you as a musician, much more about the the the so the songwriting and the production.
00:26:12
Speaker
And if that's your focus, you've got to let the producer shine. You can't be like, oh well, this is my song. I don't want it to become something else. Because good producers will reshape the song, redesign the sounds and turn into something completely different.
00:26:27
Speaker
And and i yeah yeah, you're right. You need to give the producer that space because that's his or her job as well. Yeah. and they did song You've done the recording. It's all there. And obviously the band definitely has a say in how the song is produced or arranged. But you've got to let this person do the job. yeah yeah And you've got to pick the right one.
00:26:45
Speaker
which they did. yeah ah In terms of genre diversity and experimentation, this album really pushed the boundaries in terms of yeah what what was classed as a typical Britpop sound, because they did so much stuff that's unusual. and For example, when my notes Dissonance. just Dissonance galore. For those who have not heard, dissonance is one of my favourite words in music. So if you're a long-term listener or viewer, you've probably heard me say it loads of times. If you're new, dissonance means two notes that don't work together. It's basically jazz. Yeah. So if you play if you're on a piano and you've got a white note, a black note and a white note,
00:27:26
Speaker
play the white note and the black note one after the other, and it will sound horrible. That's called dissonance. When you play the white note next to the other white note with the black note in between, that's called consonance, because it sounds nice. Dissonance. That was a really good explanation. Thank you. I tried to keep it short. like Yeah, if you don't know anything about music theory, that's just perfect. You can just visualize the theory. Well done. Stereotypes, the song stereotypes, you've got... ah by that o da do da da do do da do da dooda
00:27:55
Speaker
That section is so dissonant, I love it. I've got to be brave to start an album with a melody like this. I know, I know. Country House. Country House, where has it got the distance? I've written it down, I can't exactly remember. At the end of Top Man, there's distance, and Globe alone, the guitars, it's almost like they, well, I think they are purposely playing it, playing these notes together. Go on, say something, I'm going to listen to Country House and figure out where I... Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm sorry that the intro is a couple of times. So the intro country. Yeah. You're not playing a scale. It's just a chromatic. Again, starting off the second song of this
00:28:39
Speaker
rip-pop album. It feels to me like to scale yeah it feels so like they they want to keep you slightly annoyed throughout the whole album. Even when the melody is beautiful, there's something in the background that's a bit dissonant or like, ah this doesn't yeah sound quite right. Yeah, I think it's it's intentional, right? Now, Best Days is an interesting one, because it's more Um, clean in terms of music. Can I ask you a question before you carry on? Yeah. Well, it's more of a statement that I hope you agree with. Everyone goes on about saying how, as a criticism of Oasis, Oasis, they just sound like the Beatles. Whereas I've never heard an Oasis song that I can say that really reminds me of the Beatles. Maybe in terms of the structure, chord progressions, whatever.
00:29:25
Speaker
best It makes it feel like you're listening to the Beatles, but you can't really tell which song. yeah i dont know always okay yeah But for me, best days is like a Beatles song. And I'll tell you which one it's like for no one.
00:29:38
Speaker
It's just the soft, not not in terms of tempo or key, just a soft start. And then the little solo at the end that feels out of place, you know that little horn solo in for no one. I can't put my finger on why, I just heard this and thought, this song, Best Days, is closer to any Beatles song than I've ever heard an Oasis song be. well that's not That's not a criticism, it's just an observation.
00:30:02
Speaker
And sorry, before you carry on, yeah any song we mentioned, for those of you listening and watching, we have a dedicated playlist dedicated to this episode where we put the full album on, it's a Spotify playlist, we put the full album in, and any other song we mention goes in the playlist. So already in there is Arnold's Lane by Pink Floyd, which Felipe mentioned, and I'm going to stick for No One by The Beatles in there now, just so that whilst we mention a song, you can have a little listen and tell us whether you agree or disagree. Felipe, please carry on, bro.
00:30:28
Speaker
Yeah, so with best days, I think there's an interesting ah conversation between the the strings and the main melody. They almost overuse the strings on this one because they're not um It's not like um um extremely busy in terms of arrangement, but the strings are there all the time throughout the whole song. and But it works as a conversation but but between the the main melody, the vocal melody. Yeah, exactly. Well, exactly.
00:30:58
Speaker
but i was referenced yeah I think those first three songs are phenomenal. And again, that's the one song I would say that doesn't sound like is being played or written by a rock band. And I think you've got to, you know, if you feel that comfortable with with your production to the point like we're going to do something that does not ah look or sound like a rock band, because they could ah they could even be like considered kind of pop punk. Yeah, that's how everyone put it. the But they in this album, they're not, you know. Well, yeah, you know, I agree with you completely. But there are two or three songs that have a real scar and punk influence. And that's really important because in um
00:31:39
Speaker
in Britain in the I think was it 70s or the 80s where Skaar was a big thing that bands like Madness and the Specials doing their thing and if you listen to a song like Fade Away which has it's kind of offbeat, syncopated, upbeat tempo but the the biggest punk one is Globe Alone. Globe Alone is is a faster, punk inspired, aggressive, energetic, the end of Globe Alone is almost heavy metal like it's like it's just It's fun, it's fast, it's short and really fun. The thing with that one is like when when I got to that point in the album, I felt like the album was going on for a bit too long. I was not going to lie. Let's talk about that because I completely agree with you. I thought the album could be 10 minutes shorter. Who am I to say that? No, you're a consumer, man. You're a consumer and I completely agree with you. and i'm im I'm not going to mince my words. I love this album and I think this is the best Britpop album of all time.
00:32:31
Speaker
and we'll talk about the comparison with Morning Glory, whatever. However, lyrically, give me everything. I'll take, all how many is it? 15 songs? They're all great lyrics. that That's my point. I'll take all the lyrics you want to give me. Musically, I could i could i could do without Dan Abnormal, Globe Alone,
00:32:53
Speaker
entertain me. Maybe those three before you can hear. The one point I want to make for Globe alone is actually that one. I like that that that one is right there. Globe alone, because it brings them back to their roots. It's a bit more punk. And it's more like, OK, you know what, it's a two minute song just to make things slightly heavier at the very end of the album. I think that song is in a good place in the album. But the second half for me is not as entertaining as the first half. Agreed, agreed. Yeah, but lyrically, it's the lyric is all right. All of it.
00:33:27
Speaker
um I just want to like a very quick point about the song Top Man. I think it's just so fascinating how you've got that little vocal bass, and I don't mean bass, B-A-S-S, B-A-S-E. Is it like the home? Home just going on. And then even the little bits like um uh little i got all my notes little arabic flourishes so yeah so when he says uh dudes are then in the desert do you know he's got that tiny little bits that i just think is so special yeah you wouldn't have that it pulp wouldn't do that oasis wouldn't do that if oasis mentioned the word
00:34:02
Speaker
I don't know, you know, let's go to Arabia. They wouldn't put in a little harmonic minor scale after. They do. Do you know what I mean? This is why it's just fascinating, man. Blur and Oasis, complete opposite ends of the Britpop spectrum, but they are still both Britpop, aren't they? Just magnificent. Well, and that's the thing with that era of music with Britpop. It's not one thing, isn't it? Britpop is not one thing. Well, you know, we talk a lot of different styles. Yeah.
00:34:31
Speaker
ah We talk about a heavy metal there's a couple of sub genres that you talk about where people argue, is it a genre or is it a movement. The first one is the new wave of British heavy metal. Yeah, people, a lot of people don't like calling Iron Maiden, a but new way for British heavy metal is summarized as new album.
00:34:47
Speaker
So a lot of people don't like calling Iron Maiden a Norban band. No, no, no, Iron Maiden a heavy metal. Norban's just a movement, and nu-metal as well in the 90s. No, nu-metal's not a genre, it's just a movement. Britpop's both, isn't it? Britpop is an obvious genre, but at the same time, as I mentioned at the start of the episode, it did symbolise that cultural movement in Britain in the 90s. Exactly. Excellent. What else have I got? ah oh Actually, Jenna, just to finish off, the um I've actually got two more points.
00:35:14
Speaker
Graham Coxon's guitar work. Brilliant, isn't it? Because I don't think it's great. It's so creative with rhythm. I think when you think of Oasis, and again, this isn't to shit on Oasis or say this is better, that's better. Oasis and a bunch of other Britpop bands are so guitar driven. The guitar is the focal main point of the of of the of the song. Yeah.
00:35:35
Speaker
whereas Graham Coxon has really taken a back step. Don't get me wrong, the guitar is prevalent in a lot of the songs, but he, I always say my second favorite phrase after dissonance in music is less is more. It's not about the notes you play, it's about the space you leave. yeah And Graham Coxon not shoving his guitar in every song as loud as he can be. Songs like, um he thought of cards. His guitar is so restrained, it's in the background, it's atmospheric as well. It's like i another instrument in the orchestra, right? When they have strings, the guitar is just like one more voice in that orchestra, more than a leading instrument, isn't it? Yeah, well done. And then finally, the melodic and harmonic complexity um of the album, which I think is just fantastic. You know, they're known for their catchy melodies, but to put
00:36:25
Speaker
complex harmonies behind. um as take looks song like yeah The universal, ah really ambitious chord progression, it doesn't follow your standard 2, 4, 5, 1 chord progression. In the universal where they move between major keys and minor keys so smoothly They really kind of pulls you up and then brings you down when it hits that minor key. um Sweeping melodies, you know, reminiscent of classic British pop songs, but the harmonic shifts keep it so unpredictable and entertaining. Unpredictable is a good word for this album. our Best days as well. I think best days as well. You know, you've got those that I think I'm trying to remember whether it's other people laugh at you. When they say and that chord is unusual.
00:37:10
Speaker
Boom, these are the best days of our lives. And it just sits there and it's it's takes it's tension because it's probably a seventh chord or a jazzy chord. And then it's just relieved beautifully when it goes back into the main melody again. I really like this album. I really do. I can tell. Yeah, they go you can tell what I do. it Anything else to talk about musically? No, no, no. I have a question for the very end of it.
00:37:37
Speaker
okay and say anyway Okay, all right. all right. Now we're gonna just talk a little bit about Blur's evolution, because I think it's important having addressed what we just addressed in the music. This is so, and we weren't talking about this for too long, but Britpop was waning. We know this. And I think the the Great Escape represents a pivotal moment in this in this position, because I think Damon Auburn realized probably he's a very clever guy, musically and sort of, you know, logic, you know, knowledge wise, I think he knew the that the change was coming and that like grunge because grunge essentially it's debatable but grunge had died already at this point you still had your post grunge bands like Creed and Foo Fighters doing their thing but Kurt Cobain had died grunge was such a small quick movement in America only lasted about four years
00:38:29
Speaker
um And I think, you know, it was a bit too heavy for people, Grunge. Not heavy musically, I mean lyrically, you know, weight on people, it's depressing as much as I love it, it's depressing and it's so melancholic. I think Damon Alden saw that Britpop was declining and sort of started changing things up, using more electronic stuff, keyboards, samples, stuff like that. um And I think because of this, you know, he definitely embraced the low-fi electronic soundscapes that he was using.
00:38:59
Speaker
And I, um one one of my favourite bands, I definitely put them in my top 20, Gorillaz, which was Damon Orban's project. after work You might have had others in between, but after Blur came Gorillaz. And I hear things like Top Man, where... um It's like his preparing for that, isn't it? But if you listen to Blur's album 13, which is in 1999,
00:39:24
Speaker
It's still another step between Great Escape Gorillas, 13 kind of sits there and you could just hear it develop, but it is fantastic. um But yeah, I just like just wanted to mention that a bit because I'm a massive Gorillas fan.
00:39:37
Speaker
um The song Top Man reminds me of a song called Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head by Gorillaz because of that use of the vocal. you know we we love having based on um We love having bass and drums as ah as ah as a bass, B-A-S-E, of a song. But to have a vocal thing, like a vocal bass, to give the song its own structure, I think it's just brilliant.
00:40:03
Speaker
yeah The vocals, the foundation. business yeah yeah um Let's move on and talk about finally the success and legacy of the album. ah So commercially it was very successful, um continued Blur's rise to the top, ah debuted at number one on the UK album charts, sold over a million copies in the UK, certified triple platinum the year after I believe.
00:40:26
Speaker
a Country House, the lead single, also universal, charmless man, stereotypes, all did really well in the charts and for Blur. Now, outside the UK, Britpop didn't translate that well for Americans. They didn't really get it. The way that we sort of took in Grant. Well, I suppose the other way really as well, you know, that I know everyone loves Nirvana.
00:40:46
Speaker
but we didn't fully embrace grunge here. If you have a different different cultural background, you don't feel those feelings in the same way. exactly And that's what music's all about in the end. yeah Although it didn't translate to the US, it was quite successful in Europe. um Critical reception, mostly positive reviews, you know, it praised the ambition, the musicality, the lyrics of it, the songwriting. ah Some people felt it was a little overproduced compared to their previous albums, but if you're comparing, I think they're different albums, you know, Park Life is... I think they're meant to be different, it's meant to be over produced.
00:41:20
Speaker
But The Legacy, I think is the most important thing because you've got it's the end of Britpop's Golden Era. And I feel like this album is that point. And like we said, although Grunge essentially died when Kurt Cobain died, there was still a few albums released after. I think Britpop ended when this album came out. um Obviously, you had things coming out. That's what they they felt like as well. They said in interviews that that's that they knew that there was the end of Britpop culturally.
00:41:48
Speaker
At least for them, that was the end of Brit Bob. They decided to end Brit Bob. We're ending Brit Bob right now. Do you know what happened this week? Coldplay have announced their retirement.
00:42:02
Speaker
Oh, right. They've said after their 12 album, which comes out in a few months. i Didn't they didn't they say that before? I'm not sure. I just thought that I'm holding my breath here. Yeah. Well, you never know whenever they need some money. I'm sure there'll be another big tour. Yeah. um But I just like kiss kiss did about seven farewell to Black Sabbath done too. Yeah, yeah. Scorpions. They're still going. I mean, they did. I think they want to feel like I'm pretty sure they were on a farewell two or ten years ago I'm sure about this yeah but then ah yeah they're still doing it so I just don't don't trust. Should should we celebrate? or should we I just thought it was interesting you know because Coldplay have been Coldplay are a direct result of Britpop.
00:42:43
Speaker
yeah sort of late 90s, early 2000s, that kind of rock music. And I find, you know, it is a moment in time. Coldplay retiring, whether you like them or not, yeah it is a moment in time. Actually, that is an era coming to an end, the Coldplay era. And I'm not trying to blow smoke up their ass. They're not the only band doing it, but they are significant. But they're the biggest and band. They're the biggest band in the UK. za They have been the biggest band in the UK for the last, I don't know, 15 years or more. Yeah, definitely.
00:43:09
Speaker
Cultural impact, as I said, you know songs like Country House and the Universal remain iconic tracks that really sort of bring you back to that 90s. Battle of Britpop, massive moment for it, as we know, and the influence on Britpop as well. you know As you said, other bands experimented after this and said, well, let's see what we can do. If Blur are using so samples and synthesizers, let's see what we can do. So it really did open up the avenue for many bands and it is a truly significant album. So yeah, that's it.
00:43:38
Speaker
Yeah. That's it. I have a question. Yeah. if Simple one. has been Has been asked a million times. Blur or oasis? Blur for me.
00:43:50
Speaker
um and i don't And I know I started the Oasis album. For those who haven't listened to the Oasis episode, go back and listen to it. Everything we've done with Great Escape, we did with What's The Story Morning Glory, which is why we've done the Great Escape so soon after, because we wanted that that little comparison. um I do not like Oasis. I don't like them. The majority of their music, I don't like. But on that album, I think you can admit, I gave it its juice. I was very fair with it. um But for me, I always...
00:44:19
Speaker
and And I said on the episode, don't look back in the anger is one of the best ever songs released by British band, pop music, rock music, wherever you want to categorize it as it is fantastic. But I didn't hear that much of a, I'm trying to, I want to be careful what I say because I do appreciate Oasis. There is a sophistication and a
00:44:49
Speaker
complexity around The Great Escape. Even though it's simple in nature, every song has something going on in the back of your ear, whether it's a little horn line or Graham Coxon's guitar playing a little melody or that little even that little Arabic thing I said, he goes into the desert. dode de like Just little embellishments that I think takes this album above any other.
00:45:14
Speaker
they thought about it a lot. And maybe that's what Oasis are about. Maybe they are just about rock and roll, let's plug in, we'll record it live, do some overdubs if we need, whatever. And that is fine with me. I'm happy with it. I'm happy the Oasis fans love it. I'm happy the world love Oasis. But for me, I don't actually feel blur get enough credit for this album or maybe and in the career because- I get it. They could be like, you know,
00:45:42
Speaker
more famous worldwide do you think yeah although they are you know they're successful all over the world but i understand where you're coming yeah same question yeah for you well first one great escape or what's the story morning glory Oh, tough one. Can I call it a draw? I like that. Yeah, I'll take that. That's fair. Yeah. Yeah, yeah that's fair. Yeah. why Okay, fair enough. So I like the the the the feeling of like a garage band, two guitars, bass, drums, someone shouting on the microphone. And it's easier for me
00:46:16
Speaker
to never get tired of that than it is to listen to a lot of um complex arrangements and stuff. i I love listening to, let's put it. clever music like like The Great Escape. And I love the fact that Blur has changed ah throughout the years, but I love a rock band. There's just four guys with their guitars and and drums and just and just, you know, as John Lennon said, I think i think there was an interview with David Bowie that he mentioned that he asked John Lennon, like, how does he write songs and stuff? And John Lennon said, just write about whatever you're feeling at the moment and put a backbeat to it.
00:46:54
Speaker
um And that's on top of Oasis, isn't it? but yeah which that better Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I think ah that's more my my my kind of music, my cup of tea. But again, ah you can't take the ah the merit out of any of those two bands. They're both amazing. what they do I don't feel like you've actually given your opinion about this album. Do you like it? Do you think it's great? I like you so i like it. yeah I think it's great. I think I think there's a i really admire when people a work on the detail of every song. Everything has been thought through in this album. I think from the lyrics to the arrangements to the, you know, placement of guitar voices and, and, and bass and drums and everything. I think it's really, really clever. That's the best word I think to describe the album. And I love the lyrical content. I just think for it's not my cup of tea, but i've I really enjoyed listening to that through the album, the start to finish. I think it's a great experience.
00:47:50
Speaker
i think I think you summed it our best when you said it's it's not considered a concept album but it is. yeah which is is and it isn't and I think that the fact that it's not meant to be um Can I put it? It's not meant to be ah crystal clear in terms of what they intend to say. that that's That's great. ah I like it. Cool. Right. Shall we finish off with my monologue? Yes, yeah it's a little bit longer than usual. What can you expect when I do albums I love?
00:48:22
Speaker
so me Blur have always been slightly outside the standard we were used to for Britpop, from the electronic grunge feel of repetition on their first album to the funky, chic inspired girls and boys on Park Life. But The Great Escape turned this idea of normal Britpop completely on its head.
00:48:41
Speaker
Whereas most bands were guitar driven, Blur sought to use other instruments and electronic synths as a basis for some of these souls. Whereas most bands kept production and instrumentation raw and to a minimum, Blur expanded with lush orchestral arrangements and highly executed production methods. And, most importantly, whereas most bands were celebrating British life, morals and values, Blur were questioning the authenticity and the reality of it all.
00:49:08
Speaker
I think Britpop was a temporary bubble, as we saw from its short lifespan and its American counterpart in grunge, a reaction to a new political landscape and a renewed feeling of optimism and national pride, and Blur took it upon themselves to burst that bubble. Tracks like Best Days and Arnold Sane illustrate feelings of wasted potential and suburban life's monotony,
00:49:30
Speaker
Country House and Charmless Man satirised the British upper class. He thought of cars and the universal, delve into mental health and emotional struggles, while stereotypes, and it could be you, criticise consumerism and conformity. Musically, the album is filled to the brim with ambitious orchestration, genre of diversity and melodic slash harmonic complexity, which completely pushed the boundaries of Britpop, while simultaneously sounding completely appropriate and at home with the Britpop moniker.
00:49:59
Speaker
I love how the unusual elements, the dissonance, the unnerving electronic soundscapes, the punk scar metal elements, makes us a little uncomfortable and perfectly symbolises the changing cultural landscape of mid-1990s Britain. In the Battle of Britpop Debate,
00:50:16
Speaker
You all know I'm no fan of Oasis, but I've given them their credit in dues. However, when I compare the great escape to what's the story morning glory, I see a world of difference in songwriting quality, artistic ambition and musical execution. Maybe that's the point of Oasis. Maybe they are no-nonsense, rock and roll, loud guitars with Liam Gallagher's signature vocals singing their anthemic choruses.
00:50:38
Speaker
but Blur show a musical sophistication that I don't think can be rivaled in that era of music and they go on to back it up with future albums and future projects. I've always had a soft spot for Blur, for me they've always been the best and my favorite of the Britpop bands and diving deep into the great escape has only further confirmed to me that they are the creme de la creme of this category and this album is Britpop at its finest. Well said.
00:51:05
Speaker
Can I add something to it? Oh please bro, go ahead. That model continued. yeah I think Blur is the band that took Britpop to another level and they intentionally killed it before it was too late. Oh yes, yes. I'm trying to remember what band we were doing where we said that that band pushed the other band and they really, ah ah Beach Boys and Beatles in the 60s and how how there wasn't any animosity but um Brian Wilson heard ah Sergeant Pepper and he was like I gotta write something like that and it pushed it. I wonder if what what's the story Morning Glory would have been as good if they didn't have Blur
00:51:48
Speaker
do your park life. I wonder if The Great Escape would have been as good had they not heard what's the story of Morning Glory before. Yeah just there is even a reference to it you know. Go on tell us. Well they say Morning Glory not maybe as a reference to the album. There you go. That's country house isn't it yeah. Oh yeah you got what's the story about the Morning Glory yeah yeah yeah you're right. It's a reference so yeah yeah. Anything else to say? No I just I just want to thank everyone for listening to us again.
00:52:17
Speaker
yeah and and we got new logo, we got loads of new stuff, and I'm really excited about the future of the podcast. I'm really happy that people have been with us all this time. I think, you know, yeah, we we as Felipe said, we've rebranded and we've got awesome looking new logo and some new visuals on our YouTube and even if you look on the podcast apps it all looks fantastic. we see yeah we we There's constant growth in the podcast we love what we do but we've always said you know the whole reason we do this podcast is because myself and Felipe we've toured the world with a bunch of different artists and all of them have said to us you know we'll be in the car talking about an album and
00:52:54
Speaker
You know, some one artist thought we were having an argument because I was like, Felipe, man, Black Sabbath is metal. Lads, no, mate, it's hard rock. And we have these debates and these discussions about music that actually put some of the artists we played for on edge, like, guys, calm down. No, no, no, this is fine. This is just what we do.
00:53:10
Speaker
But every time we've been in a tour van or a car and we're discussing it, people are like, you guys, your discussions are fascinating and that's exactly why we started the podcast. If we do an episode and it only gets one listen and we've changed someone's outlook on an album or a band because of that one listen, we've done our job and I'm happy that I can go to bed at night thinking we've served a purpose.
00:53:34
Speaker
And if we can convince you guys to have a listen to some of the most iconic albums in rock history, that would be great too. It's about like getting to know new music or old music. that's that's right And also yeah and also ah you know ah listening to to to something that you you you liked in the past and you don't remember, you know or you know you haven't listened to that band in a while.
00:53:57
Speaker
And anyway, whatever suggestions you guys have or comments, please just drop us a line and we'll be happy to get in touch and maybe talk about an album suggested by you. Absolutely. Yeah, if you're listening on Apple and Spotify, guys, please scroll down, give us a little view. It does us the world of good. If you're watching on YouTube, please like and subscribe. All of that stuff, whether it's Apple, Spotify or YouTube, follow us so that you can stay up to date with our latest episodes. Thanks, everyone, for being with us. Keep on rocking, everyone.
00:54:27
Speaker
and don't do anything else. As usual guys, take care and long live, walk along.