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'''Blur''' is the fifth album by Blur, released on February 10, 1997 in the UK. It reached #1 in the UK album chart, while making significant headway in the US with "Song 2" becoming a hit there and earning Blur a gold record in the process. It also spawned several hit singles in the UK, most notably ''Beetlebum'' and ''Song 2''.
The album's style was resultant of Blur's dropping their previous Britpop mantle in favour of lo-fi and alternative rock recordings, reportedly at Graham Coxon's urging. As a result, ''Blur'' was a hit primarily because it proved that Blur could evolve beyond their Britpop roots, in contrast to other formerly Britpop bands such as Oasis, who critically disappointed with their 1997 release ''Be Here Now''.
The album has been certified Gold in U.S.

Contents

Track listing

Trivia

Track listing

All tracks written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, except where noted.
# "Beetlebum" – 5:04
# "Song 2" – 2:02
# "Country Sad Ballad Man" – 4:50
# "M.O.R." (Blur, David Bowie, Brian Eno) – 3:27
# "On Your Own" – 4:26
# "Theme from Retro" – 3:37
# "You're So Great" (Graham Coxon) – 3:35
# "Death of a Party" – 4:33
# "Chinese Bombs" – 1:24
# "I'm Just a Killer for Your Love"
★ – 4:11
# "Look Inside America" – 3:50
# "Strange News from Another Star" – 4:02
# "Movin' On" – 3:44
# "Essex Dogs" – 8:08
#
★ Japanese release has "Dancehall" as a separate track, calling it a "Bonus track for Japan." – 6:25

★ Produced by Blur

Trivia

★ The cover art portrays the blurred image of a nurse pushing a hospital bed. The album was originally titled ''Five'' (this being their fifth album), and the nurse in the cover art had a halo.

★ The song "You're So Great" was the first song written by Graham Coxon to appear on a Blur album (his only previous solo outing on a Blur record had been the B-side "Rednecks"). It was performed solely by him and can be seen as the start of his solo career. The extreme lo-fi recording of the track is typical of songs on Coxon's first solo albums.

★ "Strange News from Another Star" is named after ''Strange News from Another Star'', a collection of eight short stories written by the German author Hermann Hesse between 1913 and 1918.

★ "Country Sad Ballad Man" was inspired by P. J. Proby.