PARKLIFE

(Redirected from Parklife (album))

'''Parklife''' is the third album by the the English rock band Blur released on April 25, 1994, in the UK. It established Blur in the UK, helped by its four hit singles; "Girls & Boys", "End of a Century", "Parklife" and "To the End".
Although the album failed to chart in the US, "Girls & Boys" became a hit there, while ''Parklife'' became Blur's first UK #1 album.
Blur's sketches of British life among ordinary men and women prompted many reviewers to compare the band to The Kinks. The songs themselves span many genres, such as the Pet Shop Boys-esque hit single "Girls And Boys", the waltz-like interlude of "The Debt Collector", the Oi! punk of "Bank Holiday", the spacey "Far Out", and the hard rocking "Trouble In The Message Centre". At the time of its release it was well received in Britain, particularly in the context of the young middle classes' adoption of Estuary English. Several newspaper articles about this tendency appeared during the singles chart run of the album's title track.

Contents

Track listing

Personnel

Blur

Additional musicians

String quartet

Duke strings

Kick horns

Track listing

All Music by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree.
All Songs by Damon Albarn, except "Far Out" by Alex James
#"Girls & Boys" – 4:51
#"Tracy Jacks" – 4:20
#
★ Louisa Fuller - Violin
#
★ Rick Coster - Violin
#
★ Mark Pharoah - Violin
#
★ John Metcalfe - Viola & String Arrangement
#
★ Ivan McCready - Cello
#"End of a Century" – 2:45
#
★ Richard Edwards - Trombone
#
★ Roddy Lorimer - Flugelhorn
#"Parklife" – 3:05
#
★ Phil Daniels - Narration
#"Bank Holiday" – 1:42
#"Badhead" – 3:25
#
★ Tim Sanders - Tenor Sax
#
★ Roddy Lorimer - Trombone
#
★ Simon Clarke - Baritone Sax
#"The Debt Collector" – 2:10
#
★ Tim Sanders - Tenor Sax & Soprano Sax
#
★ Neil Sidwell - Trombone
#
★ Simon Clarke - Baritone Sax, Alto Sax & Flute
#"Far Out" – 1:41
#"To the End" – 4:05
#
★ Laetitia Sadier - Chanteuse
#
★ Stephen Hague - Accordion
#
★ Chris Tombling - Strings
#
★ Audrey Riley - Strings
#
★ Leo Payne - Strings
#
★ Chris Pitsillides - Strings
#"London Loves" – 4:15
#"Trouble in the Message Centre" – 4:09
#"Clover over Dover" – 3:22
#"Magic America" – 3:38
#"Jubilee" – 2:47
#"This Is a Low" – 5:07
#"Lot 105" – 1:17

Personnel

Blur

★ Damon Albarn – vocals, backing vocals, Hammond, Moog, machine strings, harpsichord, melodica, vibraphone, recorder, some programming

★ Graham Coxon – backing vocals, electric guitars, acoustic guitars, clarinet, saxophone, percussion

★ Alex James – vocals on "Far Out", bass guitar, crowd noise

★ Dave Rowntree – drums, percussion, crowd noise, some programming

Additional musicians

★ Stephen Street – vintage keys, sound effects, some programming

★ Laetitia Sadier – singer

★ Phil Daniels – narration

★ Stephen Hague – accordion

String quartet

★ Chris Tombling

★ Audrey Riley

★ Leo Payne

★ Chris Pitsillides

Duke strings

★ Louisa Fuller – violin

★ Rick Koster – violin

★ Mark Pharoah – violin

★ John Metcalfe – string arrangement, viola

★ Ivan McCready – cello

Kick horns

★ Richard Edwards – trombone

★ Roddy Lorimer – flugelhorn, trombone

★ Tim Sanders – tenor sax, soprano sax

★ Simon Clarke – baritone sax, alto sax, flute