5 out of 5

Label: Virgin

Producer: Various

There’s really no other way to rate this (no song reference intended).  As the Allmusic review smartly points out – something I missed – this Best Of comp, though madly comprehensive for one disc at 18 tracks, completely skips over one Blur album – ‘Modern Life is Rubbish,’ which was when the band ditched the more friendly pop of first album ‘Leisure’ to move toward their defining experiments in stretching the boundaries of UK radio rock – and includes some tracks from the then-current ’13’, which, with its 7+ minute ‘Tender,’ wasn’t really a singles album.  Despite that (and whether or not it was a conscious decision, who can say), the bestest best thing about albums of this nature is getting to hear both the growth and trends that a band makes or establishes in their time, and for Blur… it’s all the more shocking to hear those inventive blends of genres and off-puttingly smart lyrics stretching back to the very beginning.  (Okay, maybe not so much the lyrics on ‘Leisure,’ but they’re not complete trash, either.)

Double despite that, I joined the Blur bandwagon along with a lot of MTV – during the self-titled album.  (Which, interestingly, is used for a 1-2 opener here, suggesting this comp is playing to my era, and perhaps those who didn’t end up fully subscribing to every Blur disc but instead just bought that Song 2 album and so hey ya’ll I totally know these openings songs omg)  Yes, I purchased the discography over a few years and did my bit to listen to all of it, but I did that with a lot of bands, and I can’t say that I’d be able to sing along to, and enjoy, and feel something for every song on any given greatest hits album…  It goes beyond the fact that these are all amazingly composed tracks – it’s something deeper about the group, the element that always sold me on them over Oasis.  That there’s a connection and emotions coming through the songs that makes them stick.  All of them.  They’re easy to remember because they immediately bore into you, and Albarn’s level-headed singing and playfully honest or snarky lyrics give enough room to let us breathe and experience the thoughts on our own.

So it’s like you know the songs before you know them.  And yet, there’s not another band who’s been able to deliver such consistently quality material.

All of this is said much more intelligently in the Allmusic review.  So you should read that.  BUT YOU READ IT HERE FIRST (BUT I READ IT THERE FIRST)