Blur: The Best Of

Blur: The Best Of is a greatest hits compilation album by English Britpop band Blur, first released in late 2000 and is the final Blur album by Food Records. It was released on CD, cassette tape, MiniDisc, double 12" vinyl record, DVD and VHS. The CD album includes 17 of Blur's 23 singles from 1990 to 2000, plus non-single, "This Is a Low". A special edition of the CD version included a live CD. The DVD/VHS version contains the videos of Blur's first 22 singles. The album, which has had enduring sales, hit number 3 in the band's native UK in the autumn of 2000, while denting the US charts at number 186. The cover is by artist Julian Opie. The painting of this Blur album can be found at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England.

Blur: The Best Of
Greatest hits album by
Blur
Released30 October 2000
Recorded1990–2000
GenreBritpop, alternative rock, indie rock
Length77:08 (CD1)
43:38 (CD2)
89:35 (VHS/DVD)
LabelFood/Virgin/Parlophone
ProducerStephen Street, William Orbit, Steve Lovell, Steve Power, Ben Hillier
Blur chronology
The 10 Year Limited Edition Anniversary Box Set
(1999)		 Blur: The Best Of
(2000)		 Think Tank
(2003)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic88/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Drowned in Sound6/10[3]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[5]
NME9/10[6]
Pitchfork8.6/10[7]
Q[8]
Robert ChristgauA−[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Wall of Sound86/100[11]

The album received a positive critical response. Of the reviews collected from notable publications by popular review aggregator website Metacritic, the album holds an overall approval rating of 88%.[1]

On the chart ending 7 March 2009, it was reported by Music Week that the album passed over one million unit sales in the United Kingdom.

A proposed title for the album was Best Blur Album in the World Ever,[12] in reference to the compilation album series The Best... Album in the World...Ever! (which often contained songs by Blur).

The first two tracks "Beetlebum" and "Song 2" both appear in the same order as their original album (Blur).

Track listing

Disc one

All tracks written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree.

No.TitleOriginal albumLength
1."Beetlebum"Blur, 19975:05
2."Song 2"Blur2:02
3."There's No Other Way" (Edited version)Leisure, 19913:14
4."The Universal"The Great Escape, 19954:00
5."Coffee & TV" (Single edit)13, 19995:18
6."Parklife"Parklife, 19943:07
7."End of a Century"Parklife2:47
8."No Distance Left to Run"133:26
9."Tender"137:41
10."Girls & Boys" (Single edit)Parklife4:18
11."Charmless Man"The Great Escape3:33
12."She's So High" (Edited version)Leisure3:49
13."Country House"The Great Escape3:57
14."To the End" (Edited version)Parklife3:51
15."On Your Own"Blur4:27
16."This Is a Low" (Not released as a single)Parklife5:02
17."For Tomorrow" (Visit to Primrose Hill extended version)Modern Life Is Rubbish, 19936:02
18."Music Is My Radar"Non-album single, 20005:29

Disc two (Limited Edition)

Recorded live at Wembley Arena, 11 December 1999.

  1. "She's So High" – 5:24
  2. "Girls & Boys" – 4:21
  3. "To the End" – 4:08
  4. "End of a Century" – 3:00
  5. "Stereotypes" – 3:27
  6. "Charmless Man" – 3:31
  7. "Beetlebum" – 6:09
  8. "M.O.R." – 3:09
  9. "Tender" – 6:20
  10. "No Distance Left to Run" – 4:09

VHS/DVD
  1. "She's So High"
  2. "There's No Other Way"
  3. "Bang"
  4. "Popscene"
  5. "For Tomorrow"
  6. "Chemical World"
  7. "Sunday Sunday"
  8. "Girls & Boys"
  9. "Parklife"
  10. "To the End"
  11. "End of a Century"
  12. "Country House"
  13. "The Universal"
  14. "Stereotypes"
  15. "Charmless Man"
  16. "Beetlebum"
  17. "Song 2"
  18. "On Your Own"
  19. "M.O.R."
  20. "Tender"
  21. "Coffee & TV"
  22. "No Distance Left to Run"

Both the CDs and the DVD were released together as a box set in the United States in November 2007, but this release has since been removed from distribution.[13]

Personnel
Blur
Additional personnel
  • Blur – production
  • Jack Clark – mixing
  • Al Clay – mixing
  • Jason Cox – engineering
  • Tom Girling – assistant producer
  • Stephen Hague – producer, engineer
  • Ben Hillier – producer, mixing
  • Jeff Knowler – assistant engineer
  • Damian LeGassick – programming
  • Steve Lovell – producer
  • Gerard Navarro – assistant engineer
  • William Orbit – producer, engineer
  • Jeremy Plumb – art direction, design
  • Steve Power – producer
  • Iain Roberton – assistant engineer
  • Andy Ross – engineer
  • John Smith – producer, engineer
  • Sean Spuehler – programming
  • Stephen Street – producer, engineer
  • Greg Williams – photography

Charts and certifications

References
  1. "Critic Reviews for The Best of Blur". Metacritic. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  2. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Blur: The Best Of at AllMusic
  3. "Blur: Best of + live CD". Archived from the original on 1 November 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2007.
  4. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  5. Brunner, Rob (1 December 2000). "The Best of Blur". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  6. Sutherland, Steve (October 2000). "Blur: The Best of Blur". NME. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  7. Juzwiak, Richard M. (21 November 2000). "Blur: The Best of Blur". Pitchfork. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  8. "The Best of Blur". Q: 120. November 2000.
  9. "Blur". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 26 August 2017.
  10. Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City: Simon and Schuster. p. 89. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. rolling stone blur album guide.
  11. "Blur: The Best of Blur". Archived from the original on 24 January 2001. Retrieved 24 January 2001.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. "Blur: The Best Of – album info". Vblurpage.com. Retrieved 9 January 2012.
  13. Amazon.com details for "Blur: The Best Of"
  14. "Australian chart positions". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  15. "Austrian chart positions". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1 June 2005. Retrieved 16 January 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. Billboard. 18 November 2000 https://books.google.com/books?id=0BAEAAAAMBAJ. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  18. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 15 July 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  19. "German album positions". musicline.de. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  20. Billboard. 18 November 2000 https://books.google.com/books?id=0BAEAAAAMBAJ&q=blur. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  21. http://www.hitparadeitalia.it/hp_yenda/lpe1995a.htm
  22. "ブラーのCDアルバムランキング" [Blur – best-selling album ranking on the Oricon]. oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  23. "New Zealand chart positions". charts.nz. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  24. "Norwegian chart positions". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  25. "Swedish chart positions". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  26. "Swiss chart positions". hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  27. "British chart positions". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  28. "Blur Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  29. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
  30. "RIAJ > The Record > September 1997 > Certified Awards (July 1997)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  31. "New Zealand album certifications – Blur – Blur... The Best Of". Recorded Music NZ.
  32. "British album certifications – Blur – The Magic Whip". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Magic Whip in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
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