Lots to keep an eye out for., Feb 12 2004

In terms of music, Blur are an eclectic bunch. Probably the quintessential britpop band. They've tried so many music styles over the years. They began as shoegazers, before re-inventing themselves as a Kinks-esque band, celebrating British culture (though with much better production than the Kinks ever had). Later, they dropped the britishness and concentrated on alternative music with experimental elements. Some songs will make you laugh, some songs will make you get up and dance, the odd one will touch your heart. (If you want to know more about Blur's music, check out reviews for their CDs)

Blur are not the most arty or creative with their videos, compared to bands like Tool and Radiohead, but they sure can entertain with them. For the most part, they light hearted affairs, (particularly the britpop-era ones) that bring out the personality of the band (particularly On Your Own and No Distance Left to Run). There are tributes to movies (To The End, The Universal), videos featuring british scenery (Bang, For Tomorrow, Chemical World) and of course videos where Blur are simply performing and having fun (Popscene, Song 2). We are even lucky enough to get a couple of live performances on tape (End of a Century, Stereotypes)

I won't give too much else away, as that will spoil watching the videos, though as you watch keep an eye out for:

*The bandmates getting older, as well as the changing fashions (both in clothing and artistic sense).
*Graham Coxon's Harry Potter look in "She's So High".
*The magic dessert in "There's No Other Way"
*The "influential" albums sitting in the background during "Bang"
*Damon Albarn sitting on a bunny in "Chemical World".

*Dave Rowntree dressing in drag in "Parklife".
*The campy style of "Sunday Sunday" and "Country House", in both the audio and the visual.
*The overblown stage set for "Stereotypes"
*The subliminal messages in "The Universal"
*The "blurry" possessions in "Beetlebum"
*Damon's windblown hairline in "Song 2"
*The rocking "Road" version of MOR (well, keep an ear out for that)
*Graham's creepy alien statue in "On Your Own".
*Graham Coxon stuffing up a line in "Tender", laughing, then carrying on.
*The dancing milk carton in "Coffee & TV"
*Damon Albarn after he has just woken up in the morning on "No Distance Left To Run"

Yes, there is lots to keep an eye out for.

The navigation isn't the best. This disc was made in the relatively early days of DVD, so the menus are very basic. It is made up of walls with posters of the singles on, and you make your way across the wall and select the poster (the song) you want. It's a bit frustrating. The better way is to use the scene forward and scene backward buttons on your remote, and treat the DVD like a CD with pictures. The track numbers are on the back, and you can find the song you want pretty easily this way.

The only real special features are some fact files on the songs and their videos, including who the director was, awards that they won, etc. They're pretty interesting.

I recommend this to fans of Blur (who will want to watch this again, again, and again) and to fans of britpop. This may be a good purchase for newcomers to Blur, those who have one of their albums and now want to know more about the band. A picture is a thousand words, after all.

Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)

Comprehensive collection of the best UK band of the 90s, Jun 21 2003

As a huge Blur fan, I found myself singing along to every song; there's not really a duff one in the bunch, although the real
masterpieces include "She's So High", "Popscene", "For Tomorrow", "Parklife", "Stereotypes", "The Universal", "Song 2",
"Tender" and "No Distance Left To Run". The video for "Coffee + TV" is a scream, and won many awards at the time. The group never stood still and watching them progress is a delight, and their success was well-deserved. Albarn was the true heir to Ray Davies' sophisticated lyrical vision and his vocals were infinitely better than his contemporaries (Oasis, anyone?); when combined with his teen-idol looks the package was complete. "The Best Of Blur" is highly recommended and gives one a taste of the best of mainstream UK pop music in the last 15 years: it doesn't get much better than this. Wooh-hoo!