FEATURE:
Urban Parks, Morning Stories and a Different Class of Hardcore
IN THIS PHOTO: Oasis (circa 1995)/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images/Press
Britpop’s Best Ten Albums
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I would not normally...
IN THIS PHOTO: Supergrass (circa 1995)/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images/Press
do a feature of the best Britpop albums but, because one of its leaders, Parklife, is twenty-five on Thursday, I felt it was only right to have a look at this time in British music (between 1993 and 1998). Some people dismiss Britpop and see it as a fad or a bit overrated. It was a time when celebratory and uplifting albums mixed alongside some a bit darker and bristling. Not only was there a lot of bombast and anthemic bliss but there were these great bands hitting their peak and exploring new ground. It is a shame we do not have the same kind of movement as Britpop now because, with the tension we live around, it would give us something to cheer about. To mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of Blur’s third album, I have been looking at the other albums released around this time (some a year or two earlier, a few a bit later) and deciding which were genius and which were merely promising. Say what you like about Britpop but, as these ten albums prove (and whether you class them as purely Britpop), there was a lot of brilliance sparking around during this epic time. Have a look at the albums listed and I know some will have their own views as to some big releases missing. Not only has compiling a top-ten allowed me to reinvestigate a wonderful time for British music but, digging deep into the albums themselves, I have discovered new light and brilliance I missed…
IN THIS PHOTO: Blur (circa 1997)/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images/Press
THE first time around.
ALL ALBUM COVERS: Getty Images/Spotify
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Blur – Parklife
Release Date: 25th April, 1994
Labels: Food/SBK
Producers: Stephen Street/Stephen Hague/John Smith/Blur
Standout Tracks: Girls & Boys/End of a Century/Parklife/To the End
Key Cut: This Is a Low
Review:
“The legions of jangly, melodic bands that followed in the wake of Parklife revealed how much more complex Blur's vision was. Not only was their music precisely detailed -- sound effects and brilliant guitar lines pop up all over the record -- but the melodies elegantly interweaved with the chords, as in the graceful, heartbreaking "Badhead." Surprisingly, Albarn, for all of his cold, dispassionate wit, demonstrates compassion that gives these songs three dimensions, as on the pathos-laden "End of a Century," the melancholy Walker Brothers tribute "To the End," and the swirling, epic closer, "This Is a Low." For all of its celebration of tradition, Parklife is a thoroughly modern record in that it bends genres and is self-referential (the mod anthem of the title track is voiced by none other than Phil Daniels, the star of Quadrophenia). And, by tying the past and the present together, Blur articulated the mid-'90s Zeitgeist and produced an epoch-defining record” – AllMusic
The Verve – Urban Hymns
Release Date: 29th September, 1997
Label: Hut
Producers: The Verve/Chris Potter/Youth
Standout Tracks: Sonnet/The Drugs Don’t Work/Lucky Man/Velvet Morning
Key Cut: Bitter Sweet Symphony
Review:
“For all the inter- and intra-band drama that fueled its creation, Urban Hymns ultimately centered around a very basic, universal theme: live for the moment and give it all you got, because we’ve only got one shot at this thing called life. It’s a sentiment that would seem terribly cornball and clichéd—if the Verve’s subsequent history didn’t so thoroughly reinforce its veracity. Less than a month after their Haigh Hall coronation, a disgruntled McCabe left the band once again, prior to a North American summer arena tour. What should’ve been a victory lap instead became a funeral procession, with Ashcroft and co. dutifully going through the motions alongside a session-player replacement before calling it a day once again. Of course, as the lyrics to “Bitter Sweet Symphony” attested, the Verve had at that point become well accustomed to life’s cruel twists and unforgiving ironies” – Pitchfork
Pulp – Different Class
Release Date: 30th October, 1995
Label: Island
Producer: Chris Thomas
Standout Tracks: Mis-Shapes/Disco 2000/Something Changed/Sorted for E’s & Whizz
Key Cut: Common People
Review:
“Obviously, there are much more unpleasant depths to the songs on 'Different Class' than the mere audacity of mentioning drugs in a title. Indeed, the attitude to narcotics throughout is curiously moralistic: from the monumental come-downs of 'Sorted For E's and Wizz'; via the vacuous club-bunnies who populate 'Monday Morning' (Pulp do ska! And get away with it, more or less); through to the "broken people" clustering in 'Bar Italia' at dawn, when, "You can't go to bed because it hasn't worn off yet."
No. Cocker's sins against the tabloid-trusting masses are much more pernicious than calculated drug scares. The roles he takes for much of 'Different Class' exploit the fears of the generations-that-never-inhaled in a far more real and frightening way. He is the voyeur who dreams of being caught, the swinger who's "kissed your mother twice and now I'm working on your dad," and, worst of all, the adulterer” – NME
Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
Release Date: 2nd October, 1995
Label: Creation
Producers: Owen Morris/Noel Gallagher
Standout Tracks: Roll with It/Wonderwall/Some Might Say/Morning Glory
Key Cut: Don’t Look Back in Anger
Review:
“Likewise, as musicians, Oasis are hardly innovators, yet they have a majestic grandeur in their sound that makes ballads like "Wonderwall" or rockers like "Some Might Say" positively transcendent. Alan White does add authority to the rhythm section, but the most noticeable change is in Liam Gallagher. His voice sneered throughout Definitely Maybe, but on Morning Glory his singing has become more textured and skillful. He gives the lyric in the raging title track a hint of regret, is sympathetic on "Wonderwall," defiant on "Some Might Say," and humorous on "She's Electric," a bawdy rewrite of "Digsy's Diner." It might not have the immediate impact of Definitely Maybe, but Morning Glory is just as exciting and compulsively listenable” – AllMusic
Elastica – Elastica
Release Date: 13th March, 1995
Labels: Deceptive (U.K.)/Geffen (U.S.)
Producers: Mark Waterman/Elastica
Standout Tracks: Line Up/Car Song/Waking Up/Stutter
Key Cut: Connection
Review:
“The pithy songs on Elastica, with their searing lyrics about sex, groupies, and ennui, capture the whirlwind of the early-’90s Britpop explosion. Instead of worshiping the Beatles, the Kinks, and Bowie, Elastica blended the jagged guitars of Wire, Buzzcocks, and other English punks with the pop hooks of American new wave acts like Blondie and Talking Heads. The band didn’t have a full-time keyboard player until Dave Bush joined the lineup in 1996, but Albarn (credited as Dan Abnormal) punched up some of the melodies on their debut with scratchy synth lines” – Pitchfork
Radiohead – The Bends
Release Date: 13th March, 1995
Labels: Parlophone/Capitol
Producer: John Leckie
Standout Tracks: The Bends/Fake Plastic Trees/Just/My Iron Lung
Key Cut: Street Spirit (Fade Out)
Review:
“The album proved to be a success and even though no single became as popular as “Creep”, five of the singles did chart and more importantly, the album garnered the high critical acclaim missing from Pablo. This surprise reception is due in part to The Bends distinct sonic delivery, it drifts through its 12 tracks in extended deep space and while the songs are accessible and catchy they are elevated by their density, featuring a distinct Wall of Sound production. Songs like "Planet Telex," "High and Dry" and "Black Star" stand high above their precursors on Pablo, both for their scope and their high altitude themes.
The only apparent drawback is a few of the tracks do suffer some residual grunge influence, in very minor details throughout the album. Although this can somewhat date tracks like "The Bends" and "Black Star," they help to bind the album to its predecessor and to a movement that may not be contemporary but certainly isn’t bad. The Bends is a triumphant release, an album that began one of the best track records in Rock music” – SoundKite
Suede – Suede
Release Date: 29th March, 1993
Label: Nude
Producer: Ed Buller
Standout Tracks: So Young/The Drowners/Sleeping Pills/Metal Mickey
Key Cut: Animal Nitrate
Review:
“Suede hit hard and fast with a trio of tremendous singles (The Drowners, Metal Mickey, Animal Nitrate), then dealt the coup de grace with their debut album, a record ripe with the promise of forbidden fruit and filled with songs of transgressive acts and confused teenage sexuality, including So Young, Sleeping Pills and The Next Life. It won the Mercury Music Prize in 1993, and Suede were credited with kickstarting Britpop” – The Irish Times
Pulp – This Is Hardcore
Release Date: 30th March, 1998
Label: Island
Producer: Chris Thomas
Standout Tracks: Party Hard/This Is Hardcore/A Little Soul/I’m a Man
Key Cut: Help the Aged
Review:
““Different Class” was a debauched update of vintage new wave styles. “This Is Hardcore” is more expansive and more stylish than its predecessor, integrating sweeping string sections and over-the-top, big-rock production touches. “Help the Aged,” Cocker’s ode to lessons gleaned from the elderly, deftly leaps from an after-hours fragility to arena roar. In “Dishes,” Cocker attempts to comfort his mate after a hard days’ work. “I’d like to make this water wine, but it’s impossible/I’ve got to get these dishes dry,” he sings, voice on the verge of cracking, as the music surges into sublime cabaret-pop beauty” – Entertainment Weekly
Supergrass – I Should Coco
Release Date: 15th May, 1995
Labels: Parlophone (U.K.)/Capitol (U.S.)
Producer: Sam Williams
Standout Tracks: Caught by the Fuzz/Mansize Rooster/Lose It/Lenny
Key Cut: Alright
Review:
“The way the grinning choruses of 'Lose It' and 'She's So Loose' scramble out of the punky rush, the way 'Mansize Rooster' plays tag with Madness and Bowie, the way 'We're Not Supposed To' comes strumming at us at - literally - 78rpm in a weird helium homage to Syd Barrett are all the hallmarks of a band totally in love with music. And the way in which their influences aren't just cobbled together but assimilated and made their own, suggests that listening to 'Revolver' or 'Hunky Dory' or 'Piper At The Gates Of Dawn' played as much a part in building their formative characters as that first shag or that first fag.
In that sense, 'I Should Coco' is a beautifully honest album of, and about, its time. This is their generation - wide (sometimes wild)-eyed, determined not to let anybody else's bastard moral standards grind them down. They look at the adult world - the one that their talent is about to take to the cleaners - and they giggle” – NME
Blur – Blur
Release Date: 10th February, 1997
Label: Food
Producers: Stephen Street/Blur
Standout Tracks: Song 2/On Your Own/Death of a Party/Look Inside America
Key Cut: Beetlebum
Review:
“What makes it exceptional is how hard the band tries to reinvent itself within its own framework, and the level of which it succeeds."Beetlebum" runs through the White Album in the space of five minutes; "M.O.R." reinterprets Berlin-era Bowie; "You're So Great," despite the corny title, is affecting lo-fi from Graham Coxon; "Country Sad Ballad Man" is bizarrely affecting, strangled lo-fi psychedelia; "Death of a Party" is an affecting resignation; "On Your Own" is an incredible slice of singalong pop spiked with winding, fluid guitar and synth eruptions; while "Look Inside America" cleverly subverts the traditional Blur song, complete with strings.
And "Essex Dogs" is a six-minute slab of free verse and rattling guitar noise. Blur might be self-consciously eclectic, but Blur are at their best when they are trying to live up to their own pretensions, because of Damon Albarn's exceptional sense of songcraft and the band's knack for detailed arrangements that flesh out the songs to their fullest. There might be dark overtones to the record, but the band sounds positively joyous, not only in making noise but wreaking havoc with the expectations of its audience and critics” – AllMusic