Additional personnel: Phil Daniels, Laetitia Sadier (vocals); Louisa Fuller, Rick Koster, Mark Pharoah (violin); John Metcalfe (viola); Ivan McCready (cello); Chris Tombling, Audrey Riley, Leo Payne, Chris Pitsillides (strings); Simon Clarke (flute, alto & baritone saxophones); Stephen Hague (accordion); Tim Sanders (soprano & tenor saxophones, trombone); Roddy Lorimer (flugelhorn, trombone); Richard Edwards, Neil Sidwell (trombone).

Producers: Stephen Street, Stephen Hague, John Smith, Blur.

Recorded at Maison Rouge & Rak Studios, London, England from November 1993-January 1994.

Personnel: Graham Coxon (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, clarinet, saxophone, percussion, background vocals); Alex James (vocals, guitar); Damon Albarn (vocals, strings, melodica, recorder, harpsichord, synthesizer, Moog synthesizer, vibraphone, programming, background vocals); Laetitia Sadier (vocals); Louise Fuller, Mark Pharoah, Richard Koster (violin); John Metcalfe (viola); Ivan McCready (cello); Chris Tombling, Chris Pitsillides, Leo Payne, Audrey Riley (strings); Simon Clarke (flute, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Tim Sanders (soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone); Phil Daniels (trombone, horns); Richard Edwards, Roddy Lorimer (trombone); Stephen Hague (piano); Stephen Street (keyboards, programming, sound effects); Far Out (bass guitar); Dave Rowntree (drums, percussion, programming).

Recording information: Mason Rouge, Fulham, London, England; Rak Studios, St. John's Wood, London, England.

Director: Kevin Godley.

Photographers: Bob Thomas; Brunskill.

Unknown Contributor Role: Stephen Street.

Arranger: John Metcalfe.

Modern Life Is Rubbish established Blur as the heir to the archly British pop of the Kinks, the Small Faces, and the Jam, but its follow-up, Parklife, revealed the depth of that transformation. Relying more heavily on Ray Davies' seriocomic social commentary, as well as new wave, Parklife runs through the entire history of post-British Invasion Britpop in the course of 16 songs, touching on psychedelia, synth pop, disco, punk, and music hall along the way. Damon Albarn intended these songs to form a sketch of British life in the mid-'90s, and it's startling how close he came to his goal; not only did the bouncy, disco-fied "Girls & Boys" and singalong chant "Parklife" become anthems in the U.K., but they inaugurated a new era of Britpop and lad culture, where British youth celebrated their country and traditions. 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. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

After many decades of rock, there's an equation that still holds true--there are only twelve major chords to choose from. And if you listened to the British rock press, you'd think that they invented them.

Wedged in between retro and revisionist sits Blur. Wearing the hat of a Ray Davies-type sociologist, Blur's Damon Albarn weaves tales of modern London laced with the suspicion that, indeed, the empire HAS ended. Albarn's fascination with urban decay was apparent on MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH, but with the followup PARKLIFE, Blur embraces the modern.

During the instrumentals, PARKLIFE plays like a surreal game show. Layering the aesthetic of the 1980s film BRAZIL with the Kinks' DAVID WATTS, Blur is quite possibly the new British hope. While Blur emerged from the same fertile, neo-glam soil as Suede (Albarn's girlfriend, Justine of Elastica, used to be Suede's rhythm guitarist), Blur is the king among the new British glams.

The disco rhythms and keyboards in "Girls & Boys" highlight Albarn's cutesy look at romance in the 1990s. A climate where everyone is "looking for girls who want boys who like/Boys to be girls who do/Boys like their girls who do/Girls like their boys." Laments Albarn, "Oh I should be someone you really love." If it's solid pop songs with a bite you're craving, you'll love PARKLIFE.