8) Blur: 'Think Tank'

Blur have always been progressive with their sound and no truer word could be said of their seventh studio album ‘Think Tank’ with one fundamental change. With Graham Coxon at the helm, Blur rode the wave of Britopop and made through the backlash unscathed. Yet he plays no role in the making of this album, except for the final song.

This is not to be blown out of all proportion, this is not the break-up of Lennon and McCartney or Jaggars and Richards, but still; Coxon played an instrumental role in the sound of Blur. Imagine 13 without him! His vitriolic guitar, taut musical presence and brake on Albarn’s experimentations-gone-too-far were key to their success. Could the remaining three produce anything near the groundbreaking material of the 1990s. Amazingly, the answer is a resounding yes!

What replaces Coxon is mainly just space, experimentalism and a host of guest producers including Norman Cook! It sounds like Blur only in the sense of the distinctive vocals from Albarn. However, the influences are far worldlier and the layers and textures are far more involved than ever before.

It’s devoid of guitars and replaced with keyboards, chilled dance beats and a host of other sounds which I don’t even pretend to entertain what they might be. The sound ranges from wistful string laden tunes through to hardcore punk via woozy freeform jazz, and Andalusian strings; each track is different and they pull it off perfectly.

The bass work on all the songs deserve a special mention as they are amazing and its promoted to lead instrument. It finally pays testament to the awesome bass player James really is and how vital he is to the Blur sound.

We start off with ‘Ambulance’ where Albarn softly lilts “I ain’t got nothing to be scared of” among stuttered percussion, ominous bass, and eerie gospel influences as well as distant oohs, an amazing start! It is followed by the equally stunning ‘Out of Time’, dreamy vocals, gentle African drums. ‘Crazy Beat’ ups the tempo with production by Cook. It is loud, brash and a bit of fun from the band. ‘Good Song’ is next and it certainly lives up to its name, it is just that! ‘On The Way to the Club’ brings images of walking though a Marrakesh market under starry skies. Next is ‘Brothers and Sisters’ which pounds along before we are treated to ‘Caravan’ which contains imploding submarine sonar pulses, with muffled guitars and vocals to match. The brilliant ‘We’ve got a File on You’ is a short but sweet punk song which provides an adrenalin boost half way through this laid back affair. Then we are led smoothly into ‘Moroccan People’s Revolutionary Bowls Club’ where James freaks out on bass like a Funkadelic foray into post-punk . ‘Sweet Song’ sports echoing pianos and rusty guitar work witch work effortlessly with the clear melodies. The next track, ‘Jets’ is good, albeit a bit long, and deserves a special mention for the sax solo towards the end. ‘Gene by Gene’ is a cacophony of bizarre sounds from unorthodox sources and adds to the confusion by employing cross rhythms. Finally, is the great ‘Battery in your Leg’, Coxon’s only contribution, which is a yearning, sorrowful song and a touching end to an amazing album.

Don't buy this if you're expecting the Blur of old. The blur of old has died with the release of this album; what replaced it was a new, more open Blur who are more alive than ever! Don’t buy this because you are a Blur fan; buy it because you are a music lover! Here at number 8 is Blur ‘Think Tank’.