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while Midlife could have used a heavier dose of this side of Blur, there's not a bad track here, and the set also brings their glorious, epoch-creating single 'Popscene' back into circulation.
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Despite the cries about careerism, they rarely settled into one spot for long, and even when they were correctly perceived to have done so--about one half of The Great Escape really is a Parklife retread--they were still spreading their collective wings on album tracks and B-sides.
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At 59 and 48 minutes each, with space left to fill on both CDs, the label’s lack of curiosity about these more obscure sections of the Blur discography seems negligent.
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UncutWhat's in here finds the band inventive, unfailingly tuneful, and, rather belying the title, mellowing magnificently with age. [Aug 2009, p.87]
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Q MagazineAt a safe distance from Britpop's glare, Midlife justly represents Blur as national treasures, as emotionally rich and hungry for progress as ardiohead, only catchier. [Aug 2009, p.116]
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Blur went from wanna-be's ("Popscene") to provocateurs ("Parklife") to artistes ("Beetlebum") to world travelers ("Good Song"), and, rare moments of torpid dross aside, remained fascinating with each mood change.
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With the original foursome reunited it's as well that Midlife dwells mainly on the music they made together. As a playlist of what Blur were and capable of, it suggests a band with few peers.
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Whether or not Blur ever record together again, Midlife is a satisfying overview for a band that was a cornerstone of a music scene and whose music is still as vibrant and exciting today as it ever was.
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Whatever the future holds, few bands fit as well into their time as the Blur captured here.
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Blur may not have gotten the adulation they deserved in the states during their heyday, but Midlife is a solid move to reevaluate Blur’s position in the pantheon.
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FilterThat the group could go from the sneering jauntiness of 'Girls And Boys' to the paranoid anxiety of 'Song 2' with no drop in hook-effectiveness is startling in itself; that it managed to continuously and effortlessly navigate th incomprehensible expanse between The Kinks and Brian Eno is an utterly singular achievement. [Summer 2009, p.94]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 31 out of 36
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Mixed: 2 out of 36
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Negative: 3 out of 36
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Dec 30, 2010
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PatoR.Jul 30, 2009A great compilation of, perhaps, the best band of the last 2 decades.
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Apr 2, 2013