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Midlife: A Beginner's Guide To Blur Image
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 36 Ratings

  • Summary: The two-disc set contains some biggest hits, band favorites, and rare singles.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. 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.
  2. Uncut
    100
    What's in here finds the band inventive, unfailingly tuneful, and, rather belying the title, mellowing magnificently with age. [Aug 2009, p.87]
  3. Whatever the future holds, few bands fit as well into their time as the Blur captured here.
  4. 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.
  5. Q Magazine
    80
    At 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]
  6. Filter
    80
    That 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]
  7. 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.

See all 11 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Dec 30, 2010
    10
    The best, or at least the most continually adaptive british band of the 90's/00's. From baggy shoegazing swirliness of She's So High, throughThe best, or at least the most continually adaptive british band of the 90's/00's. From baggy shoegazing swirliness of She's So High, through britpop cheeriness, to stripped down american lo-fi, with some electronic beats and even a bit of Moroccan influence, it's hard to not call Blur at the least, diverse. Containing the classic singles (the addition of Popscene is very welcome), a few specially chosen album additions, such as the peerless This is a Low, all combine to make this a quick guide to a great band. Collapse
  2. PatoR.
    Jul 30, 2009
    10
    A great compilation of, perhaps, the best band of the last 2 decades.
  3. j30
    Dec 7, 2011
    9
    This is a great introduction, however, individual albums such as Parklife, 13, and Think Tank are albums you must hear
  4. Apr 2, 2013
    6
    With Midlife, I had a chance to know about Blur. I am not a brit pop fan, but Bluris actually cool, because of their upbeat songs. They remindWith Midlife, I had a chance to know about Blur. I am not a brit pop fan, but Bluris actually cool, because of their upbeat songs. They remind of Ramones. I love Parklife, Song 2, Beetlebum, She's So High, etc. Some of the songs are cheesy. If you listen to them, you'll think you're playing Ape Escape. Anyway it's an OK album. It's an OK band. In my oppinion they're not the greatest band you'll ever see. But in these past they've stood out. However, once more, it's an OK band. Expand