November 3, 2000
THE BEST OF
By DARRYL STERDAN

THE BEST OF
Blur
Parlophone / EMI

Blur's greatest hits? Well now, lessee ... there's Song 2 (that "Whoo-hooo!" thingy from the beer ads). And there's, um, Park Life, we guess. And ... well, let's just say North Americans definitely won't find most of this disc annoyingly familiar. In a way, that's part of its appeal -- since most of Blur's catalog is, um, a blur on these shores, this is a way to sample these acerbic Brit-rockers' wares without emptying your wallet. And there are more than a few memorable moments -- the Sunday afternoon techno-funker Girls and Boys, the cynical pop lolly Charmless Man, the loungy lullaby To the End and the Mott the Hoople-tronic electrorocker On Your Own, to name a few. Of course, even that isn't quite enough to justify this set's extra live CD, which basically rehashes half the set. Only a fan would say whoo-hooo! to that.

Friday, November 3, 2000

Blur have had hits?

By DARRYL STERDAN
Winnipeg Sun