The Great Escape (album)

Infobox Album
Name = The Great Escape


Type = studio
Artist = Blur
Recorded = January 1995 – May 1995
Released = 11 September 1995
Genre = Britpop
Length = 56:56
Label = Food, Virgin
Producer = Stephen Street
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:0jzsa9ugu23u~T1 link]
Last album = "Parklife"
(1994)
This album = "The Great Escape"
(1995)
Next album = "Live at the Budokan"
(1996)

"The Great Escape" is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Blur, released on 11 September 1995. "The Great Escape" received glowing reviews and was a big seller in its initial release, reaching #1 in the United Kingdom album chart (outselling the rest of the Top 10 put together) and was their first to crack the US charts reaching #150. The album was certified triple platinum in UK.

The album continues the run of inventive hit singles: "Country House" (their first #1 single, which notably beat Oasis's "Roll With It"), "The Universal", "Stereotypes" and "Charmless Man".

The album is in the style of a concept album, that is, most of the songs are linked by a similar theme—loneliness anddetachment. Ten of the tracks have a distinct reference to being lonely. Damon Albarn subsequently revealed that most, if not all the songs on "The Great Escape" were about himself, in some form or another (e.g. "Dan Abnormal" is an anagram for "Damon Albarn"), and admitted that the album should have been a musical. However, dissension over musical direction between Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon would result in a change in style for the next release, 1997's "Blur". Albarn himself stated in 2007 - "I've made two bad records. The first record, which is awful, and "The Great Escape", which was messy." [cite web | url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a46469/damon-albarn-criticises-blur-albums.html?rss | title=Digital Spy - Albarn cusses own albums. | accessdate=2007-05-11 |]

Album history

Track listing

*UK Release
# "Stereotypes" – 3:10
# "Country House" – 3:57
# "Best Days" – 4:49
# "Charmless Man" – 3:34
# "Fade Away" – 4:19
# "Top Man" – 4:00
# "The Universal" – 3:58
# "Mr. Robinson's Quango" – 4:02
# "He Thought of Cars" – 4:15
# "It Could Be You" – 3:14
# "Ernold Same" – 2:07
# "Globe Alone" – 2:23
# "Dan Abnormal" – 3:24
# "Entertain Me" – 4:19
# "Yuko and Hiro" – 5:24

*French Release
# "Stereotypes"
# "Country House"
# "Best Days"
# "Charmless Man"
# "Fade Away"
# "Top Man"
# "The Universal"
# "Mr. Robinson's Quango"
# "He Thought of Cars"
# "It Could Be You"
# "Ernold Same"
# "Globe Alone"
# "Dan Abnormal"
# "Entertain Me"
# "Yuko and Hiro"
# "To The End (la comedie)"

*Japanese Release
# "Stereotypes"
# "Country House"
# "Best Days"
# "Charmless Man"
# "Fade Away"
# "Top Man"
# "The Universal"
# "Mr. Robinson's Quango"
# "He Thought of Cars"
# "It Could Be You"
# "Ernold Same"
# "Globe Alone"
# "Dan Abnormal"
# "Entertain Me"
# "Yuko and Hiro"
# "Ultranol"
# "No Monsters in me"

Production Credits

*All tracks produced by Stephen Street
*except "To the End (la comedie)" produced by Stephen Hague, Blur and John Smith

Trivia

*"Stereotypes" debuted at the Dublin Castle secret gig. It was considered for the first single, but another song "Country House" got a bigger reaction from fans. [http://www.vblurpage.com/discography/albums/escape.htm]
*"Mr. Robinson's Quango" was the first song recorded for the album. [http://www.vblurpage.com/discography/albums/escape.htm]
*The narrator in "Ernold Same" is Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London between 2000 and 2008. [http://www.vblurpage.com/discography/albums/escape.htm]
*Alex and Damon spoke on Radio 1 on the 17th June 1995 about coming up with a title for the album. "We've got until this Wednesday, our record company inform us, to come up with it," said Damon. "We've been trying to get 'life' into it, but nothing was very good - 'Wifelife', 'Darklife', 'Nextlife'," added Alex. [http://www.blurcentral.co.uk/albumsthegreatescape.htm]
*In March 1995 Blur re-record "To The End" with Francoise Hardy at Abbey Road Studios. The result is later released as a single in France. [http://www.vblurpage.com/info/history/9597.htm]
*"It Could Be You" is the last track to be finished for the album in May 1995. [http://www.vblurpage.com/info/history/9597.htm]
*"The Universal" was first attempted during "Parklife" sessions as a ska number and was resurrected by Alex. [http://www.blurtalk.com/The%20great%20Escape.asp?pagename=The%20Great%20Escape]
*"Yuko & Hiro" was originally called "Japanese workers". [http://www.blurtalk.com/The%20great%20Escape.asp?pagename=The%20Great%20Escape]
*Unusually for an album, the linear notes contains guitar chords for each of the songs as well as lyrics.

Notes

succession box
before = "Zeitgeist" by The Levellers
title = UK number one album
years = September 23 1995 – October 6 1995
after = "Daydream" by Mariah Carey