13 (Blur album)

13
Studio album by Blur
Released 15 March 1999
Recorded June–October 1998
Studio
Genre
Length 66:50
Label Food
Parlophone
Producer William Orbit, Blur
Blur chronology
Bustin' + Dronin'
(1998)		 13
(1999)		 The 10 Year Limited Edition Anniversary Box Set
(1999)
Singles from 13
  1. "Tender"
    Released: 22 February 1999
  2. "Coffee & TV"
    Released: 28 June 1999
  3. "No Distance Left to Run"
    Released: 15 November 1999

13 is the sixth studio album by English alternative rock band Blur, released on 15 March 1999. Jettisoning the Britpop sound of Blur's early career as well as the lo-fi, indie rock and alternative rock of previous album, Blur (1997), 13 contains elements of experimental, psychedelic and electronic music.

Recording took place from June to October 1998 in London and Reykjavík. The album marks a departure of the band's longtime producer, Stephen Street, with his role being filled by William Orbit. Relationships between the band members were reported to be strained, with members frequently missing from the sessions. Lyrically, the album is significantly darker and more innovative than Blur's previous efforts, being heavily inspired by Damon Albarn's breakup with long-term girlfriend, Justine Frischmann, whose relationship had become increasingly strained over the years.

13 was released on 15 March 1999 and entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, making it Blur's fourth consecutive studio album to reach the top spot. The album was later certified Platinum. 13 also reached number one in Norway and charted within the top 20 in many other countries. The album produced three singles, which charted at number 2, number 11 and number 14 respectively on the UK Singles Chart. 13 was well-received critically, with a score of 79 on Metacritic, which equates to a tag of "Generally favorable reviews". 13 received a nomination for Best Album at the 2000 NME Awards. It was also nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Background

Much of Albarn's lyrics were inspired by his split with Justine Frischmann (pictured).

Blur's previous studio album, Blur (1997), had seen the band move away from the Britpop movement and take on a more Indie rock influenced direction, primarily under the suggestion of guitarist Graham Coxon. The press and the industry had feared that the change in style would not be taken well with the public, and therefore the album would be commercially unsuccessful as a result. Despite these concerns, Blur had become an unexpected success, particularly in America, where the album had been certified Gold. However, the band still wanted to innovate, so they decided to embrace a different sound. Bassist Alex James stated: "I think you just have to keep changing. That sort of thinking was, sort of, key."[4]

The band's leader Damon Albarn had been in a long-term relationship with Justine Frischmann, of the Britpop band Elastica. Their relationship was highly publicised, the couple being described by John Harris as "proto-Posh and Becks for the indie-rock constituency."[5] However their relationship became strained over time, stated reasons including Albarn's desire to have children as well as Frischmann's continued friendship with Brett Anderson of Suede who had shared a rivalry with Albarn.[6] Albarn's lyrics and attitude had reflected this in the eyes of the other band members, with Coxon pointing out, "I didn't have much of a clue that things were going wrong between Damon and Justine but it was probably easy to guess."[4] After one last holiday together in Bali in late 1997 in an attempt to rekindle their relationship, the couple finally split.[6][7] Albarn later commented: "That relationship just absolutely crashed. I mean, it really was a spectacularly sad end."[4]

After his breakup, Albarn started sharing a flat with artist Jamie Hewlett whom he had met through Coxon.[8][9] Around this time, Albarn had started to broaden his musical output. Whilst he was working on 13, there were various reports that he and Hewlett were working on a secret project, which turned out to be Gorillaz, a virtual band.[10] Albarn also started working on film soundtracks: including Ravenous, Ordinary Decent Criminal and 101 Reykjavík.[11][12]

Recording

13 is Blur's first album without longtime producer Stephen Street. Instead the band 'unanimously' decided that they wanted electronic music artist, William Orbit to produce the album after being impressed by his remix of their track, "Movin' On", included on the remix compilation, Bustin' + Dronin' (1998).[8][13] Albarn commented that "it was such a personal thing going on, we needed to have someone who didn't really know us". He also described Orbit as being "like a psychiatrist". When asked if his replacement had come as a shock, Street stated, "I just think they wanted to stretch out a bit more and, having made five albums with me, the best way to do that was to work with someone different who would approach the project in a different way. I understand that perfectly and certainly wasn't offended. I did five albums with the band and I must admit I thought each one would be the last because they were bound to want to try something new."[13] Albarn described the decision to not work with Street as "difficult", going on to say "he'll be forever part of what we are, and ironically, he gave us the tools we needed to go it alone."[14]

Tension in the studio ran high during the recording sessions. In Orbit's words, "There was a battle between Damon's more experimental direction, and Graham's punk one, and Graham prevailed. If that tension had been growing on previous LPs, it came to a head here."[15] "Things were starting to fall apart between the four of us," drummer Dave Rowntree later revealed. "It was quite a sad process making it. People were not turning up to the sessions, or turning up drunk, being abusive and storming off."[4] "I had songs," Alex James remarked. "I played them to William. He liked them. But I was sulking. I didn't play them to the others… Now I know how George Harrison felt."[16] Coxon admitted, "I was really out there around 13, which made for some pretty great noise but I was probably a bit of a crap to be around."[4]

"1992" had originally been recorded as a demo in 1992 and was lost until Damon found it again on a tape six years later. "Mellow Song" was demoed as a jam session known as "Mellow Jam" and was later included as the b-side of "Tender".

Musical style and composition

13 sees the band moving further away from their Britpop past into more cerebral and denser musical territory. Some of the songs, however, are evocative of songs from their previous efforts, such as "Bugman", "Coffee & TV" and "1992". The instrumental closer "Optigan 1" was created using an Optigan optical organ. The album is in the style of a loose concept album, much like other Blur albums, in this case about life and relationships. Much of the album was inspired by Damon Albarn's breakup with Elastica singer Justine Frischmann. Two of the singles, "Tender" and "No Distance Left to Run", describe Albarn's love for Frischmann and his struggle to move on. The album is named after the band's recording studio as well as the number of tracks on the album (bar the hidden tracks).

The album features several short hidden tracks at the end of songs, stretching the playing time out; examples of this are "Coffee & TV", "B.L.U.R.E.M.I.", "Battle" and "Caramel", the latter of which features two hidden tracks.

Artwork

The cover is a portion of an oil painting by Graham Coxon called Apprentice. The album's singles also have cover art by Coxon. The numbers 1 and 3 have been painted so they also form the letter 'B' - revealed on the back cover to be for 'Blur'. This was not present on the original Apprentice, nor was the "shine" on the figure's head, which appears on 13. These additions were made long after the original Apprentice, which was painted in 1996. The band's logo does not appear on the album in any form, aside from a sticker on the CD packaging. The logo is also absent from the single covers.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[17]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[18]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[19]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[20]
Los Angeles Times[21]
NME6/10[22]
Pitchfork Media9.1/10[23]
Q[2]
Rolling Stone[24]
Spin8/10[25]
USA Today[26]

13 holds an overall approval rating of 79 out of 100 on online review aggregator Metacritic based on 17 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17] Tom Doyle of Q called 13 "a dense, fascinating, idiosyncratic and accomplished art rock album",[2] while Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork Media stated that "Blur have finally found a sound to match their name."[23] PopMatters' Sarah Zupko praised Blur's new musical approach and wrote that "proving they have the goods of a truly exceptional band, Blur has done what the greats have done before them—evolved."[27] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called the album "their sloppiest, most playful set, spiking the mix with church organ, electric piano and shambling drum loops."[24]

In a more mixed assessment, Heather Phares of AllMusic felt that "the group's ambitions to expand their musical and emotional horizons result in a half-baked baker's dozen of songs, featuring some of their most creative peaks and self-indulgent valleys."[18] Keith Cameron of NME concluded that 13 was "Blur's most inconsistent and infuriating statement thus far. Infuriating, because divested of four solid-gone clunkers 13 could pass muster as the best of Blur."[22] Robert Christgau gave the album a three-star honorable mention rating, indicating "an enjoyable effort consumers attuned to its overriding aesthetic or individual vision may well treasure",[28] and remarked that "halfway there, it sits down in the middle of the road and won't budge."[29]

The music video for the hit single "Coffee & TV" cemented Blur's reputation as a cult band in the U.S. with its protagonist Milky. The video gained heavy airplay on many modern rock channels in America.

Accolades

13 was nominated in the Album Of The Year category at the 2000 NME Awards, losing to The Soft Bulletin by The Flaming Lips.[30][31][32] 13 was also nominated for the 1999 Mercury Prize, being Blur's second album to receive a nomination. The award was eventually given to Talvin Singh for Ok.[33][34]

13 has received accolades from music critics, which ranks it among the greatest albums of the 90s, according to Acclaimed Music. Some of these can be found below.[35][36]

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
Village Voice US Albums of the Year 1999 45
Pitchfork Media US Albums of the Year 1999 10
Top Favorites Records of the 90s 1999 82
Metal Hammer UK The 200 Greatest Albums of the 90s 2006 *
Melody Maker UK Albums of the Year 1999 2
NME UK Albums of the Year 1999 19
Q UK Albums of the Year 1999 *
250 Best Albums Q's Lifetime (1986–2011) 2011 98
Mojo UK Albums of the Year 1999 22
Select UK Albums of the Year 1999 11
Rolling Stone Germany Albums of the Year 1999 3
Eye Weekly Canada Albums of the Year 1999 19

Track listing

All lyrics by Albarn (except for track 3 by Coxon, and track 1 by Albarn / Coxon). All music by Albarn / Coxon / James / Rowntree.

  1. "Tender" – 7:40
  2. "Bugman" – 4:47
  3. "Coffee & TV" – 5:58
  4. "Swamp Song" – 4:36
  5. "1992" – 5:29
  6. "B.L.U.R.E.M.I." – 2:52
  7. "Battle" – 7:43
  8. "Mellow Song" – 3:56
  9. "Trailerpark" – 4:26
  10. "Caramel" – 7:38
  11. "Trimm Trabb" – 5:37
  12. "No Distance Left to Run" – 3:27
  13. "Optigan 1" – 2:34

Personnel

Production

All tracks produced by William Orbit, except "Trailerpark" produced by Blur and "I Got Law" (demo version) produced by Damon Albarn.


Notes

"Trailerpark" was originally intended for the South Park album Chef Aid, but was rejected by Rick Rubin.[38]

The Japanese bonus track "I Got Law" (demo version) was developed into the Gorillaz hit single "Tomorrow Comes Today".[39]

As well as having 13 tracks, Coxon also uses '13th' chords on several of the tracks including "Bugman", "Coffee & TV" & "B.L.U.R.E.M.I."

"Swamp Song" was originally going to appear on the "Tender" single as a B-side, but was put on the album at the last minute.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1999) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[40] 12
Austrian Albums Chart[41] 12
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[42] 22
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[42] 29
Canadian Albums Chart 11
Dutch Albums Chart[43] 60
European Albums Chart[44] 1
Finnish Albums Chart[42] 17
French Albums Chart[45] 12
German Albums Chart[46] 6
Irish Albums Chart[47] 1
Italian Albums Chart[44] 9
Japanese Albums Chart[48] 13
New Zealand Albums Chart[49] 2
Norwegian Albums Chart[50] 1
Spanish Albums Chart[44] 10
Swedish Albums Chart[51] 4
Swiss Albums Chart[52] 12
UK Albums Chart[53] 1
US Billboard 200[54] 80

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[55] Gold 50,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[56] Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[57] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[58] Platinum 300,000^
United States (Nielsen SoundScan) 136,000[59]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "The Life of Blur", by Martin Power - "13 is further evidence that Blur are deadly serious about reinventing themselves as a challenging, experimental art-rock act, melding US noise with European-noir Electronica"
  2. 1 2 3 Doyle, Tom (April 1999). "Blur: 13". Q (151): 92–93.
  3. ↑ Britpop is dead, long live Blur - Telegraph
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 No Distance Left To Run. Pulse films. 2010
  5. ↑ Harris, John (13 June 2009). "It's been strong medicine the last few weeks". The Guardian: 1. Archived from the original on 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Indie soap opera: Justine Frischmann, Damon Albarn and Brett Anderson". The Guardian. April 2003.
  7. ↑ Smith, Andrew (10 March 2002). "Elastica limits". The Guardian.
  8. 1 2 Patterson, Sylvia (February 1999). "Which One's Your Favourite?". The Face.
  9. ↑ Maconie, Stuart (August 1999). "The Death of a Party". Select.
  10. ↑ "Gorillaz Interview". Q. 2001.
  11. ↑ Long, April (7 July 1999). "Blur Q & A - The Fannish Inquisition". NME.
  12. ↑ "Damon Albarn". The Telegraph. May 2001.
  13. 1 2 Sillitoe, Sue (August 1999). "STEPHEN STREET: Producing Blur, Cranberries & Catatonia". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 3 September 2012.
  14. ↑ Eccleston, Danny (March 1999). "There Was No Other Way...". Q. Archived from the original on 2013-12-13. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
  15. ↑ Hasted, Nick (July 2009). "From the life of Leisure to inside the Think Tank". Uncut.
  16. ↑ Male, Andrew: "A Life Less Orderly", Select, September 1999, p56
  17. 1 2 "Reviews for 13 by Blur". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  18. 1 2 Phares, Heather. "13 – Blur". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  19. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-857-12595-8.
  20. ↑ Brunner, Rob (26 March 1999). "13". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  21. ↑ Nichols, Natalie (29 March 1999). "Blur, '13,' Food/Virgin". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  22. 1 2 Cameron, Keith (10 March 1999). "Blur – 13". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  23. 1 2 DiCrescenzo, Brent (23 March 1999). "Blur: 13". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  24. 1 2 Sheffield, Rob (1 April 1999). "13". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  25. ↑ Walters, Barry (May 1999). "Mess Is More". Spin. 15 (5): 145–46. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  26. ↑ Gundersen, Edna (30 March 1999). "Blur sharpens focus on '13'". USA Today. Retrieved 18 November 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  27. ↑ Zupko, Sarah. "Blur: 13". PopMatters. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  28. ↑ Christgau, Robert (2000). Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-24560-2.
  29. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "Blur: 13". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  30. ↑ "Blur's award hat-trick". BBC News. 1 February 2000. Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  31. ↑ NME Awards History Archived 10 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  32. ↑ The awards Blur have won or got nominated for Archived 12 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  33. ↑ "Nationwide Mercury Prize". Nationwide Mercury Prize. Archived from the original on 15 April 2012. Retrieved 2008-08-11.
  34. ↑ "Talvin Singh: Closing the divide". BBC News. 8 September 1999. Archived from the original on 2007-01-27. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  35. ↑ Acclaimed Music - Blur Archived 8 August 2012 at WebCite
  36. ↑ Acclaimed Music - 13 Archived 27 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  37. ↑ Blur - 13 - liner notes Archived 16 December 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  38. ↑ Hiatt, Brian. "Blur Plan Three North American Promo Shows". MTV.co.uk. MTV. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  39. ↑ Wade, Ian. "Blur Blur 21: The Box Review". bbc. BBC. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  40. ↑ "Australian chart positions". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  41. ↑ "Austrian chart positions". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  42. 1 2 3 http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Blur&titel=13&cat=a Archived 18 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  43. ↑ "Dutch chart positions". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  44. 1 2 3 https://books.google.co.uk/books?lr=&rview=1&id=6QwEAAAAMBAJ&q=blur#v=snippet&q=blur&f=false Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  45. ↑ "French chart positions". lescharts.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  46. ↑ "German album positions". musicline.de. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  47. ↑ https://books.google.co.uk/books?lr=&rview=1&id=SQ0EAAAAMBAJ&q=blur#v=snippet&q=blur&f=false Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  48. ↑ "ブラーのCDアルバムランキング" [Japanese chart positions]. oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style. Archived from the original on 2014-03-10. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  49. ↑ "New Zealand chart positions". charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  50. ↑ "Norwegian chart positions". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  51. ↑ "Swedish chart positions". swedishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  52. ↑ "Swiss chart positions". hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  53. ↑ "British chart positions". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  54. ↑ "Blur Album & Song Chart History". billboard.com. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  55. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Blur – 13". Music Canada. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  56. ↑ "RIAJ > The Record > May 1999 > Certified Awards (March 1999)" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  57. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Blur – 13". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  58. ↑ "British album certifications – Blur – 13". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 October 2012. Enter 13 in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  59. ↑ "Guitarist Coxon Exiting Blur?". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 31 July 2013.

External links

Preceded by
Performance and Cocktails by Stereophonics		 UK number one album
27 March – 16 April 1999 		Succeeded by
Gold: Greatest Hits by ABBA
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