FEATURE:
Second Spin
Blur - 13
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WHEN writing this feature…
I sort of stopped and wondered why Blur called their sixth studio album, 13. I have not seen any stories relating to the origins of that title, but 13 is obviously associated with bad luck. I don’t know. Blur changed a lot as a band from their more Britpop-orientated albums of the early-mid-1990s, undergoing a revolution for their eponymous 1997 album – one that was more influenced by American guitar sounds and had a darker palette. Continuing to move forward, 13 experiments and throws so many different sounds into the mix. The band would record another album, Think Tank, in 2003, before guitarist Graham Coxon departed the band – due to addiction issues and tensions within the group. I think one can hear some splits and tenser moments on 13, and Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree do not sound as kinetic and joyous as on their best-loved albums from earlier in their career. I think it is inevitable that a hectic past decade or so (just under) would take its toll but, rather than split or repeat themselves in terms of the music, the band made some changes and pushed forward. Released on 15th March, 1999, 13 is an underrated nugget from the Blur catalogue. I fondly recall buying the album when it came out as the single, Tender, had come out the month before, and I was intrigued by this unexpected Blur sound – Gospel mixing with Pop in this epic, deeply beautiful song.
Recording between London and Reykjavík, the band pushed further away from the Britpop sound, and they parted ways with their long-time producer, Stephen Street. It was a bold and scary move and, whilst they may have seen that as essential in order to progress, Street provided such safe hands. William Orbit was brought in and, as he did wonders on Madonna’s Ray of Light the year before, maybe Blur felt he could provide them the necessary evolution from Pop/Rock to Electronic realms – consider Madonna’s Bedtime Stories of 1994, and how different Ray of Light sounds, despite the fact it came only four years on! I think critics underrate or write some of the songs on 13 off because, invariably, tensions within the group would mean less productivity and cohesive results. Certain sessions saw various members miss out and, whilst it was not as tense and divided as, say, The Beatles’ eponymous album of 1968, it was clear the bright and harmonious band before were nearing a breaking point! That does not mean that 13 is a disaster. Far from it. In fact, I think some of the band’s most revealing, stunning and timeless music can be found on this album; even a lot of the tracks that others consider filler and very strong! Damon Albarn was heavily inspired by his breakup with long-term girlfriend, Justine Frischmann, which naturally provided the songs a more introspective and emotional tinge. 13 entered the UK Albums Chart at number-one, making it Blur's fourth-consecutive studio album to reach the top spot.
There would have been people out there – including fans – who felt a stylistic change from Blur would have resulted in commercial disaster. Whilst 13 was not as successful as albums like Parklife (1994), a lot of people snapped up 13, and it helped that singles Tender, Coffee & TV, and No Distance Left to Run are absolute classics – and they are all very diverse and different songs. I think 13 gained some positive reviews and, in retrospect, Pitchfork have had some kind words to say; a few publications in 1999 gave 13 four stars. That said, a lot of people unfavourably compared 13 with Blur’s best, and others felt that, aside from the three singles, there was not a lot to recommend. I admit that 13 is not in my top-five Blur records – I would have Parklife, The Great Escape, Think Tank, Modern Life Is Rubbish, and Blur in there -, but I do really love 13! The album is nicely balanced in terms of where the singles are placed – Tender kicks things off and, at nearly eight minutes, it is a brilliantly bold way to start; Coffee & TV is track three, whilst No Distance Left to Run is track twelve. I think the order could have been shifted so No Distance Left to Run ended the album: the instrumental, Optigan 1, does and, whilst it is a chance to breathe and lighten, No Distance Left to Run would have been a more satisfying and appropriate close - they sort of did the same on Parklife by closing the album with Lot 105 instead of the sweeping This Is a Low. I feel 13 is, maybe, a bit top-heavy, but that is a small bug.
I love the best-known songs from the album. Bugman is a really great and exciting track that beautifully switches pace after Tender, and it is a perfect filler between the Tender/Coffee & TV sandwich – not that Bugman is a filler track! Swamp Song, and 1992 are brilliant tracks and, though B.L.U.R.E.M.I is a brief-but-forgettable song, it does show that the band were bringing together so many genres and styles! Mellow Song, and Caramel are the highlights of the album’s second half, but I feel Trailerpark, and Trimm Trabb are as close to filler as the album gets. Maybe there are a few rough songs that do not yield results and repeated listening desires, but at thirteen tracks – is that why it’s called 13?! -, there are more hits than misses! Graham Coxon was coming into his own as a writer and, whereas Damon Albarn was the primary lyricist for the band, Coffee & TV is Coxon’s story - he wrote the song about his struggle with alcoholism, and how he would unwind by watching television over a cup of coffee instead, and writing songs. Maybe some feel 13 is not underrated at all and received mostly positive reviews, but that is relative. I think there are a lot of mixed reviews, and very few awarded the album a four or five-star review; most were sort of middling. 13 received a nomination for the Mercury Prize, as well as for Best Album at the 2000 NME Awards, so there was this divide.
Over twenty years after its release, I think 13 should be seen in a new light, and I feel the album warrants a full listen. If some ignore the lesser tracks, I reckon they have a place, and the joy of 13 is hearing these slightly murky or misguided tracks sit alongside golden cuts. It is a very real representation of a band who still had that affinity and genius, but there were problems that afflicted their consistency. I want to bring in a couple of reviews that are quite typical regarding critics’ feelings about 13. This is what AllMusic wrote in their review from 2015:
“Blur's penitence for Brit-pop continues with the aptly named 13, which deals with star-crossed situations like personal and professional breakups with Damon Albarn's longtime girlfriend, Justine Frischmann of Elastica, and the group's longtime producer, Stephen Street. Building on Blur's un-pop experiments, 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. Albarn has been criticized for lacking depth in his songwriting, but his ballads remain some of Blur's best moments. When Albarn and crew risk some honesty, 13 shines: on "Tender," Albarn is battered and frail, urged by a lush gospel choir to "get through it." His confiding continues on "1992," which alludes to the beginning -- and ending -- of his relationship with Frischmann. On "No Distance Left to Run," one of 13's most moving moments, Albarn addresses post-breakup ambivalence, sighing, "I hope you're with someone who makes you feel safe while you sleep."
While these songs reflect Albarn's romantic chaos, "Mellow Song," "Caramel," and "Trimm Trabb" express day-to-day desperation. Musically, the saddest songs on 13 are also the clearest, mixing electronic and acoustic elements in sleek but heartfelt harmony. However, "B.L.U.R.E.M.I." is a by-the-numbers rave-up, and the blustery "Swamp Song" and "Bugman" nick Blur's old punky glam pop style but sound misplaced here. "Trailerpark" veers in yet another direction, a too-trendy trip-hop rip-off that emphasizes the band's musical fog, proving that William Orbit's kitchen-sink production doesn't serve the songs' -- or the band's -- best interests. 13's strange, frustrating combination of expert musicianship and self-indulgence reveals the sound of a band trying to find itself. With some closer editing, this could have been the emotionally deep, sonically wide album Blur yearns to make”.
Some have upgraded their views of 13 in the years since 1999, but others have been a bit critical. I can understand some of the points: 13 is not as complete and rewarding as their best albums, and one would like to have heard a bit more positivity from the band but, considering what was happening with Albarn and the group in general, that was not realistically possible. I want to bring in this review from NME, who tackled 13 in 1999:
“Infuriating, because divested of four solid-gone clunkers '13' could pass muster as the best of Blur. Opening with the recent single sets an audacious tone. If it initially felt crass, a too-obvious assimilation of Beck's backwoods purity and Spiritualized's 'Come Together', 'Tender' grows in stature with every play. Damon has never sung so well, while Graham Coxon and his dextrous string-manipulation, rather than the gospel choir, bedrocks the song's resolution. It really is a marvel. Moreover, in light of what follows, its devotional flame starts to looks a little forlorn.
After 'MOR''s 'Boys Keep Swinging' cop on the last album, 'Bugman' heralds the return of BlurAsBowie - only this time, there's little semblance of a tune. 'Swamp Song' is pure frumpery, a lurching non-song the like of which Pavement might concoct were they: a) commissioned to compose a Cure pastiche; and b) completely pissed. Mercifully separating the two is 'Coffee & TV', a sweet, Krautrockin' distillation of Coxonlife ("Sociability/Is hard enough for me/Take me away from this big bad world and agree to marry me") that, ironically, given Graham's reputation as Blur's hitherto frustrated avant-garde conscience, is the LP's sole straightforward pop song”.
I do really like 13, and the band had moved far from their Britpop days. A few of the songs on 13 are pretty long – between five and eight minutes -, and I don’t think they were thinking much about chart positions at this point. The fact Tender was released as a single at all is pretty unexpected, seeing as it is nearly eight minutes in length – Coffee & TV, for that matter, is just under six minutes. The band were more interested in feel and depth rather than creating Pop anthems, and the brilliance and boldness of releasing singles of such length is brilliant. 13 does have its weaker spots but, as an album, it certainly has…
PLENTY of great tracks.