Think Tank (album)
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| Think Tank | |||||
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| Studio album by Blur | |||||
| Released | May 5, 2003 | ||||
| Recorded | March–November 2002 | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock Electronica |
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| Length | 49:16 | ||||
| Label | Parlophone Virgin |
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| Producer | Blur, Ben Hillier, William Orbit, Norman Cook | ||||
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Think Tank is the seventh album by English alternative rock band Blur, released on 5 May 2003 in the United Kingdom. It represented a major musical change for the group and also gave them their highest charting album in the United States. The Think Tank album cover was stenciled by the famous graffiti artist Banksy.
Instead of the pop sound of their early career or the lo-fi music Blur made in their previous two albums, Think Tank contained brooding, atmospheric, heavy electronic sounds, an indication of Damon Albarn's increasing interest in electronica and his control over the group's creative direction. The album was recorded after Graham Coxon quit the band, resulting in little of the electric guitar of Blur's earlier albums. Almost entirely written by Albarn, Think Tank largely relied on backing vocals and other instruments.
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[edit] Recording history
Think Tank was recorded in Morocco with Fatboy Slim contributing to two tracks ("Crazy Beat" and "Gene by Gene"); supposedly his presence as producer was a contributing factor in Graham Coxon's departure from the group. Coxon's only significant contribution to the record was a guitar line on the last track, "Battery in Your Leg".
Like Blur's breakthrough album, Parklife, Think Tank is a loose concept album; its songs deal with similar themes without a definite story arc or continuous characters. Most of the songs are concerned with a sense of paranoia and alienation in British club culture. Think Tank is the only Blur album to get the Parental Advisory logo, because "Brothers and Sisters" contains many drug references.
[edit] Reception
Think Tank was also very well received critically, with a score of 83 on Metacritic[1], which equates to a tag of "Universal Acclaim". The album was nominated for Best British Album at the 2004 BRIT Awards, and won the Q Album of the Year award.
A special edition of the album was released in a red booklet. The enhanced CD included four live videos. The artwork for the album was produced by the graffiti artist Banksy. The album's cover art sold at auction in 2007 for £75,000.[2]
[edit] Track listing
All tracks written by Damon Albarn, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree, except where noted.
- "Me, White Noise" (Albarn, James, Rowntree, Phil Daniels) – 6:48
- Hidden track which requires manual rewind before track 1. This can make some computers crash and iTunes hang.
- "Ambulance" – 5:09
- "Out of Time" – 3:52
- "Crazy Beat" – 3:15
- "Good Song" – 3:09
- "On the Way to the Club" (Albarn, James, Rowntree, James Dring) – 3:48
- "Brothers and Sisters" – 3:47
- "Caravan" – 4:36
- "We've Got a File on You" – 1:03
- "Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club" – 3:03
- "Sweet Song" – 4:01
- "Jets" (Albarn, James, Rowntree, Mike Smith) – 6:25
- "Gene by Gene" – 3:49
- "Battery in Your Leg" (Albarn, Graham Coxon, James, Rowntree) – 3:20
[edit] Exclusive 5 Track CD
A promotional free CD called Exclusive 5 Track CD was given away with the 21 September 2003 edition of The Observer. The CD contained demos and live versions of Think Tank album tracks and B-sides. A similar CD had been released to promote 13, it however did not contain any exclusive material. "Me, White Noise (Live)" was recorded live at The Astoria, London on May 12th, 2003. "Out Of Time (Acoustic)" was recorded live for CNN at the Atlanta Tabernacle on July 26th, 2003.
- "Ambulance" – 5:07
- "Don't Be" (Acoustic Mix) – 2:40
- "Sweet Song" (Demo Idea) – 3:51
- "Me, White Noise" (Live) – 7:46
- "Out of Time" (Acoustic) – 3:38
[edit] References
- ^ Blur: Think Tank (2003): Reviews.
- ^ Elusive artist Banksy sets record price. Reuters UK. Thomson Reuters (2007-04-25). Retrieved on 2008-05-09.
[edit] External links
- Blur 'Think Tank' Track By Track - interview with Damon, Alex and Dave talking about Think Tank track by track at Xfm Online
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