Track Listing

1. Ambulance
2. Out Of Time
3. Crazy Beat
4. Good Song
5. On The Way To The Club
6. Brothers And Sisters
7. Caravan
8. We've Got A File On You
9. Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club
10. Sweet Song
11. Jets
12. Gene By Gene
13. Battery In Your Leg

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5856 in Music
• Released on: 2003-05-05
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Enhanced, Explicit Lyrics

Amazon.co.uk Review
Think Tank was an emotional experience for Blur, with reports of problems--not least the exit of founding member Graham Coxon half way through recording. With that in mind you might expect the end product to be a mess. In the event, although Think Tank, like its predecessor, is a hotchpotch of ideas, it is a cohesive album.

After the brash pop of Damon Albarn's Gorillaz side-project and the overtly emotional 13, this is a soulful and subtle affair. There are a couple of classic Blur rock moments here: "Crazy Beat" is cut from the same cloth as the pogo-ing classic "Song 2", while the painfully short but brilliant "We've Got a File on You" sounds like agitprop punkers Crass in a fight with a Moroccan snake charmer.

But while Damon Albarn still has an ear for a melody, Blur sound like a different band without Coxon's guitars to subvert them. Morocco and Damon's Mali Music have changed Blur. "Caravan" uses a sleepy rhythm that plods at a camel's pace, while "Gene by Gene" employs cross rhythms evoking images of the desert and sound textures from unorthodox sources. Blur are now using sounds to create their music rather than the standard rock line up. For some fans it may be one evolution too far, but for fans who appreciate them as they are--a band that refuses to stay still--Think Tank should be an interesting listen. --Caroline Butler

CD Description
Britpop survivors return with their seventh studio album and their first since the departure of guitarist and founder member Graham Coxon. Recruiting Norman "Fatboy Slim" Cook as producer, they have produced an intriguing blend of their previous work with the sounds of Damon Albarn's side projects Gorillaz and Mali Music, markedly different from anything they have previously released.

Customer Reviews

Blur's best album
Pretty much every bad review of this album on Amazon is by one of those "rock should be rock and nothing else". Personally I think the material on this album is Blur's best, and one of my favourite albums at the moment. The two opening songs are just brilliant, Ambulance in particular. If I had to pick a song I'm not so keen on it would have to be Crazy Beat, which lacks a strong melody....but the rest are great.

The best thing about this album is its unpredictability, although they never venture into any kind of cheesy "trying to be something they're not" territory. 'Jets' has to be one of my favourites, climaxing into a lengthy jazz-influenced saxophone solo.....and it finishes with the amazing 'Battery in your leg'.

If you're open minded you'll like this album. If you're one of those Britpop people who believe in rock rock rock and only rock then this album will be too 'weird' for you.

Stunning
This is one of the best albums that I have ever heard. I have to admit, I was not a big Blur fan during the Britpop era-I tended to side more with Oasis' style of music, but this has converted me. The album is simply gorgeous, from the almost tear inducing yet strangely happy Battery in your Leg and Sweet Song, to the politically inclined Out of Time and jump-around inducing Crazy Beat. Good Song is a highlight, which is just beautiful.
This album is different to anything else that I have ever heard, which seems to take its influences from old Blur, Gorrilaz, indie and Morrocan music. Oddly enough, it works fantastically. Dont buy it as a Blur fan, buy it as a music lover.

Intelligent, experimental, but above all long-lasting
Just this morning I was bored in my office when 'Good song' came on from the radio, and I realised just how good this gem of an album is.

Having bought it when it came out in 2003, I loved it instantly and played it constantly, but then put it on the shelf and eventually forgot about it (as often happens). In the annals of music history this effort by the now threesome will be forgotten, with people preferring to think of 'Parklife' when discussing Blur, and citing Radiohead and Coldplay when talking about great albums of 2003. This is unfortunate, as this album is hugely underrated, and a real departure from the brit-pop music that we all attribute to Blur, Oasis and the like. More acoustic, with experimental sounds (not too distant from the Gorillaz at times) in the background or holding the tunes, and some beautiful lyrics, this album is as fresh and delightful today as it was three years ago, and I feel it will be the same in three years' time.

It also shows the willingness of Blur to change their style of music and experiment with new sounds, thus continuing to make great pieces of work and improve as a band. This is in contrast to the stubborness of arch-rivals (and my old favourites) Oasis, who still come up with the odd good tune, but can't compare to Albarn et al anymore.

Still not five stars though, as I'm a very hard man to please.