Track Listing

1. She's So High
2. Bang
3. Slow Down
4. Reptition
5. Bad Day
6. Sing
7. There's No Other Way
8. Fool
9. Come Together
10. High Cool
11. Birthday
12. War Me Down

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5900 in Music
• Released on: 1991-08-27
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Oft remembered as a false start before Blur's eventual ascension to the position of Britpop spokesmen, 1991's Leisure belongs to a very different age. Much of it is fairly lightweight: a naive dance-rock hybrid, and not a million miles away from EMF. Leisure certainly has its moments, though, and when they come, they're quietly stunning: "Sing" (later revived for the Trainspotting soundtrack) is a crystalline clatter, guided through huge psychedelic rain clouds by Alex James' wandering bass; even today, it sounds one of Blur's most beautiful moments. "There's No Other Way" is equally deserving of note; powered by a titanic baggy beat, it stands as one of the greatest indie disco floor-fillers of the 1990s. Despite its faults, Leisure is an occasionally great album; it's questionable, though, that many of Blur's "Song 2" converts would even recognise it as the same band. --Louis Pattison

CD Description
In 1991, long before they were splashed over the British press for their fabled feuding with Oasis, long before they pulled off the remarkable feat of attaining revered alt-rock status while having one of their tunes ("Song 2") blared at American football games, Blur released their debut, LEISURE. An unassuming record, LEISURE fit snugly within the Manchester sound of the time. While the album didn't break barriers or expand boundaries, it was a thoroughly engaging, often hypnotic record featuring unforgettable modern-rock singles.
LEISURE (the US version, anyway) opens with the one-two punch of "She's So High" and "There's No Other Way", its two indisputable classics. The former exudes an overwhelming sense of longing with a beautifully overlapping chorus and spiraling guitars; the latter boasts an extraordinary, understated guitar riff and perfectly disjointed lyrics (even scoring the band a minor American radio hit). LEISURE is full of adolescent yearning lingering into adulthood, a literate interpretation of failed quests that cleverly glorifies human shortcomings. While the record is certainly not as experimental as BLUR or as consistent as PARKLIFE, LEISURE is an impressive debut for a quartet who would become one of the most important UK bands of the '90s.

Customer Reviews

Stood the test of time better than many would of thought
One thing i would like to make clear from the outset. This album is from the tail end of the baggy era. Four years before the Britpop explosion some reviewers have lumped it in. Containing three great baggy anthems and some great shoe-gazed tinged pop Blur seemed to be in the right place at the right time with this album. The album also shows glimpses of their darker songwriting style that would return with more prominence several albums down the line. This is a stronger album than many people credit it for. No classic...but good.

Alright Start
Blur's debut contains Alex and Dave's tightest ever rhythm section, Graham Coxon's most intricate guitar work and Damon's most laid back vocals. The overall sound is quite dense and hazy, baggy psychadelica. Without a doubt, the music is outstanding, with towering walls of sound, downright funky drum and bass rhythms and rich melodies. The songs are complex in construction, often changing their direction or tempo halfway through. Contains three of Blur's finest in She's So High, Sing and There's No Other Way.

An astounding album, but it's just...not Blur! This is Blur trying their hand at...hell, cashing in on a once popular genre. It's hard to tell whether or not their hearts were in it, but this clearly is not their sound. To conclude, a classic of the baggy era, not nearly Blur's worst album (that would be The Great Escape)...but still, it's not their best. Reccommended, but not as an introduction to one of the greatest bands of the nineties.

Are you actually listening to the same album?
While it may be fashionable to dismiss this album, and the band themselves may wish to distance themselves from it somewhat due to their circumstance at the time, the music on Leisure is still (to my ears) quite good. Should we disparage that there are the marks of the alleged "shoegazer" sound and Stone Roses, My Bloody Valentine influences? I have no idea why. While some tracks, like Fool, are not all that good... there is nothing bad here. And Bang is still an entirely catchy song... intelligent or mature lyrically? No. but it's not dumb, either...
While I do view Modern Life is Rubbish as a wonderful expansion of Blur's style, Leisure is a major accomplishment. And may I dare say that I'm happy to have "I Know" (which suits the album much better) on my U.S. version instead of "Sing" (though I'd like to have had both)