In the simplest terms, The Great Escape is the flip side of Parklife. Where Blur's breakthrough album was a celebration of the working class, drawing on British pop from the '60s and reaching through the '80s, The Great Escape concentrates on the suburbs, featuring a cast of characters all trying to cope with the numbing pressures of modern life. Consequently, it's darker than Parklife, even if the melancholia is hidden underneath the crisp production and catchy melodies. Even the bright, infectious numbers on The Great Escape have gloomy subtexts, whether it's the disillusioned millionaire of Country House and the sycophant of Charmless Man or the bleak loneliness of Globe Alone and Entertain Me. Naturally, the slower numbers are even more despairing, with the acoustic Best Days, the lush, sweeping strings of The Universal, and the stark, moving electronic ballad Yuko Hiro ranking as the most affecting work Blur has ever recorded. However, none of this makes The Great Escape a burden or a difficult album. The music bristles with invention throughout, as Blur delves deeper into experimentation with synthesizers, horns, and strings; guitarist Graham Coxon twists out unusual chords and lead lines, and Damon Albarn spits out unexpected lyrical couplets filled with wit and venomous intelligence in each song. But Blur's most remarkable accomplishment is that it can reference the past -- the Scott Walker homage of The Universal, the Terry Hall/Fun Boy Three cop on Top Man, the skittish, XTC-flavored pop of It Could Be You, and Albarn's devotion to Ray Davies -- while still moving forward, creating a vibrant, invigorating record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

1		Stereotypes
2		Country House
3		Best Days
4		Charmless Man
5		Fade Away
6		Top Man
7		The Universal
8		Mr. Robinson's Quango
9		He Thought of Cars
10		It Could Be You
11		Ernold Same
12		Globe Alone
13		Dan Abnormal
14		Entertain Me
15		Yuko & Hiro