Blur-Bustin' + Dronin' (1998)

 

Artist: Blur

Title: Bustin' + Dronin'

Label: Food/Parlophone/EMI

Format: 2CD

Cat:  TOCP-50444-5

Year of Release:1998

Country and Year of Edition: Japan 1998

Sell Price: $5.99 10/23/22 VG+/VG+

Discogs Last Sold:9/21/22 M/M $7.00

Low:$2.29

Median: $5.99

Average: $6.38

High: $11.48

Current low price: $3.00

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 59

Have/Want: 1348/133

Where Sold:  Wheaton, IL

Time it took to sell:  10  years

Where and When Purchased: old roommate cd toss

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: B-

Sad To See It Go: No

Left to me by a moving roommate ten years ago in a pile of 90's Brit pop, Bustin' + Dronin' was a double CD Japanese import remix and live companion to the first Blur that I cared enough to buy, the eponymous one.  Blur were in their "Pavement" phase, and were venturing toward a more US influenced indie rock sound and away from the UK tabloid guitar pop I generally ignored in the first half of the 90's.  Now I still ignore it, but I'll tolerate it a little more.

What  surprised me the first time around was how little I remembered the tracks of the original album save "Beetlebum" and maybe another one or two.  The remix names of the day from Moby to Adrian Sherwood are here as well as the poem exposing Thurston Moore take on "Essex Dogs."  

If the remix album was difficult listening (some of it, like the 15 minute Walter Wall mix of "On Your Own" interminable), the live disc flew by in a 6-song enjoyable breeze.  Songs performed in their normal structure, like "On Your Own" and "Song 2" made me remember what I actually liked about Blur the album.

Worthy of a war with Oasis.