| · Blur’s first (and supposedly final) album without founding guitarist Graham Coxon.
Despite Damon Albarn’s true standing as one of the greatest British songwriters in history, he’s certainly had more than his fair share of stupid ideas. The recent announcement of Blur’s decision to part ways with founding guitarist Graham Coxon (one of the greatest British guitar players in history) loomed as a harbinger of disaster so all-encompassing that even our li’l blue-eyed scallywag wouldn’t have a chance of pulling himself out intact. (Heck, look what happened to one-time arch-nemeses Brett Anderson and Suede once Bernard Butler trundled out the door.)
It comes as a bit of a surprise, then, that Think Tank is not the unlistenable mess we were all expecting (and perhaps even hoping for just a little bit, because, y’know, it’s nice to occasionally stick it to the pretty boys, no matter how friendly they’ve been to you in the past). In fact, it’s an often brilliant piece of studio confection.
Still, there’s a niggling impression that Coxon’s departure marks the complete transition of Blur from a band (four friends playing together because the music’s better than the pay) into strictly a business operation. As the member of Blur most uncomfortable with Blur’s Britpop heyday (no one has ever looked quite so bitter as Coxon does when he plays "Country House" live), Coxon acted as Albarn’s artistic foil – not to mention the band’s stubborn indie heartbeat, always keeping the battle of art-versus-commerce in check. Without Coxon, Think Tank is half an album by half a band, which despite its own level of merit will always live in the shadow of what could and should have been.
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