CRACKING THE WHIP

摘要

The only way for Blur to make a new album was by pretending they weren't. Without any pressure to perform, The Magic Whip's template was cobbled together in a secret Hong Kong jam session. But it took a pair of Stephens, Street and Sedgwick, to whip them into shape. While band breakups can get messy, there's also no easy script for getting back together. Besides being able to stand each other, the main challenge for reformed acts is to regain artistic credibility. Most sidestep producing any significant new material. The money's in the touring and reissues anyway, so why taint a perfectly good back catalogue. Especially one that's aged beyond criticism. Blur had walked this well-trodden path ever since the band officially reformed at the end of 2008. Until recently, all the band had released since then were three singles. An attempt at recording more new material with producer William Orbit -- who had produced their last effort as a four-piece, 13, and had a hand in the band's last album before the final split, Think Thank -- was aborted.