Blur – Bustin’ + Dronin’ Review

Remixes were all the rage in the 1990s and to the artists who found themselves requesting them, still are. Though it is unlikely to hear new movements from The Ballad of Darren, it is worth remembering Blur commissioned these pangs and whines for a proper album. They later had some run-ins with Pet Shop Boys and fellow British music power Pulp did the same with Vocoder. Jarvis Cocker even did so on his forgettable fling with Remix Ed, a reworking of his Jarv Is tunes. Bustin’ + Dronin’ is not busting anything but it does drone on a bit. Some tacky bits of cover work and remixes which are in the dying days of its popularity paired with some late live work which did not fit here or there.  

Dead are those days of Moby mixes, and we are better off without them. Not a sign of quality from any of it. From miserable reworkings of Essex Dogs and Death of a Party, Thurston Moore and Billy Whiskers have a lot to answer for. Well, not anymore. Bustin’ + Dronin’ has not made a splash upon reunions of the future, now past. Moby taking on Beetlebum, William Orbit trying his hand at Movin’ On, it all feels relatively sparse and weaker than the material it is based on. No surprises there. Numb stuff from John McEntire on Theme From Retro puts a bow on this neatly packaged and utterly defunct piece from the Blur squad. It proves, collectively, the tonal deafness of remixes – which can rarely find the space to carve their own style.  

Even those who do, the Well Blurred mixture of Death of a Party, for instance, are over in an instant. Peel Acres is where the meat of the matter is – but much like Live at Budokan, are a bit lacklustre. Popscene and Song 2 are neat inclusions and the best of the bunch when it comes to a quieter, downward turn for the band. Chinese Bombs suffers to make room for a spotty but enjoyable Movin’ On. These selects and cuts are short, snappy and not as sweet as they should be. Blur is on the back foot as they were in general when they put together their self-titled release. Having Walter Wall and Crouch End Broadway cover their works when trying to assemble an edgier grunge appeal is a striking, confusing change of pace.  

But those times were confusing – the turn of the century saw the demise of remixes and silence preceding hidden tracks – as annoying as each of those tropes were. Some still have a love for them, and rightly so. There is a glimmer of fun to be had with some of them though the freedom from loosening up a track like Beetlebum is not explored. Rigid workings of tracks which need more added to them – something a little spicier, a little tinge of wickedness to their works. Understandably not. The band were still reeling after the release of their self-titled effort – but it is the thought that counts. Bustin’ + Dronin’ is worth a go solely for its slim live production, but even then, Blur has managed better, elsewhere, before and after.