Graham Coxon

See also: Blur

Graham Coxon came to prominence in the '90s as guitarist of the pop quartet Blur, which roosted high on the U.K. charts for its entire career. Coxon was arguably the group's finest musician, his guitar parts spicing up Blur's albums with a practiced subversiveness stemming from his influence of the American underground -- particularly the noise-addled scientific rockula of Sonic Youth and Mission of Burma.

Coxon first branched off Blur with the 1998 album The Sky Is Too High, concentrating less on his abilities with scorching riffs and more on a melancholy songwriting ethos that he would all but obliterate with a punked-out sophomore effort, The Golden D. Crow Sit On Blood Tree followed in 2001 with no U.S. release, and as an alcohol-fuelled Coxon worked on his fourth solo disc in 2002, he became increasingly estranged from his Blur teammates, who finished the recording of thier seventh album without the guitarist.

Album reviews

The Golden D
Transcopic (2000)
The second album from Blur guitarist Graham Coxon is like a workout tape for solo recording artists. Coxon plays all instruments and just seems to be having fun making whatever kind of music suits his fancy.

The Sky Is Too High
Transcopic (1998)
Blur guitarist Graham Coxon's solo debut is more an expression of his songwriting ethos than a display of his prowess on guitar, and it's too bad.