The Good, the Bad & the Queen

I was destined to buy this album, whether it was good or not. Since I discovered Blur back in High School, I've followed Damon Albarn from project to project, thoroughly enjoying every album he's released. The Good, the Bad & the Queen was the next stop on what has been a very interesting and exhilarating musical journey.

Blur and Gorillaz are all about immediacy. There are brilliant layers in the music if you should listen some more, but you'll still get a lot out of the first listen. TGTB&TQ are not. These are songs which require a patient ear, and a few listens before everything starts to sink in. There's an air of melancholy that permeates the whole piece, a uniquely British air. And the music is quietly superb. It does take a number of listens, but the layers are unbelievable, and the final impact of the songs is astounding.

Whenever you're hearing an album for the first few times, there's a high that can often make it seem better than it truly is. For a while, I listened to this album so much that it had worn out its welcome. My opinion of it lessened with each subsequent listen, so I put it away. I pulled it out just recently for the first time in almost eight months, and it blew me away. I had forgotten how truly, truly great it is. One of Albarn's finest accomplishments, and with a catalog like his own, that's truly impressive.

This band has such an amazing sound, an absolutely refined sound incorporating their influences and histories in such a way I find it unmatched by any bands of the genre. Very few bands move me; this album did. I'm still pining for another album by The Good, The Bad & The Queen.

I won't rehash what others have already put down about this guy's pedigree, what comes through here is his appreciation for the dancehall art form and it's ability to tell a good story. This is more evocative of the music he collaborated on for Antonia Bird's film 'Ravenous' [see it, and not on commercial TV!] and the title cut reminds me of Roxy Music at the height of it's Eno/Jobson artrock flourishes. There's not a lot out there excites me right now. This does.

I bought this 1) because I was following the career of ex-Clash bassist Paul Simonon, and 2) I was convinced by all the rave reviews the album was receiving, including several best-of-'07 lists...It was not what I expected; I was not familiar with Blur's work, so I was expecting a more punk/reggae-driven, Clash-like sound. But I do enjoy it, with it's dreamy quality, and an intensity that builds to the intense final track. It's grown on me each time I've listened to it.

It might be a little hard to keep track of Damon Albarn because musically, he has so much going on, from being the frontman of rock band Blur to being a member of hip-hop outfit Gorillaz to recording his own songs. Now he comes at us with a new project, The Good, the Bad & the Queen.

Well, I don't know if I can really call this a "new" project after all because it was recorded in 2005. And I really can't tell whether the editorial reviewer likes or DISlikes the album, but anyway, if you're a big fan of Blur or Gorillaz, I'm not sure you'll quite be able to get into this album not because it's bad, but because it doesn't sound much like either "standard" rock or hip-hop (thus, don't expect to find a "Song #2" or "Feel Good Inc" on here). This album sounds more like something that Moby or LCD Soundsystem would make, but it's great nonetheless. Highlights include "Nature Springs", "Northern Whale" and "80's Life".

In fact, the only real flaw I could find is that the closing track, which is also the title track (or SELF-titled track; whatever), has a few too many minutes of instrumental going on after the actual song ends. But Damon still put together a great album (I don't feel like writing out the whole album title again). If you're into great music that deviates from the norm, you shouldn't have a problem with this.

Anthony Rupert