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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
If Damon Albarn has the one talent worth recognising, it's that he knows to surround himself with the right people. In his continued quest to shed the redundant image of Damo The Britpop Clown for something more serious, eclectic and influential, the danger that there isn't really enough of him to go around his various projects is constantly present. But in a masterstroke of staging that's never the primary concern. In Gorillaz he aligned himself with the cutting edge, wrapped himself in crayoned-on clothing and took the plaudits as his collaborators made the star turns. But he remained the natural and necessary constant. The Good, The Bad & The Queen (a one-off production rather a proper band, apparently) is an extension of that template, but feels more like Damon's show.
The distractions this time are Clash legend Paul Simonon, who prowls the shadows watching Damon's back, building a strong dub bass back-bone, and Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen whose contributions are subtle but efficient. Oh, and Damon's session player of choice Simon Tong, formerly of The Verve. Together they weave a diverse, often beguiling and generally sombre strand of London-based woe, occasionally lifted by the intrinsic hope of the music like on the swelling sun-rise anthem "Herculean". The songs rarely kick through as with Blur and Gorillaz, instead retaining a steady quality and ambience, lead by Albarn's Small Faces-esque piano foundation, but "80s Life" and "Behind The Sun" are real highlights. --James Berry.
Product Description
1. History Song 2. 80s Life 3. Northern Whale 4. Kingdom Of Doom 5. Herculean 6. Behind The Sun7. The Bunting Song8. Nature Springs9. A Soldier's Tale10. Three Changes11. Green Fields12. The Good, The Bad And The Queen
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By Redflair07
Format:Audio CD
Can anyone think of any other British artist who's come up with three albums as diverse, melodic and soulful as Parklife, Demon Days and now The Good, the Bad and the Queen? No, nor can I. It's about time that Mr Albarn was recognised as a stellar British talent who has the innate ability to capture the mood of a nation but with the crucial and clinching evidence that he has the lyrics and melodies to go with it. If anyone had any doubts, this album should dispel them.
The Good, the Bad and the Queen is a loose, lingering experience shot through with grandiose messages and gorgeous melodies. It's London's dirty dozen compiled from the dark heart of a city unsure of itself after the Iraq War and the gathering gloom of terrorism and evnvironmental catastrophe.
It's a slow-burning, suggestive album that creeps up on you rather than hits you between the eyes but eventually it triumphs into a deep, intimate piece of work that demands attention and multiple listens.
Albarn has come a long way from the shiny happy Blur days to the current status of dark star but this growth and development has been nothing short of stunning. The Good, The Bad and The Queen is up there with his best work and has a wisdom and craftiness about it that it ultimately joyful and rewarding.
The Good, the Bad and the Queen is a loose, lingering experience shot through with grandiose messages and gorgeous melodies. It's London's dirty dozen compiled from the dark heart of a city unsure of itself after the Iraq War and the gathering gloom of terrorism and evnvironmental catastrophe.
It's a slow-burning, suggestive album that creeps up on you rather than hits you between the eyes but eventually it triumphs into a deep, intimate piece of work that demands attention and multiple listens.
Albarn has come a long way from the shiny happy Blur days to the current status of dark star but this growth and development has been nothing short of stunning. The Good, The Bad and The Queen is up there with his best work and has a wisdom and craftiness about it that it ultimately joyful and rewarding.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Imagine fragments of classic Britpop bands -- the Clash, the Verve, and Blur -- coming together into one brilliant multifaceted supergroup. That's the Good, The Bad and the Queen,
Okay, the band technically has no name, but for purposes of clarity, I'm going to call it by their debut's name. But even without a name, this astoundingly vibrant group creates one of the best albums of the year this far -- a scintillating, gritty concept album, full of weariness and ennui.
It kicks off with a slow ponderous acoustic guitar, which slowly melts into a dark web of organ, keyboard and electric guitar. "A ship across/The estuary/Sundays lost/In melancholy," music legend Damon Albarn murmurs in his low, softly rough voice. "A storm of strings/Far away/The hangers on/Saved the day...."
That was just the buildup to the songs that follow, focused on life in London today -- thoughtful, confused, melancholy, but with a bit of hope. The songs flow alog like a rive, intertwined but distinct -- mostly slow-moving rockers wrapped in ringing and shimmering synth, plinking piano, gritty bass and little zips of sound, like dark threads.
I'm assuming Albarn and Co. wanted this to have a sort of haunted urban feel, like someone walking through London's night streets and musing on what he sees. It's that extra depth that takes "The Good, The Bad and the Queen" from a great album to a magnificent one, themed around the bittersweetness of life in modern London.
The Verve's Simon Tong and the Clash's Paul Simonon weave their ringing guitars and slightly fuzzed bass into deep, intertwined melodies, backed by some solid subtle drums by Tony Allen. Finally there's some some ripples of organ, sweeping violins, plinky piano, and undulates of dark synth.... Read more ›
Okay, the band technically has no name, but for purposes of clarity, I'm going to call it by their debut's name. But even without a name, this astoundingly vibrant group creates one of the best albums of the year this far -- a scintillating, gritty concept album, full of weariness and ennui.
It kicks off with a slow ponderous acoustic guitar, which slowly melts into a dark web of organ, keyboard and electric guitar. "A ship across/The estuary/Sundays lost/In melancholy," music legend Damon Albarn murmurs in his low, softly rough voice. "A storm of strings/Far away/The hangers on/Saved the day...."
That was just the buildup to the songs that follow, focused on life in London today -- thoughtful, confused, melancholy, but with a bit of hope. The songs flow alog like a rive, intertwined but distinct -- mostly slow-moving rockers wrapped in ringing and shimmering synth, plinking piano, gritty bass and little zips of sound, like dark threads.
I'm assuming Albarn and Co. wanted this to have a sort of haunted urban feel, like someone walking through London's night streets and musing on what he sees. It's that extra depth that takes "The Good, The Bad and the Queen" from a great album to a magnificent one, themed around the bittersweetness of life in modern London.
The Verve's Simon Tong and the Clash's Paul Simonon weave their ringing guitars and slightly fuzzed bass into deep, intertwined melodies, backed by some solid subtle drums by Tony Allen. Finally there's some some ripples of organ, sweeping violins, plinky piano, and undulates of dark synth.... Read more ›
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Chris C
Format:Audio CD
Since the beginning of the new millenium, it has seemed like Damon Albarn has been concerning himself more and more less with Blur, after Think Tank it seemed Blur was on its last legs, and to add to the fact he was enjoying success behind a cartoon singer in Gorillaz. So in many ways Albarn has become the 'king of the side-project'.
Now for The Good, The Bad and The Queen, depending on your view, this can be seen as either as a solo project or a super group. Even the fact that the moniker the band had been given was not officially the group's name can make slightly misleading. Nevertheless with players such as the Verve's Simon Tong, Africa 70's Tony Allen and The Clash's Paul Simonon, it might as well be a supergroup.
But unlike say Audioslave's debut, Albarn's new project becomes more of a showcase for his latest songs, which is not bad in any way. In fact, this is probably the best stuff he's written since Parklife. Although, it must be stated the lyrical content is much more melancholy than what he sung about in 1994, which is understandable for some one who is approaching middle age. Instead nearly every song here is about the enjoyments of life and how we are blessed to be allowed this chance, with occasional war references.
The music takes on a more operatic style here, which now when I look at the 19th century cover, its easy to see where Albarn was heading with this project. Of course, produced by Danger Mouse (I swear that guy will be producing records in the afterlife) there are some hints of Gorillaz in here.
Stand out tracks include the beautiful 80's Life, the suprisingly catchy Kingdom of Doom, the life affirming Behind The Sun and the war poem A Soldier's Tale.... Read more ›
Now for The Good, The Bad and The Queen, depending on your view, this can be seen as either as a solo project or a super group. Even the fact that the moniker the band had been given was not officially the group's name can make slightly misleading. Nevertheless with players such as the Verve's Simon Tong, Africa 70's Tony Allen and The Clash's Paul Simonon, it might as well be a supergroup.
But unlike say Audioslave's debut, Albarn's new project becomes more of a showcase for his latest songs, which is not bad in any way. In fact, this is probably the best stuff he's written since Parklife. Although, it must be stated the lyrical content is much more melancholy than what he sung about in 1994, which is understandable for some one who is approaching middle age. Instead nearly every song here is about the enjoyments of life and how we are blessed to be allowed this chance, with occasional war references.
The music takes on a more operatic style here, which now when I look at the 19th century cover, its easy to see where Albarn was heading with this project. Of course, produced by Danger Mouse (I swear that guy will be producing records in the afterlife) there are some hints of Gorillaz in here.
Stand out tracks include the beautiful 80's Life, the suprisingly catchy Kingdom of Doom, the life affirming Behind The Sun and the war poem A Soldier's Tale.... Read more ›
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Demob Happy
Format:Audio CD
Was Damon Albarn's creative split with Graham Coxon the best thing that ever happened to him? Since Albarn called time on the 1990s Blur era with a best-of compliation, Albarn has reached something of a creative peak - irreverently declaring the likes of Country House 'a joke'. He subsequently invented the Gorillaz franchise, completed Blur's best (and ultimately un-Blur-like) album Think Tank and is now firing off successful side projects. Whereas Park Life era gave Albarn the unwelcome association with the pop-cultural phenomenon of Britpop and its New Labor subsidiary Cool Britannia, this album could be construed as a hangover from that time. With its dub-tinged dolldrums, it reminds one of The Specials and The Clash in its dark evocation of London life and its wintry reflection on a 'stroppy little island of mixed up people'. A collaboration with Clash bassist Paul Simonon, Verve guitarist Simon Tong, and Fela Kuti's Tony Allen, there is a consistency in its vision of London in a period of pessimism about the Iraq war and environmental degradation: "I wrote this song ... years ago ... before the war and the tidal wave".
This is very much an album album - not a few singles and some filler - which is why it is best viewed as a whole. Its mood is sombre but it is given levity by the lightness and subtle dynamism of the production - from the Spanish guitar of The History Song to the shimmering electronics of Herculeum. There is also some fine whistling (really!) and some Enio Morricone guitar (unsurprisingly considering the name of the project) mixed into to its oppressive vision of morning-after-the-night-before metropolitan life.... Read more ›
This is very much an album album - not a few singles and some filler - which is why it is best viewed as a whole. Its mood is sombre but it is given levity by the lightness and subtle dynamism of the production - from the Spanish guitar of The History Song to the shimmering electronics of Herculeum. There is also some fine whistling (really!) and some Enio Morricone guitar (unsurprisingly considering the name of the project) mixed into to its oppressive vision of morning-after-the-night-before metropolitan life.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
One great album...
The Good, The Bad and The Queen represent that rarest of musical entities, the one album band. Comprised of Damon Albarn, former Clash bassist, Paul Simonon, former Verve... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Eponymist
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wonderful record
An unassuming figure when interviewed in the music press, Albarn's talent lies in his ability to capture the zeitgeist and create music that creeps up on you until all of a sudden... Read more
Published on 12 May 2009 by Captain Pugwash
4.0 out of 5 stars
Understated magnificence
The Good, The Bad & The Queen is an intriguing concept album about modern-day life in London which started life as a Dangermouse-produced solo album by Damon Albarn (Blur,... Read more
Published on 24 Jan 2008 by A. Sweeney
5.0 out of 5 stars
An essential album for 2007
This is without doubt one of the highlights of 2007.
Most reviews of this album seem to focus on the input of Damon Albarn, however the entire musicianship on this album... Read more
Most reviews of this album seem to focus on the input of Damon Albarn, however the entire musicianship on this album... Read more
Published on 2 Jan 2008 by K. Jackson
1.0 out of 5 stars
No better example of style over substance
I just don't know how he gets away with it. This music has no spark, no passion, and he has nothing to say. Read more
Published on 21 Dec 2007 by Danny Dash
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't you just hate it when somebody calls their latest release a...
As if it were nothing more than another management-tasked, business-speak product designed to extract money from citizens? Read more
Published on 30 Jun 2007 by Mr. M. A. Reed
5.0 out of 5 stars
A FAULTLESS MUSICAL EXPERIENCE!
Wow i am seriously glad i perchased this album, at first i wasnt sure if i was making a mistake but not at all, ive listened to it 3 times now and it arived today!. Read more
Published on 27 Mar 2007 by Chris Higson
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Dark Reverie
Have to take issue with criticism of Albarn's 'monotone, bored' vocals. I think the problem for some is that Blur's music tended to be written with very 'vertical' melodies, much... Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2007 by C. Brown
4.0 out of 5 stars
If you don't know it now then you will do....
Damon Albarn. Not an easy chap to affirm because he's never seemed sure what he was. Art school indie boy. Cockernee boy -gawd bless my dear old mum. Then Grungey geezer. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 2007 by Merry Terry
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