The Good, The Bad And The Queen

goodbadqueenys.jpgOther than Democrazy I have actively sought out anything and everything Damon Albarn has laid his name to, and chances are I will eventually get around to that collection as well. This being so, like many, I was transfixed by the news in 2006 that Albarn was working on a new collaborative project with the likes of Tony Allen, Paul Simonon, and Simon Tong from the Verve — with Danger Mouse on board wearing the producer’s hat.

Nevermind the haters who didn’t appreciate Mali Music or cannot get past Parklife, The Good, The Bad And The Queen wholly succeeds in it’s own right furthering Albarn’s continually evolving muse. Lyrically the album touches on contemporary topical subject matter harkening back to Albarn’s ’90s UK observations, only here we are privy to a mature, dare I say, wiser narrator whose observations are not longer pinned in by the English channel, nor dominated by desire to   appear clever.

Elsewhere: Read pitchfork media’s review of The Good, The Bad And The Queen in Bristol, England.

Download:
MP3:
The Good The Bad And The Queen :: History Song
MP3:The Good The Bad And The Queen :: Kingdom of Doom
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5 thoughts on “The Good, The Bad And The Queen

  1. I remember how much I disliked The Great Escape, which was sort of a similar ‘state of the nation’ manifesto to this, but embarrassingly bogged down by his cringeworthy need to be a smart-arse. Well, that and some thoroughly mediocre tunes.

    This really is a good record, although it’s some of his least accessible stuff for a while – it’s taken me a plenty of listens to really get into thoroughly. Love it now though!

  2. Great post. I grabbed this as soon as it was released and have really gotten into it. Not only do I enjoy all of Albarn’s music, but I’m a big fan of Simonon’s bass playing – simple but always dead on.

    PS. Mali Music is brilliant.
    PPS. Dig the look of the new site.

  3. I liked three tracks on Great Escape – The Universal, Yuko & Hiro and Fade Away – but the best thing that album ever did for my music collection was on the b-side of the Country House single. There’s a French version of To The End where Albarn duets with Francoise Hardy that is absolutely brilliant.

    (And I agree with CHW – the new look is excellent.)

  4. Amen, brutha. This record meets or surpasses all the hopes I had for the project when I read about it. As I said in my own post a few days ago, Damon’s clearly after the atmospherics here, but he just can’t help writing great tunes in the process.

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