Damon Albarn may not have that many chart hits under his belt, but he’s in the running for fronting the most (as in numerical count) successful bands.
He began his recorded life with Blur, then spun off Gorillaz, and now leads The Good, The Bad & The Queen. But whereas Blur was snotty and snooty, and Gorillaz was mainly lighthearted, animated fun, The Good, The Bad & The Queen’s lyrical and musical honesty can be downright depressing at times.
As a first, Albarn has partnered this time with another band mate who can trump his rock credentials. Paul Simonon, who held down bass with the seminal The Clash, adds great low end to this release and also sings a little backup. If you want to put this music into Clash terms, much of its sound takes after that pioneering group’s Sandanista! phase. There’s a whole lot of reggae, with a mostly subdued, acoustic feel.
Albarn’s vocal and lyrical down-in-the-mouth-ness is succinctly expressed with “Kingdom Of Doom.” Historically, Friday night has been right up there with Saturdays – at least when it came to rock & roll celebratory occasions. After all, it’s the day that marks when the workweek is over and a new weekend has begun. But Albarn begins it by singing, “Friday night/In the kingdom of doom.” (Not exactly something to lift your glass to, eh?). He then continues, “Ravens fly/Across the moon.” It’s like a dead man’s party at Edgar Allen Poe’s house, and a far cry from weekends at Bernie’s or Animal House.
Perhaps the war in Iraq is one factor making Albarn feel so low. During “Eighties Life” he confesses, “I don’t want to live a war/That‘s got no end in our time.” Albarn also sings of writing the song “Green Fields” “before the war and the tidal wave/engulfed us.” It’s as though this war, as with all wars, has taken a little bit more of our innocence that can never be replaced.
TGTB&TQ song arrangements mostly take on a loose feel, from the dub-y reggae of “Northern Whale,” to the jazzy sax and spacey dub that drives “Three Changes.” “Eighties Life,” however, oddly sounds like a 50’s ballad with guitar arpeggios and Beach Boys vocal harmonies. This disc is at its loudest – and only once -- with the title track. On it, we’re told, “It’s the blessed routine/For the good the bad and the queen/walking out of dreams with no physical wounds at all.” Thus, the CD ends with a bang by way of a blasting electric guitar jam.
With Blur, Albarn made the kind of music that wakes you up in the morning -- faster than coffee -- whereas Gorillaz created party music for a night at the disco. With The Good, The Bad & The Queen, however, these sounds are intended for late night/early morning reflection. It is groggy far end PM/ barely AM music, which reinforces an impression that things aren’t as good as they ought to be.
He began his recorded life with Blur, then spun off Gorillaz, and now leads The Good, The Bad & The Queen. But whereas Blur was snotty and snooty, and Gorillaz was mainly lighthearted, animated fun, The Good, The Bad & The Queen’s lyrical and musical honesty can be downright depressing at times.
