The Good, the Bad & the Queen

This was pretty good.

I like Damon Albarn so I’ll tune into whatever nonsense that funky little boy is up to

I listened to this indie pop/rock album on a car ride (twice, both to and from the destination). There were some unique sound effects and whistling, but also an overall feeling of urgency and dark tones (probably caused by eerie-sounding acoustic guitar and bass). I particularly enjoyed the sound of the first track, "History Song", and "Green Fields". I enjoyed it, mostly.

I’ve recently come to dislike Damon Albarn as a person (justice for Uncle Acid!) but this album is pretty cool, primarily thanks to the production and rhythm section.

On paper, bringing together Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong, Tony Allen, and Danger Mouse sounds like lightning in a bottle, but the actual record feels frustratingly lesser than the sum of its parts. It’s a bit of a letdown, honestly. Don't get me wrong, it’s not a train wreck; there’s some moody, atmospheric stuff going on. Allen’s rhythm section is solid as always, and songs like "Herculean" and "Kingdom Of Doom" show off that weird, dub-psych vibe they were going for. The production is sharp and gives it this damp, gloomy London feel that’s fine to have on in the background.

The main issue is that for a supergroup like this, nothing here really sticks or feels finished. Albarn just mumbles his way through the whole thing, and the tracks start to bleed into each other, turning into polite, sleepy mid-tempo filler. Everything feels like it's building toward something interesting but never actually gets there, leaving the whole album sounding more like a bunch of B-sides than a must-listen classic. It’s an okay diversion, but pretty forgettable given who's involved.

Jeg har tit syntes, at det er lidt svært med Damon Albarn uden for Gorillaz, men det skal åbenbart bare kombineres med Danger Mouse

3.8

I've never heard of this group before, and aside from knowing some things about the members of this so-called "supergroup," I'm mostly going into this blind.

Yeah, this is just kinda meh. Not terrible, but I feel like it's inclusion in this list might be due more to Damon Albarn than anything else.

Börjar bra med History Song. Sedan blir det lite blandad kompott. En del ok och en del inte så bra. Avslutas dock med en bra låt. 2,5 av 5.

this was fun! i would relisten. a good time

Had some amazing instrumental-y bits in 'Herculean' and the self-titled song. Can't say the rest of the album was much interesting though...

somehow my cringe hipster gorillaz and danger-misc loving ass missed this, tho 2007 seems kinda late in that whole era for this. i know its millenial slop but at least theres no hint of the coming stomp clap storm

I tried to find a 5 star album with The Good, The Bad & The Queen but no matter how hard i tried, i just couldn't find it, but i can find a very high 4 star album here. This band has members from Gorillaz, The Clash, The Verve, and Fela Kuti's Afrika 70 band but this album mainly just sounds like a Gorillaz album with a tinge of The Verve and vocals that are more akin to something i would hear in Blur. I really do like this styles as they made all these songs sound very melodic and helped each one of them have their own identity and many of them worked really well. This would have been a 5 star but due to some songs that didn't work very well for me, it's getting a rather high 4.
Best Song: Northern Whale
Worst Song: A Soldier's Tale

damon albarn goes to karaoke and it gets on this list. competent but boring

We're making so much music we really don't know what to do about it. People are asking me: Please, please, please Mr Albarn, it's too much music. We can't take it anymore.

Got excited for a second because I thought this was Queen. Ah well. Instead it's some sort of Gorillaz-adjacent concept album. Sounds like a chiller Goriller, therefore: mid.

The Good: '80's Life'

If the editor of this list was American this spot would be taken my Them Crooked Vultures. As it is this is a solid record made by a few very talented musicians. Probably not something I will go back to in its entirety. Favorites were 80’s Life, Kingdom Of Doom, Nature Springs, and the title track.

SUpeRgRoUp drivel

(Light 5/10)

I don't know.

This didn't do much for me. It really felt less than the sum of it's parts. I hardly felt Tony Allen's presence which was disappointing for me, and maybe it's because I'm not British but thematically I couldn't really connect with any of the songs. Damon's presence on the record felt too overwhelming too and the comparisons to Gorillaz music doesn't really help as I felt that these songs were lacking the flair or quirkiness that Gorillaz tends to have. This honestly felt more like a slog than a 37 minute album should feel like. I did find the final track to be pretty enjoyable though, that final jam was pretty nice. But yeah, idk this one went right over my head.

I'd listen to this again on a sunny afternoon.

I’d never heard this before which is kind of surprising - I’ve listened to so much of Damon Albarn’s output (Blur, Gorillaz, his solo albums, the Africa Express stuff) so not entirely sure why I decided The Good, The Bad & The Queen was the one I could skip. Anyway, it’s maybe not top tier Albarn but I still really liked it.