The Good, The Bad & The Queen - The Good, The Bad & The Queen

Released: 2007

Label: Parlophone, Honest Jon's

When I bought: 2007

Damon Albarn plus Paul Simonon from The Clash plus Simon Tonge from The Verve plus Tony Allen who helped create the Afrobeat genre.

A pretty strong 'supergroup'.

I listened to this album perhaps twice when I bought it in 2007 and remember being really bored by it.

Now I'm older, greyer and generally less angry at the world, would a re-listen spark joy?

No.

Urgh. This album is just so dull. First of all, the mix is terrible. I get that when you have the bass player from The Clash you want to hear him, but the bass just dominates the sound.

As a result, Albarn's vocals are buried for much of the album, and the melodies aren't strong enough to hold the attention.

The album is primarily led by piano and acoustic guitar, and Albarn is trying his full 'I'm an authentic geezer' act, but it feels likes no one is really pushing themselves.

This album was adored by critics at the time. I don't get it. To me, it's just four guys sitting around making not particularly interesting music.

Everyone involved in this has done much better stuff. It just made me want to listen to Blur or The Clash or The Verve.

The best tracks... erm, '80's Life' has a 60s doo wop feel, and even a bit of The Libertines vibe.

'A Soldier's Tale' is a nice enough tune, while 'Three Changes' is the most interesting, with a bit of energy evident and some great drumming making it stand apart from the other tracks.

The final song - 'The Good, The Bad & The Queen' - has a predictable rush to the end with everything happening all at once.

No songs stick in the mind. The production by Danger Mouse is rarely interesting.

But I'm sure everyone had a lovely time making it.

Park life!

4/10

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