The Good, the Bad and the Queen
The Good, The Bad and The Queen

The wait is over... I bought "The Good, The Bad and The Queen," the eagerly awaited album by Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong, and Tony Allen.

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect; the previously released single "Herculean" had given me some small clues, but I wasn't sure if the track's style would faithfully represent the album's style. In short, at the time of purchase, I had absolutely no idea what I was buying... Would it be a Blur-like album? Gorillaz-like? Clash-like? With Afro-dub influences? Or, even worse, like "Democrazy" (yet another avoidable side project by Albarn)? Well, the result was a mix between "Think Tank" and "Democrazy." The result is actually not bad at all; in fact, it was definitely worth my 25, 5€. Mr. Albarn's usual nasal voice creates a warm and enveloping atmosphere, making the listening experience intriguing for any track.

"The Good, The Bad and The Queen" perhaps falls short precisely because, more than being the work of a "super band" as it was described, or rather advertised before its release, it proves to be a work centered on Damon Albarn, making the presence of the other "big names" non-essential. The first listens (and also the subsequent ones) lead to playing especially tracks like "Kingdom of Doom", a beautiful sad-pop ballad that strongly resembles those The Smiths who have done so much for contemporary and past English and world music. Important in this track, as in all the pieces of the album, is the importance of the words; in this case, the importance and the core of the song lie in the line "Everything is black or white," which, of course, I leave to everyone's interpretation. Then you move on to "Herculean", a dub-pop track that somewhat resembles "Ambulance" ("Think Tank"), perhaps the most commercial of the songs on "The Good, The Bad and The Queen," if one can even talk about commercial. Then we arrive at "Behind the Sun", which in turn recalls a beautiful piece from the last Blur album, namely "Caravan", where trip-pop takes the lead, disarming with its simplicity on each listen.

To describe every track of this album would require a book, because every piece touches you in the deepest intimacy, creating different feelings for each person. After all, that's precisely what Albarn sought to do in this work: evoke emotion, create anxiety and angst in the listener.

I don't predict the future, but it's unlikely that any album in 2007 will be able to impress me like "The Good, The Bad and The Queen." Perhaps the "great musical scholars" should pay homage or at least admit that in England exists the most eclectic artist of recent years, if not the last half-century: Damon Albarn... I already know how many criticisms I will receive for praising the Blur frontman so much, but it's about time someone opened your eyes.