Album title:
The Good, The Bad and The Queen
Artist:
The Good, The Bad and The Queen
Label:
Honest Jon's / Parlophone
When Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Paul Simonon and Simon Tong get together, was it unreasonable to expect the result to completely reinvent the wheel? Is it unfair to judge the eventual outcome against such a notion? The trouble with The Good, The Bad and The Queen is that, while creating some wonderful songs, they are completely encumbered by the personnel. Whilst so obviously capable of something truly memorable, they are content to journey through those contorted, popcentric sounds that others, including Albarn, have already explored. Like a darker, acoustic version of Gorillaz, perverted by Blur's 13, a dash of folk and some swansong guitars, it's impossible to say that The Good, The Bad and The Queen is a disappointment, in any sense of the word. And yet, it still leaves the bitter thought that it could, so easily, have been something so much better than this. [Neil Ferguson]