Prolific songwriter's new project not up to par

Artist: The Good The Bad & The Queen
Album: The Good The Bad & The Queen
Label: Parlophone/Virgin/EMI
Release Date: January 22, 2007
Rating: 4/7

I have long considered Damon Albarn to be a rare contemporary artist, able to transcend his own egotism by consistently taking risks and staying open to new ideas. When the old Blur/Oasis feud was happening in the mid-90’s, I watched as Albarn’s band effortlessly cycled through new styles with every album, while the Gallagher brothers continued to rehash their own tired ideas. And though his Gorillaz project has defied some critical disdain and pretty much all common sense in becoming a hit, I always knew it wouldn’t be too long before he jumped ship for a new course. So it was with great anticipation that I picked up this new release, the unfortunately-self-titled debut, The Good, the Bad, & the Queen, from his new band.

Opening track “History Song” starts out well enough; a languid guitar and Albarn’s sleepy vocals introduce the ghostly and rather gray tone of the album. “If you don’t know me now, then you will do.” Fact is, no one today can write a song that’s simultaneously creepy, sad and humorous like Albarn can. But that’s just not enough anymore, and as the album progresses it becomes clear that this extremely prolific songwriter’s creative well may finally have been tapped.

Here’s the thing- for an artist who clearly possesses the talent and the ego to become a true musical tyrant, I always felt Albarn had the common sense to let his collaborators shape his music to a surprisingly large degree. Whether it was his criminally underrated companions in Blur, the diverse array of hip-hop producers, MCs and animators he worked with on the Gorillaz albums, or even the Malian musicians on his 2002 world music effort, Albarn’s willingness to open his songwriting to outside influences is what always made him great. Yet here, in his first “super-group” of sorts (the band features former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, as well as Verve guitarist Simon Tong and Fela Kuti collaborator Tony Allen), he sounds homogenous and boring.
Of the band’s other members, Simonon fares the best; his reggae-infused basslines breathe some much-needed life into this rather dour set of songs. Still, it’s nothing Blur bassist Alex James couldn’t have played with his hands tied together. As for Tong and Allen, they basically fall in line, churning out cymbal taps and strumming guitar lines to fill out the space between Albarn’s overwhelming electronic flourishes and trilly piano leads.

The band’s willingness to fade into the background leaves the focus completely on Albarn, who for the first time ever sounds like his heart just isn’t in it. A big problem is his voice; for a guy who could once go from a soulful wail to a bratty punk sneer in a heartbeat, his vocals on this album are laconic and weary, with the same tired vocoder effects used on the Gorillaz albums. All well and good when voicing a psychotic cartoon character, but when it’s actually him behind the mic, I’d like to hear a little more human emotion.

The songs follow suit, all relentlessly mid-tempo mopers. There are a few standouts; “Nature Springs” is a classic Albarn ballad complete with swelling strings and a whistle solo, and “Herculean” does the electro-pop thing better than Gorillaz ever did. But most tracks just blend together into a one-note whole, and those that don’t (the seven minute acid jam of a closing track) don’t fare much better.
I still have high hopes for Albarn in the future, both with Gorillaz and the Blur reunion that legions of fans are still crossing their fingers for. And honestly, the quality of songwriting here is still rather high, and I think many such fans will like this album. I guess I was just expecting more from the guy.

Rating: 4/7