Spring Break
CD Review: The Good, The Bad and The Queen worth another listen
Justin Pacheco
Issue date: 2/7/07 Section: Entertainment
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02/07/07 - The Good, The Bad and The Queen certainly have an all-star lineup. The band features the front man of Blur, Damon Albarn, the bassist of The Clash, Paul Simonon, ex-Verve guitarist Simon Tong, and the co-founder of the Afrobeat genre of music, Tony Allen.
However, their recent release is most definitely not a throwaway collaboration between a group of egotistical rock gods. This live version of the group's debut album feels complete; it's a fully fleshed idea. It does not feel like a mish mash of artists forcing their signature sounds where they do not fit.
The songs have a consistent mood throughout - morose. It is a feeling that absolutely permeates every part of the album. The guitars have a haunting, echoing sound to them. Occasionally a bellowing organ, further enhancing the depressing sound, accompanies the guitars.
The lyrics are especially melancholy, as Albarn belts out lines like "And the medicine man is here 24-7 / You can get it fast in Armageddon / Everyone is on the way to heaven / Slowly." This is from one of the albums strongest tracks, "Herculean." And that's one of the more peppy tracks on the album.
The album is nowhere near perfect. The live version that all this is based on is from their fourth show as a band. This shows at times, especially as two songs are stopped and restarted because of mistakes.
The other problem with this live version is the lack of Danger Mouse's slick production. However, having not heard the studio version, I can't know if this inhibits the album much, if at all, but given Danger Mouse's lofty reputation it's likely that something is missing from the live cuts.
One problem that comes with the consistent mood of the album is the similar sound from song to song. The tracks never really shift much in tempo, other than the rapid guitar riff and bass line throughout "Green Fields." This is a very brief, under two minute relief from the rest of the album.
However, after repeated listening to the album, the subtleties of each track are more easily appreciated. The album is one that takes some time to grow on you; I initially was bored by it, but my first impressions are usually wrong, and they were wrong here again.
However, their recent release is most definitely not a throwaway collaboration between a group of egotistical rock gods. This live version of the group's debut album feels complete; it's a fully fleshed idea. It does not feel like a mish mash of artists forcing their signature sounds where they do not fit.
The songs have a consistent mood throughout - morose. It is a feeling that absolutely permeates every part of the album. The guitars have a haunting, echoing sound to them. Occasionally a bellowing organ, further enhancing the depressing sound, accompanies the guitars.
The lyrics are especially melancholy, as Albarn belts out lines like "And the medicine man is here 24-7 / You can get it fast in Armageddon / Everyone is on the way to heaven / Slowly." This is from one of the albums strongest tracks, "Herculean." And that's one of the more peppy tracks on the album.
The album is nowhere near perfect. The live version that all this is based on is from their fourth show as a band. This shows at times, especially as two songs are stopped and restarted because of mistakes.
The other problem with this live version is the lack of Danger Mouse's slick production. However, having not heard the studio version, I can't know if this inhibits the album much, if at all, but given Danger Mouse's lofty reputation it's likely that something is missing from the live cuts.
One problem that comes with the consistent mood of the album is the similar sound from song to song. The tracks never really shift much in tempo, other than the rapid guitar riff and bass line throughout "Green Fields." This is a very brief, under two minute relief from the rest of the album.
However, after repeated listening to the album, the subtleties of each track are more easily appreciated. The album is one that takes some time to grow on you; I initially was bored by it, but my first impressions are usually wrong, and they were wrong here again.
