Track Listing

1. Herculean - Good The Bad And The Queen
2. Mr Whippy - Good The Bad And The Queen & Eslam Jawaad
3. Back In The Day - Good The Bad And The Queen

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64740 in Music
• Released on: 2006-10-30
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Single, Limited Edition

Customer Reviews

Damon rules again!
The only thing that I rated 4 stars because Damon's voice can be heard only in 'Herculean', okay and a little backing vocal in 'Back in the day' which is a very good instrumental tune.
But 'Mr Whippy' I think sounds a bit like Damon had an unreleased B-side from the Gorillaz era...
But this single is a very good starter into the world of The Good, The Bad and The Queen.

First release from Albarn & co
Damon Albarn is a busy guy - following the mega-success of Gorillaz and resulting concerts, he was rumoured to be doing a Blur album and a solo project, as well as a musical based on the Chinese myth known as `Monkey' (was that an April Fools Joke?). Albarn advanced on his collaboration with Tony Allen (a track on the Honest Jons `...Lagos' album) with an African-themed set that appears to have been put in the vaults for the time being. Alex James did write in the Independent that Albarn had been demoing great material for the next Blur album and there has been a rumour former Blur-guitarist Graham Coxon was going to rejoin (which might mean a break from his Jilted John tribute act!). This didn't happen, but the former Allen-Albarn collaboration and the Honest Jons' `London'-themed compilations set the tone for what became known as the Good, the Bad, and the Queen - who this band are known as (it's apparently just the title of the album to be released in 2007).

`The Good, the Bad, and the Queen' is kind of a successor to 1994's `Park Life', it was given an outing at the recent Electric Proms courtesy of the BBC and seems to be a more focused take on the more subtle elements of Gorillaz and the last Blur album `Think Tank' (which was more of a solo album in retrospect). This is unsurprising since former Verve-guitarist Simon Tong played with Gorillaz and like `Think Tank' and Gorillaz, Albarn has a dance-music related producer (previous collaborations with Dan the Automater and Fatboy Slim, now with Dangermouse of Gorillaz & Gnarls Barkley fame). It's likely that the debut album from the Good, the Bad, and the Queen will be a highlight of 2007 and their low key tour early next year looks pretty much sold out (I failed to get tickets for Bristol, but got some for Dudley).

Albarn, Allen and Tong are rounded out by bassist Paul Simonon, known in a previous life as the bassist of the Clash and who appears to have taken up painting since his last recorded work as Havana 7am in the late eighties. Watching `Westway to the World' the other night you are reminded how great Simonon and co were and how they really should have reformed. Simonon was a key element in the band and material like `Guns of Brixton' and much of the seminal `Sandinista!' set the tone for Albarn's work of the last few years (as well as the first two Big Audio Dynamite albums). & of course Simonon is a great character and face to have in the band, connecting to the theme of London apparent in the album - both Albarn and Simonon have nodded to Peter Ackroyd's epic `London' in interviews.

`Herculean' like the singles from `Think Tank' doesn't sound as obvious in the single sense as `Feel Good Inc' or `Clint Eastwood', it sounds like an album track and is a great introduction to the band. This was probably what Albarn tried and failed to do with songs like `Fade Away' and `Top Man', `Herculean' sounding like a blend of trip-hop, The Kinks' `Shangri La', `Sandinista!', The Specials, `Feel Good Inc', and Robert Wyatt. I'm sure it will make even more sense with the surrounding tracks - the version here is more electronic and layered than the more acoustic version played live at the Roundhouse a few weeks ago.

The b-sides to this limited edition single are `Back in the Day', which sounds like a looser relative of Blur circa `13', and `Mr Whippy', which features Lebanese singer Eslam Jawaad. This blends Trojan-style reggae, something the later work of the Clash displayed, with Jawaad's vocals - any fans of world music will probably love this, I can't believe a track this great didn't make the album! One reason to buy the single alongside the chance to have a copy of `Herculean' a month or so before the album.

Grump a lump comes up trumps
Read and Say what you will about Damon Albarn (most of which is probably true),the boy has a good ear for melody. Blur,Gorillaz,Mali music.....its always interesting and hugely listenable. How many artists these days can you say you've followed over a few years without them being dropped by a label (after one duff album) and not allowed to flourish and develop?
His best years are still ahead of him.Thank the Lord for that.