LP’s CDs #7: The Good, the Bad and the Queen, or ‘A stroppy little island of mixed up people’.
This wasn’t supposed to be next on my list, but the timing felt right. The Good, the Bad and the Queen released a new album — Merrie England — a few weeks ago , 11 years after this, their first, came out.
The Good, the Bad and the Queen is a ‘supergroup’ made up of Blur/Gorillaz’ Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon from The Clash, Simon Tong from The Verve and Tony Allen, drummer for Fela Kuti. Oh, and the producer is Dangermouse. I’ve been a Blur fan since I was 11, and have loved all of Damon Albarn’s eclectic solo projects, so I was always going to love this band.
What’s always grabbed me about Damon Albarn — both in Blur and in his solo projects is his commentary on British life. And with Brexit and terrible backward behaviour everywhere, I felt ready for a new album from them.
The first album sounds like a perfect crystallisation of town-centre England. It’s all gloomy, grey, daytime binge drinking, canals, and gasometers. It also has one of my favourite lyrics: ‘A stroppy little island, Of mixed up people’, Nothing describes us better at this moment in time.
Merrie England hasn’t grabbed me in the same way, but I think it might be a grower. In the meantime, I’m listening to this one on repeat.
Best song? Three Changes, for that lyric.
