Merrie Land | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 16 November 2018 | |||
Recorded | 2017–2018 | |||
Studio | Studio 13, London, UK | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 37:28 | |||
Label | Studio 13 | |||
Producer | Tony Visconti, The Good, the Bad & the Queen | |||
The Good, the Bad & the Queen chronology | ||||
| ||||
Damon Albarn chronology | ||||
| ||||
Tony Allen chronology | ||||
| ||||
Paul Simonon chronology | ||||
| ||||
Simon Tong chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Merrie Land | ||||
|
Merrie Land is the second and final studio album by English art rock supergroup the Good,the Bad &the Queen. [2] It was produced by Tony Visconti and released on 16 November 2018. [3]
The band announced the album with the single "Merrie Land" and news that they would embark on a five-date tour of the UK in early December 2018. [4] [5] In an interview for The Scotsman ,Albarn commented that the album is "a reluctant goodbye letter”to the European Union following Brexit,and "a series of observations and reflections on Britishness in 2018." [6] A video released for "Merrie Land" featured Albarn [7] dressed as a ventriloquist's dummy singing and gesturing in front of a backdrop of pastoral images and English landscapes. [8]
The band released the second single from the album,"Gun to the Head",on 5 November 2018. The track features "organ,bassoon,recorder,and a British Invasion-style ensemble pop hook [which] lend the song a cheery boardwalk shine,undercut by Albarn's knotty lyrics of conspiratorial and repressive governance." [8] The video released for "Gun to the Head" also featured Albarn dressed as a ventriloquist's dummy,but with backup dummies and a black backdrop. [8] Three additional "warm-up shows" for the band in late November 2018 were announced alongside the release of the second single and its video. [9]
Sessions for the album started in January 2017,when Albarn,Simonon and Tong spent time in Blackpool,which was originally going to be its main focus. However,Albarn expanded the focus of the album over the next two years while touring with Gorillaz for the albums Humanz and The Now Now . [10]
In an interview with The Guardian ,the band members admitted that Merrie Land shares creative attributes with its predecessor, The Good,the Bad &the Queen, but stylistically the two are dissimilar. Simonon characterised Merrie Land as "modern English folk music with a bit of rub-a-dub in it" while Allen noted "this time around,people can dance". [10] The interview,conducted by music critic John Harris,focused on the album's inspiration in the Brexit vote,and how that impacted the themes on Merrie Land. Where the band's first album was "murky" in its depiction of London,Merrie Land "[evokes] the contorted confusion of Brexit",and "widens its focus beyond the capital and has an even sharper sense of place." [10] Simonon also highlighted the album's title as "kind of [alluding] to people's nostalgic,sentimental vision of how England used to be. And it never really existed." [10]
The cover of the album features a shot of Michael Redgrave from the 1945 horror movie Dead of Night ,in which he plays a ventriloquist taken over by his dummy. [11]
Adapted from the Albums Liner Notes.
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.2/10 [12] |
Metacritic | 77/100 [13] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
The Guardian | [11] |
The Independent | [15] |
The Irish Times | [16] |
Mojo | [17] |
NME | [18] |
Pitchfork | 7.5/10 [19] |
Q | [20] |
Rolling Stone | [21] |
Uncut | 7/10 [22] |
Reviews for the album were mostly positive,with The Independent calling the album "entertaining and theatrical" and stating that its lyrics "capture the social observation of [ Blur album] Parklife ", [15] and Clash magazine labelling the album "curious twenty-first century folk about curious twenty-first century folk",adding that while Albarn's lyrics concerning Britain were a "proven formula",it was his collaboration with the rest of the band that made the album unique. [23] At Metacritic,which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics,the album received an average score of 77,indicating "generally favorable reviews". [13] Some critics felt that the album was unfocused,with The Guardian stating that despite its rich instrumentation,its writing "never resolves into anything concrete". [11] NME held a similar position,referring to it as "muddled" and stating that "beyond the title track and ‘Lady Boston’,it begins to wear thin quicker than a seagull nosediving to your soggy paper of chips". [18] The Sunday Times named it ‘Album Of The Year’for 2018 saying it is “…about England —Albarn perched,metaphorically,on the edge of the cliffs of Dover,his gaze focused not outwards but back,at a country he feels is about to plunge from them.” [24]
All lyrics are written by Damon Albarn; all music is composed by Damon Albarn, Tony Allen, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Visconti
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Introduction" | 0:13 |
2. | "Merrie Land" | 4:46 |
3. | "Gun to the Head" | 4:19 |
4. | "Nineteen Seventeen" | 3:43 |
5. | "The Great Fire" | 3:56 |
6. | "Lady Boston" | 4:19 |
7. | "Drifters & Trawlers" | 2:34 |
8. | "The Truce of Twilight" | 4:22 |
9. | "Ribbons" | 2:52 |
10. | "The Last Man to Leave" | 2:38 |
11. | "The Poison Tree" | 3:40 |
Total length: | 37:28 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "St. George And The Blackbird" | |
13. | "The Imperial" |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
14. | "St. George And The Blackbird (Instrumental)" | |
15. | "The Imperial (Instrumental)" |
Sample credits
Chart (2018) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [25] | 41 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [26] | 55 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [27] | 106 |
French Albums (SNEP) [28] | 75 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [29] | 62 |
Irish Albums (IRMA) [30] | 35 |
Italian Albums (FIMI) [31] | 83 |
Scottish Albums (OCC) [32] | 26 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [33] | 86 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [34] | 30 |
UK Albums (OCC) [35] | 31 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [36] | 20 |
Damon Albarn is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is the frontman and main lyricist of the rock band Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz.
Paul Gustave Simonon is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach in 2010, which saw Simonon reunite with The Clash guitarist Mick Jones and Blur frontman Damon Albarn – and which also led to Simonon becoming the live band's touring bassist for Gorillaz's Escape to Plastic Beach Tour. Simonon is also an established visual artist.
Tony Oladipo Allen was a Nigerian and French drummer, composer, and songwriter who lived and worked in Paris, France. Allen was the drummer and musical director of Fela Kuti's band Africa '70 from 1968 to 1979, and was one of the founders of the Afrobeat genre. Fela once stated that "without Tony Allen, there would be no Afrobeat". He was described by Brian Eno as "perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived". Later in life, Allen collaborated with Damon Albarn on several projects, including Gorillaz, the Good, the Bad & the Queen and Rocket Juice & the Moon.
Simon Tong is an English guitarist and keyboardist who was a member of the Verve between 1996 and 1999. He has played with Damon Albarn on tour with his bands Blur and Gorillaz, and as a member of the Good, the Bad & the Queen. He ranks in BBC's "The Axe Factor" as the 40th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years.
The Good, the Bad & the Queen is the debut studio album by the English supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen, comprising Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Allen, and produced by Danger Mouse. The album was released in January 2007. The album debuted at number two in the UK Albums Chart and was certified Gold in the UK within days of its release despite little media recognition and airplay. In the United States, the album entered the Billboard 200 at No. 49.
"Herculean" is the debut single by the Good, the Bad & the Queen, an alternative rock band fronted by Damon Albarn. Though Albarn later claimed that the band was unnamed, and that "The Good, The Bad & The Queen" was merely the name of band's first album, this single clearly credits the artist as "The Good, The Bad & The Queen", and was released several months in advance of the album. At the time, neither Albarn nor anyone else was claiming the band was unnamed.
"Kingdom of Doom" is a song by the British alternative rock supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen, made up of Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Allen and is the fourth track on their 2007 album The Good, the Bad & the Queen.
"Green Fields" is the third single by British alternative rock band the Good, the Bad & the Queen. "Green Fields" is also the eleventh track on the group's 2007 debut album The Good, the Bad & the Queen.
"The Good, the Bad & the Queen" is a song by British band the Good, the Bad & the Queen. It is the title song and final track on their 2007 debut album. A live version of the song recorded at The Tabernacle was also released as a B-side on the band's second single "Kingdom of Doom".
Demon Strings are a British stringed instrument group. They are best known for being the in-house string section for musician Damon Albarn, having recorded and performed live for several of his projects including The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Gorillaz, Blur and Monkey: Journey to the West.
Plastic Beach is the third studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 3 March 2010 by Parlophone internationally and by Virgin Records in the United States. Conceived from an unfinished project called Carousel, the album was recorded from June 2008 to November 2009, and was produced primarily by group co-creator Damon Albarn. It features guest appearances by such artists as Snoop Dogg, Gruff Rhys, De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Lou Reed, Mark E. Smith, Bashy, Kano, and Little Dragon.
The Fall is the fourth studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was announced on 20 December 2010 and released as a download for members of the Gorillaz fan club on 25 December 2010. This was followed by a wider physical release of the album on 19 April 2011.
The solo discography of British musician Damon Albarn consists of four collaboration albums, four soundtrack albums, three extended plays and twelve singles. Also included are releases by Albarn's various side-projects and groups such as Mali Music, The Good the Bad & the Queen, Monkey, DRC Music and Rocket Juice & the Moon. Most of Albarn's work is either released by Honest Jon's Records, Parlophone or EMI Records.
Everyday Robots is the debut solo studio album by British musician Damon Albarn, best known as the frontman of Blur and Gorillaz. Described by Albarn as his "most personal record", the album was co-produced by Richard Russell and released on 25 April 2014. It features guest contributions from musician and producer Brian Eno, singer Natasha Khan and the Leytonstone City Mission Choir. It was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize for best album.
The Magic Whip is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London, and released by Parlophone on 27 April 2015 and Warner Bros. Records on 28 April 2015. It was the band's first studio album in 12 years since Think Tank (2003), marking the longest gap between studio albums in Blur's career, and the first in 16 years since 13 (1999) to have featured the original line-up. The album also marks the return of the band's longtime producer Stephen Street following Blur (1997).
Humanz is the fifth studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 28 April 2017 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and in the United States by Warner Bros. Records. The album was announced on the band's official Instagram page on 23 March 2017. According to a press release, it was recorded in London, Paris, New York City, Chicago, and Jamaica, and was produced by The Twilite Tone and Remi Kabaka Jr. It was the band's first studio album since 2010's The Fall, and features collaborations with Jehnny Beth, Grace Jones, Kali Uchis, Vince Staples, Popcaan, D.R.A.M., Anthony Hamilton, De La Soul, Danny Brown, Kelela, Mavis Staples, Pusha T, and Benjamin Clementine.
The Now Now is the sixth studio album recorded by the British virtual band Gorillaz, released on 29 June 2018 via Parlophone and Warner Bros. Records. Recording for the album began in late 2017 – according to Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn, it was recorded quickly so the band would have new material to play at future concerts.
The Good, the Bad & the Queen were an English art rock supergroup composed of singer Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, bassist Paul Simonon of the Clash, guitarist Simon Tong of the Verve, and drummer Tony Allen of Fela Kuti's band Africa '70. They released their self-titled debut album in 2007. Their second album, Merrie Land, coproduced with Tony Visconti, was released in 2018. They disbanded in 2019.
The discography of The Good, the Bad & the Queen, a British art rock supergroup formed in London in 2005. The group consisted of vocalist and instrumentalist Damon Albarn, bassist Paul Simonon, guitarist Simon Tong, and drummer Tony Allen. Consists of two studio albums, an extended play, five singles, a box set, four music videos and ten promotional music videos.
Cracker Island is the eighth studio album by the British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 24 February 2023 via Parlophone and Warner Records. It features collaborations with Stevie Nicks, Adeleye Omotayo, Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bad Bunny, Bootie Brown and Beck. A deluxe edition was released with additional tracks featuring De La Soul, MC Bin Laden, Del the Funky Homosapien and Dawn Penn.