User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 69 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 63 out of 69
  2. Negative: 1 out of 69

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  1. gabrielez
    Aug 6, 2009
    10
    Album's melancholic sound makes my back trembling.
  2. BrockC.P
    Jan 24, 2007
    10
    Brilliant
  3. alanl
    Mar 13, 2007
    9
    A great album that makes you think Damon Albarn could become the new David Bowie. Even you don't like this record you have to admit his brain just doesn't stop creating fresh music
  4. abraham
    Jan 20, 2007
    10
    Amazing!
  5. NickyS
    Jan 20, 2007
    10
    Albarn is ALWAYS stretching and inspiring. While Three Changes was better when sung live at the Roundhouse, the album is genuinely beautiful and continually unexpected.
  6. bettyw
    Jan 30, 2007
    9
    a beautiful album that improves with every listening.
  7. erico
    Feb 3, 2007
    10
    amazing album. a definte grower.
  8. JohnB
    Feb 4, 2007
    9
    The Good, the Bad and the Queen proves Albarn is more than just a pop musician. He is an artist and this album consists of a fully realized concept. While immediate hooks may be absent, Albarn has a good ear for nice melodies perfectly understated on this album.
  9. Vic
    Mar 31, 2007
    8
    It's not what I have been waiting to hear, but it's beautiful multi-layer music.
  10. kevk
    Mar 30, 2007
    7
    They should just call this a damon albarn solo album. The rest of the guys don't do anything except extend the album summary with credits.
  11. ScottS
    Jan 2, 2008
    10
    The best album released in 2007. Some exceptional singles, but it's real genius is how the entire enterprise unfolds, with songs flowing into each other.
  12. BoniverA.
    Jul 14, 2008
    10
    The most beautiful and charismatic album released in 2007, it's magical.
  13. PatricioR
    Jan 18, 2007
    10
    Damon Albarn is a brilliant mind always looking for new sounds, new musical textures and certainly sometimes he has not lived up to the expectations (as in the Mali Music album). With the TGTBATQ he has returned to the best of his form. The album looks like the mandatory sequel to the amazing Blur's Think Tank, with great melancholic songs such as Green Fields, Kingdom Of Doom, Damon Albarn is a brilliant mind always looking for new sounds, new musical textures and certainly sometimes he has not lived up to the expectations (as in the Mali Music album). With the TGTBATQ he has returned to the best of his form. The album looks like the mandatory sequel to the amazing Blur's Think Tank, with great melancholic songs such as Green Fields, Kingdom Of Doom, Herculean, 80's Life to name but a few. I hope they come to tour the US, I see it difficult though. Expand
  14. timm
    Jan 18, 2007
    9
    good sh*t! bleak yet hopeful, comforting yet stern.
  15. mick
    Jan 22, 2007
    7
    Good Album - not amazing but a good album all the same
  16. ThatMusicGuy
    Jan 22, 2007
    9
    excellent album
  17. ChrisG
    Jan 23, 2007
    9
    A beautifully understated record. Not as bleak as I imagined, as always Albarn has an ear for a pop tune but here, he and the band offer so much more depth than his previous work.
  18. DavidA
    Jan 24, 2007
    7
    Good album, but considering the group members, this is still a Damon Albarn album. The other players barely show up. Which is a shame, cause they could have added a lot.
  19. PedroL
    Jan 27, 2007
    9
    The best music i've heard this new year... DA is getting serious. GW!!
  20. JohnnyS
    Jan 28, 2007
    9
    This album is the best Albarn project yet. A far better album start-to-finish than the last Gorillaz album, which lacked this discs consistent mood. Great for putting on while chilling with friends or alone.
  21. MateuszS
    Feb 22, 2007
    7
    Couple nice songs
  22. karlw.
    Feb 3, 2007
    10
    amazing work, a grower.
  23. JoseC
    Feb 4, 2007
    10
    This is one of the most impressive albums I've heard in recent years. It is so complex in such a magnitude that every track is different and complex from each other. This is the first album that is truly beatle-esque in that it has the same magic effects that any beatle album has but still doesn't match to their masterpieces like Sgt. Pepper. Great Album that won't This is one of the most impressive albums I've heard in recent years. It is so complex in such a magnitude that every track is different and complex from each other. This is the first album that is truly beatle-esque in that it has the same magic effects that any beatle album has but still doesn't match to their masterpieces like Sgt. Pepper. Great Album that won't dissapoint a true fan of music. Expand
  24. JakeH
    Feb 7, 2007
    8
    This is a very good, soothing, chill album. It seems to play best as a background filler, blocking out a silence in life with very descriptive emotional sounds. Herculean, Northern Whale and the title track give you its key flavor but the whole album is a gourmet dinner.
  25. FelipeP
    Feb 7, 2007
    10
    The perfect follow-up to the last blur album "Think Tank". Damon Albarn is a genius.
  26. ruir
    Mar 10, 2007
    10
    The history of UK post-punk. Excellent.
  27. Jase
    Mar 12, 2007
    9
    Great stuff. He just doesn't stop changing direction, coming up with great music that says Alburn all over it, yet is no mimic of anything he has ever done. A great 'in your face' to the single churning monstrosity that the music industry is and has always been. Which leaves me to comment on 'Now Magazine', who shouldn't review something they don't Great stuff. He just doesn't stop changing direction, coming up with great music that says Alburn all over it, yet is no mimic of anything he has ever done. A great 'in your face' to the single churning monstrosity that the music industry is and has always been. Which leaves me to comment on 'Now Magazine', who shouldn't review something they don't understand. Go back to wiping Brittney's bottom. Fantastic, you won't regret getting yourself involved here. Expand
  28. DanB.
    Mar 22, 2007
    7
    A seven for now. I have a feeling it might grow on me but it'll take a while so for now a 7. Wish Coxon would take his head out of his ass and they both would just concentrate on blur albums, though.
  29. RyanM
    Mar 28, 2007
    8
    This CD is mellow. Very, very mellow. It isn't one that's going to soundtrack your workout or hype up your party, but if you like relaxing pop with lush production on starry evenings, then this fits the bill quite nicely. Don't let the production credit of Dangermouse fool you, there is very little that hints at hip-hop. It's just mellow, lush pop music that bleeds an This CD is mellow. Very, very mellow. It isn't one that's going to soundtrack your workout or hype up your party, but if you like relaxing pop with lush production on starry evenings, then this fits the bill quite nicely. Don't let the production credit of Dangermouse fool you, there is very little that hints at hip-hop. It's just mellow, lush pop music that bleeds an amber sadness. Expand
  30. pendepomo
    Apr 9, 2007
    8
    this album is great, but this thing of forming an elite-band out of legends it's gonna become like a cliche, so this charistmatic event it's unestable
  31. Bjunior
    Nov 21, 2007
    8
    Amazing production, instrumentation, and i've never heard damon albarn sound so beautiful on nearly every track. All in all a great vintage mellow pop album with hints of herman's hermits, specials - ghost town sound, & maybe some stone roses, and classic blur ballads.
  32. javauxc
    Jan 23, 2007
    8
    Like always Damon Albarn mixed with succes pop melody and more experimental sound. the song are realy beautiful and always innovative but less catchy that in BLUR or in GORILLAZ and more ambient.
  33. AppleReal
    Jan 29, 2007
    7
    Solid Work
  34. JohnD
    Feb 15, 2007
    9
    More like a follow up to 'Modern Life is Rubbish' than 'Parklife'. Dares to say something about London life rather than rehash trendy platitudes. Not immediate but a definite grower. If it has a fault it's that it feels like an Albarn solo effort than the work of a cohesive band. He's never been quite as good without Coxon. Very good though, nontheless.
  35. MitchellZ
    Feb 16, 2007
    9
    Loved it from the start. Love it more with each listen. Though the "supergroup" aspect doesn't make sense at first, it's a fully realized whole and the players work together so cohesively it would only detract were any one of them to take the forefront. That being said, Paul Simonon lays down a grounding groove over which Albarn spins his melancholic, dreamy web. In an age when Loved it from the start. Love it more with each listen. Though the "supergroup" aspect doesn't make sense at first, it's a fully realized whole and the players work together so cohesively it would only detract were any one of them to take the forefront. That being said, Paul Simonon lays down a grounding groove over which Albarn spins his melancholic, dreamy web. In an age when so much music washes over you like a short passing storm, this album stays with you ; a grey London day suffused with portent and hidden yearning. Expand
  36. CarlF
    Feb 28, 2007
    7
    The album can be very frustrating at times due to its uninviting, dark demeanor. However, once this demeanor is embraced then the album plays the role of the first worthwhile album in 2007 quite nicely.
  37. SteveW
    Jul 19, 2007
    9
    The album sleeve & artwork sum this album up for me. Intriguing, original & loads of atmosphere-what a sound! Albarn's played a blinder with the Bass guitar kicking all the way through and some badass drums!
  38. Sep 25, 2012
    10
    Truly captures the mood of the times. Well written and beautifully performed album that gets better the more I listen. Fresh and experimental sound that puts it in a league of its own, which to me, is what makes a truly great record. One of the best albums in my opinion.
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 38
  2. Negative: 2 out of 38
  1. It's not Blur, the Clash, Fela, the Verve, or Gorillaz. It's more than just names on albums.
  2. 60
    Unlike the rousing punk-, Kinks- and new-wave-colored mosaic of Parklife, this one sticks to sepia-toned, dub-nodding abstractions. [Jan/Feb 2007, p.86]
  3. They sound like a seasoned team, an understated unit where nothing dominates and everything contributes to enhancing the moods of Albarn's songs.