有着新奇想法的思想总会带着人以美妙的感觉，Damon Albarn就是有着千万个出其不意的新奇头脑。从Blur到Gorillaz，再到现在的The Good The Bad & The Queen，Damon Albarn留给我们永远的姿态就是：后备车厢里不曾停歇的歌声。 如果可以，我想Damon Albarn一定会选择在慢悠悠前行的列车后备车厢里悠闲地歌唱，从日出到日落，从春温到秋肃，他就是这样一路唱来的。臃懒、无谓、闲适，Damon Albarn的血液中流淌着和时间相反的精神，他会用自己的无所谓去抵抗时间的历练，就这样他成了真正“在路上”的歌者，并未曾有一刻畏惧过时间的脚步。Damon Albarn的身上和音乐中都带有着“在路上”的魅力：不停地寻找，不停地行走，从风光时代的Blur, 到神气再现的Gorillaz，乐队的魅力很大一部分都在于Damon Albarn，他脑中的奇怪思想总是为音乐增添了玄妙，千篇一律是他所不啻的，他宁愿半敞着衣襟随意的哼唱。我们也都如在异方大地上寻找的迷失者，跟随着Damon Albarn去探询着音乐的极至。如今The Good The Bad & The Queen乐队的出现则是给了歌迷们更多联想，Gorillaz的替身？还是Damon Albarn又一兴起之作？我们又一次沉浸在神秘的思索中。应该说乐队的成员们都是成名已久的大牌，乐队贝斯手是英国早期著名朋克乐队The Clash的贝司手Paul Simonon，鼓手也是在非洲享有极高声誉的Fela Kuti乐队的鼓手Tony Allen，正是他为TGTB&TQ的音乐中带来了非洲大地的神秘感觉。吉他手则是给许多人留下美好回忆的The Verve乐队的吉他手Simon Tong，他也在当初的Gorillaz中担任吉他手。这样一个庞大的阵容不免让人觉察到Damon Albarn音乐野心的开始膨胀，是华丽阵容下一次彻底的回归吗？Damon Albarn的心思永远不会是固定的，所以一切猜测只能是我们自我闲玩的游戏。也许所有猜测都不甚重要，Damon Albarn以何种方式出现只是关乎形式，重要的是他能不断地挑战自己的创作灵感，我们能不断地听到他的音乐，这样的相互关联是美妙的，Damon Albarn对于我们，更多的是音乐的关联。 当《History Song》中低暗的木吉他响起时我们所有的猜测顿刻化解，Damon Albarn的新乐队是一种延续，将Gorillaz式的实验迷幻演绎的更加随性。随性是歌曲的风格，更是乐队的组成，据说乐队的名称并没有正式确定，而仅是以发行的专辑名代称，因此我们看到了这样一个调皮的乐队名字。试图用某种固定的风格来界定TGTB&TQ的音乐是徒劳的，它就像手中古老的万花筒，虽然不再光亮但却有着私秘的新奇景象。《History Song》为我们将古老的万花筒打开，弹响昨日的吉他，犹如在荒凉的大地上行走，其中掺杂着某个非洲原始部落的神秘感，Damon Albarn用老电影的方式向我们问候，一阵杂乱过后他要继续为我们讲故事。钢琴的步调没有打破静谧的感觉，真正的列车上的感觉，《'80's Life》带我们去荒原近边的小镇环游，空旷下的吉他效果如天边垂下的夕阳挽挟着悠闲的脚步。真不知道在这样的气氛中还会有其他的想法，除了和Damon Albarn一起半睁眼的躺着，再无其它奢望。《Northern Whale》的电子效果并没有将音乐的节奏加快，缘自Damon Albarn的吟唱从来都是速度中的缓慢，他不会去刻意追逐，节奏在他的口中只能变缓。《Kingdom Of Doom》中阴暗城堡的夏生秋死，《Herculean》中吉他墙随钢琴的破碎，《Behind The Sun》的荒凉阴霾，一切都由Damon Albarn的嗓音塑造，他是在不停地为我们讲述，永远不知疲劳。如果你心中向往着黑白相片般的古老，TGTB&TQ就会给你彻底的沉浸，在经过《The Bunting Song》幔幕般的迷幻后是《Nature Springs》中清新的小调，鼓点击起轻盈的脚步，电子效果拨开另一片未知，Damon Albarn嘴里念叨的是“Everyone is a submarine.Looking for a dream far away”，一片迷茫的回声在泛起的小提琴声中徜徉着悠远，此刻的冥想让我们承受住更多的沉重。也许《A Soldier's Tale》中士兵对爱的追求能缓解心中的承重，糜醉的大脑在温热中回旋，进入其中就会有眩晕的感觉，我们钻进了迷幻中，无从逃离。《Three Changes》中的迷失就如那扭曲的吉他和杂乱的鼓点一样慌乱，真正的失败者，Damon Albarn用生活的哲理这样告诉我们。他会用怪叫让我们心悸，同样会在《Green Fields》嬉皮式的为我们缓解，一片绿地是黑暗中最具希望的象征，在一段吉他乱拨之后，留下的只是我们孤独的怀思。 当我们还纠缠在迷惘中，《The Good, The Bad & The Queen》用七分钟的钢琴和散沙般的鼓击迎来了沉寂后的爆发，将我们心中所有的淤积通通释放，这样的欲扬先抑在一句“Everything is so slightly come.”中显得更具力量，什么是微小的？音乐？生命？还是那一团淤积在听者心中的阴霾？也许专辑封面上欢呼的人群给了我们暗示，一种古老糟粕的倒掉是另一种美好的开始。The Good The Bad & The Queen成全了Damon Albarn一个人的吟唱，我们庆幸Damon Albarn还将继续“在路上”。The frontman for Brit-pop icons Blur, singer Damon Albarn was born March 23, 1968, in London. The product of a bohemian family, as a youth he studied piano, guitar, and violin and at 12 befriended one Graham Coxon, a fellow student at the Stanway Comprehensive School. Albarn later studied drama before joining the little-known synth pop outfit Two's a Crowd; at 15, he also won the regional heat in the Young Composer of the Year contest. While a student at Goldsmith University, he again crossed paths with guitarist Coxon, and together they formed the band the Circus; with the additions of bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree, the group rechristened itself Seymour before finally settling on Blur upon signing to Food Records. Their debut single, "She's So High," cracked the U.K. Top 50, while the follow-up, "There's No Other Way," went Top Ten; however, the baggy beats and shoegazer-inspired textures of Blur's 1991 debut album Leisure earned the band unkind critical comparisons to the dying Madchester scene, and with the follow-up, 1993's Modern Life Is Rubbish, they consciously set out to evoke a more traditional pop sound. With 1994's Parklife, Albarn's songs revealed an altogether new sophistication, his wry social commentaries and clever melodies evoking the great British pop tradition of bands like the Kinks and the Jam; the album made Blur the most popular and most influential band in England and captured a rabid cult following abroad as well. Although chief rivals Oasis quickly usurped Blur's dominance, their 1995 The Great Escape debuted at number one. Still, when the record slipped down the charts, the band was written off by the music press and spent much of 1996 in seclusion, although during that time Albarn made his solo debut with "Closet Romantic," his contribution to the Trainspotting soundtrack. Blur's 1997 self-titled LP restored the band's luster as the single "Song 2" became an American hit; that same year, Albarn made his film debut in Antonia Bird's Face. Blur's 13 followed in 1999.