Albums of the 2000s – Demon Days
2005 was a great year for albums in this decade – possibly the best – and there are many albums that I could have picked to represent that year. This, however, is almost in a league of its own. At the time that Demon Days came out it had been four years since Gorillaz, the Damon Albarn/Jamie Hewlett collaboration, had first appeared with their very good debut, and eponymously titled, LP in 2001. Whilst Dan The Automator was at the producer’s desk last time, Danger Mouse, a man who has rarely ever failed, was at the helm for what is essentially a concept album.
There are also far many guest stars that, if it weren’t for Gorillaz, would never have appeared on the same album together. The fact that an electro-tinged dance track featuring Shaun Ryder (DARE) and a spoken word narrative featuring the voice of Dennis Hopper (Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey’s Head) is astounding. Other noteworthy collaborations include the grimy Kids With Guns featuring Neneh Cherry, the jazzy odyysee of Every Planet We Reach Is Dead featuring Ike Turner, and the evangelical title track with the London Community Gospel Choir.
Despite all the different characters, textures, and sounds that are featured in the fifty-minute running length, Demon Days is one of the most cohesive albums of the decade. It’s also one of those records that manages to hop between genres but not feel clunky or stale, instead creating its own multi-layered atmosphere. Gorillaz went on to perform the album in full for five nights in Manchester that same year, providing even more how good an album it is – possibly this decade’s best concept album. It is also, on another level, quite possibly this decade’s best pop album.
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Posted on October 1st, 2009 by Max
Filed under: Albums, Albums Of The 2000s
Defintely a great album! But I definitely think Sumkid’s “The Nobody Hole” took the cake for being this generation’s “Tommy” (The Who)…..AMAZING project
Mew’s ‘And The Glass Handed Kites’ would get my vote.