Demon Days
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| Demon Days | |||||
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| Studio album by Gorillaz | |||||
| Released | May 23, 2005 | ||||
| Recorded | 2004 at Kong Studios (virtual) ; Studio 13 (real) | ||||
| Genre | Alternative rock Electronica Alternative hip hop Trip hop Britpop |
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| Length | 50:44 | ||||
| Label | Parlophone, Virgin | ||||
| Producer | Gorillaz, Danger Mouse, Jason Cox, James Dring | ||||
| Professional reviews | |||||
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| Gorillaz chronology | |||||
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Demon Days is the second studio album and a concept album[1] by Gorillaz, released on May 23, 2005 in the United Kingdom and on May 24 in the United States. Demon Days entered the UK charts at #1 and the U.S. charts at #6, outperforming the band's 2001 debut, Gorillaz.
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[edit] Album information
Demon Days' lead single "Feel Good Inc." became Gorillaz' biggest hit (UK #2, US #14, US-Modern Rock #1) at the time. The album's second single, "Dare" featuring Shaun Ryder, became a big hit as well, giving the band their first #1 single in the UK. Since its release, Demon Days has been certified double platinum in the U.S. and 5 times platinum in the UK.
The album features contributions from De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird, Roots Manuva, MF DOOM, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder, Dennis Hopper, the London Community Gospel Choir and the Children's Choir of San Fernandez.
The album cover is a reference to Let It Be by The Beatles and resembles the Blur:Best Of artwork, the greatest hits album by Albarn's first band Blur
This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.
Demon Days was first mentioned in articles detailing the reopening of Gorillaz' website in early December 2004. Initially, a March or April 2005 release date was announced, but it was later pushed back. In an article for Q magazine in February 2005 it was reported that the album was to be titled We Are Happy Landfill. Another early title was reported to be Reject False Icons, which is also the title of Gorillaz' culture jamming project.
In January 2005 a promo for the song "Dirty Harry" was released as a white label 12" and an exclusive video was released online entitled "Rock It". It was later reported that the track would not appear on the album, although it later appeared on D-Sides, a collection of remixes, rare songs and B-sides released in November 2007.
[edit] Gorillaz on Demon Days
In the interview tape We Are the Dury, the band answered questions about the record's details and their opinions on the musical theory of the new album:
- Noodle - "It was the procedure of recording this that became the education; the final outcome is the document, but the journey was the destination."
- Russel Hobbs - "As a body of work, Demon Days is more focused and considered than the first album, and maybe it has a greater gravity to it than the first record...The music has a stricter discipline to it, with an undercurrent of dark optimism."
- 2D - "Like someone's taken the first album and colored it in."
- Murdoc Niccals - "Yeah, well, it came out pretty well like I told her to make it in the first place."
[edit] Reception
Professional reviews:
- Spin (p.64) - Ranked #4 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[A] vivid, spastic concept album about the last primates to survive the apocalypse" -
- Spin (p.105) - "Albarn still has great taste in other people's music. His new accomplice, copyright pirate Danger Mouse, fills in suggestively dubby spaces with choirs, staggering synths, and MCs ranging from De La Soul to Roots Manuva to MF Doom." - Grade: B
- Entertainment Weekly (No. 821/822, p.136) - "[This] follow-up is spookier, blippier, and more on edge." - Grade: B
- Uncut (p.106) – 4 stars out of 5 - "Dazzlingly clever - great beats, brilliant production, top tunes and some of Albarn's best singing."
- CMJ (No. 914, p.4) - "...an immensely absorbable experience with plenty of rhymes and funked-out marching beats to bite into."
- Vibe (p.143) - "[A]s original - and just as much fun - as the first."
- Mojo (p.18) - Ranked #18 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[A] genre-busting, contemporary pop milestone."
[edit] Singles
- "Feel Good Inc." was the first single released from the album. It was released as an EP in Japan on 27 April 2005 and as a single in the UK and Australia on 9 May 2005.
- "Dare" was the second single released from the album. It was released 29 August 2005 in the UK, and 7 September 2005 in Japan as an EP.
- "Dirty Harry" was the third single released from the album. It was released 21 November 2005 in the UK, and 7 December 2005 in Japan as an EP.
- "Kids with Guns" / "El Mañana" was the fourth and final single released from the album. It was released 10 April 2006 in the UK, and 19 April 2006 in Japan as an EP (see 2006 in British music). The winners for the Search for a Star competition collaborated with Gorillaz in various ways on this single.
[edit] Limited edition
A limited edition of the album was released in a special digipak gatefold, allowing the owner to choose which band member is on the cover. It also contains an exclusive booklet, with lyrics and illustrations for each song, a DVD containing the video (with audio commentary), an animatic for the music video "Feel Good Inc.", short animated films featuring the band, an exclusive audio track titled "The Swagga" and online access to exclusive sections of the band's website, with various wallpapers and screensavers, as well as a crowbar, facilitating the opening of a locked cupboard in the kitchen on Gorillaz.com in order to download the song "Happy Landfill".
[edit] Track listing
All songs were written by Gorillaz, except where noted.
- "Intro" (Gorillaz, Don Harper) – 1:03
- "Last Living Souls" – 3:11
- "Kids with Guns" – 3:45
- "O Green World" – 4:31
- "Dirty Harry" (Gorillaz, Romye Robinson) – 3:43
- featuring Bootie Brown
- "Feel Good Inc." (Gorillaz, David Jolicoeur) – 3:41
- featuring De La Soul
- "El Mañana" – 3:50
- "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead" – 4:54
- "November Has Come" (Gorillaz, Daniel Dumile) – 2:41
- featuring MF DOOM
- "All Alone" (Gorillaz, Rodney Smith, Simon Tong) – 3:30
- featuring Roots Manuva with backing vocals by Martina Topley-Bird
- "White Light" – 2:08
- "Dare" – 4:04
- featuring Shaun Ryder
- "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" – 3:16
- featuring Dennis Hopper
- "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" – 2:00
- "Demon Days" – 4:29
[edit] Bonus tracks
- "68 State" – 4:44
- first Japan release; B-side on British 7" single for "Feel Good Inc."
- "People" – 3:26
- second Japan release; B-side on British DVD single for "Dare"
- "Hong Kong" – 7:14
- live at Manchester Opera House (Grammy Edition USA and Japan release)
- "Hong Kong" – 6:39
- live at Manchester Opera House (shortened) (limited European 2006 reissue)
- "Happy Landfill" – 3:42
- available only on the limited edition DVD
- "The Swagga" – 4:57
- DVD-Audio track, available only on the limited edition DVD
[edit] Personnel
According to the album liner notes, the contributors were as follows:
[edit] Additional musicians
- Neneh Cherry – vocals
- Amanda Drummond – viola
- Isabelle Dunn – cello
- Dennis Hopper – spoken word
- Sally Jackson – violin
- Al Mobbs – double bass
- Prabjote Osahn – violin
- Stella Page – viola
- Antonia Pagulatos – violin
- Emma Smith – double bass
- Simon Tong – guitar
- Martina Topley-Bird – vocals
- Ike Turner – piano
- Rosie Wilson – backing vocals
- London Community Gospel Choir – choir
- San Fernandez Youth Chorus – children's choir
- MF DOOM - vocals
This list is exhaustive of the core fifteen tracks (see above), but does not include contributions to bonus tracks.
[edit] Production
- Danger Mouse – production, mixing
- Gorillaz – production, mixing
- Jason Cox – production, engineering, mixing
- James Dring – production
- Steve Sedgwick – mixing assistant
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- Jamie Hewlett and Zombie Flesh Eaters – design, artwork
[edit] Release details
The album was released in various countries:
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
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| Japan | May 11, 2005 | Toshiba-EMI | CD | TOCP 66380 |
| CD/DVD | TOCP 66381 | |||
| August 31, 2005 | CD | TOCP 66466 | ||
| March 8, 2006 | CD - Grammy Edition | TOCP 66534 | ||
| United Kingdom | May 23, 2005 | Parlophone | LP | 8738381 |
| CD | 8738382 | |||
| CD/DVD | 4744070 | |||
| United States | May 24, 2005 | Parlophone, Virgin | CD | 7243 8 73838 2 1 |
| CD/DVD | 7243 4 77304 0 5 |
[edit] References
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