Looking at photos of Monkey: Journey To The West, an opera created by Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur), artist Jamie Hewlett, and director Chen Shi-Zheng, I was immediately taken by the spectacle: vibrant colors, stunning stage sets, beautiful costuming, elaborate choreography. I'm sure the photos don’t even do justice to the production, but it made me want to fly to London to see the show.
In many ways, the album Journey To The West serves as the listener’s ticket to London. Performed by an assortment of European and Chinese musicians/singers and produced by Albarn, the album is proposed as “a natural development of art and music based on the opera.” But regardless of how many theaters this opera opens in, the true measure of its reach will be whether those outside the performing arts world are exposed to the music and find worth in it. In other words, can the music stand alone without the story and theatrics? Does Journey To The West offer a “One Night In Bangkok” for the masses?
Unfortunately, not really. While there are a few moments of sonic bliss on Journey To The West, too many of the tracks are either forgettable or half-baked. With the bulk of the songs clocking in at under two minutes, it's not surprising that most of the album plays like filler for the handful of substantial material presented. Sadly, substantial doesn’t always equal enjoyable. Perhaps it's due to a disconnect with the Eastern voices and song structures, but tracks like “The Dragon King” and “Confessions Of A Pig” sure don't encourage much interest.
It's not all bad though. Standout track “Heavenly Peach Banquet” is a gorgeous, lilting song that sounds like a lost Cocteau Twins track performed by Elizabeth Frazier’s Mandarin doppelgänger. Other noteworthy moments include the Stereolab-esque “Monkey Bee,” the dark chorus number “March Of The Iron Army,” and the beautiful (but too short) “The Living Sea.” But even these tracks are lacking, especially without the full production. This is due in part to the absence of Jamie Hewlett’s art contributions, which seem equally vital to the music and production. The visuals that accompany Monkey are simply gorgeous and would have provided much-needed coherency to the music (a fancy limited-edition box set version of the album includes four exclusive art prints, each stamped and numbered, one signed and dated.)
Albarn’s thirst for musical adventure is commendable, but unless you’re obsessed with his every move or have been dreaming of the day a former Brit pop king fuses the sensibilities of Eastern opera and Western pop, Monkey just doesn’t warrant your full attention.
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