Monkey - Journey To The West (2008)

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Damon Albarn and the rest of the people who made up Gorillaz have taken a relatively long hiatus from the internationally succesful elecro-pop-funk-rock group, whose last album was 2005's "Demon Days".

What have they been doing in the meantime?

The obvious answer; co-writing and co-creating an opera version of the ancient Chinese tale "Journey To The West".

The opera has been performed in the UK, and was an all-around success. It features artwork and design by Jamie Hewlett (the man behind the look of Gorillaz) and music largely compsed by Damon Albarn (of Blur fame).

I've got to say, I don't really know how interested I'd be in seeing the opera. For anyone who doesn't know, the TV series Monkey Magic was based on this story: the story of a monk traveling to India to find some sacred scrolls at the behest of Buddha, accompanied by a water spirit, a pig spirit and the Monkey king, dodging demons and more.

The series was brilliant in it's poorly-dubbed, over the top kung-fu-ness, and in that style of presentation the story was great. It was entertaining for kids and adults alike (I recently gave Season One to my Dad for Father's Day) and stands the test of time today, as it's messages are frequently that of Buddhism.

So how would that work as an opera? Probably pretty well, but probably not for me...

The soundtrack, however, is what I'm here to discuss. And how is it? It's kind of amazing. I reviewed the track Monkey Bee earlier this month, a promo single that provided a sneak-peek of the soundtrack as a whole. It was a jumbled cacophany at times, a mix of Chinese instrumentation and Gorillaz-esque electro beats, but it was also really interesting to listen to  - and pretty cool.

I'm not a fan of film score CDs; in fact, I only own one (Requiem For A Dream). I like the odd soundtrack but scores - orchestral or otherwise - have never really interested me. But this is an exception (Yeah, yeah ok, this isn't a film, it is an opera.... Anyway).

"Journey To The West" takes you on a journey that actually engages you, unlike many film scores when heard as separate from the film. Perhaps this is because Monkey's "Journey To The West" is/was an opera.

It is aurally engaging, creating beautiful landscapes interspersed with catchy and genuinely good music. Monkey Bee still stands as the most catchy standalone track, but if you can get your hands on this I highly recommend going at it as a whole.

This is a soundtrack to an age old story, and one that is worthy of the association.

RATING: 3 out of 5

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