Demon Days
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Demon Days | ||
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| Studio album by Gorillaz | ||
| Released | May 23, 2005 | |
| Recorded | Kong Studios & 13 | |
| Genre | Rock, Hip Hop, Electronica | |
| Length | 50:49 | |
| Label | Parlophone, EMI, Virgin | |
| Producer(s) | Gorillaz, Danger Mouse, Jason Cox, James Dring | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| Gorillaz chronology | ||
| Laika Come Home (2002) |
Demon Days (2005) |
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Demon Days is the second studio album by the Gorillaz, first released in May 2005. It is the band's first studio album of new material since their self-titled debut album Gorillaz.
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, which was used in "Dirty Harry".
Demon Days entered the UK charts at #1 and the US charts at #6, outperforming their 2001 debut, while lead single "Feel Good Inc." became their biggest hit (UK #2, US #14) at the time. The second single, "DARE" featuring Shaun Ryder, became a big hit as well, giving the band their first #1 single in the UK.
The album was first mentioned in articles detailing the reopening of the Gorillaz' website on 8 December 2004. At first a March or April 2005 release date was announced but later pushed back to the date it was finally released. 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 and to date there has been no word of any release. In early April 2005 the album was leaked onto the internet.
In early August 2005, the winner for the "Search for a Star" competition (link) was announced. One of the prizes includes collaborating with the group in some form on the fourth single from the album, "Kids With Guns" / "El Mañana".
Since its release, Demon Days has been certified double platinum in the US (2 million copies shipped) and certified 5 times platinum in the UK (1,500,000 copies shipped). This album was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005.
This album has been released with the Copy Control protection system in some regions.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Intro" (Gorillaz, Don Harper) – 1:03
- "Last Living Souls" (Gorillaz) – 3:10
- "Kids With Guns" (Gorillaz) – 3:45
- features Neneh Cherry
- "O Green World" (Gorillaz) – 4:31
- "Dirty Harry" (Gorillaz, Romye Robinson) – 3:43
- features Bootie Brown and the Children's Choir of San Fernandez
- "Feel Good Inc." (Gorillaz, David Jolicoeur) – 3:41
- features De La Soul
- "El Mañana" (Gorillaz) – 3:50
- "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead" (Gorillaz) – 4:53
- features Ike Turner
- "November Has Come" (Gorillaz, Daniel Dumile) – 2:41
- features MF DOOM
- "All Alone" (Gorillaz, Rodney Smith, Simon Tong) – 3:30
- features Roots Manuva and Martina Topley-Bird
- "White Light" (Gorillaz) – 2:08
- "DARE" (Gorillaz) – 4:04
- features Shaun Ryder and Rosie Wilson
- "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" (Gorillaz) – 3:16
- features Dennis Hopper
- "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" (Gorillaz) – 2:00
- features the London Community Gospel Choir
- "Demon Days" (Gorillaz) – 4:28
- features the London Community Gospel Choir
[edit] Bonus tracks
- "68 State" (first Japan release, also a B-side on the British 7" single for "Feel Good Inc.")
- "People" (second Japan release, also a B-side on the British DVD single for "DARE")
- "Hong Kong" (live at Manchester Opera House) (Grammy Edition USA & Japan release)
- "We Are Happy Landfill" (the title-track when the album was to be named "We Are Happy Landfill"; available only through the Limited Edition DVD)
- "The Swagga" (DVD-Audio track, available only on the Limited Edition DVD)
- "Rock It" (a track from when the album was to be named "Reject False Icons")
[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, and a DVD containing the video (with audio commentary) and an animatic for the video "Feel Good Inc." as well as the two Gorillaz Bites "Gorillaz Talent Quest" and "Gorillaz On Set" (short animated films featuring the band), an audio track named "The Swagga" and online access to exclusive sections of the website, with various wallpapers and screensavers, as well as a crowbar, allowing you to open the locked cupboard in the kitchen on Gorillaz.com and download the song "Happy Landfill". As of 5 December 2005, the limited edition has been re-released for a limited amount of time due to popular demand.
[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] Personnel
- 2D (Damon Albarn) - vocals, keyboards
- Murdoc Niccals - bass
- Noodle - guitar
- Russel Hobbs - drums
- Amanda Drummond - viola
- Isabelle Dunn - cello
- Sally Jackson - violin
- Al Mobbs - double bass
- Prabjote Osahn - violin
- Stella Page - viola
- Antonia Pagulatos - violin
- Emma Smith - double bass
- Simon Tong - additional guitar
- Ike Turner - piano solo, guitar
- Rosie Wilson - backing vocals
[edit] Gorillaz on Demon Days
In an interview with ireallylovemusic.co.uk, 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."
Though he hadn't said much about the album itself, Murdoc did have this much to say about his bandmate 2D:
- Murdoc Niccals- "You never grew up, twerp. You're like a five year-old trapped in a blue-haired, anorexic girl."
[edit] Release details
The album was released in various countries:
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 11 May 2005 | Toshiba-EMI | CD | TOCP 66380 |
| CD/DVD | TOCP 66381 | |||
| 31 August 2005 | CD | TOCP 66466 | ||
| 8 March 2006 | CD - Grammy Edition | TOCP 66534 | ||
| United Kingdom | 23 May 2005 | Parlophone | LP | 8738381 |
| CD | 8738382 | |||
| CD/DVD | 4744070 | |||
| Australia | 23 May 2005 | Capitol | CD | 3116882 |
| CD/DVD | 4744140 | |||
| United States | 24 May 2005 | Parlophone, Virgin | CD | 7243 8 73838 2 1 |
| CD/DVD | 7243 4 77304 0 5 |
[edit] Cover images
 UK, US, Japan |
 Taiwan (CD/DVD) |
 Japan (2nd release) |
 Japan (Grammy Edition) |
| Gorillaz |
| 2D | Murdoc Niccals | Noodle | Russel Hobbs |
| Gorillaz discography |
|---|
| Albums and EPs: Tomorrow Comes Today | Gorillaz | G-Sides | Laika Come Home | Demon Days |
| DVDs: Phase One: Celebrity Take Down | Demon Days Live | Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades |
| Singles: Clint Eastwood | 19-2000 | Rock the House | 911 | Tomorrow Comes Today | Lil' Dub Chefin' | Feel Good Inc. | DARE | Dirty Harry | Kids With Guns / El Mañana |
| Related articles |
| Britpop | Blur | Damon Albarn | Jamie Hewlett | Dan the Automator | Danger Mouse | Del tha Funkee Homosapien | Zombie Flesh Eaters | Passion Pictures | Deltron 3030 | Gorillaz movie | Rise Of The Ogre |
