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6. Monkey: Journey To The West (2008): Albarn teamed with Chinese actor/director Chen Shi-zheng and visual artist/Gorillaz collaborator Jamie Hewlett on this stage adaptation of a classical Chinese novel. And while the three can share blame for the reportedly uneven stage production, Albarn alone must face the music for … the music. Yes, he deserves credit for such an ambitious and unusual undertaking, employing Chinese instrumentation and eschewing his strong pop sensibilities; yes, the experience is incomplete when undertaken on a stereo instead of on a stage. But no -- no one is listening to Monkey anymore. It's sonically inconsistent and unclear, and worst of all, just boring.
