In 2007, Damon Albarn has been busy unveiling new musical projects like The Good, The Bad and The Queen, and the opera Monkey: Journey to the West at the Manchester International Festival. The next cab off the rank is this collection of B-sides, re-rubs, remixes, and other interpretations from the Demon Days’ sessions. This one is called D-Sides.

The 2CD package contains extended riffs, cut scenes, inspirations, and unfinished sketches. Beginning optimistically with 68 State, the analog drum machine sound and progressive bass line starts things off on the right foot. People recalls the riff of Dare, but with a bored Britpop vocal urging this listener to press ‘next’. This happens with a couple of other tracks on this CD too. We Are Happy Landfill and Murdoc is God feel like ideas that are ill or not fully formed.

To be fair, there are some of Albarn’s tunes here that work a treat. The eastern & meditative Hong Kong is an interesting mix of countless instruments and forceful reflection. Spitting Out The Demons has a dirty bassline that plods along like drunken demon down a dark alley, along with a delightful stabbing funk guitar riff. Stop The Dams is a beautiful melodic ditty featuring the Reykjavik West End Brass Band. I do recall the first two Gorillaz albums appearing uneven after a first listen and then becoming clearer and more wonderful as the tunes filter through. But I can’t see that happening with D-Sides as the highlights are few and far between.

Disc 2 consists of tracks from Demons Days remixed by other artists. Feel Good Inc by the Stanton Warriors is the most successful and will go down as the most definitive of all the countless remixes of that iconic track. Dare was the other big hit from the Gorillaz’ last LP and gets the treatment not once, but three times, from DFA, Soulwax, and Junior Sanchez respectively. Kids With Guns also gets done over three ways from Jamie T, Hot Chip, and Quiet Village. This CD is easily the more attractive of the two with some kickass interpretations of tracks we all know & love from respected producers.

This is second B-side compilation from this artist, the first being G-sides a few years ago. The bare, uncoloured, and inoffensive doodlings of Jamie Hewlett’s Gorillaz characters that adorn this release reflect the uneven work inside. I think of B-side collections as similar to the ‘deleted scenes’ sections on DVDs. If they were any good, they wouldn’t be cut from the film. Or in this case, the LP.