Gorillaz guest vocalist Bobby Womack has said he believes Damon Albarn is as creative as Jimi Hendrix and Ray Charles.

Soul legend Womack, who made his live performance comeback after a stage absence of 15 years at the Gorillaz' recent Roundhouse shows, told The Sun that Albarn reminded him of some of the finest artists he has worked with.

"He's the same way [as Hendrix and Charles were]. He's very creative and thinks way out there, trying things that people don't try."

Womack -- who provided vocals for 'Stylo' and 'Cloud of Unknowing' on Gorillaz' third album 'Plastic Beach' -- also admitted he had no idea who Gorillaz were before Albarn approached them but is enjoying his time performing with the ever-expanding army of musicians and singers.

"There ain't no egos, these guys are cool," he said. "These guys know me better than I do."

Looking ahead to Gorillaz Autumn arena shows, including two dates at London's O2 Arena in September, Albarn told The Sun getting everyone together was a logistical nightmare: "You just don't get too stressed and accept that sometimes it's going to work out and sometimes it's not."

Flattering for Albarn, but I question Womack's frame of reference. Damon is undoubtedly 1000x more creative than I, but exactly how many contemporary musicians has Womack been around?

Given that he didn't compare Albarn to any contemporary musicians, why does it matter?

While Damon Albarn hasn't had as much of an impact on music as Hendrix or Ray Charles I'd agree that he is equally creative. Also I reach for his music much more than the other two.

I guess that was my way to say "Nice thing to say, but take this with a grain of salt"

agree with all of this.

You'd actually reach for Modern Life is Rubbish over Are You Experienced??

You'd actually reach for Modern Life is Rubbish over Are You Experienced??

i didn't say that. i said that i tend to listen to blur quite a bit more than hendrix or ray charles.

I took it as a nice throwaway compliment that I'm not sure is true but isn't as easy to quickly refute as if he said that Albarn is as important or as talented as Hendrix and Charles.

When you agreed with someone who said he'd 'reach for his music much more than the other two' I thought that equated with my question, but perhaps I was being a bit too specific.

You'd actually reach for Modern Life is Rubbish over Are You Experienced??

i didn't say that. i said that i tend to listen to blur quite a bit more than hendrix or ray charles.

Okay, I'll say it: it's stunningly ridiculous to place Albarn in the same sentence as Hendrix and Charles.

It's just womack's opinion.

Question... if albarn had demonstrated the same variety of output at the same rate, but was historically concurrent with charles or hendrix, could he have been as influential? I think he could have potentially been more influential, but you can't pick when you're born.