Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
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Free Music Notes for The Odd Couple
Free Music Review: unique
Hit: 5 Stars
i give 'odd couple' 4 1/2 stars as it is a unique feel good cd that can cross various music genres.
Free Music Review: Great follow-up.
Hit: 5 Stars
Takes a little longer to get into than "St. Elsewhere," but ultimately, ends up being a far better album.Free Music Review: Great CD!
Hit: 5 Stars
I purchased this album for my husband, and he just loves it! I am very pleased with my purchase!Free Music Review: Crazy But Not Quite Like "Crazy"
Hit: 4 Stars
The exprimental 2006 collaboration between R&B singer/Rapper Cee-Lo (ex Goodie Mob) and Producer Danger Mouse who worked with Gorrillaz and the world's most reserved Rapper/Producer MF DOOM (who always wears a mask not to reveal his face) proved successful. The odd couple known as Gnarls Barkley scored one of that years biggest hits with "Crazy" from debut album St. Elsewhere The music they delivered was odd, witty, playful and very exprimental with samples from all kinds of genres. The paranoid hit "Crazy" had sampled some obscure Spaghetti Western from the 60's and further proved what you can do if you have fantasy, humour and alot of time on your hands. The rest of the album had it's moments aswell even if the oddity that you found on song number 12 was a bit too much in my opinion. However, "Crazy" became the only hit from "St Elsewhere" and the album eventually sold almost 4 million copies, far more then they ever thought it would do. Gnarls Barkley had no other choise then to get back into the studio and record it's successor, "The Odd Couple" and it's released just two years after.
Before getting into their new album let's start by saying that the whole point with their debut album was to explore new territory, not only musically but also within themselves and to have fun during the process. And "St Elsewhere" succeeded with finding new angles of two very strong personalities and also to make remarkable music that was both unique and challenging. That "Crazy" became such a big hit and closely associated with them was just a bonus and perhaps at times even a liability. On their sophmore effort they don't try to re-create "Crazy" nor making overly commercial radio singles, instead they dig deeper into their creative minds and the end result is something rather diffrent with alot of dark midtempo's that are innovative but take more listens to enjoy. Having said that, the album is still unpredictable, charming and funny at it's best and should atleast make some people content. The album gets a good start with "Charity Case", a beautiful slowtempo with distorted female vocals. Next up is "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" a somber slowtempo which feature a very powerful performnce by Cee-Lo but the song itself is dark and depressing. "Going On" is most likely about dying. It got this very catchy electro beat sound on it's hook and I'd say it's one of the best and most engaging songs. "Run" is the closest you got to "Crazy" cause it's the only uptempo this album offers. It got this 60's rock feeling mix with dance music and surely got the hit potential aswell. The lyrics go like "You can't win child,
/We've all tried too/ You've been lied to/ It's already inside you
/Either you run right now, or you best get ready to die" I'm not sure wether the songs refers to running away from danger or run to the floor to dance? That's the brilliance of GB's unpredictable lyrics. "Would Be Killer" on the other hand is just to dark and obscure when Cee-Lo sings he's some kind of evil-minded serial killer. Infact, he sound rather evil here. "Open Book" feature tribal drums and a hard electro beat and plenty of shouts of desperation. Another really odd number. On the 60 pop esque "Whatever" Cee-Lo sounds whiny for the major part and sings about a lonewolf kid that doesn't have any friends. The song is actually whatever to me. Cee-Lo offers some of his best lyrics on "Surprise", yet another 60's sounding pop/soul song. The lyrics here are ironic but that's not surprising?.
Breakup song, or is it about death again? "No Time Soon" is exprimental and melancholy but this time it works rather well cause of it's beautiful sound. "She Knows" seems to be a love song or something in that way, it's slow but forgettable. I couldn't quite figure out wether "Blind Mary" is a love song about a blind girl or to a certain Mary Jane. It's anyone's guess. I found the lyrics "She's my friend she doesn't judge me/ She has no idea I'm ugly/ So I have absolutely nothing to hide/because I'm so much prettier inside" to be rather funny actually. Aparently Cee-Lo got issues with his neighbours aswell on the next song called "Neighbour", when everything was already going wrong atleast he could have been more lucky with this. The song is once again sang in a melancholy and somewhat sarcastic mood. "A Little Better" seems to be about dying too. Not too remarkable, but it's sang in a faster way then most songs here. With 13 songs it closes the album.
Overall, Some people are gonna love this and say it's ultimately one of the most exprimental, creative and original albums of the year, while others will say it's too exprimental, too somber and lacking from the obvious big hit single. At times this album is absolutely brilliant and it feels more coherant then their first one with it's themes and sound, on other occasions it's just to "artistic" and there are a few songs that could have been left out. Some more uptempo's wouldn't hurt and I miss Cee-Lo rapping. But the final outcome of this album isn't surprising me alot, Gnarls Barkley doesn't compromise nor settle for pretty radio hits. This project is all about exprimentation and getting the best out of themselves. And they suceed with that for the major part. However, It does have it's points with rich sound, smart lyrics and alot versatility in Cee-Lo's vovals. If you feel like this is what you asked for from the start, you should give it a try but people that expected them to make more songs like "Crazy" should be forewarned. Final rate 3'5. I certainly hope to hear more from them in the future.
Free Music Review: Pretty on the inside.
Hit: 4 Stars
Gnarls Barkley are back for their second go around, and not much has changed. Two years ago, I felt their debut was one of the most over-hyped releases of 2006, and I still stand by that claim. "The Odd Couple" is slightly better, but the duo didn't really capitalize on their debut, they just did more of the same, only to a less annoying extent.
I can't put my finger on what the problem is, but it seems to me that Gnarls Barkley try too hard. Listening to "St. Elsewhere" and "The Odd Couple", they both sound very labored. "The Odd Couple" has both strong and weak tracks. "Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)", the first single, could be interpreted as either exciting or irritating. It's so manic that it can get on the nerves after repeated listens. I think the first single should have been "Going On" or "Blind Mary", and then "Surprise" or "Neighbors". "Charity Case" and "Whatever" are also good, along with "Who's Gonna Save My Soul". One of the more interesting tracks, "Open Book" shows Gnarls Barkley stretching themselves in a different direction, but sadly, it's only that one song.
"Would Be Killer", "No Time Soon", "She Knows" and "A Little Better" slow the cd down and seem like filler to me.
Overall, I liked "The Odd Couple" slightly better, but I keep wondering if they're going to do something different. Maybe to others they sound original and innovative, but to me they sound like Terence Trent D'Arby meets James Brown meets Sam & Dave. They're mining ground that's already been mined. "Open Book" is maybe more like Tricky or other drum 'n' bass artists, but it was a different direction that was interesting to me.
Perhaps on their next cd they will stop trying to throw everything but the kitchen sink into their mix and instead focus their talents on a more cohesive album. Four stars, not five. Above average, but not great.