Gorillaz - Gorillaz
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Free Music Notes for Gorillaz
Free Music Review: Groundbreaking, but falls short of Great
Hit: 3 Stars
Popular music in the 1990s saw the rise of Grunge music. Grunge music would soon make its way into the mainstream becoming one of the dominant forms of popular music. By the time the 2000s came about, Grunge was moving toward the background and an offshoot of Grunge called "Post Grunge" began to take its place. The elements of Post Grunge music contain simple chord progressions and gentle verses followed by louder choruses. For whatever reason, Post Grunge sounds now seems to be the dominant form of music. Many longtime popular music fans have accused this type of music of being very "cookie cutter" and all sounding the same. I feel there is validity in that statement. As a result, the popular music scene has become in desperate need of some new type of sound to take hold of. Back when Nirvana came around and led the revolution in the music scene through Grunge - it was something radical and different (helping to end the Synth Pop era). Now with the remnants of Grunge through Post Grunge, the music business seems in need of some radical and different sound. This is what has attracted me to the band "Gorillaz". While I wouldn't call it my favorite type of sound, there is no doubt that Gorillaz can be looked upon as something that is groundbreaking in the music industry. While Gorillaz may seem groundbreaking because they are an animated band, it is their sound that also must be considered groundbreaking. This sound can be heard on their self titled debut album - "Gorillaz".
I must admit, I have not bought into the whole concept of a virtual, animated band. I do question if several years after this review is written whether they will continue to ride a wave of success. However, one can't argue - at the time of this review they have made it work - both on their debut album and especially on their hugely successful follow-up "Demon Days". The style of both of these albums incorporate a variety of many styles - Funk, Hip-Hop, Big Band, Orchestral, Rock, and Pop. Gorillaz debut album would be the album that would lay the foundation for this style of music. "Demon Days" would pick up this sound and build a conceptual theme around it. While the self-titled "Gorillaz" doesn't have the strong conceptual theme that "Demon Days" has - it does demonstrate the groundbreaking sound offered by the band. In a lot of ways, I think the fact that Gorillaz is an animated band overshadows the sound that Gorillaz constructed on this album.
I'm not going to say that this sound is the greatest thing since sliced bread - because its not. There are times where I thought the end product was not very entertaining from a musical perspective. However, I still give credit for the band for doing something different and avoiding the cookie cutter sound of recent years.
One great example of this groundbreaking sound is found on the primarily instrumental track, "Double Bass". As indicated by the titled - you basically hear a double bass. You can literally hear the plucking of the bass strings on parts of the song. The guitar laden sounds of post grunge aren't here - instead you get some very clever use of keyboards. "Rock the House" is another track that shows Gorillaz thinking out of the box. The song might have a Hip Hop feel, but Gorillaz surrounds the song with a "Game Show" instrumental like sound. While I'm not the biggest Hip Hop fan, the game show sound works. Another song that shows Gorillaz thinking beyond the box is "Latin Simone". As indicated by the title, Gorillaz incorporates a Latin sound. With some classic Latin sounding vocals and melodies, Gorillaz manages to put a haunting spin on the song - and this really works well. On "Tomorrow Comes Today", Gorillaz combines elements of Rhythm and Blues with a strong emphasis on "Blues" on parts of this track. This song might be the strongest track on the collection. "5/4" might include the simple guitar riffs found in post Grunge, but the Hip Hop vocals and terrific background vocals will quickly erase any similarities to a cookie-cutter sound.
There are two tracks that appear twice - as originals and "remixes" - each with different results. The "original" "Clint Eastwood" (Track 5) has a slow tempo with more of a classical Hip Hop feel to it. This contrasts to the faster-paced remix found on the last track. Some how I found the remix to be the better track. Just like "Clint Eastwood", I found the remix of "19-2000" on Track 18 to be far superior to the original version of this track that is found on Track 11. The original version has a slower tempo with a Hip Hop flavor while the remix has a faster, more mainstream feel. The beat to the remix even sounds like an up-tempo "Iko Iko".
At the same time, there are some weaker tracks. While these tracks don't exhibit the cookie-cutter feel to Post Grunge songs, they still don't make me do handstands. Songs such as "New Genius (Brother Mix)", "Man Research (Clapper)", "Starshine", "Slow Country", "M1 A1", and "Left Hand Suzuki Method" can't be faulted for originality - but they didn't really inspire me. For example, "Left Hand Suzuki Method" makes use of some orchestral qualities - but I just didn't find it to be a standout track.
One should be warned. While the animated band may be attractive to children, the music on this album does contain explicit language. Parents should also be warned that even the animated short is not something that is what I would term "Kid Friendly". I wish the liner notes did contain the lyrics. Overall, the groundbreaking sound gives this album a boost. It also sets a foundation for Gorillaz to even do better on their subsequent works. I'd still recommend it.
Free Music Review: I'm dissapointed!
Hit: 3 Stars
I bought the last album by "Gorillaz" about a year ago and I liked it. Then I decided to get this album,and today I borowed it from my friend. I thought this one will be as good as "Demon days". However,I'm dissapointed - this album is 10 times worse than "Demon days". I'll rate every song on this album:
1. Rehash - This one sounded very good at the begining. But later it just became boring. 3/5
2. 5/4 - The only thing I like here is the begining. The rest is just terrible. 2/5
3. Tomorrow comes today - This one isn't bad,but isn't good either. It's average. 2/5
4. New genious - The melody is pretty catchy. I read other reviews,it looks like this song is one of the favorites. 4/5
5. Clint Eastwood - The refrain in this song is great. However, the rapping isn't. I also think that the last minute is just a time filler. 4/5
6. Man Research - I hate this song mainly because singer's voice sounds really irritating. Awful song,probably my least favorite on this album. 1/5
7. Punk - A short song,probably a filler. However,it's not that bad. I think it sounds a bit like "White light". 3/5
8. Sound chack - This song is clearly one of my favorites on this album. It has many cool sound efects. 4/5
9. Double bass - An instrumental. This one is probably the best song on the album. I really enjoyed while listening. 4/5
10. Rock the house - This song is pure rap. And I'm not a big fan of rap music. I don't like it,but it's still not bad. 2/5
11. 19-2000 - I thought this will be good,because I heard this is one of the favorites. But I don't like it. 2/5
12. Latin Simone - What the f*** is this??? An electronic latin music? This album is just getting worse! 1/5
13. Starshine - I liked this song until the singer appeared. Bad singing brought many songs down,just like this one. 3/5
14. Slow country - Another bad song. The piano sounds interesting,but the rest is terrible. 2/5
15. M1 A1 - An OK song. It's not bad,but it's still far from great. I like the yelling part at the begining. 3/5
There were 6 songs on "Demon days" that got 5/5 from me. But, on this album,there were no songs that got 5/5. Not a single A!
Overall,I gave this album 3 stars. I'm pretty sad,because I thought it will be better.
Free Music Review: new & yet classic gorillaz music
Hit: 5 Stars
Listened to it so often I scratched it all up & needed to buy a new one.Free Music Review: Demon Days is better
Hit: 2 Stars
I first became a fan of the Gorillaz with their excellent 2nd CD, Demon Days. The interesting thing about this band is that their music is so strange and so "out there" that when you first hear one of their CD's...it sounds like complete garbage. But once you listen again and again, you start to like it more and more. Eventually you end up really liking the CD.
That was the case with Demon Days. After enjoying that CD fully, I thought I should check out the first Gorillaz CD, and I didn't like it all that much.
There just seems to be very little actual songs on the CD. Way too much of it sounds like complete filler. There were a couple throwaway songs on Demon Days, but most of the stuff on that CD was great. Here, we've got songs that are just...boring. Nothing happens. I was waiting for the melody or a cool tune to occur in some of these songs, but it never happens. You just listen to 2-D whining into the microphone with dull beats in the background. (Such as on songs like New Genious, Man Research, and Starshine.) Some songs are nothing but beats with no lyrics at all, sometimes sounding just like static noise. Songs like this, such as Double Bass, are cool for a minute or two, but the song drags on for practically 5 minutes. It gets boring. Other songs, like 5/4, M1 A1, and Rock the House are catchy at first, but just don't have staying power. They get old. 5/4 got annoying quickly, M1 A1 and Punk lost their appeal quickly, and Rock the House is another song that would have been better if they cut about 2 minutes out of it. And songs like Latin Simone are just annoying.
The remixes of 19-2000 and Clint Eastwood that end the CD are also fairly forgettable, although 19-2000's kind of catchy on the first couple listens.
There are some good songs here, though. Tomorrow Comes Today, Clint Eastwood, Gravity, 19-2000, and Left Hand Suzuki Method are cool songs. Slow Country's kind of cool, too. And Dracula's got an awesome, almost haunting sound to it, and it's really absorbing. Although it too, unfortuantely, loses its tune and turns to repetitive and aimless techno noise about half way through it. This small collection of good songs, though, is surrounded by a huge collection of filler tracks. Much of this CD just isn't really that good.
I don't know...this CD just seemed empty. Very few meaningful tracks, lots of filler, and some really annoying and repetitive songs. Some good songs were stretched to almost 5-minutes long, mostly given filler techno beats that ruin the songs. Clocking in at 72 minutes, (which makes it 22 minutes(!)longer than Demon Days) this CD was loaded with filler and just not enough good stuff. People interested in The Gorillaz should pick up their superior follow-up, Demon Days, instead of this one. If I listened to this debut CD first, I probably wouldn't have ended up liking this band very much. The good news about this is that the Gorillaz have not hit a sophmore slump; their CDs are getting better, not worse. That is a great sign for the future of this awesome band.
Free Music Review: Just great
Hit: 5 Stars
Usually 'mtv' music hurts my ears and my brain but I have to say I find both this and Demon Days to be really great stuff.
I've listened to both CDs about more times than I can count would have to call this one my favorite. Its just a little edgier, a litte more upbeat, and a little more fun. Either way, both are great and for 10 bucks you really cant go wrong here.