Rating:  -
While I think that Gorillaz' second album, Demon Days, is their best, I also enjoy their self-titled debut. It's definitely a different beast Demon Days, a dense, dark, swirling concoction. The production here is much looser and stripped down. And it reaches higher heights than its successor, including my two favorite Gorillaz songs: the trip-hop experiment "Clint Eastwood" and the funky, screwed-up "Rock the House", both featuring Del the Funkee Homo Sapien's memorable raps.
The interesting thing about this album is that it's like a pop album made by someone who's just the slightest bit insane. Not in the totally lost, Syd Barrett sense, but you know, just a bit out there. See, the tunes are hummable, but there's an aura of weird about each of them. Some, such as "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today", have weird instrumentation. Others, like "Re-Hash", "5/4" (with a refrain of "SHE TURNED MY DAD ON!" that you might find yourself singing under your breath without noticing it... until the people start staring, of course), and "19/2000", have odd lyrics. While "Rock the House", "Tomorrow Comes Today", "Re-Hash" and "5/4" are definitely highlights, I'm not a huge fan of the "album" take on "19/2000". I love the frenzied Soulchild remix, though. If you ask me, that should've been the album mix. The "album" take is all right, but doesn't convey the party atmosphere as well as the up-tempo take does.
There are other good songs, too: the trip-hoppin' "New Genious (Brother)" (sic), the house-influenced "Sound Check (Gravity)", and the bass solo "Double Bass", as well as the eerie regional bonus track "Dracula" (with bizarre lyrics like "Santa Claus told a lie") and the off-kilter "Left Hand Suzuki Method". But after "19/2000", the album turns crap and stays there for the last four tracks. For a first, "Latin Simone (Que Pasa Cognito)" sucks. Gorillaz try to reinvent themselves as a mariachi band there. Needless to say, it doesn't work out, and it might be the worst song they ever made. "Starshine" and "Slow Country" are awful as well, and the experimental metal "M1 A1" needs to go too. I'm also not big on the "weird-for-weird's-sake" "Man Research (Clapper)", and I don't care if "Punk" is only a minute and a half long, it sucks.
This is an interesting album, even if Gorillaz would do better on Demon Days. It's very creative, and like I said in my Demon Days review, I love how much effort Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett (the masterminds behind the project - Damon plays most the instruments, and Jamie designed the four "band members") put into fleshing out the four virtual members of Gorillaz, vocalist 2D, guitarist Noodle, bassist Murdoc, and drummer Russell. Good job!
Rating:  -
Just a punk funk fist full of love. I only love half these songs though...
Tomorrow comes today - alternative chillout experimental hip-hop
Man Research - something off the sopranos
Starshine is just a tweaker for shure.
Slow country - alternative chillout experimental pop
Rating: -
This cartoon band is the greatist, gorillaz has 4 wonderful characters, (2D) (vocals)(keybords), (Russel) (drumer), (Murdoc) (Bass), (Noodle) (guitar) is a great CD to start out with, If you want to learn more about this wonderful band I would get the book Rise Of The Ogre.
Ok lets talk about the music, the band is mostly made up of electronica, and regge, but has rap, pop, dub, and rock.
1. Re-Hash - Comes complete with wonky electronica, a colourful acoustic groove and damaged guitar, with 2D and noodle singing, dubby delays, some kebording. 8/10
2. 5/4 - This is one of those rocker songs, awsome guitar, which is in 5/4 timing, hense the name, hard beats, some electronic kebording. 9/10
3. Tomorrow Comes Today - Rumble in the urban jungle, bass combination, keybord, cool harmonica, vary dubish, good volcals, laze drum. 10/10
4. New Genious - The sound of old regge, tin pans clanging, some harmonica, violin, vary old sounding, with a tad of electronics. 8/10
5. Clint Eastwood - Signature tune for gorillaz, cymbals smashing, best 2D vocals, with the help of Del raping, best harmonica yet, great piano, with some electronics. 10/10
6. Man Research - Starts out with electronic insect noises, guitar ruffs, then a muffled beat, then DJ scratching, 2D's vocals, cool electronics. 8/10
7. Punk - Short song, but nothing short in sounding, this is a vary punk rock, starts out with twirling electronics, with a muffled beat, then guitar riffs, hands claping, 2D throwing up, hard beats. 9/10
8. Sound Check (Gravity) - World of digital dub ragge, song starts with crickets cherping, acoustic guitar, dogs barking in backround, 2D's vocals, then awsome DJ scratching, and beats, and bubbling electronics. 10/10
9. Double Bass - My favorite track of the CD, this is a mentally unsteay piece of inebriated breakbeat psychedelia is a great instrumental song, this track is the sound 2D imagined, Russel got a machine that could make any thoght turn into music, you can hear every pluck of the double bass, with a simple beat, wash bord, and the best guitar riffs ever, same with the cool keybording, the song stalls with 2D saying "all of which makes me anxious, at times unbearably so", great chill song. 20/10
10.Pock the House - An ok track, with a lethargic rap from Del, with trumpet, cool breakbeat, flute, and piano. 7/10
11. 19-2000 - A collage of bleeps, bloops, sonds like a video game, with the help of some of Noodle's vocals, and bubbleing noises, a good song. 8/10
12. Latin Simone - A vibrant, smoky Cuban track, with vocals from Ibrahim Ferrer, has a Latin style, good beat, Latin horns, an ok song.
7/10
13. starshine - Starts with cool beat, then a creeping guitar riff, bass, 2D's vocals, muffled twirling electronics, sounds like video game noises.
9/10
14. Slow Country - Starts with a beat, combined with an elelctronic breeze, awsome piano, 2D's vocals, electronic keybording. 9/10
15. M1A1 - Starts with 2D saying , "helo", "helo", "Is anyone there", slowly the guitar rising, then full force rock, hard beats, riffing guitar, 2D's vocals, Murdoc yelling. 10/10
16. Dracula - The hunting sound of Dracula, is great regge song, many electronics, saxaphone, and 2D's vocals, mixed so well that Dracula would love it. 9/10
17. Left Hand Suzuki Method - is another one my favorite tracks, starts with a eerie sound, then a hard beat and guitar, Noodle speaking Japanise, and violin mixed with a honky-tonk piano. 10/10
Over all you'll fall in love with this great band!
Rating:  -
Ive read a good chunk of the reviews for this album, and as much as it pains me, I have to disagree with most of them.
My understanding of this album (while I may be wrong) is that this album was originally done as a sort of joke, a cynical view of hip-hop music and culture by the creator of Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, one of the members of the alternative band, Blur. Based on that assesment, this album is a triumph.
While some of the songs are decent and perhaps worth a listen (Re-hash, Clint Eastwood, perhaps a couple of more) the majority of the album is poorly produced, the music is thin and uninteresting, the raps are corny and very "MC Hammer", and, if anything, I get the impression that the creators of Gorillaz may have been surprised by the reception the album received, mainly due to the hit "Clint Eastwood" one of the few redeemable songs on the album.
Of course, that is just my take, and it could be that this album was a definate effort from the creators of Gorillaz, but one major thing gives me pause at believing that: Gorillaz second effort, Demon Days.
This is not a Demon Days review, so I won't go into detail, but it is sufficed to say, that in light of the smooth, hypnotic tunes of Demon Days, and the obviousness of the effort that went into it, "Gorillaz" seems like they were messing around, then realized they may have actually had something (again, based on the perhaps unforeseen success of "Clint Eastwood") then went back, this time taking the time and care needed to craft a superb album.
In the end, "Gorillaz" is more bad then good. There are a couple of stand out songs that you may want to download via Itunes, such as Clint Eastwood and the Souldchild Remix of 19-2000 (a light, fun track, vastly superior to its original counterpart). For me, the real test of a good album is how long it has played in my car.
This one I played about 2 times.
Rating: -
Then again, it's a lot more than either punk or hip-hop can fully cover. It is basically everything you have ever heard, but reimagined in a completely different way. Every track on here is great, and not just good, which is something the I can't say for most CDs, including the Gorillaz' own Demon Days album.
The first Gorillaz CD is to Gorillaz as Nevermind was to Nirvana. It is the timeless classic that can be listened to over and over again without a likely chance of growing tired of it. While this CD is less of an acquired taste than the first CD is, and is still very good, it's not as good.
Danger Mouse pales in comparison to Dan the Automater's producing skills in the first work. The reason for this is in the variety. Danger Mouse has set a tone that plays throughout the CD, with each and every track. Dan the Automater on the other hand, delivered a CD with so much variety there would have to be something for everyone. Whereas CD 1 covered the broad range of reggae, Latin, punk, pop, rock, dance, rap, hip-hop, DJ, ska, and just about every type of music available, this CD sticks its feet in firm territory and never moves.
CD 1 is for the music in general lover, CD 2 is for those like the one particular sound that can be heard in most of the Gorillaz more recent videos. If you had to choose between the two, I'd go with CD 1 first, and then maybe get CD 2 later, when you get the chance.
Just make sure CD 1 comes with Dracula, Suzuki Left Hand Method, and the Clint Eastwood/19-2000 remixes as well... as most of original Gorillaz albums these days should have. You wanna get the most for your money after all.
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