Following the worldwide, unparalleled critical acclaim for 2006's St. Elsewhere and their record breaking hit "Crazy," Gnarls Barkley is set to release their sophomore album this April. Titled, The Odd Couple, the album features 13 tracks of new material from Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green. The first single, "Run" has been met with rave reviews, and The Odd Couple is without question one of the most anticipated releases of 2008.
With its cinematic origins The Odd Couple is the natural title for the second album by a pair who seem to spend as much time in wardrobe as the studio and whose recordings are often compared to film scores. Their greatest hit, 2006's "Crazy" was even built around a chunk of a spaghetti western soundtrack. Yet after the success of 2006's excellent St Elsewhere, the collaboration of singer Thomas "Cee-Lo Green" Callaway and producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton has become a permanent institution. The Odd Couple certainly lives up to expectations, and though there is no obvious smash to match "Crazy", it's a smoother affair than their often hyperactive debut, the unsettling "Open Book" aside. Highlights include the excellent, agitated lead-off single "Run", a smart slice of off kilter pop-soul, and its most obvious successor, the instant classic "Surprise". "Going On" manages to weld an eighties pomp-pop introduction to a surprisingly vulnerable Cee-Lo performance while the plaintive, bluesy "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" catches him at his most soulful. "Whatever" is a cute, rather bratty sixties pastiche halfway to Britpop (though no Englishman ever used the expression "y'all") while the warped bubblegum pop of "Blind Mary" and the more traditionally ominous "Would Be Killer" are opposite sides of the same twisted coin. Informed by rap and dance, but occupying their own unique genre, Gnarls Barkley continue to soundtrack the movie that, so far, exists only in their heads. --Steve Jelbert
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
No Slump For This Couple:
So okay, this second effort is not as good as the first one, but solid none the less. Its like the girl who looks really hot at the club and then you get to see her on Wednesday out and about. Without the dark lights she may not look as good but still worth serious consideration. Take this album home and you'll see where I'm coming from.
"Is it possible you were hurting worse than me?":
Gnarls Barkley's second album is a good step forward for the duo. It's not what I'd call better than their debut, but it's hard to say it's worse, and it's definitely more focused. It's not quite as fun, but it's still plenty entertaining. There aren't any crazy songs like "Transformer", but they still have some fun in between some more depressing and downbeat songs. Despite the shift in tone, it's identifiably the same band, with Danger Mouse coming up with some great beats and Cee-Lo providing nice... more info
Greeaaaaaattttttttttt!:
I love this CD! Its kinda a psychadellic, rock mix. Each song is just long enough not to bore you.
good not great:
The CD works excellent but...the case was cracked when I got it and I don't think it was because of the sipping. So....good but not a great experience.
