Gorillaz - Gorillaz
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Category: Music CD
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CD Details
Artist: GorillazEdition: Music CD
Format: Enhanced, Explicit Lyrics
CD Release Date: 2001-06-19
Music Label: Virgin Records Us
Soundtracks:
- Re-hash
- 5/4
- Tomorrow Comes Today
- New Genious (Brother)
- Clint Eastwood
- Man Research (Clapper)
- Punk
- Sound Check (Gravity)
- Double Bass
- Rock The House
- 19-2000
- Latin Simone
- Starshine
- Slow Country
- M1 A1
- Dracula
- Left Hand Suzuki Method
Music reviews of Gorillaz
Music Review: A Decent, Avant-Garde Listen, but Inconsistent
Rating: 3 Stars
Gorillaz is definitely one of the more noticeable musical experiments of the passing decade. The idea of a cartoon character band, devised by Blur's Damon Albarn and comic book artist Jamie Hewlett ("Tank Girl"), was enough to catch my interest. The music that sprung from this unusual premise of a 'band' caught my ear, as well. This namesake album covers a wide variety of genres - everything from soul-funk to hard rock, psychadelic keyboard strolls to Latino-jazz.
The album features a number of quite interesting and compelling musical pieces. "5/4", with a beat inspiring the title, is a very sultry song fusing guitar and keyboards almost deliberately brutally, and the result is very compelling. Most will recognise "Clint Eastwood" with its instantly-catchy chorus. "Punk" is a short but highly energetic track with a title that couldn't be more appropriate. "19-2000" sounds really space-y and cool (I still love the video for that one). "Latin Simone" is such a stark departure from the rest of the songs, one might think Buena Vista Social Club had leaked a track onto the album; a truly beautiful, melancholic Latin-jazz piano melody, soulfully sung by Ibrahim Ferrer himself. Experimentation this album is.
However, in experimentation it also falls somewhat short. The melodies are quite good - the problem is that the cartoon band image doesn't make sense when one considers the melodies and instrumentation used for them. Guitar melodies are rare and in-between, and this makes Noodle's character almost pointless. Especially on the all-rap, trumpeted "Rock the House" (still my least-favourite track) does this make no sense at all. Don't get me wrong, I do like some songs on this album very much - "5/4", "Punk", "Double Bass" and "Latin Simone" in particular - yet the album just seems to lack 'spunk'. It's all there in the cartoon image, yet falls a little short music-wise - "Rock the House" is little more than sub-par filler stuff that doesn't even support the band's image, and the remix of "Clint Eastwood" just doesn't support itself. A good thing about this re-edition is the inclusion of b-side "Dracula" ("Left-Hand Suzuki Method" is an acquired taste) and the popped-up version of "19-2000". Not enough to save this album's overall spirit, though.
Maybe I'm being nit-picky. This isn't the album of the decade, but it's still a decent experimentation that proved highly popular, and for a reason. "Demon Days" would draw out the full potential of this musical unit with far more personality.
Description of Gorillaz
<Gorillaz Photos
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More from Gorillaz
 Demon Days |  G-Sides |  Spacemonkeyz Vs. Gorillaz: Laika Come Home |
 Gorillaz - Phase One - Celebrity Take Down |  Gorillaz - Phase Two - Slowboat to Hades |  Demon Days Live |
The Gorillaz claim to have found their motley crew of cartoon characters sleeping in Leicester Square, but Blur's Damon Albarn (a.k.a. 2-D) and cult cartoonist Jamie Hewlett (Murdoc) aren't fooling anyone. As the ultimate experiment in manufactured image, the Gorillaz are a virtual cartoon-character-based hip-hop band who bring together witty, silly lyrics and talented musicians. Infectious old-school hip-hop rhythms, rhymes, and effects courtesy of Deltron 3030's Kid Koala and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien (Russel) are combined with Albarn's passion for chugging lo-fi and edgy melodies to create a seemingly raw but ultimately slick blend of styles. This is nowhere more evident than on the hit single "Clint Eastwood," which is carried along by the sound of 2-D's slurred voice and a bluesy harmonica melody interrupted by Russel's punching rhymes. But the surprises don't stop there: Ibrahim Ferrer's appearance on "Latin Simone" could have come straight from Buena Vista Social Club but for the obvious Blur-influenced piano style, while the spooky intro to "M1 A1" wouldn't sound out of place on Michael Jackson's Thriller. Backed by Jamie Hewlett's death-wish character on bass, Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori (Noodle) on guitar and occasional hyperactive vocals, and produced by Dan "the Automator" Nakamura, it's hardly surprising that Gorillaz is marked both by a sense of playfulness and a passion for experimentation. --Caroline Butler
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