Gnarls Barkley St. Elsewhere CD

Gnarls Barkley: Danger Mouse, Cee-Lo.
Personnel: Doctor President (guitar, organ); Eddie Reyes (acoustic guitar); Chris Tedesco (trumpet); Daniele Luppi (bass synthesizer, mini-Moog synthesizer); Eric Bobo (drums); Tomika Walden, Menta Malone (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Danger Mouse.
Recording information: 2003-2005.
Illustrator: Kam Tang.
Arrangers: David Costa; Daniele Luppi; Stephen Brown ; Barry Clarke; Celia Humphris.
Gnarls Barkley--a collaboration between hip-hop/soul crooner and Goodie Mob founder Cee-Lo and DJ/mash-up kingpin Danger Mouse--sounds like it came from another planet; or what inhabitants of another planet might make of the elemental sounds of 21st-century pop music. Classically soulful R&B vocals, smart hip-hop/electronica beats and samples, and infectious hit-making melodies all serve to make the basic musical template familiar enough, but even a passing listen to the first single, "Crazy" (an Al Green-meets-Outkast groover that was a pre-release smash in the U.K. via downloads alone), illustrates that these fellas are definitely traveling some alternate spaceways.
But if the warped summer jam "Who Cares" or the unsettling big-beat-cum-folkly suicide dirge "Just A Thought" isn't proof enough of the duo's extra-terrestrial originality, then check out the frenetic, almost sleazy, bubblegum-electro take on the Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone." (Um...say what?) Like the entire album itself, it's a bizarre, unexpectedly brilliant reconfiguration of what was once simply called pop music. Who knows what to call it now?
Gnarls Barkley--a collaboration between hip-hop/soul crooner and Goodie Mob founder Cee-Lo and DJ/mash-up kingpin Danger Mouse--sounds like it came from another planet, or what inhabitants of another planet might make of the elemental sounds of 21st-century pop music. Classically soulful R&B vocals, smart hip-hop/electronica beats and samples, and infectious hit-making melodies all serve to make the basic musical template familiar enough, but even a passing listen to the first single, "Crazy" (an Al Green-meets-Outkast groover that was a pre-release smash in the U.K. via downloads alone), illustrates that these fellas are definitely traveling some alternate spaceways.
But if the warped summer jam "Who Cares" or the unsettling big-beat-cum-folkly suicide dirge "Just A Thought" isn't proof enough of the duo's extraterrestrial originality, then check out the frenetic, almost sleazy, bubblegum-electro take on the Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone." (Um...say what?) Like the entire album itself, it's a bizarre, unexpectedly brilliant reconfiguration of what was once simply called pop music. Who knows what to call it now?
Who is Gnarls Barkley, and how did he ascend to the top of the British charts with a song that brings an eerie clarity to the cloud of mental illness? (Hint: It wasn't just the fact that Britain began factoring download data into its chart equations.) If St. Elsewhere sounds like one of the best rap-based pop productions since the second Gorillaz album, then look no further than the common link, producer Danger Mouse. And if the vocal performances are twisted with the type of unbalanced wisdom not seen in pop music since Sly Stone (or at least OutKast), credit Cee-Lo Green, the former Goodie Mob seer/sage/freak. A pop album straight through, St. Elsewhere is as good as Danger Mouse's two earlier landmarks (Gorillaz's Demon Days and Danger Doom's The Mouse and the Mask), but not because of any inherent similarities in the three records. The reasons for greatness here include DM's uncommon facility for writing (or sampling) simple hooks that stick, his creation of productions that entertain but don't detract from the main action, and his ability to coax a parade of enticing vocal performances from Green. The hit "Crazy" and the title track are perfect examples. Over detached backings, Green croons, growls, scats, and generally delivers fine neo-soul voRolling Stone (p.56) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] genre-bending debut from the Goodie Mob rapper-crooner and Gorillaz beat-brewer Danger Mouse."
Spin (p.63) - Ranked #02 in Spin's "The 40 Best Albums of 2006" -- "[M]ind-ticklingly brilliant."
Entertainment Weekly (p.80) - "[C]aptivating....Their sense of humor is wonderful...nothing beats soultronica gems like 'Just A Thought'." -- Grade: A
Entertainment Weekly (p.128) - Ranked #1 in Entertainment Weekly's "Top 10 Records Of 2006" -- "ST. ELSEWHERE is endowed with a timeless panache that suggest it will sound as fresh and innovative 10 years from now as it does today."
Q (p.109) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Danger Mouse has raised the game as far as producers are concerned....His warm, spacious and instantly recognisable sound dominates St. Elsewhere..."
Q (p.124) - Ranked #10 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "[A] winning blend of hip hop, blues and psychedelia..."
Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "An atmosphere of inspiration and accident runs throughout this debut....[With a] self-confident, audience-challenging vibe..."