On the second full-length Gorillaz outing, DEMON DAYS, mastermind Damon Albarn (Blur) parts company with Dan the Automator and opts for a collaboration with Danger Mouse, the DJ most renowned for his GREY ALBUM mash-up of the Beatles' WHITE ALBUM and Jay-Z's BLACK ALBUM. Although this dynamic collection isn't a radical departure from its predecessor (Artwork by Jamie Hewlett? Check. A small army of guest stars? Check.), DEMON DAYS injects the party-ready Gorillaz aesthetic with a brooding sensibility that's immediately apparent on the zombie-movie-sampling "Intro." In fact, a morbid sentiment abounds, as evidenced by many songs, including "Last Living Souls" and "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead."
Even though Albarn has weighty issues occupying his thoughts, he hasn't forgotten how to boogie, as revealed by the slinky "Kids with Guns" (featuring backing vocals by Neneh Cherry) and the funky "Feel Good Inc." (with De La Soul), which sounds like the slacker cousin of Outkast's "Hey Ya!" The ominous "November Has Come" (featuring MF Doom) and the bizarre "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" (with a spoken-word performance by actor Dennis Hopper) round out this eclectic pop/rock/hip-hop offering, which equals, if not exceeds, the first Gorillaz disc.
Live Recording
Audio Mixers: Gorillaz; Jason Cox.
Recording information: 13; Kong Studios; St Stephen's Church, Canonbury Square.
Reader: Dennis Hopper.
Personnel: Martina Topley-Bird, Neneh Cherry (vocals); Simon Tong (guitar); Antonia Pagulatos, Sally Jackson , Prabjote Osahn (violin); Stella Page, Amanda Drummond (viola); Isabelle Dunn (cello); Ike Turner (piano); Al Mobbs, Emma Smith (double bass); James Dring (programming); Rossiere "Shadow" Wilson (background vocals).
Additional personnel: London Community Gospel Choir, Children's Choir San Fernandez (vocals); Dennis Hopper (spoken vocals); Rosie Wilson (background vocals); Ike Turner, MF Doom, Martina Topley-Bird, Neneh Cherry, Roots Manuva, Shaun Ryder, Simon Tong , Sally Jackson , Isabelle Dunn, Stella Page, Amanda Drummond, Prabjote Osahn, Al Mobbs, Emma Smith, Bootie Brown.
Spin (p.64) - Ranked #4 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[A] vivid, spastic concept album about the last primates to survive the apocalypse." Spin (p.105) - "Albarn still has great taste in other people's music. His new accomplice, copyright pirate Danger Mouse, fills in suggestively dubby spaces with choirs, staggering synths, and MCs ranging from De La Soul to Roots Manuva to MF Doom." - Grade: B Entertainment Weekly (No. 821/822, p.136) - "[This] follow-up is spookier, blippier, and more on edge..." - Grade: B Uncut (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Dazzlingly clever - great beats, brilliant production, top tunes and some of Albarn's best singing..." CMJ (No. 914, p.4) - "...an immensely absorbable experience with plenty of rhymes and funked-out marching beats to bite into..." Vibe (p.143) - "[A]s original - and just as much fun - as the first." Mojo (Publisher) (p.18) - Ranked #18 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "[A] genre-busting, contemporary pop milestone." Paste (magazine) - "With Gorillaz enlisting the underground-infamous Danger Mouse as producer this time, the sound is more psychedeli-danceable than ever."
BEST MUSIC BEST MUSIC I HAVE EVER HEARD! BEEN A GORILLAZ FAN SINCE I FIRST HEARD THEIR FEEL GOOD INC SONG! LOVE EVERY SONG THEY PLAY! :P
Submitted by RUBSTER (OLYMPUS, MARS (LOL :P)) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Oh yeah! This is one of the best CDs I have, and I have guite a few. I've had it for 2 weeks now, and I can't stop listening. And even when I'm not listening, Dare plays in my head all the time anyway. Damn that synth-line, catchy beat and those great vocals! Submitted by concurssi (Helsinki, Finland) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Good Album! But... Sorry but this album just DOES NOT live up to it's major predecessor(i.e The GoRiLLaz very first full length Album). Don't get me wrong this CD is a good buy if you like GoRiLLaz, But There are a few reasons for me being a little bitter toward this CD. One large reason is that it does not offer the wide variety of music that the first album did. Reason #2 is that Dan the Automator and Del tha funkee homosapien were not featured in Demon Days, or even much of Phase 2 at all! [To explain, GoRiLLaz had 2 phases, 1 and 2. Phase 2 was darker and more rap oriented.] Which by the way I was not very impressed with phase 2 in general. So, to conclude this review, I believe that Del and Dan the Automator were Key players in the first album, and sadly the variety of music the Demon Days Album is kind of dry. So it is safe to say that the gorillaz first album IS better. Hopefully if Albarn(co-creator) does make another album, he will remember to incorporate some of same elements in thier 1st album that made the GoRiLLaz who they are today. Submitted by claymaker64 (Rosemunt, MN, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
good ol' music I grew up listing to bands like the misfits, and the velvet underground and never would thought of listing to the gorillazs. My girlfriend got the cd and i automaticly fell in love with every track on there. I would recomend this to anybody it's just good ol' music. Submitted by scuba steve (Bountiful, UT) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Good cd My favorite song on this cd is feel good inc. It is groovy! Submitted by Anthony (Salem, OR) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
BEST MUSIC
Share this Product