Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere
Published in 2006
It would be an understatement to say that this was one of my favorite albums of all time. This is in the running for the best album ever made by humankind, for Matthew Butler. I could not tell you one song that I don't like, and I love all of them, in actuality. Our contestants for song of the album are as follows.
Crazy - A sweet little number, recalling some of the great spaghetti western inspired songs, such as Clint Eastwood and others, one of the most popular commercial songs that I like ever.
Gone Daddy Gone - Awesome funky cover of an already awesome song? Sign me up!
Just a Thought - One of the weirdest tracks on the album, it has the strangest suicidal lyrics on any mainstream awesome song.
Necromancer - A great what the fuck song, it's impossibly well produced and Cee-lo knocks the mood out of the park.
Storm Coming - nominated for the first 5 seconds alone, the stutter sells it, and then it is followed by some of the most melodious production of the album. Also, that 5 seconds is just part of an amazing intro.
And finally, The Last Time - a dancey number that closes out the album, it's just an astonishingly well made song, and one of my favorites to sing along to.
So, to recap, on an album of 14 tracks, six of them are in the running for best track of the album, and all 14 are in the running for second.
Allow me to drop some history here. I bought this album because of two things. 1. Dangermouse, obviously. 2. Crazy was perhaps the best crossover hit that I had heard made in my lifetime. For future aliens, this means that in the summer of 2006 you could literally go nowhere without hearing this song, and for once, that was a good thing.
I went in expecting to be blown away by the production, and I ended up becoming a Cee-lo fan for life. The amount of personality on display in these 14 tracks is endearing in a way that even charismatic people would envy. No matter what song he is doing, it sounds like he is pouring his whole being into making it the best performance of that song of all time. Seriously, pick a track, and you'll hear a man's soul on display.
This disc didn't leave my CD player for months. Months! Incubus came out with a new album, and I had difficulty removing Gnarls Barkley! It was the soundtrack to that part of my life! How many albums have that kind of an effect on people?
I'm actually shocked that it took me this long to get this album again. I just recently realized that I hadn't listened to it in months, since the great wipe and the desire to put new music on my iPod. Listening to it now, I cannot understand why it wasn't the first thing that I downloaded and put on my iPod again. I'm kind of an idiot.
The production is superior, the songs are great, the voice is awe-inspiring, and the album is fun. It's like your favorite food, wrapped in your other favorite food, pushed in a blender, made into a milkshake, served with five guys, and the flavors mix together like beauty itself. It's like raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiin, on your wedding day. Wait, no, it's not like that last one. Seriously, it's good.
Look, I'm not saying that we're not friends if you don't like this album, I'm saying that you're not a human being. I don't care what genera of music you like, I don't care if you hate everything made after 1965, I don't care if you are made of swiss cheese, you will find something on this album that will enchant you and completely win you over. This is not just Not Optional, it's almost an enforced torture to know that people out there have not listened to it. It is simply a perfect album.
And I haven't even written about the (perhaps) even better sequel yet.
"The Plot Thinn-ens!"
Matt
PS. Hey, I know I've been bugging you a lot, but I wanted you to know that you should Give Phil Five, so I can get a new heart, to replace the one that I stuck on Dangermouse's doorstep with a knife through it with a note saying "You." Thanks to Jack Handy for the idea!
excellent issues altogether, you just won a new reader.
ReplyDeleteWhat could you suggest about your put up that you just made some days in the past?
Any positive?
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