Gnarls Barkley: St. Elsewhere

St. Elsewhere Date: 09 May, 2006   —   $8.88   —   Music product page Rating:

Gnarls Barkley is a combination of hip-hop singer Cee-Lo, and hip-hop producer Danger Mouse.  The two are notorious if you dig just beneath the surface of mainstream hip-hop; Cee-Lo used to sing/rap in Goodie Mob, and Danger Mouse did some acclaimed production work on the second Gorillaz album. 

St. Elsewhere is their first collaboration - a blend of alterna-pop, hip-hop, funk, electronic production and thumping basslines.  Frankly, as soon as I heard their uber-hit "Crazy," I thought to myself, "This sounds like one of those singles without an album."  Since even their name sounds like a joke, I was probably disinclined to like it from the start.  And when I first heard it, I thought, "This sucks." 

Fortunately, I didn't review it back then.  I listened more.  And more.  As it turns out, Gnarls Barkley narrowly avoided my Snow Patrol treatment and susequent recanting.  The album is...not bad.

There are some really good songs.  "Crazy" is a staple on all types of radio stations, and is the one song where everything meshes perfectly together: beats, singing style and instrumentation all combine to form a majestic whole.  I can listen to this song several times in a row...and I say that VERY infrequently about music.

Other really good tracks include the intense "Just A Thought," the mid-tempo "Smiley Faces," the R&B-ish title track, "Feng Shui" and the groovy "Who Cares."

Unfortunately, there are an equal number of tracks I could live without.  "Go Go Gadget Gospel" is a waste, like most hip-hop intros (except that I wouldn't really call the song hip-hop).  Other missteps include "Gone Daddy Gone," "Transformer," "Boogie Monster," "Necromancing," and "Storm Coming."  These tracks all sound like filler.

Gnarls Barkley's first album St. Elsewhere is bizarre, quirky, and random.  Sometimes it's so wacky that it crosses the line into abject, irredemable silliness.  Sometimes it's catchy, dramatic and fun.  But there's one thing it never is: dull.

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