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Had this cd a few years ago, but mislaid it. Really happy to have bought it again, brilliant album, one of my favourites. Very good price and in excellent condition. 👍👍😊
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
bought this item as like cello green and wanted to listen to some of his early stuff.a good mix of soul and pop.
R&B, hip-hop, soul, blues, funk are just a few of the fine elements of music that Gnarls Barkley use to create their genre-bending debut album, St. Elsewhere. Gnarls Barkley is one half Danger Mouse, the beatmaster for the Gorillaz and the creator of the infamous Grey Album, and one half Cee-Lo, the rapper/crooner from Goodie Mob. Both equally important to the album, Danger Mouse’s beats and Cee-Lo’s rasp fuse together to make a hell of an album, one that takes you on a rollercoaster ride through 14 tracks that are equally spontaneous, creepy, and funky. The album begins with the thumping and out of control “Go-Go Gadget Gospel,” a wild song that features the range and control Cee-Lo has over his voice. Between the nah-nah-nah’s and funky bass, you’ll think you’ve just walked into a carnival. The next track is the smash-hit single, “Crazy,” which samples a bit of an old gospel song combined with a moody bass line and takes a turn for the asylum, as Cee-Lo sings "I remember when I lost my mind/There was something so pleasant about that place.” And this take takes me exactly there. The fun continues with the nutty cover of the Violent Femmes, “Gone Daddy Gone.” A throbbing beat with a simple guitar riff underneath, it takes you to directly to the dance floor. “Smiley Faces” has a thick soul vibe to it, using the organs to full advantage with Cee-Lo’s baritone sound. “The Boogie Monster” has a slow tempo backed by bellowing vocals in the verses, which dramatically changes to a haunting whisper of a chorus. “Just A Thought,” a song about trying to overcome suicidal impulses while booming and crashing drums and thin guitar loops interweave with each other throughout. The next song is the completely insane “Transformer,” an energetic track that is complete with spazzed out beats and Cee-Lo’s crazy tenor shines throughout. This song is my favorite off the entire album, as it forces you to bob your head and tap your toes. Gnarls brings a disturbing dementia to the album with the slow grooving “Necromancer,” which features lyrics such as “Did you hear what I said/with this ring I thee wed/A body in my bed/she was cool when I met her/but I think I like her better dead.” “Storm Coming” is a high-speed track that doesn’t let go of your ears till the very end. The album closes with another genre, the very disco-influenced “The Last Time,” which doesn’t let up on the pace one bit throughout the song, as Cee-Lo one last time uses his seductive voice to ask us the question, “When was the last time you danced?" It’s been a long time, Cee-Lo, a long time. Thankfully, this album makes me want to do just that. The only flaws that are keeping St. Elsewhere from getting a ridiculous high rating are the facts that some songs are a bit overproduced by Danger Mouse (Transformer for starters, although I still love the song) and that this album is entirely too short. Clocking in at 37 minutes, this is one album that I wish would have pushed into the upper forties or fifties. Although these factors don’t take anything away from the sheer enjoyment I get from this album, they are still notable and something you’ll notice.Read full review
Gnarls Barkley's first single -- the spine-tingling U.K. hit "Crazy" -- takes an old-time spiritual and turns it into festival-friendly funk, as it eagerly jumps into the loony bin: "I remember when I lost my mind/There was something so pleasant about that place," Cee-Lo sings in his soaring, seductive rasp. There's a creeping dementia to all of St. Elsewhere, the genre-bending debut from the Goodie Mob rapper-crooner and Gorillaz beat-brewer Danger Mouse. "Just a Thought" finds our protagonist fighting off suicidal impulses as booming drums disappear suddenly and a nylon-string guitar loop appears trapped in a purgatory of its own making. Then Cee-Lo intones the crucial couplet: "I prefer peace/Wouldn't have to have one bloody possession/But essentially I'm an animal/So just what do I do with all the aggression?" But there's joy among the pain: a daft cover of the Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone" and "Transformer," a robot spaz-out where Cee-Lo lets us know "I'm a microchip off the old block." And the disco-proud album closer, "The Last Time," poses a question: "When was the last time you danced?" At which point you get up and do exactly that.Read full review
I bought this CD after watching a live performance of Gnarls Barkley on TV. I was intrigued about their style and the quality of the music. Back in 2007 I heard the single version of Crazy, which is track No 2 on this CD. I am not a music critic but I am a Hi-Fi fan, therefore some of my views derive from that background of music appreciation. In my opinion this album is not a fantastic offering or something that would become a classic, from the sound appreciation side of things the sound engineering hasn't done it any favors, for example, I played immediately after listening to this album the Special Edition of Jack Johnson's "Bushfire Fairy Tales" and the sounds of St Elswhere simply pales in comparison. Although they are different styles of music the first thing you notice is the quality of the recording, which in St Elsewhere is not particularly great. Regarding to the music, itself, if you are Gnarls hardcore fan then you would probably love it. I came into it with an open mind and was not moved, a few of the tracks are good like Crazy, St Elsewhere, who Cares, albeit their poor recording quality degrades the listening experience.Read full review
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