The Odd Couple (CD)

• Category:  Music  »  R&B  »  General/R&B
• Format: CD
• Release Date: April 8, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic (USA)
• UPC: 075678994692
• WAPI (Tower ID): 111887743
• Average Customer Review:    (1 customer review)
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #33 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #2 in R&B (See Top 100 R&B Bestsellers)
• #1 in General/R&B (See Top 100 General/R&B Bestsellers)

• DISC 1 for The Odd Couple (CD) Album
• 1   Blind Mary
• 2   She Knows
• 3   No Time Soon
• 4   Whatever
• 5   Who's Gonna Save My Soul
• 6   Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)
• 7   Would Be Killer
• 8   Open Book
• 9   Going On
• 10   Charity Case
• 11   Surprise
• 12   Little Better, A
• 13   Neighbors

•  [Gnarls Barkley - Official Site] 
  
•  [Gnarls Barkley - Myspace] 
  
•  [Gnarls Barkley - Wikipedia Entry] 
  
•  [Gnarls Barkley - Music at Last.fm] 
  

Rolling Stone (p.60) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "'Charity Case' is Gnarls at their finest, with chain-gang grunts and gasps, tinkling chimes, spy-movie guitar and R&B organ..."
Spin (p.91) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[O]ne of the remarkable things about THE ODD COUPLE is its seamlessness....It's a parti-colored pop trip unlike anything else out there."
Entertainment Weekly (p.65) - "ODD is impeccably produced and impressively layered, an esoteric love letter to both of-the-moment studio trickery and bone-deep vintage soul." -- Grade: B+
Uncut (p.95) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Most of these tracks combine a seductive, upbeat surface with unsettling sonic textures beneath....The result is a milestone in modern psychedelic soul."
Vibe (p.69) - "The finished product has glorious results -- it sounds like an antique shop where dusty albums by Ennio Morricone, The 5th Dimension, and Reverent C.L. Franklin are always playing on three turntables."
Blender (Magazine) (p.77) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Gnarls tap in to the lingering power of old soul music: the terse structures, the testifying vocals, the danceable beats and, especially, the full-fledged melodies..."
Clash (magazine) (p.113) - "'No Time Soon' is a cracked-magenta torch song of staggering beauty...and 'Who's Gonna Save My Soul' bursts clean out of the widescreen soul frame..."

It's hard enough to follow up a successful debut album, but try following up a boundary-breaking blockbuster of a debut album. The duo of Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse became a household name as Gnarls Barkley in 2006 with their frothy blend of pop, R&B, and hip-hop. Two years on, THE ODD COUPLE stands up proudly alongside its predecessor. The basic recipe hasn't been drastically altered--Danger Mouse's skittering beats and snap-crackle-pop production still provide the perfect platform for Cee-Lo's mighty, soulful wail. If anything, the pair have refined and sharpened their approach to a razor's edge. The key is the way the musical flavors intersect: the Arthur Lee-meets-N.E.R.D. stroll of "Surprise," the jubilant jumble of gospel/soul/synthpop on "Going On," the Otis Redding-shares-a-treadmill-with-Outkast feel of the single "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)." The cumulative effect is one of a group whose trick-bag has a never-ending supply of happy surprises. Take that, pessimistic sophomore-jinx predictors!

Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple

Gnarls Barkley – the off beat dynamic duo comprised of former Goodie Mob vocal front man, Cee-Lo and beatnik partner Danger Mouse – are back with their follow up to the much appraised debut runaway success, St.Elsewhere. The fresh, new installment, aptly titled The Odd Couple, is a bubbly concoction that finds pop, soul, gospel, and hip-hop merging into yet another universal platter for the whole world to eat up.

Danger Mouse squeaks in 13 boundless tracks for Cee-Lo to croon over ingeniously, maintaining fluidity throughout this musical expedition. Cee-lo’s raspy intonation, adaptable swing and prodigious wails add up to being the perfection equation to Mouse’s emotive production. Apart from urban innovators, Outkast, Gnarls Barkley take on the early 70’s and 80’s pop cue and steer it straight ahead without going over your head.

The opening track, “Blind Mary”, can testify to The Odd Couple’s endearing quality to be vulnerable and unlocked to the chains of the stereotypical braggadocio topics inherently prominent in their respective hip-hop backgrounds. Instead they throw a few more kitchen sinks and a few more wrenches at each other that only an Odd Couple can do. “Whatever” is another gem that comes off as tastefully childish – wining that sways so well, it forces you to react carefree without reservation. “She Knows” finds Lo brushing airy, maudlin chants backed by a crazy syncopated backdrop. The rest of the album is as they say, an “Open Book” – an all encompassing novel with all the exciting twists and turns of a Choose Your Own Adventure proving that the second one’s the charm and that they are anything BUT a novelty act. The Odd Couple are at it again. And it’s Gnarly.

Favorite Songs - "Whatever", "Open Book".

- SC, Just Around The Corner – 04/08/08

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