Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple

Following the worldwide, unparalleled critical acclaim for 2006's St. Elsewhere and their record breaking hit "Crazy," Gnarls Barkley is set to release their sophomore album this April. Titled, The Odd Couple, the album features 13 tracks of new material from Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green. The first single, "Run" has been met with rave reviews, and The Odd Couple is without question one of the most anticipated releases of 2008. Amazon.com

 Great album - banish any 'sophomore' effort concerns
Familiar with both Mouse and Cee-lo's previous works, I checked out Elsewhere and was very impressed. The album was brilliant and even after hearing Crazy eleventy million times over that summer, even that song was still listenable and fun.

Upon hearing that their second album was coming out, I worried for a moment about the sophomore jinx and how it could effect what was originally a bit of a novelty group. I feared a cheap Crazy remake and some hit-and-miss tunes. Banish the thought. Even the single Run evokes Crazy in catchiness only, contrasting Crazy's off-beat drum line with a simple and quick tempo driven by a zippy high-hat and sing-alongs. But the real joys can be found with the rest of the album. This second effort mixes hip-hop-ish beats with jangly 50's pop song chimes and effects, layered over the top with occasionally playful, occasionally deep and introspective lyrics, molded into pleas, entreaties, and deadpans by Cee-lo's always intriguing vocal delivery.

The closest thing to a clunker for me is track 6, I just can't get with the beat (or lack of!). And not every musical foray by these two is going to work for everyone, but their moments of brilliance buy a lot of goodwill for the infrequent B- track that occasionally shows up. And for A+ tracks, Charity Case, Going On, and Surprise are all gems.

If you liked Elsewhere, do pick up this album as well. You won't be disappointed. May 9, 2008

 The Odd Couple is a classic, it's too early to say album of the year.
THe OdD CouPle is way too cool for my little pod, infact they should have packaged the whole thing on vynal; yeah i know no one would buy it. There were only two trax i wouldn't download and i'm not even going to mention what they are, the vocals were great on them just the production, it was way tOO out thEre much like their 06 attempt, I'd rate that, one and a half stars, however the art design on St Elsewhere: four stars. The Odd Couple is a classic, like it's title. May 8, 2008

 Very good, very original, again.
I had the first Gnarls album which was amazing, and they have created another great album. We need more original music like this and less of the typical pop stuff you hear on the radio. May 7, 2008

 ehh...
2 stars- don't get me wrong, some tracks are pretty good, but as a whole lacks the stand out brilliance of St. Elsewhere. it's good but by no means is it great. the record almost seems like a bland characture of a formula that could be followed to recreate the magic captured in St. Elsewhere. left me sholder shrugging, sayin' "ehhh...." May 5, 2008

 Nu old soul
- Shows less eclectic diversity in both Cee-Lo's delivery and Dangermouse's production
- The character Cee-Lo created for this project is harder to distinguish from his regular persona shown on his solo albums (though he still never raps on this project)
- Subtle nuances are the focus of the show this time, in Cee-Lo's lyrical implications and voice as well as Danger Mouse's increasingly subtle means of experimentation.
- It begs the question "is this R&B"?
- Their aim this time seems to be to tone down the gimmicks for the purpose of exposing an almost Curtis Mayfield level of imaginative realism (minus the hooks) May 1, 2008

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