Music Codex

Gorillaz
by Gorillaz
from Virgin Records Us

Tracks

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• CD 1, Track 1 Re-hash
• CD 1, Track 2 5/4
• CD 1, Track 3 Tomorrow Comes Today
• CD 1, Track 4 New Genious (Brother)
• CD 1, Track 5 Clint Eastwood
• CD 1, Track 6 Man Research (Clapper)
• CD 1, Track 7 Punk
• CD 1, Track 8 Sound Check (Gravity)
• CD 1, Track 9 Double Bass
• CD 1, Track 10 Rock The House
• CD 1, Track 11 19-2000
• CD 1, Track 12 Latin Simone
• CD 1, Track 13 Starshine
• CD 1, Track 14 Slow Country
• CD 1, Track 15 M1 A1
• CD 1, Track 16 Dracula
• CD 1, Track 17 Left Hand Suzuki Method

Music Codexers Reviews

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Customer Reviews

2008-10-26 A Decent, Avant-Garde Listen, but Inconsistent...

Gorillaz is definitely one of the more noticeable musical experiments of the passing decade. The idea of a cartoon character band, devised by Blur's Damon Albarn and comic book artist Jamie Hewlett ("Tank Girl"), was enough to catch my interest. The music that sprung from this unusual premise of a 'band' caught my ear, as well. This namesake album covers a wide variety of genres - everything from soul-funk to hard rock, psychadelic keyboard strolls to Latino-jazz.

The album features a number of quite interesting and compelling musical pieces. "5/4", with a beat inspiring the title, is a very sultry song fusing guitar and keyboards almost deliberately brutally, and the result is very compelling. Most will recognise "Clint Eastwood" with its instantly-catchy chorus. "Punk" is a short but highly energetic track with a title that couldn't be more appropriate. "19-2000" sounds really space-y and cool (I still love the video for that one). "Latin Simone" is such a stark departure from the rest of the songs, one might think Buena Vista Social Club had leaked a track onto the album; a truly beautiful, melancholic Latin-jazz piano melody, soulfully sung by Ibrahim Ferrer himself. Experimentation this album is.

However, in experimentation it also falls somewhat short. The melodies are quite good - the problem is that the cartoon band image doesn't make sense when one considers the melodies and instrumentation used for them. Guitar melodies are rare and in-between, and this makes Noodle's character almost pointless. Especially on the all-rap, trumpeted "Rock the House" (still my least-favourite track) does this make no sense at all. Don't get me wrong, I do like some songs on this album very much - "5/4", "Punk", "Double Bass" and "Latin Simone" in particular - yet the album just seems to lack 'spunk'. It's all there in the cartoon image, yet falls a little short music-wise - "Rock the House" is little more than sub-par filler stuff that doesn't even support the band's image, and the remix of "Clint Eastwood" just doesn't support itself. A good thing about this re-edition is the inclusion of b-side "Dracula" ("Left-Hand Suzuki Method" is an acquired taste) and the popped-up version of "19-2000". Not enough to save this album's overall spirit, though.

Maybe I'm being nit-picky. This isn't the album of the decade, but it's still a decent experimentation that proved highly popular, and for a reason. "Demon Days" would draw out the full potential of this musical unit with far more personality.

2008-02-13 Ape technology...

At first glance, Gorillaz seems to be a novelty throwaway. After all, it IS a virtual band, comprised of cartoon characters, and the music sounds exactly like one would expect from a fusion of Damon Albarn and Dan the Automator: Brit-pop meets hip hop (Brit-hop?). So a side project? Perhaps, but with Blur virtually defunct, what else can Albarn do?

Truthfully, Gorrliaz debut is better than one might expect, and isn't that far off from the musical style of Blur's last (upcoming, then) album, "Think Tank." As a result, it succeeds more often when Damon overtakes the production. "Slow Country," "Tomorrow Comes Today," and "M1 A1" particularly stand out as winning moments in the collection, not to mention the irresistible groove of instrumental, "Double Bass," and the very fun hit, "Clint Eastwood." The sensation that you're listening to a debut album is clear; it has all the tendencies of a side project, all the way to the realized freedom of exasperated brain childs discovering an outlet to channel their more off-kilter tendencies. "Demon Days" is a narrowly better album, but those looking for some alternative hip hop experiments, both Gorillaz studio LPs fit the bill.

Better than the album, though, is the virtual part, including winning creations by "Tank Girl" creator, Jamie Hewlitt; the music video for "Clint Eastwood" is terrific.

Best cuts: "Double Bass," "Clint Eastwood," "Tomorrow Comes Today," "M1 A1," "Slow Country," "19-2000," "Re-Hash," "Man Research (Clapper)," "New Genius (Brother)," "Rock the House"

2008-02-03 (3.5 stars) An interesting combination of styles...

While I think that Gorillaz' second album, Demon Days, is their best, I also enjoy their self-titled debut. It's definitely a different beast Demon Days, a dense, dark, swirling concoction. The production here is much looser and stripped down. And it reaches higher heights than its successor, including my two favorite Gorillaz songs: the trip-hop experiment "Clint Eastwood" and the funky, screwed-up "Rock the House", both featuring Del the Funkee Homo Sapien's memorable raps.
The interesting thing about this album is that it's like a pop album made by someone who's just the slightest bit insane. Not in the totally lost, Syd Barrett sense, but you know, just a bit out there. See, the tunes are hummable, but there's an aura of weird about each of them. Some, such as "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today", have weird instrumentation. Others, like "Re-Hash", "5/4" (with a refrain of "SHE TURNED MY DAD ON!" that you might find yourself singing under your breath without noticing it... until the people start staring, of course), and "19/2000", have odd lyrics. While "Rock the House", "Tomorrow Comes Today", "Re-Hash" and "5/4" are definitely highlights, I'm not a huge fan of the "album" take on "19/2000". I love the frenzied Soulchild remix, though. If you ask me, that should've been the album mix. The "album" take is all right, but doesn't convey the party atmosphere as well as the up-tempo take does.
There are other good songs, too: the trip-hoppin' "New Genious (Brother)" (sic), the house-influenced "Sound Check (Gravity)", and the bass solo "Double Bass", as well as the eerie regional bonus track "Dracula" (with bizarre lyrics like "Santa Claus told a lie") and the off-kilter "Left Hand Suzuki Method". But after "19/2000", the album turns crap and stays there for the last four tracks. For a first, "Latin Simone (Que Pasa Cognito)" sucks. Gorillaz try to reinvent themselves as a mariachi band there. Needless to say, it doesn't work out, and it might be the worst song they ever made. "Starshine" and "Slow Country" are awful as well, and the experimental metal "M1 A1" needs to go too. I'm also not big on the "weird-for-weird's-sake" "Man Research (Clapper)", and I don't care if "Punk" is only a minute and a half long, it sucks.
This is an interesting album, even if Gorillaz would do better on Demon Days. It's very creative, and like I said in my Demon Days review, I love how much effort Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett (the masterminds behind the project - Damon plays most the instruments, and Jamie designed the four "band members") put into fleshing out the four virtual members of Gorillaz, vocalist 2D, guitarist Noodle, bassist Murdoc, and drummer Russell. Good job!

2007-12-31 I am the monkeys, they are the Gorillaz...

Just a punk funk fist full of love. I only love half these songs though...

Tomorrow comes today - alternative chillout experimental hip-hop
Man Research - something off the sopranos
Starshine is just a tweaker for shure.
Slow country - alternative chillout experimental pop

2007-09-08 Best Electronic, Ragge, Rap, Pop, Rock, Dub CD Ever Made!!!!!!!!...

This cartoon band is the greatist, gorillaz has 4 wonderful characters, (2D) (vocals)(keybords), (Russel) (drumer), (Murdoc) (Bass), (Noodle) (guitar) is a great CD to start out with, If you want to learn more about this wonderful band I would get the book Rise Of The Ogre.

Ok lets talk about the music, the band is mostly made up of electronica, and regge, but has rap, pop, dub, and rock.

1. Re-Hash - Comes complete with wonky electronica, a colourful acoustic groove and damaged guitar, with 2D and noodle singing, dubby delays, some kebording. 8/10

2. 5/4 - This is one of those rocker songs, awsome guitar, which is in 5/4 timing, hense the name, hard beats, some electronic kebording. 9/10

3. Tomorrow Comes Today - Rumble in the urban jungle, bass combination, keybord, cool harmonica, vary dubish, good volcals, laze drum. 10/10

4. New Genious - The sound of old regge, tin pans clanging, some harmonica, violin, vary old sounding, with a tad of electronics. 8/10

5. Clint Eastwood - Signature tune for gorillaz, cymbals smashing, best 2D vocals, with the help of Del raping, best harmonica yet, great piano, with some electronics. 10/10

6. Man Research - Starts out with electronic insect noises, guitar ruffs, then a muffled beat, then DJ scratching, 2D's vocals, cool electronics. 8/10

7. Punk - Short song, but nothing short in sounding, this is a vary punk rock, starts out with twirling electronics, with a muffled beat, then guitar riffs, hands claping, 2D throwing up, hard beats. 9/10

8. Sound Check (Gravity) - World of digital dub ragge, song starts with crickets cherping, acoustic guitar, dogs barking in backround, 2D's vocals, then awsome DJ scratching, and beats, and bubbling electronics. 10/10

9. Double Bass - My favorite track of the CD, this is a mentally unsteay piece of inebriated breakbeat psychedelia is a great instrumental song, this track is the sound 2D imagined, Russel got a machine that could make any thoght turn into music, you can hear every pluck of the double bass, with a simple beat, wash bord, and the best guitar riffs ever, same with the cool keybording, the song stalls with 2D saying "all of which makes me anxious, at times unbearably so", great chill song. 20/10

10.Pock the House - An ok track, with a lethargic rap from Del, with trumpet, cool breakbeat, flute, and piano. 7/10

11. 19-2000 - A collage of bleeps, bloops, sonds like a video game, with the help of some of Noodle's vocals, and bubbleing noises, a good song. 8/10

12. Latin Simone - A vibrant, smoky Cuban track, with vocals from Ibrahim Ferrer, has a Latin style, good beat, Latin horns, an ok song.
7/10

13. starshine - Starts with cool beat, then a creeping guitar riff, bass, 2D's vocals, muffled twirling electronics, sounds like video game noises.
9/10

14. Slow Country - Starts with a beat, combined with an elelctronic breeze, awsome piano, 2D's vocals, electronic keybording. 9/10

15. M1A1 - Starts with 2D saying , "helo", "helo", "Is anyone there", slowly the guitar rising, then full force rock, hard beats, riffing guitar, 2D's vocals, Murdoc yelling. 10/10

16. Dracula - The hunting sound of Dracula, is great regge song, many electronics, saxaphone, and 2D's vocals, mixed so well that Dracula would love it. 9/10

17. Left Hand Suzuki Method - is another one my favorite tracks, starts with a eerie sound, then a hard beat and guitar, Noodle speaking Japanise, and violin mixed with a honky-tonk piano. 10/10

Over all you'll fall in love with this great band!

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This album was release on 2001-06-19.