The Odd Couple

Gnarls Barkley | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: March 18, 2008
• Label: Downtown Recordings/Atl
• Copyright: 2008 Gnarls Barkley under exclusive license to Downtown Music, LLC and Atlantic Recording Corporation for the United States, Canada and Mexico.
• Total Length: 39:07
• Genres:
• ASIN: B0015V4D92
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even Better Than St. Elsewhere, March 18, 2008

By 

221b BakerSt (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Odd Couple (MP3 Download)

"I got some bad news this morning
Which in turn made my day..."

If you've seen the video for "Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)," the first single from Atlanta based Gnarls Barkley's second LP, The Odd Couple, you'll get a sense of the juxapositions that run through the rest of the densely layered, emotionally complex album: 60's and 70's pop and soul bumping up against modern hip-hip and electronica; breezy, upbeat sounding music over dark, even menacing sounding lyrics and vocals. If the result is occasionally disorienting, it's also almost unfailingly intoxicating and just plain fun to hear. Even though the strongest material is weighted towards the first half, The Odd Couple is head and shoulders a better album than St. Elsewhere, and that album wasn't too shabby. Here's hoping that Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse, the two talented musicians behind Gnarls Barkley, are just beginning to build a body of work for their band. Standout cuts: "Charity Case," "Going On," "Run [I'm A Natural Disaster]" and "Surprise."

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect couple!, March 25, 2008

By 

Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Odd Couple (Audio CD)

Gnarls Barkley return with their aptly titled sophomore album "The odd couple", delivering more of the same stuff that was on their smash hit Grammy winning platinum debut.

It is filled with the same kooky, psychedelic funk/pop, with lyrics touching on paranoia, mental anguish, and other dark aspects of human nature. While it may not contain another "Crazy", all 13 tracks are brilliant, from opening, sunny "Charity case" (with brief bursts of lovely harmonies), to the morose piano tinkled lament "Who's gonna save my soul".

"Going on" starts off deceptively almost country-ish, before morphing into an uptempo clap-fest with eerie harmonies against an organ back drop. Lead-off single "Run" is a sunny retro sounding song (a bit like Outkast's "Hey ya") featuring Cee-Lo wailing "Run children, run for your life" with chilling urgency.

Returning to sombre is the atmospheric "Would be killer". Starting with bird sounds is "Open book" before disjointed drums and swirling strings sweep in. Next is the psychedelic Beatles-esque "Whatever", the surf rock/dub feel of "Surprise", the atmospheric "No time soon" with skittery beats, the lo-fi sounding "She knows", and the Motown sounding "blind Mary".

The chilled trip hop "Neighbour" deals with an envious neighbour, while closing cut "A little better" is a brooding Blues-ey song dealing with mental anguish, but with a hopeful outlook (I love the echoing ending).

Each of the 13 tracks averages at about 3 minutes, and so cut right to the chase. For those who loved "St. Elsewhere" (and not just the "Crazy" single), you will love this. A fitting follow up.

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No sophomore slump here, March 20, 2008

By 

Tommy M. (Berkeley) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Odd Couple (MP3 Download)

If you didn't like the last album, there isn't much here that will change your mind. If you *did* like it -- The Odd Couple is even better. The first five tracks, in fact, are so good that the middle suffers, but only by comparison. For any other artist of this kind, even the weakest material on The Odd Couple would be a welcome addition.

And that's the other thing -- these guys don't really sound like anybody else. If you pinned me down, I'd say it's like Beck, The Gorillaz, and DJ Shadow got together in their prime to make an album. But instead of needing three bands to catalyze that sound, Gnarls Barkley only needs two people. These are some extremely talented guys.