Spacemonkeyz Vs. Gorillaz: Laika Come Home

Gorillaz

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 16, 2002)
• Original Release Date: July 16, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Astralwerks
• ASIN: B000068CDY
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (54 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #13,713 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #14 in	Music > World Music > Reggae > Dub
  #98 in	Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Experimental Rap

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Sure, Gorillaz sounded original, but it was a pop project with all the constraints that went with it--can you imagine the six-minute remixed version of "Clint Eastwood" making it onto MTV? But that's exactly what makes Laika Come Home so good. It's a reimagined collection filled with bone-shaking dubscapes and enough reverb to transmit a message to the farthest edges of the universe. Listen to the "De-Punked" version of "Punk" with its meandering, decayed trumpet and computerized tweaks--hardly recognizable as the original--or the swinging old-school ska that crops ups on "5/4." The two-tone skank of "M1/A1" (with Terry Hall) sounds as if it should have been the original version, but the real killer tracks are those injected with dancehall vibes by DJ U Brown and Earl 16. Who says "you don't get paid for doing what you love?"--not Damon Albarn. --Caroline Butler

Product Description

Gorillaz Photos

More from Gorillaz

Gorillaz	G-Sides	Demon Days
Gorillaz - Phase One - Celebrity Take Down	Gorillaz - Phase Two - Slowboat to Hades	Demon Days Live

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's 1979 all over again! Dub done well!, August 16, 2002

By	punkviper (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)

How long has it been since you heard a great dub record? For so long it seemed like dub was dead and gone forever. Yeah, portions of it have been incorprated into modern electronica (specifically: drum'n'bass) but I mean a good, fat bass, layin' on the horns, engulf it all in reverb thick enough they hear it across time kinda dub. Scratch Perry dub, King Tubby dub, even Mad Professor dub.

Well, enter this disc, and ka-pow you have your gift from the dub gods of Jah. Bad dub, especially nowadays when the perpetrators are so far removed from the original sound, is easy to do. But this, THIS is great dub, done by professionals who clearly know what makes a great dub record. Listen to "De-Punked" (dub mix of Punk from the original) and TELL me these guys don't know what they're doing! It's cosmic. This disc is everything G-Sides SHOULDA been. From head-bobbing to downright head-thrashing, this disc WILL move you, guarandamnteed. I'm listening to it as I type, and the brass sections are just incredible.

It's funny how people compared the Gorillaz album to the Clash's ahead-of-its-time melting pot triple-album Sandinista, and now we have dub versions of the Gorillaz tracks, just like there were sides of Sandinista that were nothing but dub versions of the album's own songs. It's great! Honestly, if you have any prediliction towards dub reggae AT ALL, you need to hear this. It's like a time-machine and a future-transducer all in one 12-track package. Makes me happy. Long live the dub!!!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars new Classic Dub Reggae, August 19, 2004

By	J. Brady (PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I bought this cd on a whim when it came out, having heard ( and seen the video for ) Clint Eastwood.I have since bought the original Gorillaz cd, and I must say I prefer this over the original, being a big fan of dub reggae and chill-out type grooves. This is AWESOME. If you have the original Gorillaz cd and appreciate the diversity of the songs, you will more than likely not get into this one, as the songs admittedly all sound somewhat the same, they all have a very laid back reggae groove to them. But I can highly recommend this for fans of dub reggae.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gorillaz' warfare on music, July 16, 2002

By	Matt O. "Daffyphack" (Boone, NC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Space Monkeys vs. Gorillaz: Laika Come Home (Audio CD)

As you'd expect with a cd that doesn't even list the name of the big band first, "Space Monkeys vs. Gorillaz: Laika Come Home" is like eating just the complementary rolls at a steakhouse. Sure, they're delicious, and there's nothing wrong with it, but the experience could be so much better with some of the restaurant's trademark meals. Such is the case in the Gorillaz eatery.

Some of the tracks fall flat, such as the lack of the spooky background voices in "New Genious". The real problems are mostly due to monotony and similarity within the tracks, most noticeably the first two, both of which go the reggae angle, almost identically. The only reggae track which doesn't overstay its welcome is the mix of the top single, "Clint Eastwood". Rasta's an everpresent theme throughout the album, but luckily, other tracks make up for the sins of the others.

"Banana Baby", a remix of "Tomorrow Comes Today", is the first great track of the album, beginning with a haunting and everlasting techno beat which can never seem to get enough steam, thankfully. "P45" offers the most energetic and perky Gorillaz track since the "19/2000" remix from the Ice Breakers commercial. "Dub 09" somehow manages to be even creepier than "starshine" the track from the self-titled cd from which it was mixed.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, the metaphorical steak dinner is the first cd, the self-titled, best selling tribute to 2-D, Noodle, Russel, and Murdoc. "Laika Comes Home" is a good cd, and while it isn't nearly as good as "Gorillaz", and probably not quite as good as "G-Sides", Gorillaz still prove their abilities. Listen to these two back to back, and when Gorillaz begins to add more menu items, you'll be sure to return for seconds.