The Odd Couple

Gnarls Barkley

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 21, 2008)
• Original Release Date: March 18, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Atlantic
• ASIN: B0013H8QEG
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,982 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk
With its cinematic origins The Odd Couple is the natural title for the second album by a pair who seem to spend as much time in wardrobe as the studio and whose recordings are often compared to film scores. Their greatest hit, 2006's "Crazy" was even built around a chunk of a spaghetti western soundtrack. Yet after the success of 2006's excellent St Elsewhere, the collaboration of singer Thomas "Cee-Lo Green" Callaway and producer Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton has become a permanent institution. The Odd Couple certainly lives up to expectations, and though there is no obvious smash to match "Crazy", it's a smoother affair than their often hyperactive debut, the unsettling "Open Book" aside. Highlights include the excellent, agitated lead-off single "Run", a smart slice of off kilter pop-soul, and its most obvious successor, the instant classic "Surprise". "Going On" manages to weld an eighties pomp-pop introduction to a surprisingly vulnerable Cee-Lo performance while the plaintive, bluesy "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" catches him at his most soulful. "Whatever" is a cute, rather bratty sixties pastiche halfway to Britpop (though no Englishman ever used the expression "y'all") while the warped bubblegum pop of "Blind Mary" and the more traditionally ominous "Would Be Killer" are opposite sides of the same twisted coin. Informed by rap and dance, but occupying their own unique genre, Gnarls Barkley continue to soundtrack the movie that, so far, exists only in their heads. --Steve Jelbert

Product Description
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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	RadioNDN "RadioNDN" (Midwestern USA) - See all my reviews

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."

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.

14 of 14 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)

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.