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Product details
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Track Listings
| 1. Re-Hash |
| 2. 5/4 |
| 3. Tomorrow Comes Today |
| 4. New Genious (Brother) |
| 5. Clint Eastwood |
| 6. Man Research (Clapper) |
| 7. Punk |
| 8. Sound Check (Gravity) |
| 9. Double Bass |
| 10. Rock The House |
| 11. 19-2000 |
| 12. Latin Simone feat Ibrahim Ferrer |
| 13. Starshine |
| 14. Slow Country |
| 15. M1 A1 |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Gorillaz claim to have found their motley crew of cartoon characters sleeping in Leicester Square, but Blur's Damon Albarn (a.k.a. 2-D) and cult cartoonist Jamie Hewlett (Murdoc) are not fooling anyone. As the ultimate experiment in manufactured image, the Gorillaz are a virtual, cartoon-character-based hip-hop band which bring together some of the wittiest, silliest lyrics and the most seriously talented musicians. Infectious old school hip-hop rhythms, rhymes and effects courtesy of Deltron 3030's Kid Koala and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien (Russel) are combined with Albarn's passion for chugging lo-fi and edgy melodies to create a seemingly raw but ultimately slick blend of styles which is all their own. This is nowhere more evident than on hit single "Clint Eastwood", which is carried along by the sound of 2-D's slurred voice and a bluesy harmonica melody interrupted by Russel's punching rhymes. But the surprises do not stop there: Ibrahim Ferrer's appearance on "Latin Simone" could have come straight from Buena Vista Social Club but for the obvious Blur-influenced piano style, while the spooky intro to "M1 A1" wouldn't sound out of place on Michael Jackson's Thriller. Backed up by Jamie Hewlett's death wish character on bass, Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori (Noodle) on guitar and occasional hyperactive vocals, and produced by Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, it's hardly surprising that Gorillaz is marked both by a sense of playfulness and a passion for experimentation. --Caroline Butler
Review
History is littered with virtual bands. The 60s had The Archies and The Banana Splits, the 70s had The Wombles and everything created by Jonathan King. But by the 21st century the concept was to become far more than a way of marketing pop to kids. Gorillaz is most decidedly a grown-ups' affair. At the point where Blur - bereft of guitarist Graham Coxon - decided to take a break and Damon Albarn was still grieving both band and a long-term relationship, instead of wallowing in a Lennon-esque 'lost weeekend' he took a creative left turn. Sharing a flat with friend and Tank Girl cartoonist, Jamie Hewlett, the pair decided to create their own bunch of reprobate, porno-loving oiks. Mis-Spelling the name with a 'z' in honour of the ultimate cartoon band, The Monkees, Albarn and Hewlett joined forces with San Francisco's hip hop genius, Dan 'The Automator' Nakamura and the band was born. Hewlett created the visual identities of 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel while Albarn added the soundtrack to their cartoon capers.
While Hewlett's graphics are amazing (the band's website was a paragon of all the stuff we now take for granted in terms of marketing a concept album), the album belongs to Albarn. His vocals litter all but two tracks and the palette reflects his divergent interests in everything from lo fi garage (5/4, Punk) to wonky hip hop (Rock The House), dub (Sound Check (Gravity)) early electronica (Double and Man Research: a tribute to Raymond Scott's Manhattan Research Inc.) and even krautrock (Starshine, M1 A1). Nakamura's touch lends the album a spooky bottom end and a host of stars willing to subsume their identities under the band's two dimensional front (Talking Heads' Tina Weymouth, Morcheeba's Skye Edwards, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien and even Ibrahim Ferrer) mean that, while the diversity is a little dizzying, any sidestepping is always in safe hands. Plus Albarn's innate way with a tune meant that the tracks could handle any amount of mandatory remixing. The two-step version of Clint Eastwood still stands as a classic get-out-of-jail-free moment for any DJ stuck for a floor filler.
Regarded at the time as a successful if slightly self-indulgent hobby/holiday for Damon and his stoner mates, in hindsight Gorillaz holds up amazingly well: Better, in fact, than the subsequent Demon Days, where the higher celebrity count detracted from the album's coherence. It remains, primarily, some of the best stuff that Albarn's ever done. --Chris Jones
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
This is deffinitely the best album from Gorillaz. Blur frontman Damon Albarn initially created the ficticious band to emphasise the amount of manufactured bands and the lack of actual talent in todays 'pop scene'. And you really cant get more manufactured than cartoon characters as an actual band. Albarns' plan may have technically back-fired on him as the Gorillaz became an instant hit. Taking a mix of punk, R n B, and slow rock to create classics such as clint eastwood, 19-2000, and rock the house. Even a collection of Gorillaz b-sides, formed a quite good album with "G-Sides". This is probably the most original/ diverse kind of music you are likeley to hear today. Boy/ girl bands, commercial hip-hop 'stars' and general pop artists should feel pretty bad that they are being out-done by a ficticious band led by mainly 2 people. (Albarn and cult cartoonist Jamie Hewlett) And they have the numerous awards to prove it. Whilst Demon Days is good and still maintains its originality, the self titled debut album will always be a firm favourite for those of us who like something else asside from the drone of girls aloud, the campness of every boy band around, and the vanity of those commercial hip-hop stars. (50 cent actually admitted that the first 3 of his 5 favourite songs of all time were 3 of his own songs) Thats hip-hop modesty at its finest.
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
How anyone could think that this CD was not good is beyond me. When I bought this album because of hearing Clint Eastwood I played it back to back as soon as I got it. It rocked.
All the tracks are good. Some instantly implant themselves in you brain and play all day, while others grow on you with time. Hats off to Mr. Albarn for the truly wonderful Gorillaz!
All the tracks are good. Some instantly implant themselves in you brain and play all day, while others grow on you with time. Hats off to Mr. Albarn for the truly wonderful Gorillaz!
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Well after a mate was raving on about how good the likes of kid koala (from the ninjatune record label - along with the likes of Herbaliser et al) and Del the Funky Homosapien were I went out and bought the album Deltron 3030 and found the slick lyrics and mellow beatz were fantastic! So I was really exited when I heard that Gorillaz were essentially Deltron 3030 with Damon Albarn added for effect. I have to say that I was not dissapointed. The mix of hip hop and mellow indie will stun you...it it of a genre I have never seen before! The songs they have released so far - Clint Eastwood and Tomorrow comes Today are probably the best songs but the others are excellent too! My advise - Go get it NOW!!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A somewhat sketchy start music-wise
But a great introduction to anyone interested in the music, plotlines or characters. The best ones to me are Re-Hash, 5/4, Tomorrow Comes Today, Clint Eastwood, Man Research, Rock... Read more
Published 8 months ago by discmythnut
Unlike Anything Else
Gorillaz are an experimental group from the U.K., also known as a virtual band for their use of cartoon characters in their videos and on their website which is perhaps the best... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dave_42
Crackin'
Very good album. < understatement.
Could easily listen to this album and not get bored of a single track. Read more
Could easily listen to this album and not get bored of a single track. Read more
Published 13 months ago by JoshCherry1993
Cooooooooooool!!!
Bought this and some more of the back catalog after getting Plastic beach cheaply......cant go wrong here, a good contemporary album. A must have for the collection. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Goldie
It's alright for a complete rip-off
This band is alright if you like Blur, but they are derivative and basically a poor rip-off.
The lead singer sounds exactly the same as Damon Albaran.
The lead singer sounds exactly the same as Damon Albaran.
Published 16 months ago by Elliot Tomlinson
what a debut
have been a gorillaz fan since this came out, have all their albums this is still my fave, love the lyrics and bringing in del da funky homosapien was a great idea, works really... Read more
Published 17 months ago by James Woods
A Mixed Bag From 2D And Co.
Time for another music review I think. This time I've chosen Gorillaz' self-titled debut album. That's Gorillaz by Gorillaz in case you didn't catch my drift. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Matthew Stoneman
It's fusion, so deal
Damon Albarn brings us dub, alternative, hip-hop, reggae and rap all wrapped up in a sense of humour. Don't take it too seriously, enjoy it. Read more
Published 21 months ago by iconoclast
Ahead of their time
Really like this album. I bought Demon Days ages ago but it took me a long time to get into it - it was years before I realised how good it was. Read more
Published on 1 May 2010 by Michael Smith
Brilliant and Different - Music for this age.
Gorillaz just have their own style - they are so hard to pin down as to what type of music they are. Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2010 by Andrew Dalby
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