St. Elsewhere by Gnarls Barkley
I feel like "Crazy" reached a level of radio saturation that it wasn't hard to learn of this album, but the actual Gnarls Barkley experiment seemed to fizzle out in the moment. So when I had the chance to pick this up on the cheap, I knew I wanted to give it a go.
The sound is definitely the most striking thing about the album. Producer Danger Mouse is at the helm and brings a stand-out psychedelic sound, blending hip-hop, soul, and even a lick of prog elements. Notably, the album uses sampling to great effect, usually pulling on 50s & 60s media. "Crazy" notably is built off a spaghetti western score, but it hardly ends there. It can get a bit busy at times, but the instrumentation is something to behold. No two songs really sounds quite the same, from the gospel influences of "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" to the slower, synth-and-bass haunt of "The Boogie Man". I do wonder how much of his work on Demon Days inspired the work here, I could definitely hear the similarities. Cee-Lo brings his own energy to the production, effortlessly dancing between deeper and more soulful singing as well as modulated voices and high-register raps. Sometimes his shtick can get a little out of hand, but the energy usually keeps it together.
The kind of mish-mash mix-up also bleeds over into the lyrical content. It really is all over the place, in a way that's hard to really grab onto after the fact. Everything's so slick and fast that you might miss that "Online" is about cocaine, for instance. Meanwhile other songs creep between metaphor and literalism. "The Boogie Man" seems to be a monstrous ode that then turns the mirror on the narrator but then closes on a sex joke. Meanwhile "Just a Thought" dives into compulsions of suicide amid despair, while "Necromancer" flirts a line between literal and metaphorical necrophilia. In the middle of it all, a blistering 90-second rap about Feng Shui. You can really blink-and-miss a lot if you aren't looking.
Related, this album goes at a blistering pace, especially compared to some of my past listens this week. 14 tracks in under 40 minutes. Only four tracks pass the three-minute mark, and only one longer than 3:30. It does create a bit of a claustrophobic feeling at times, especially to the start of the album. The songs can feel like they haven't really had the time to stick around and develop before we slam right into the next one. Sure, it means that any sour notes don't linger, but there's some in there that I wish went on for longer. The title track doesn't really have the kind of space for a song about moving on, as an example. Now, when they do give room for songs to breathe, I think those are where the album really soars. Not for nothing that every song over 2:55 I find I really love.
The album feels about as fleeting as the project was. Which is a shame, because it's damn good. Sure, sometimes it gets a bit caught up in its own manic energy to lay down its cards right, but that 60's drenched synthy sound is a delight even in these brief moments. I sometimes use a metric when criticizing movies is that some movies need 30-minutes-more - just more space to let the more interesting aspects shine or to develop elements that didn't quite come together. And I think this album I feel a bit of the same way on. Still, for as it is, it's a solid little hip-hop showcase that is sure to please.
Favorite Song: Storm Coming
I'll be frank, I was certain it'd be "Crazy" for the longest while. It's simply so classic and well put together. It got the Grammy nom for a reason. But something really came together on "Storm Coming." It really swells and Cee-Lo goes hard as hell on it, really conjuring the visage of a mighty storm. When the verse rolls in and the beat quickens, it grabs your attention and doesn't let go for a second. All while Cee-Lo raps about the fleeting presence of life and the need to make your mark when you can, likening his joie de vivre to overpowering weather, declaring that "[he] is going to happen." It's electric.
Kobold Rating: 5/5