Rating: 
I’ll be honest, though Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” was one of my favorite songs of 2006 (and still is today), I just didn’t really get into their album ‘St Elsewhere’. It was good, but I think the tone just couldn’t measure up to “Crazy” and in the end left me wanting. That is not the case with ‘The Odd Couple’ at all. This is a great album full of funk and soul that delivers.
I don’t know what to call the sound that Danger Mouse (Beats and production) and Cee-Lo (Vocals) put together, but it’s good. Damned good. Cee-Lo’s vocals recall classic Al Green soul while revealing something more modern and raw with each new track. He seems to share so much of himself in his heartfelt delivery even when a songs lyrics seem silly and nonsensical. Then there are the beats & melodies created by Danger Mouse, a man who has made his name solely on his ability to mix together sounds in a way that captivates his listeners completely.
‘The Odd Couple’ bursts open with the Brit-Pop/Go-Go inspired “Charity Case” before slowing things down a bit on “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”, one of Cee-Lo’s most gut wrenching and beautiful performances on the album. This is followed by a song that show Danger Mouse really has it goin’ on with “Going On” Before the dust has a chance to settle the pair launch the single “Run (I’m a Natural Disaster)” and cement in you what really makes this duo so great. It’s the genre bending and defining ability paired with their against type catchy hooks combined with the fact that it just sounds like Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo are making the music that comes to them naturally and not attempting to fit into something pre-formatted for retail.
Gnarls Barkley – The Odd Couple
Track listing:
- Charity Case
- Who’s Gonna Save My Soul
- Going On
- Run [I'm A Natural Disaster]
- Would Be Killer
- Open Book
- Whatever
- Surprise
- No Time Soon
- She Knows
- Blind Mary
- Neighbors
- A Little Better
March 21, 2008 – Downtown Music
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Get It Now: iTunes / Amazon (CD)
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The J is approaching his middle ageness the same way he approaches everything, half-assed. He is East Coast raised, but is now roasting slowly in the desert. Musical tendencies sway towards; Old School Hip-Hop, Girl Pop, Lounge, Techno, and other crap. Favorite Artists include: Cake, Ben Folds, Bitter:Sweet, Public Enemy, Fatboy Slim, and you. 
