Though most everyone has heard its most famous song, many people still don’t know exactly who Gnarls Barkley is. Well, to start, Gnarls Barkley is not one person, but two.
Cee-Lo Green first got his start in Atlanta as a member of the Goodie Mob who palled around with OutKast for most of the 90s and the 00s. He’s known for his soulful voice and unique take on hip-hop and funk.
Green’s counterpart, DJ Danger Mouse, began making remix albums in 1998. In 2004, Danger Mouse released the incredibly popular The Grey Album, in which the DJ combined a capella verses of Jay-Z’s The Black Album with beats created from the instrumentals of The Beatles’ White Album. Danger Mouse also produced the Gorillaz’ second album, Demon Days.
The two members of Gnarls Barkley first collaborated in 2004. They were so pleased with the result that in 2006 they released their debut album as Gnarls Barkley, St. Elsewhere. The first single off of the album, “Crazy,” became ubiquitous throughout summer 2006. Gnarls Barkley had the biggest song in the world in 2006.
In March 2008, the group released its sophomore album, The Odd Couple, and in November 2008, it released a limited edition EP for its single, “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul?”
The EP contains four versions of the song “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul?” — one studio, one live and one demo and one instrumental track. The EP also offers a new song, “Mystery Man,” and a live version of “Neighbors” off of The Odd Couple.
The song, “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul?” tells the tale of a lost loved one and its effect on the tune’s main character. Some have speculated that Cee-Lo wrote this song in memory of the late, great soul singer, James Brown.
The studio version of the song has a creepy vibe to it as Danger Mouse’s masterful orchestration shines on this track. The live version, however, has a much more bluesy feel to it. They slow it down and Cee-Lo has more room to show off his signature smooth southern voice. The demo of the song is stripped down with just an acoustic guitar, a piano, and a lo-fi beat. The version leaves the song nearly naked and plain, showing its true colors. The only piece of new material from Gnarls on this EP, “Mystery Man,” is ho-hum. It’s nothing special and only lasts 2:13.
My favorite track on the album, however, is not one of the title tracks, nor is it the new material — it’s the live version of the song, “Neighbors.” The version was recorded at Athens’ famed 40 Watt, in Cee-Lo’s hometown. The song recounts Cee-Lo meeting a neighbor who annoys him. Before Gnarls Barkley, I never could have pictured Cee-Lo fronting a straight-up rock band. He pulls it off on “Neighbors.”
In all, I think that it’s great that Gnarls Barkley keeps the idea of EPs alive and kicking. I like all of the songs besides “Mystery Man.” I don’t like the idea, however, that I have to pay $5 to hear four versions of the same song. I’ll give it a thumbs up solely for the fact that I like the title song and love the live version of “Neighbors.” I wish I didn’t spend $5 on it, though.
Read More
The best albums of 2014
By Noah Zeidman | December 4, 2014Across genres, it has been a pretty great year in music.
Top 10 movies of 2014
December 4, 2014This has been an excellent year for film, offering everything from gripping blockbusters to innovative personal films.
Iggy Azalea is “Reclassified”
December 4, 2014It has become common practice among music artists to repackage their albums in an effort to simultaneously boost single sales and dish out new content by slightly renaming the album or slapping “Deluxe” onto the title.
