Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0075678994692
Label: Atlantic
Manufacturer: Atlantic
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Atlantic
Release Date: 2008-03-21
Studio: Atlantic
MPN: 460236

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 Rating:
Summary: No Slump For This Couple
Comment: So okay, this second effort is not as good as the first one, but solid none the less. Its like the girl who looks really hot at the club and then you get to see her on Wednesday out and about. Without the dark lights she may not look as good but still worth serious consideration. Take this album home and you'll see where I'm coming from.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: "Is it possible you were hurting worse than me?"
Comment: Gnarls Barkley's second album is a good step forward for the duo. It's not what I'd call better than their debut, but it's hard to say it's worse, and it's definitely more focused. It's not quite as fun, but it's still plenty entertaining. There aren't any crazy songs like "Transformer", but they still have some fun in between some more depressing and downbeat songs. Despite the shift in tone, it's identifiably the same band, with Danger Mouse coming up with some great beats and Cee-Lo providing nice R&B vocals. Nothing is as immediately grabbing and infectious as "Crazy", but few songs ever written are.

The album's without a single standout song, but almost all of them are good enough to keep the album enjoyable all the way through. Some enjoyable moments are the female vocals in "Charity Case", the chorus in "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)", and the hand claps and backing choir in "Surprise". "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" has a great music video, and is a very good song, with a morose but memorable beat and nice chorus. "Open Book" sounds almost tribal, but has a syncopated rhythm keeping it modern and some powerful singing. "Blind Mary" is the record's lightest-hearted song, and a pretty catchy one. "Neighbors" also has nice vocal work. It's a pretty consistent album, it just doesn't quite reach their previous effort's heights. They've stated they're only going to create one more album, so I hope it continues to evolve their sound as much as this did.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Greeaaaaaattttttttttt!
Comment: I love this CD! Its kinda a psychadellic, rock mix. Each song is just long enough not to bore you.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: good not great
Comment: The CD works excellent but...the case was cracked when I got it and I don't think it was because of the sipping. So....good but not a great experience.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple 7/10
Comment: The Odd Couple is an appropriate name for Gnarls Barkley's latest album; the collaboration between mash-up extraordinaire Danger Mouse and eccentric rapper Cee-Lo Green is anything but normal. The Odd Couple continues St. Elsewhere's Grammy-winning formula of horror-cinema beats and off-the-wall rhymes, but not much else.

Gnarls Barkley has never been a duo that shied away from taking chances, and The Odd Couple is no exception. Cee-Lo sounds like a fiery gospel singer on "Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)" and the beats sound like nothing else on rap radio, such as the slow jam, 9-mm-reloading sounds of "Would Be Killer."

Nevertheless, despite the two's ambitious innovations, one could listen to St. Elsewhere and The Odd Couple and consider the two records interchangeable. If you hated "Crazy," chances are you'll hate this album, too, but don't think that will stop Gnarls from continuing to freak out mainstream hip-hop.

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