This album was the long awaited return of Gorillaz, and when the world heard the sheer originality of "Feel Good Inc" I think the common expectation was that of something amazing.
In my opinion I'm afraid, most of the tracks on the album don't quite live up to the bands first single from this second album But don't get me wrong, there is still a lot of quality music on this album, which I'm sure all gorillaz fans out there will enjoy immensely, but me as a fairly new fan, mainly having been introduced to these guys by "feel good inc", i was just expecting something a bit different.
One huge plus with this album is that there are a good, healthy number of tracks, 15. Many albums these days only average around 10 or so, but gorillaz provide us with enough material to keep us listening for months.
The disk starts with an "intro" which does its job perfectly in setting up the tone for the rest of the album.
"Last Living Souls" is a great tune, with great rhythm and beat, upholding the typical gorrilaz hip hop style which everyone's used to. The lyrics in this song are pretty basic and we don't
hear much more than "are we the last living souls" throughout the whole track, but nevertheless a great song. 9/10
"Kids With Guns" is also a good song, but again not very lyrically advanced. This does however improve as the song progresses into the chorus, which is very effective. 8/10
(I think that these first two tracks provide a really solid opening to the album, and go really well together. This is one of the highlights of the album for me.)
"O Green World" is next, and this is a much more down beat, melodic song, but still manages to get your foot tapping. For me however, this is not one of the highlights of the album, as i prefer more of the upbeat gorillaz tracks 6/10
"Dirty Harry" is perhaps one of the best songs on the album, It has a very strong opening beat, really setting up the song for the listener, allowing them to listen on and certainly not be disappointed. The use of soft vocals is very effective against the harsh beats in the background. 10/10
And now we move onto the amazing "feel good inc." Which (regardless of the fact it was released as the first single) i believe to be undoubtedly the best song on the album. It is so original, one of the most original songs I have heard this year, and everything in the song just works. The structure is simple, yet highly effective. It opens with a rapping sequence, goes into a more vocal chorus and then repeats. Amazing song. 10/10
"El Maņana" was perhaps the stand out track on my first listen, but in reality this is probably because I found myself listening 2 "feel good inc" a lot and this is the track after. But anyway, it has a slower beat than many of the other songs, and the lyrics really flow with the musical beats. A very effective song. 9/10
"Every planet we reach is dead" - As with a lot of gorillaz music, this song starts off as it means to carry on, a very firm opening. Another thing with this song, is the tone and general sound of the opening is really suited to the name of the song. As we are introduced to the lyrics, we find that they perfectly compliment the tune, more classic gorillaz. Loving it. 9/10
"November has come" starts off fairly slowly, and then incorporates vocals in the form of rapping. Personally I'm not overly keen on this songs opening, but it does get better, with the typical gorillaz soft vocal sounds coming through in the chorus. 7/10
"All Alone" Similar sounds to previous tracks on the album. Also it starts off with the lyrics "All alone, all alone...." This is something we have seen a lot on the album, with the name of the song being repeated at the beginning of the song. This is one of the reasons i had my reservations about this album, as I thought all the songs were going to sound the same, but it turned out that they were all perfectly original and individual, each with their own merits. As for this song, great beat, and I love the way it is structured. 8/10
"White light" is another perfectly original track, allowing the typical gorillaz style of music writing to shine through in all its glory. There is a very fast beat, guaranteed to keep your head nodding for some time. The music then slows down into a sort of interlude, which is another feature we often see in gorillaz songs. Great tune. 8/10
"Dare" - and now we come onto the second main standout track of the album, alongside "feel good inc" Being released as the next single, "dare" is perfect in backing up the gorillaz high set standards put forward by the first single. There is perfect rhythm, and perfectly crafted lyrics from Damon Albarn. 10/10
"Fire Coming Out Of The Monkeys Head" begins like a story, with a narrator setting the scene alongside a melodic beat. The song then becomes more lyrical, and turns into a great song. A highly effective structure for a highly effective song. 8/10
Pictures of Demon Days - Gorillaz
Gorillaz 2
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This is a very nice review but i think you may of over rated some of the songs. but feel good inc is a great song and so is last living souls. but i think there the only two decent ones
cbroxide 28.12.2005 15:10
God review, i especially liked the way you went through each track seperately.
andrewflagg 07.11.2005 02:19
Thought it was great he went through track by track - must've taken ages, he deserves to be rewarded for that
Intro @@us/euwm2/614/6590614_1_01.asx?obj=v50527@@ Last Living Souls ... more
@@us/euwm2/614/6590614_1_02.asx?obj=v50527@@ Kids With Guns @@us/euwm2/614/6590614_1_03.asx?obj=v50527@@ O Green World @@us/euwm2/614/6590614_1_04.asx?obj=v50527@@ Dirty Harry @@...
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Advantages: Jenny Lewis; the musical guests and production; it's a good record Disadvantages: It's the weakest album she's made so far; Elvis Costello; slight lyrics
Seresecros 13.10.2008 (13.10.2008)
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