Gorillaz – Gorillaz (2001/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/44,1 kHz | Time – 01:04:41 minutes | 702 MB | Genre: Rock
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: Qobuz | Front Cover | © Parlophone UK
Gorillaz is the debut studio album by the British virtual band Gorillaz. Throughout the album, the band experiments with many combinations of a variety of musical genres including rock, trip hop, rap rock, art rock, Britpop, hip hop, dub, reggae, Latin, psychedelia, and punk rock. The album reached number three in the UK, and was an unexpected hit in the US, hitting number 14 and selling over seven million copies worldwide by 2007. It earned the group an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band.
It’s tempting to judge Gorillaz – Damon Albarn, Tank Girl creator Jamie Hewlett, and Dan “The Automator” Nakamura’s virtual band – just by their brilliantly animated videos and write the project off as another triumph of style over substance. Admittedly, Hewlett’s edgy-cute characterizations of 2-D, Gorillaz’ pretty boy singer (who looks a cross between the Charlatans’ Tim Burgess and Sonic the Hedgehog), sinister bassist Murdoc, whiz-kid guitarist Noodle, and b-boy drummer Russel are so arresting that they almost detract from Gorillaz’ music. The amazing “Thriller”-meets-Planet of the Apes clip for “Clint Eastwood” is so visually clever that it’s easy to take the song’s equally clever, hip-hop-tinged update of the Specials’ “Ghost Town” for granted. And initially, Gorillaz’ self-titled debut feels incomplete when Hewlett’s imagery is removed; the concept of Gorillaz as a virtual band doesn’t hold up as well when you can’t see the virtual bandmembers. It’s too bad that there isn’t a DVD version of Gorillaz, with videos for every song, à la the DVD version of Super Furry Animals’ Rings Around the World. Musically, however, Gorillaz is a cutely caricatured blend of Albarn’s eclectic Brit-pop and Nakamura’s equally wide-ranging hip-hop, and it sounds almost as good as the band looks. Albarn has fun sending up Blur’s cheeky pop on songs like “5/4” and “Re-Hash,” their trip-hop experiments on “New Genious” and “Sound Check,” and “Song 2”-like thrash-pop on “Punk” and “M1 A1.” Despite the similarities between Albarn’s main gig and his contributions here, Gorillaz isn’t an Albarn solo album in disguise; Nakamura’s bass- and beat-oriented production gives the album an authentically dub and hip-hop-inspired feel, particularly on “Rock the House” and “Tomorrow Comes Today.” Likewise, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Miho Hatori, and Ibrahim Ferrer’s vocals ensure that it sounds like a diverse collaboration rather than an insular side project. Instead, it feels like a musical vacation for all parties involved – a little self-indulgent, but filled with enough fun ideas and good songs to make this virtual band’s debut a genuinely enjoyable album.
Tracklist:
01 – Re-Hash
02 – 5/4
03 – Tomorrow Comes Today
04 – New Genius (Brother)
05 – Clint Eastwood
06 – Man Research (Clapper)
07 – Punk
08 – Sound Check (Gravity)
09 – Double Bass
10 – Rock the House
11 – 19-2000
12 – Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo)
13 – Starshine
14 – Slow Country
15 – M1 A1
16 – Clint Eastwood (Ed Case/Sweetie Irie Refix Edit)
17 – 19-2000 (Soulchild Remix)
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