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| The Odd Couple | 
 enlarge | Artist: Gnarls Barkley
Label: Atlantic
Category: Music
List Price: $18.98
Buy New: $7.92
You Save: $11.06 (58%)
Buy New/Used/Collectible from $7.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  (42 reviews)
Sales Rank: 36
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4
MPN: 460236
UPC: 075678994692
EAN: 0075678994692
ASIN: B0013H8QEG
Release Date: March 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Nu old soul May 1, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
- Shows less eclectic diversity in both Cee-Lo's delivery and Dangermouse's production
- The character Cee-Lo created for this project is harder to distinguish from his regular persona shown on his solo albums (though he still never raps on this project)
- Subtle nuances are the focus of the show this time, in Cee-Lo's lyrical implications and voice as well as Danger Mouse's increasingly subtle means of experimentation.
- It begs the question "is this R&B"?
- Their aim this time seems to be to tone down the gimmicks for the purpose of exposing an almost Curtis Mayfield level of imaginative realism (minus the hooks)
 Solid April 30, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is not a great cd, however, it is a good cd. I didnt like it the first time i heard it, but after a few listens and learned to like it - just like st. elswhere. A lot of songs are catchy and you will eventually find yourself humming it all day.
Don't be surprised April 29, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Back again, Gnarls Barkley cannot fail to deliver. Don't be surprised, though, if it takes more than one listen to get hooked. It happened on the second for me. Why, you ask? To me, it's because this is much more of a psychologically charged album than its feel-good predecessor. As exposed in St. Elsewhere, the feel of the soul-infused craziness moves deeper to a more manic state of soulful agitation in the Odd Couple. It may be a metaphor of the GB persona as there is a Jekyll & Hyde feel to this album; GB has descended from a self-aware state of craziness to a musical personality that seems to border on insanity, an ego uncontrolled and exploring its limitations.
There is a definite progression in the songs from "Charity Case" all the way to "Surprise". If one can get beyond the groove, the precisely orchestrated beats, you might just feel the transformation. Lyrically, the Odd Couple is kinda creepy, albeit gloriously set to music. In this way it's more subtle than St. Elsewhere, but its depth is piercing. It's about the pain of being a self-described natural disaster, an ugly wretch, an open book for all to see, though possessing a final chapter yet to be written. There's a whole lot of pain, but a whole lot of soul here as expected, too. Danger Mouse is a genius, and Cee-Lo has got to be the reincarnation of Otis Redding. A perfect match.
Great album April 28, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I really love over half of this album. There is enough variety in tempo and style to enjoy end-to-end.
St. Elsewhere Part II (& Better) April 24, 2008
The Odd Couple sticks pretty close to the formula that was established on their debut. Dangermouse does his best to incorporate every instrument known to man in his beats & Cee-Lo is at his paranoid best. The 1st three tracks flatter to deceive as they almost sound conventional but Dangermouse throws a curve ball on "Would Be Killer" & "Open Book" just to remind us that this is after all a Gnarls Barkley release. Beyond that however the weirdness fades and tracks like "Surprise" sounds like nothing more than two hip-hopsters experimenting with a bit of rock.
Lyrically Cee-Lo plays the role of paranoid mad man but every once in a while, as on "Blind Mary" he throws in a bit 'sweet & innocence' in the mix. The same 'sweet & innocence' that is found in movies like 'There's Something About Mary'
Ultimately it is the fact that Gnarls Barkley do not break any new ground that make this a better, albeit less challenging, affair. They stick to the script with great effect making for an album that you can listen to from front to back and then repeat.
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