St. Elsewhere (album)
St. Elsewhere is the title of the debut album of alternative duo Gnarls Barkley. It was released in May 2006 and was primarily commercially very successful because of the single " Crazy ".
About the Album
St. Elsewhere was built between 2003 and 2005. Album was produced entirely by DJ Danger Mouse. It's sample -heavy, however, many instruments were recorded live. Most of the songs have fast beats and are the genres electronica and hip-hop can be assigned, but also mix many more styles. Cee- Lo Green sings most of the songs, only "Feng Shui " is completely rapped. The texts written by him treat often negative emotions and psychological disorders such as paranoia, schizophrenia and depression, but also to overcome them. Occasionally, they contrast the often joyous, but also partly melancholic melodies.
In November appeared in England, in December in Germany a special edition of the album with a 92 -page booklet and a bonus CD. On this there are the videos of the three singles from St. Elsewhere and in addition of "Go- Go Gadget Gospel " as well as live performances by Gnarls Barkley, among others, at Top of the Pops.
History and Singles
Even before its release was St. Elsewhere enormous attention by the lead single, " Crazy", which was published in April 2006. By the end of 2005, the song by English radio station BBC Radio 1 has been discovered and got a huge airplay. In April 2006 reached "Crazy", at the time only as "Digital Download " available, No. 1 on the UK Top 40, which previously succeeded yet no single. They stayed there for nine weeks at the top position, and in countless other countries in the top third Gnarls Barkley then decided to take the song from the market so that listeners would not weary him; also wanted to concentrate on the second single "Smiley Faces". In April 2008, the song reached the mark of two million downloads.
"Crazy" won the 2006 in the top category Best Song an MTV Europe Music Award. A year later, the song received a Grammy at the Grammy Awards for Best Alternative - performance, it was also nominated in the category Single of the Year. The music video for " Crazy", shot in the style of a Rorschach test, two won the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards and was nominated for a Europe Music Award. From the Rolling Stone was 'Crazy' voted best song of 2006. In addition, the song has been covered by countless musicians, including Nelly Furtado, The Raconteurs, Bryan Adams, The Kooks and Billy Idol.
"Smiley Faces" was published in July, but was unable to repeat the success of " Crazy". In Ireland and England, after all, the song was also placed in the top 10. The accompanying video is a mockumentary about Gnarls Barkley, which are shown in historical scenes, similar to those in Zelig or Forrest Gump. Dennis Hopper and Dean Stockwell have cameos in the video. It won 2007 MTV Video Music Award.
In November appeared as a double A-side " Who Cares? / Gone Daddy Gone ". On both songs, videos were made, with that of "Gone Daddy Gone" was bestowed the greater media attention. The piece is a cover of the Violent Femmes in 1982. The single only reached number 60 of the UK Top 40
Reception
At the Grammy Awards of 2007 was St. Elsewhere in the Kategegorien Album of the Year and nominated for Best Alternative Music Album and won in the latter.
Reviews
St. Elsewhere was reacted favorably. His Metascore is 81 out of 100.
The e-zine laut.de rated the album four out of five points. His style is described as a " madness of soul, New Orleans Carnival, electronic, gospel, hip hop and Freak Show," praised is particularly the ingenuity, the felicitous to Danger Mouses sample selection and Cee- Los multifaceted voice is returned.
"Brilliant produces manage Gnarls Barkley with 14 widely varying songs to create chronic stress. And that, without being able to assign it a specific direction. Gospel deposits coexist with hard beats, ethereal sounds complement silky smooth soul voice. There is not rather than 37 minutes of music on this record, but they are so varied, that the one that more material of Gnarls Barkley wants the disc should just let go through again. Especially because some songs are not as catchy as "Crazy" and be utilized only the second or third listen. " St. Elsewhere " makes it clear that two absolute professionals are pottering on [... ] "
The All Music Guide emphasizes the individual performance of Danger Mouse and Cee -Lo and assigns four and a half out of five points on St. Elsewhere.
" With the help of Danger Mouse's platinum ear and intricate vocal productions, Green is revealed as a top-notch post- millennial soul singer. Even When He 's floating another mass of wise, serene gibberish, DM simply drops another production trick to keep things tight. [ ... ] Although Gnarls Barkley topping the charts was a slight fluke, the excellence of St. Elsewhere could have been seen coming a mile away. "
More reviews:
- Juice: 4.5 out of 6 points
- Plattentests.de: 7 out of 10 points
- Rolling Stone: 3.5 of 5 points
- Q: 4 out of 5
Published in the E -zine PopMatters and the magazine Entertainment Weekly lists of the best albums of 2006 once St. Elsewhere the first place, while it landed in comparable year-end ratings of the magazines Spin and Q at number two and ten.
Charts
Swell
- Album ( Hip- Hop )
- Album ( Pop )
- 2006 album