"Gnarls Barkley is crazy."
Those four words have been plastered across the Internet for months. The evidence for which presents itself accordingly through photos of the group's main collaborators — neo-soul crooner Cee-Lo Green and hotter-than-hot producer Danger Mouse (born Brian Burton) — in the guise of dynamic film duos ranging from Freddy and Jason to Napoleon and Pedro.
Then there's the MySpace page with a color scheme that would clean out the inventory at Sherwin-Williams. Throw in a performance on the UK's "Top of the Pops" that looked like karaoke night at the airport bar, and there's the proof.
Gnarls Barkley may be crazy, but "St. Elsewhere" is crazier. The May 9 release of "St. Elsewhere" just might get Gnarls Barkley committed for life.
Positioned as an experiment in psychedelic soul, the musical hues invoked by "St. Elsewhere" jive well with the aforementioned cyber wallpaper. However, the album is equally invested in the paranoid side of psychedelia and the darker questions and concerns raised by the expanded mindset.
It's a lot more fun than it sounds.
"I remember when I lost my mind/There was something so pleasant about that place," Green says on "Crazy," the album's infectious first single. The accompaniment starts out sparse — just Green's vocals, bass, drums and some moody "oooh, ahh" harmonizing. From there, the track explodes into a cinematic swell at its chorus, with strings and voice soaring alike.
Burton and Green bring a treasure trove of talent to "St. Elsewhere," and as Gnarls Barkley, they make like the greediest of pirates, pilfering the trove of only the finest pieces. Burton's affinity for the soundtracks of Saturday mornings past is met on the wildly cartoony "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" and "Transformer." Green's made-for-soul tenor gets the backing it demands on "Smiley Faces," an organ-driven rave-up that has Burton adding some electronic flourishes for good measure.
There's wit aplenty on the album as well. Repeated listening to "Smiley Faces" reveals that the titular facial expressions just might be pharmaceutical in origin.
"Say for instance my girlfriend, she bugs me all the time," Green says. "But the irony of it all is that she loves me all the time."
That wit does have a tendency to backfire, though, as it does on the album's two eeriest tracks. "The Boogie Monster" finds its narrator having a spell of paranoid self-loathing, Edgar Allan Poe-style. It's no real surprise when the monster in his closet turns out to be a mirror. And in spite of Green's audible winking, his intentions for the self-destructive subject of "Necromancer" remain just this side of creepy.
Green's lyrics add the album's darkest tones, but Burton's playfulness provides balance. When Green turns the destruction inward, the Danger Mouse sounds a heroic fanfare and swoops in to save him.
"Would it be so hard for you to come and visit me here?" Green says on the title track. The answer to his question is "no" — "St. Elsewhere" is an ideal destination for a short trip or an extended stay.
