MY SUMMER SOUNDTRACK

By: B -- 6/5/06

I recently called my token Friend Who Quickly Gets Sick of Popular Music (we all have one) to suggest that he listen to Gnarls Barkley’s new album St. Elsewhere. Almost on cue, he reported glumly, “I’ve heard “Crazy” about a million times. I’m already sick of it.” Well then. Short window.

Ordinarily I’d accept this friend’s p.o.v. and thusly file St. Elsewhere under Yesterday’s News before moving on to other, more underground suggestions with which to wow him. But in this particular case, I had to press on with my St. Elsewhere reco. Because no matter how many times the hipsters have been spoon-fed “Crazy,” the rest of the album is too damn good to ignore.

St. Elsewhere is the debut from Gnarls Barkley, the two-man collaboration between super-producer Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo, the high-pitched rapper from ATL’s Goodie Mob. Elsewhere’s expansive sound cocktails numerous musical genres, but for simplicity’s sake imagine up-tempo Gorillazesque beats playing beneath Cee-Lo’s Simon Birch-like shriek. Cee-Lo does more singing than rapping, giving Elsewhere a sort of hip-hop gospel feel. The mood swings from silly (“Boogie Monster”) to severe (“Just a Thought,” the thought being about suicide) but never so much that it distracts from the music.

The gist: you give me Cee-Lo’s infectious wail, add in groovy hip-hop beats and inject the effort with a light gospel vibe…well, consider me hooked. In addition to “Crazy,” (which I’m still digging, btw), there are at least a half-dozen other bouncy radio-worthy cuts (especially “Smiley Faces”). St. Elsewhere is bound to be the soundtrack to my summer.

OVERALL RATING: 8

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