This is an Enhanced CD which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files.
Gorillaz: 2D, Noodle, Russel, Murdoc (a.k.a. Damon Albarn, Del Tha Funky Homosapien, Sky Edwards, Dan The Automator).
Additional personnel includes: Miho Hatori, Tina Weymouth, Ibrahim Ferrer.
Producers include: Dan The Automater, Tom Girling, Jason Cox, Gorillaz.
Engineers include: Tom Girling, Jason Cox, Toby Whelan.
Recorded at Gee Jam Studios, Jamaica.
"Clint Eastwood" was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group.
U.K. rerelease contains the bonus tracks "Clint Eastwood" (Ed Case Re-fix) and "19/2000" (Soulchild Remix) as well as an interactive CD-ROM section.
What do you get when you combine Damon Albarn, singer for Britpop superstars Blur, with hip-hop producer Dan The Automator? Gorillaz, silly! Albarn takes a busman's holiday and avails himself of the opportunity to take the kind of sonic risks one would be unlikely to find on a Blur album. This isn't hip-hop or dance music per se, though "Rock the House" is a bona-fide party rap tune, and Dan The Automator adds plenty of hip-hop elements and trip-hop beats throughout.
Ultimately, GORILLAZ is occupied by Albarn's arch, twisted pop vision filtered through a dizzying array of electronic sounds and studio manipulations. There are some interesting stylistic experiments, too, as on the Latin-style "Latin Simone," which features a guest vocal from none other than Cuban legend Ibrahim Ferrer, and "Slow Country," which, despite its title, is an excursion into the atmospheric land of dub reggae. This is a far cry from Britpop--imagine Blur in a sonic kaleidoscope. And then try in vain to imagine either of the Gallagher brothers attempting anything close to this.
What the critics say…
Rolling Stone (6/21/01, p.78) - 3 stars out of 5 - "…A playful piece of genre-squishing art pop. Inspired by the punky reggae parties of SANDINISTA!-era Clash….running with anything-goes avant-aesthetic…"
Spin (1/02, p.76) - Ranked #6 in Spin's "Albums of the Year 2001".
Spin (6/01, p.148) - 7 out of 10 - "…A multiculti grasp of the sweetest kind….Easy on the ears because they know the difference between calling people up and casting them…"
Q (5/01, p.115) - 4 stars out of 5 - "…With its creepily urban feel, and innocent, nursery-rhyme quality of the melodies, Gorillaz couldn't be further from a self-consciously arch 'art' supergroup…"
Alternative Press (2/02, p.65) - Ranked #15 in AP's "25 Best Albums of 2001".
Alternative Press (7/01, p.68) - 8 out of 10 - "…Brilliant…"
Magnet (6-7/01, pp.89-90) - "…Nothing short of sheer musical buggery…"
Muzik (5/01, p.66) - 5 out of 5 - "…Genre-splicing, sample-collaging, spliffed-out hip hop…standing head and shoulders over anything Blur have ever achieved…and even overshadows much of Dan The Automator's recent output…"
Mojo (Publisher) (4/01, p.98) - "…A funky…meld of dub, reggae, hip hop, world music, pop and thrash punk….Electric, upbeat, and actually very good."
NME (Magazine) (12/29/01, p.59) - Ranked #48 in NME's 50 "Albums Of the Year 2001".