Although Cee-Lo is a rapper and DJ Danger Mouse a hip-hop beatsmith, their St. Elsewhere isn’t a rap album. And although “Crazy” is currently in top-20 rotation on alternative radio, it certainly isn’t a rock album either. In fact, since the stated purpose of Gnarls Barkley is to defy characterization, there isn’t much point in trying to slap their music with a genre.
Easier to say is that this is a hell of a weird album, existing in a world where an overlooked Southern rapper and a geeky New York DJ can team up to make a soul record, including a Violent Femmes cover and a No. 1 UK single. Ten of the record’s 14 tracks are less than three minutes long, and there’s never enough time for them to settle into a signature sound, but the album’s schizophrenic pace is half the fun.
The album’s undeniable catchiness shouldn’t be a surprise; Cee-Lo is responsible for the Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha” and Danger Mouse produced the new Gorillaz album. Still, St. Elsewhere will catch the average listener off-guard; after all, The Grey Album, Danger Mouse’s phenomenal Jay-Z/Beatles remix, was quickly absorbed in a flood of inferior “mash-ups,” and Cee-Lo was dumped from his record label after his two solo albums tanked.
Cee-Lo finds his niche here; his voice (the type usually reserved for rap hooks) fits creepily well with the album’s skittery hip-hop beats. The result is soul for the A.D.D. generation, a fusion of styles that has perhaps been successfully employed by Outkast, but few others.
Yes, “Crazy” is a good song, but even before its inevitable crossover from alternative to mainstream U.S. radio success, the song’s coolness has already been undermined: Paris Hilton delayed her debut album just so she could cover it (shudder).
Luckily, there’s even better stuff here; forthcoming single “Smiley Faces” one-ups “Crazy” with an even more addictive bassline, and album closer “The Last Time” settles into a neo-soul groove that will make you thankful St. Elsewhere was made, whatever the fuck you want to call it.
