There have been some wonderful black/white partnerships in music throughout the years; McAlmont & Butler, Sinatra and Count Basie, Run DMC/Aerosmith and err.. Paul McCartney and er.. Michael Jackson. Add now to that list Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo Green, the artists otherwise known as Gnarls Barkley; the former having built his empire as DJ/ producer extraordinaire (Gorillaz, The Grey Album); the latter, a nu-soul legend due to his work with the Goodie Mob, two hit solo albums and the penning of tracks like the sass-tastic Pussycat Dolls hit Don't Cha. Together they've crafted an album that's intricately-produced, astute, powerful and most of all, bloody good fun. St. Elsewhere is a rare commodity in music these days; an album that's subtly experimental without being too impersonal or detached. Danger Mouse's golden touch is ostensible on every shimmering track, and from the Speakerboxx jitter of Go Go Gadget Gospel to the warm, soulful rebate of The Last Time there's not a single dud on display. It stands to reason that Crazy, the history-making debut single should protrude as an album highlight, but thrillingly, there are a multitude of superior tracks to choose from. Violent Femmes cover Gone Daddy Gone is an uptempo, rock-hued gem; The Boogie Monster is a sultry, sinister soul-noir soundtrack; Smiley Faces is a handclapping stomping soul track that exposes Cee-Lo's admirable powerhouse vocal chords, while Transformer is a snappy wedge of frenetic hip-hop and rap over a nifty sample, and is implicative of an OutKast/Avalanches collaboration. Gnarls Barkley have impressively crammed an array of genres into St. Elsewhere - laidback soul, harmonious gospel, sleazy rock, lounge-funk and classic hip-hop - entwined it with deft samples and hooks, and twisted it into their own unique package. If there's one collaborative effort you buy this year, make it St. Elsewhere. Gnarly, dude.
