Up until a week or so ago I was still totally undecided as to whether I actually wanted to hear this album. Don’t get me wrong, I love Cee Lo and his distinct voice still knocks me for 6 every time I hear it, but the issue I had here was that the hype over the first single would overshadow the album.
The hit single ‘Fuck You’ is undoubtably one of the biggest success stories of the year, hitting the number one spot in more countries than you can shake a stick at and dominating the airwaves all over the world. It recieved over 2 million views on youtube in less than a week and was an instant internet viral success.
Being the third solo studio album from Green (aka Thomas DeCarlo Callaway) and the first single to make an attack on the charts (the previous album ‘Cee Lo Green… Soul Machine’ reaching a lowly 13 in the UK album charts accompanied by no singles reaching the top 40) instantly left me with the feeling that it was going to be the rather common ‘one single wonder’ album. Green had experienced similar success as frontman of Gnarls Barkley, smashing the charts with the single ‘Crazy’ which was the first ever single to reach the #1 spot purely on downloads alone holding on for 9 weeks (something that hadn’t been seen in over 10 years). Putting all this aside I gave in and had a listen, trust me, I’m glad I did!
The Intro track to the album reminds me of a cross between a James Bond theme song and ‘Louder’ by the Black Eyed Peas. This album is jam-packed with hit single material – a breath of fresh air from so many other ‘all we need is three good singles then pad out the rest’ albums that have been circulating recently. I’m loving the heavy funk, billy-jean-esque bass line on ‘Bright Lights, Bigger City’ along with the upbeat feel good sound of ‘Satisfied’. ‘Bodies’ left me slightly alarmed but nevertheless begging for more due to the slightly obscure lyrics “At sunrise, the morning papers read, they found a body in my bed”, strange topic but it somehow seems to merge into the album nicely.There are countless ‘big hitters’ on the album but other than the aforementioned songs ‘Cry Baby’ being another personal favourite of mine. The only thing I can fault is that the single ‘F**k You!’ has been relegated to a bonus track on the album, whilst the censored version takes the lead. It sort of feels like the label couldn’t make their mind up so tried to appeal to both audiences.
This album outshines any of his previous work with Gnarls Barkley and is sure to be a storming hit. Cee Lo’s voice is one of unmistakable power and soul, something that you will never get sick of. All in all I can’t fault the album, brilliant production, great lyrics and bags of feel good pop music.
★★★★☆
4.5/5
