The Odd Couple (album)

The Odd Couple
Studio album by Gnarls Barkley
Released March 18, 2008 (2008-03-18)
Recorded 2007–2008
Genre Psychedelic soul,[1] neo soul, alternative rock
Length 39:12
Label Atlantic-Downtown
Producer Danger Mouse
Gnarls Barkley chronology
St. Elsewhere
(2006)St. Elsewhere2006		 The Odd Couple
(2008)
Singles from The Odd Couple
  1. "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)"
    Released: February 5, 2008
  2. "Going On"
    Released: June 24, 2008
  3. "Who's Gonna Save My Soul"
    Released: September 4, 2008
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[2]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Billboardpositive[4]
DJBooth.net[5]
The Guardian[6]
NME8/10[7]
The Observer[8]
Pitchfork Media7.2/10[9]
PopMatters9/10[10]
RapReviews9/10[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
Uncut[13]

The Odd Couple is the second studio album by Gnarls Barkley, released digitally on March 18 and in stores March 25, 2008. Due to an early leak of the album over the Internet in early March 2008, the duo decided to push up the release from April 8. The album was released to the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 on March 18.

As of October 2010 the album has sold 250,000 copies in United States according to Nielsen Soundscan. [14]

Due to the band's inactivity, The Odd Couple would become the group's last album in over a decade.

Background

In late January, an assumed leaked track appeared on several music blogs. "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)", the previously unknown song, was given positive reviews from most music outlets.[15] "Run" was released as the album's first single as a digital download in the U.S. on February 5, 2008. Despite "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" being the lead single at the time, "Going On" was the highest charting album track on iTunes having made it as high as #23 on the Top 100 chart as of March 25, subsequently debuting at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was then released as the second single from the album, and the song's video premiered on March 20, 2008. In March 2008, the album's third single, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" was premiered by hip hop band The Roots' drummer Questlove through a video uploaded to YouTube.[16] The album also features Josh Klinghoffer, a touring musician for the band since 2006 and who would a year following the album's release join the Red Hot Chili Peppers as their guitarist.

An early leak of the album over the Internet in early March, 2008, prompted the duo to push the release of the album from April 8. Digital versions of the sophomore effort were released to the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 on March 18.[17] Physical copies of the album were slated for March 25, however some copies hit independent record stores on March 18. The album was released in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2008. An instrumental reverse edition of the album, retitled elpuoc ddo eht, was released on April 17, 2008. The entire album is fused into one 38:44 second track played completely in reverse, starting with the album's last song and ending with the album's first. This unorthodox edition was released officially by Danger Mouse and is legally available as a second disc on the vinyl edition of the album.

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Charity Case"3:12
2."Who's Gonna Save My Soul"3:15
3."Going On"2:54
4."Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)"2:44
5."Would Be Killer"2:22
6."Open Book"3:20
7."Whatever"2:18
8."Surprise"3:50
9."No Time Soon"2:55
10."She Knows"2:44
11."Blind Mary"3:25
12."Neighbors"3:05
13."A Little Better"3:07
Total length:39:12

Samples

  • "Going On" samples "Folder Man" written by Peter Dunton and performed by Please
  • "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" samples "Junior Jet Set" by Keith Mansfield
  • "Would Be Killer" samples "Fluid" by Twink
  • "Open Book" incorporates sampled elements from "Träume" by Françoise Hardy
  • "Whatever" samples "The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
  • "Surprise" contains elements of "Building with a Steeple" written by Ron Dante, Gene Allen and Bobby Feldman and performed by The Eighth Day
  • "She Knows" samples "Gentle Flute" performed by Cy Payne
  • "A Little Better" incorporates elements of "Trying to Be Free" written by Nacabal and Yvon-Goudy and performed by T.N.T.H.

References

  1. ↑ Hermes, Will (March 25, 2008). "Gnarls Barkley, 'The Odd Couple'". Spin. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  2. ↑ "The Odd Couple by Gnarls Barkley".
  3. ↑ AllMusic review
  4. ↑ "Billboard review".
  5. ↑ "DJBooth.net review".
  6. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (28 March 2008). "CD: Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple". the Guardian.
  7. ↑ "Gnarls Barkley - NME". NME.
  8. ↑ "Reviews 11-25". the Guardian. 20 April 2008.
  9. ↑ "Gnarls Barkley: The Odd Couple Album Review - Pitchfork". pitchfork.com.
  10. ↑ PopMatters review
  11. ↑ "Gnarls Barkley :: The Odd Couple :: Atlantic Records". www.rapreviews.com.
  12. ↑ "Rolling Stone review".
  13. ↑ "Uncut review".
  14. ↑ Lipshutz, Jason (2 October 2010). "There's More to Cee Lo Green's New Album, 'The Lady Killer', Than His Recent Potty-Mouthed Viral Smash". Billboard. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "Gnarls Barkley Are The Odd Couple on New LP". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  16. ↑ "Pitchfork Forkcast: Video: Gnarls Barkley: "Who's Gonna Save My Soul"".
  17. ↑ Entertainment Weekly, "Life After Crazy" http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20186641,00.html
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