Performer Notes
- 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.
- 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.
Professional Reviews
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".
