Artist: Gorillaz
Album: Plastic Beach
Released: March 2010
Label: Virgin Records
Genre: Alternative Hip-Hop
Purchase Date: 23 Nov 2010
Format: mp3 files
Source: Amazon
I'm not much of a hip-hop fan. There are a few hip-hop acts that I appreciate, and a few of those I actually like, but rap and hip-hop usually just don't do a whole lot for me. So, I was rather skeptical when so many other critics started to heap this album with praises: especially by a virtual band whose members are cartoon characters. (A phenomenon that reminded me of The Banana Splits.)
With the extremely positive reviews and a bargain-basement one-day sale price at Amazon, I decided to buy the album. I was really impressed
You've got to hand it to Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the real-world creative team behind this virtual band. First of all there's the sheer ambition of this album: It's concept album about an island called Plastic Beach that formed when enough of the pastic garbage floating in the ocean coalesced. The music is extremely eclectic: there are notes of dub, ska, indie rock, and pop all mixed together. And there's a long list of special guest artists including rappers like Mos Def and Snoop Dog, along with artists from outside the rap world like Lou Reed and the Syrian National Orchestra for Arab Music.
I mostly liked this record. I found the music to be engaging and that it had a real story to tell. It's not going to be in heavy rotation, but it works.
Rating: B
Artist not available at eMusic
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