| Gorillaz - D Sides |
| Label: Virgin Records |
By: diesel
Feb 21 08 |
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If you would like to get technical about the Gorillaz -- rather than think outside the box -- then I can explain it easily. Gorillaz is a band, rather project, consisting of music from Blur’s front man Damon Albarn (the only permanent member), and various special guests. Most of whom are unlisted, but have included many famous artists including Del The Funky Homosapien, and illustrations by Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl. Mix the music, primarily rock and elements of rap, with the illustrations turned animations, and you have yourself the virtual band Gorillaz.
Now, if you have an imagination then we can look at the virtual side of the Gorillaz.
The band consists of four members who record and live in Kong Studios. The members are 2D on vocals and keyboards; Murdoc Niccals on bass; Russel Hobbs on percussion; and Noodle on guitar and vocals.
Each member has their own style making this virtual band quite interesting to listen to and watch. 2D seems a little depressed at times, Murdoc is a bad ass womanizer, Russel is a big drummer who looks confused a lot, and Noodle is a high spirited young lady.
Gorillaz create music that spans all over the genre board. Some tracks are upbeat rock songs, while others are funky tracks with rap lyrics interrupting the style. They are in my opinion one of the most unique bands on the music scene today. Problem is they hardly ever play a live show, and when they do it is overseas or in major cities. If you really want to know the band and see them your best bet is the internet. They have their own website that is a gateway to their personal virtual lives. Once you enter their site you enter their Kong Studios where you can take a virtual tour and explore.
D-Sides is the second b-side/remix collection released from the Gorillaz with the first being called G-Sides. This CD is full of tracks I actually prefer over the original versions from Demon Days. It is interesting as well to hear other artists take songs and remix them to their likening.
Starting off the double disc collection on disc one is “68 State,” an instrumental B-side track. It’s a little indie and a little electronic at the same time. I kind of wish there were vocals to accompany the track, as I think it may have been a little more enthralling.
“People” was very entertaining especially with the deep bass line. 2D’s singing on this unreleased track sounds a little meek, but fits really well. I am shocked that this track never made its way to a regular release album. It is a good catchy song, and features Dangermouse on drums.
“Hongkongnation” really did not do anything for me, so I skipped through the track midway to check out “We Are A Happy Landfill.” This track proved to keep my attention in line. The track was a little louder with interesting experimental feel to it.
I decided my new favorite Gorillaz track once I heard “Hong Kong.” The oriental feel to this track (thanks to the amazing string section) makes it really enjoyable to listen to. This song was actually played live during the Demon Days tour, but never made its way to CD until now. Again, this really was a surprise to hear on a B-sides CD as it could easily be a single for the band.
“Rockit” may have had some “blah blah blah” lyrics that did not make sense, but I liked it for some strange reason. The song was a little dark and demented with a touch of 80’s synthesizers. The vocals were interesting as well, when 2D sang with the electronic backups. A video exists for this song too, even though the track was not released as a single. The video pays tribute to the classic horror movie The Exorcist and reminds me a lot of Monty Python with the animation.
As much as I like the actor, I could do without the track “Bill Murray.” It was almost like I was listening to a jam band of some sort when the singing started. The music was fine at times, but I just could not get into the song as a whole. “The Swagga” to me did not fit the rest of the songs here. Seems like Damon Albarn could have put this on another one of his collections
“Mudoc Is God” pretty much sums up how the virtual bass player perceives himself. Repeating “Murdoc Is God” throughout the ode to a cartoon bad ass was interesting to say the least. Towards the end of the song there is a nice distorted guitar solo.
“Stop The Dams” ends the first CD. In the middle of the song there is a spoken word part, which speaks of the Icelandic highlands being in danger thanks to industrialization.
Disc two is full of remixes by other artists. Some are attention-grabbing and some just not captivating at all. There are three remixes of “DARE.” The DFA remix is OK, but I prefer the Junior Sanchez remix, as it follows the original version more so than the others. There are also three remixes of “Kids With Guns” with the Hot Chips remixes being my favorite. Another remix that stood out to me was the Schtung Chinese New Year remix of “Dirty Harry.” This remix includes what sounds like a Chinese rap towards the end.
Overall, I prefer the B-sides and rarities over the remixes. I have never really been a remix person though. Disc one is just full of material that most all Gorillaz fans will appreciate. I am really glad that this virtual band decided to release more material, and I hope that Damon Albarn and his incredible imagination continue to do so.
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