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Rating: Sometimes it happens that an artist with b-sides is able to be more communicative, or at least more qualitative, than they are with albums of new material. I think, for example, of Oasis, a mediocre band that possesses b-sides that are on par with the "not discarded" songs. After all, that's what these are, discarded songs that didn’t find a place on the so-called "main" albums. Perhaps for reasons of quality, other times because they don't fit into the context of a particular concept album, and other times because they don’t resonate with the other tracks, so better to shelve them, relegating them to the b-sides of successful singles (and not - in this case, yes).
This is not the first time the virtual band has undertaken such an operation, which is anything but a commercial operation (how can you sell well an album of discarded tracks without a lead single?), but rather a way to communicate and reveal the behind-the-scenes, and in some cases the most hidden side of a band. This is one of those cases.
Thus, Gorillaz abandon their darker side and here emerges on this double CD the group’s more playful side from the first album, which seemed to have been lost. Qualitatively, with a light listening, this heap of songs may seem insignificant, soulless, meaningless, and above all difficult to listen to. Yet try listening to the album after the other albums by the collective ("Gorillaz", "Demon Days" etc...), this "D-Sides" will suffer little by comparison.
"68 State" seems to come straight out of one of those many 80s cop shows, "People" is nothing more than "Dare" with fewer synths and a different lyric, "Hongkongaton" is a little electro pearl with Japanese influences, extremely repetitive but fun, ending with a toy laser gun "played" (so to speak) by that prankster Jamie Hewlett!
Next comes "We Are Happy Landfill", one of the most bizarre and catchy compositions of the entire Gorillaz production. "Hong Kong" was previously included in a charity album, and it's undoubtedly a beautiful and moving piece, where Damon Albarn's unmistakable voice is perfect in its most delicate guise, and a very particular Chinese instrument becomes the absolute protagonist until the final tail that strikes the senses of the listener. Truly one of the best pieces in the repertoire, a notch above all the others. It is noteworthy how the album version has been seasoned (in my opinion unnecessarily) with strings that overshadow the original production and separate the Japanese element from the purely English one (electronic background). Also noteworthy are the neurotic "Spitting Out The Demons", "Rock It" (a piece that, if revised, could even be danceable!), and the ending with the ethereal "Stop The Dams". Disappointing, however, is the collaboration with The Bees for "Bill Murray". The second CD consists of lousy remixes that only lower the average of the work.
In conclusion, it is certainly not a masterpiece, nor even an album of beautiful songs, but an excellent soundtrack for those who want to hear something that is at the same time original and catchy. However, I recommend it (paradoxically) only to the band’s enthusiasts.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 People (03:27)
People, people, everybody people
Everybody making a sound
People, people, everybody people
Everybody standing their ground
People, people, everybody people
Everybody making a sound
People, people, everybody people
Everybody standing their ground
(Oh yeah!)
He dreams of the top
You will be over the edge
If you get it on side
You'll be taking ditch
You'll be loving our love
But you don't know why
It's the term of the day
So we never excite
Your heart isn't there
So you might as well say:
"I know it, I got it,
but I know that time will set me together"
People, people, everybody people
Everybody making a sound
People, people, everybody people
Everybody standing a their ground
People, people, everybody people
Everybody making a sound
People, people, everybody people
Everybody standing a their ground
(Oh yeah!)
He dreams of the top
You will be over the edge
If you get it on side
You'll be taking ditch
You'll be loving our love
But you don't know why
It's the term of the day
So we never excite
Your heart isn't there
So you might as well say:
"I know it, I got it,
but I know that time will set me together"
People, people, everybody people
Everybody making sound
People, people, everybody people
Everybody standing their ground
People, people, everybody people
Everybody making sound
People, people, everybody people
Everybody standing their ground
(Oh yeah!)
05 Hong Kong (07:14)
Lord, hear me now
Junk boats and English boys
Crashing out in super marts
Electric fences and guns
You swallow me
I'm a pill on your tongue
Here on the nineteenth floor
The neon lights make me numb
And late in a star's life
It begins to explode
And all the people in a dream
Wait for the machine
Pick the shit up leave it clean
Kid hang over here
What you're learning in school
Is the rise of an eastern sun
Gonna be good for everyone?
The radio station disappeared
Music turned into thin air
The DJ was the last to leave
She had well conditioned hair
Was beautiful but nothing really was there
08 Bill Murray (03:52)
Too many days to get lost
Many, many people I've known got lost
Too many days to get lost
Many, many people I've known got lost
Too many days to get lost
Many, many people I've known got lost
Too many days to get lost
Many, many people I've known got lost
Too many days to get lost
Many, many people I've known got lost
10 Murdoc Is God (02:26)
Murdoc is god
Murdoc is god
Murdoc is god
Trying to fit in
Murdoc is king
Murdoc is dead
Murdoc is god
Trying to fit in
Murdoc is god
Murdoc is god
Murdoc is god
Trying to fit in
Murdoc is king
Murdoc is dead
Murdoc is god
Trying to fit in
13 Stop the Dams (05:38)
When You're Smoking In Tinfoil In The Morning
It's Gonna Be A Cold Day
When You're Keeping Everything Inside You
It Can Only Hurt You
Unrelated Sounds
The Sun Will Shine Again
You Hold It In Your Hands
This Young Land Is A Young Land And It'll Stay That Way
Its Pollution Only Turns You Into Something You Don't Want To See In The [???]
A Reflection Of The [???] You Receive
You Got On The Stars
And The Sun Won't Shine Again
So Maybe You're All In Love
[With / And] Aluminium
The Cling And A Clang
Is The Metal In My Head When I Walk
I Hear A Sort Of, This Tinging Noise
Cling Clang
The Cling Clang
So Many Things Happen While Walking
The Metal In My Head Clangs And Clings As I Walk
Freaks My Balance Out
So The Natural Thought
Is Just Clogged Up
Totally Clogged Up
So We Need To Unplug These Dams
And Make The The Natural Flow
It Sort Of Freaks Me Out
We Need To Unplug The Dams
You Cannot Stop The Natural Flow Of Thought
With A Cling And A Clang
And Wake Me Up Again Until
We're Aluminium
You Hold It In Your Hands
The Sun Will Shine Again
The Sun Will Shine Again
The Sun Will Shine Again
The Sun Will Shine Again
The Sun Will Shine Again
The Sun Will Shine Again
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By Ilpazzo
Who says a B-Side is an inferior song because it was left out of the album? Absolutely false!
Their way of taking themselves with irony makes them one of the most original musical groups ever.
