Gorillaz is the eponymous debut album by Gorillaz, released in March 2001. It includes the singles “Clint Eastwood”, “19–2000”, “Rock the House” and “Tomorrow Comes Today”. The album reached #3 in the UK, and was an unexpected hit in the U.S., hitting #14 and selling over seven million copies worldwide. Its members include 2D, Murdoc, Russel, and Noodle.
In an introduction to the final album “the fall” 2-D said that the debut album was all Russel Hobbs’ doing.
Review:
It's tempting to judge Gorillaz – Damon Albarn, Tank Girl creator Jamie
Hewlett, and Dan “The Automator” Nakamura's virtual band – just by their
brilliantly animated videos and write the project off as another triumph of
style over substance. Admittedly, Hewlett's edgy-cute characterizations of 2-D,
Gorillaz' pretty boy singer (who looks a cross between the Charlatans' Tim
Burgess and Sonic the Hedgehog), sinister bassist Murdoc, whiz-kid guitarist
Noodle, and b-boy drummer Russel are so arresting that they almost detract from
Gorillaz' music. The amazing “Thriller”-meets-Planet of the Apes clip for
“Clint Eastwood” is so visually clever that it's easy to take the
song's equally clever, hip-hop-tinged update of the Specials' “Ghost Town”
for granted. And initially, Gorillaz' self-titled debut feels incomplete when
Hewlett's imagery is removed; the concept of Gorillaz as a virtual band doesn't
hold up as well when you can't see the virtual bandmembers. It's too bad that
there isn't a DVD version of Gorillaz, with videos for every song, à la the DVD
version of Super Furry Animals' Rings Around the World. Musically, however,
Gorillaz is a cutely caricatured blend of Albarn's eclectic Brit-pop and
Nakamura's equally wide-ranging hip-hop, and it sounds almost as good as the
band looks. Albarn has fun sending up Blur's cheeky pop on songs like “5/4”
and “Re-Hash,” their trip-hop experiments on “New Genious” and “Sound
Check,” and “Song 2”-like thrash-pop on “Punk” and “M1 A1.”
Despite the similarities between Albarn's main gig and his contributions here,
Gorillaz isn't an Albarn solo album in disguise; Nakamura's bass- and
beat-oriented production gives the album an authentically dub and
hip-hop-inspired feel, particularly on “Rock the House” and “Tomorrow
Comes Today.” Likewise, Del tha Funkee Homosapien, Miho Hatori, and Ibrahim
Ferrer's vocals ensure that it sounds like a diverse collaboration rather than
an insular side project. Instead, it feels like a musical vacation for all
parties involved – a little self-indulgent, but filled with enough fun ideas
and good songs to make this virtual band's debut a genuinely enjoyable
album.
All Music Guide – Heather Phares