Gorillaz – Gorillaz [2× Vinyl LP]

Gorillaz – Gorillaz [2× Vinyl LP]

Details

• Format: 2× Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Gatefold, Stereo, Explicit
• Catalogue Number: 7243 531138 1 0
• Barcode: 724353113810
• Genre: Alternative Rock / Hip-Hop / Trip-Hop / Dub
• Label: Parlophone / Warner Music
• Originally Released: 26 March 2001
• Reissue Released: 2015
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Gorillaz is the self-titled debut studio album from the British virtual band Gorillaz — the groundbreaking project conceived by Damon Albarn of Blur and cult cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, creator of Tank Girl. Released on 26 March 2001 via Parlophone, it is one of the most original and influential debut albums of the 21st century — a record that arrived fully formed and immediately unlike anything else in existence, blending trip-hop, dub, hip-hop, lo-fi indie, punk, Latin music and electronica into a seamless, effortlessly cool whole.

The album was recorded between 1998 and 2000 at Damon Albarn's Studio 13 in London and at Geejam Studios in Jamaica, and produced by Dan the Automator alongside the band. It features an extraordinary cast of collaborators: Del the Funky Homosapien delivers two of the record's most memorable performances on "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House"; Miho Hatori of Cibo Matto contributes vocals on several tracks; Ibrahim Ferrer of the Buena Vista Social Club appears on the hauntingly beautiful "Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo)"; and Tina Weymouth and Chris Frantz of Tom Tom Club feature on "19-2000" — establishing from the very first album the pattern of Gorillaz as a truly collaborative, boundary-dissolving project.

Commercially and critically the album was a phenomenon. It reached number three on the UK Albums Chart and number 14 on the US Billboard 200, went on to sell over seven million copies worldwide, was certified Platinum in the US and Triple Platinum in the UK, and earned Gorillaz an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. The album was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2001 — an invitation the band famously withdrew themselves from at their own request.

"Clint Eastwood" remains one of the most iconic British singles of the decade — Del's rap floating over Albarn's ghostly melody and a harmonica lick sampled from The Specials' "Ghost Town". "19-2000" is a joyous, irresistible slice of melodic electronic pop. "Tomorrow Comes Today" is hypnotic and melancholic in equal measure. And the album closes with a hidden vinyl-only bonus track — the "Clint Eastwood (Ed Case / Sweetie Irie Refix)" — locked in a silent groove that traps the needle until you lift it, one of the most playful and beloved easter eggs in vinyl history.

This 2015 Parlophone reissue presents the album on 2× vinyl in a gatefold sleeve with two printed inner sleeves reproducing Hewlett's iconic artwork.

Tracklist

Side A

1. Re-Hash
2. 5/4
3. Tomorrow Comes Today
4. New Genious (Brother)

Side B

1. Clint Eastwood (ft. Del the Funky Homosapien)
2. Man Research (Clapper)
3. Punk
4. Sound Check (Gravity)

Side C

1. Double Bass
2. Rock the House (ft. Del the Funky Homosapien)
3. 19-2000 (ft. Miho Hatori)
4. Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo) (ft. Ibrahim Ferrer)

Side D

1. Starshine
2. Slow Country
3. M1 A1
4. Clint Eastwood (Ed Case / Sweetie Irie Refix) (hidden track)

Credits

• Damon Albarn – Vocals, Keyboards, Guitar, Harmonica
• Jamie Hewlett – Artwork, Visual Concept
• Dan the Automator – Producer
• Del the Funky Homosapien – Rap, Vocals
• Miho Hatori – Vocals
• Ibrahim Ferrer – Vocals
• Tina Weymouth & Chris Frantz – Vocals (19-2000)
• Jason Cox & Tom Girling – Producers (M1 A1)
• Label – Parlophone / Warner Music