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St. Elsewhere is a bumpy but mesmerizing ride.
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Los Angeles TimesEvery song on this exhilarating debut... is almost as good as its first hit, "Crazy." That's saying a lot. [6 May 2006]
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Weird, wonderful and, yes, super.
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As we approach the halfway point of 2006, it's unlikely that a more vivid or arresting debut will drop this year, marking St. Elsewhere as not only an audacious accomplishment, but one of the year's best.
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Both artists have stepped outside their regular roles to make what feels like a genuinely instinctive, love-fuelled record that zings with an enthusiasm for all spectrums of music.
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FilterMore soulful and funky than any of Dangermouse's previous efforts. [#20, p.101]
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It is often silly, occasionally ridiculous, always catchy as hell, and as loose as an album with this kind of production credit can be. What more could we ask from a pop record?
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With “Crazy,” the duo hits its apex without really shrouding the rest of the album.
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St. Elsewhere deftly balances solid songcraft with free-floating weirdness for a project that's suavely international but unmistakably American.
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Although this isn't a flawless album, it will undoubtedly be a huge hit and keep many people company through the long hot summer months ahead.
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You certainly won't hear much else at the moment as inventive as this.
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Theoretically the album should sound like a mess - and occasionally it does, not least on the twitchy and irritating Transformer. But for the most part, the mass of disparate sounds are perfectly bound together by some astonishing songwriting and Green's haunting, sorrowful voice.
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A manic, twisted soul album that's part nostalgia and part dementia.
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With the help of Danger Mouse's platinum ear and intricate vocal productions, Green is revealed as a top-notch post-millennial soul singer.
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The collaboration between sound technician Danger Mouse and astral soul brother #1 Cee-Lo Green is scatterbrained and compulsive, a collective of voices in varying degrees of twitchy, restless (in)sanity competing for one mind.
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It’s all over the place in the best possible way.
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Throughout, Cee-Lo’s crazed Muddy Waters-meets-Al Jarreau tenor drools soul and exudes liquid-nitrogen cool.
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SpinHigh-energy electro eccentricity. [Jun 2006, p.80]
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UrbElsewhere is exactly what you thought it'd be: a daring piece of work from two artists not afraid to take chances that pay off. [May 2006, p.81]
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VibeIt sounds like Cee-Lo has found his sonic better half in Danger Mouse. [Jun 2006, p.162]
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MojoA loose lyrical thread (mental instability), an unrestrained creativity and an enviable sense of musical freedom are the only things holding it together. [Jun 2006, p.104]
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Q MagazineSt Elsewhere rivals Gorillaz' Demon Days for sheer inventiveness. [Jun 2006, p.109]
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Each listen reveals depth and texture that allow the hooks plenty of room to breathe.
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As scattershot and weirdly limp as parts of this are-- two guys just knocking things together, seeing what happens-- well, it feels better to hear someone trying.
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It's hard not to feel that the mystique is so damaged by the poor execution of the opening, that the rest of 'St. Elsewhere', however good, struggles to catch up.
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Rolling StoneThere's a creeping dementia to all of St. Elsewhere. [4 May 2006, p.56]
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It's no contender for end-of-year honours, but so far as pop goes in 2006, this may well be the pinnacle.
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St. Elsewhere's triumphs are besmirched somewhat by its flubs.
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It may fall short a few instances, but it’s a record with genuine ingenuity.
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As is to be expected in any collaboration of this type, there are a lot of good ideas to be found, and it’s worth hearing, even with a few missteps.
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Under The RadarEven if their craziness is a bit affected, try as they might, they can’t disguise a fine pop record underneath that freaky makeup. [#14]
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A strange and unique album that is more rock and pop than anything most rap fans are used to.
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A disappointing missed opportunity.
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Some of the record gets bogged down in its own deliberate weirdness.
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BlenderIt's always peculiar, and often a mess; it's also occasionally brilliant. [Jun 2006, p.142]
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It's a disappointing underachievement.
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UncutDM's production is unfocused but showy and the album's postmodern lurches suggest a frustrating attention defecit disorder. [Jun 2006, p.90]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 95 out of 111
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Mixed: 9 out of 111
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Negative: 7 out of 111
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Nov 14, 2011The only reason I listened to the album "St. Elsewhere" is because of "Crazy".
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MikeKJun 1, 2006
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ChrisWJun 25, 20061) First off it is way too confusing to listen to. Like pick a style and go with it! Don