Before we go any further there will be no jokes about Cee Lo Green killing ladies by lying on them. I doubt that it is original and you shouldn’t pick on a man about his weight.
For those of you who don’t know Cee Lo Green is best known as being two thirds of the partnership Gnarls Barkley (ok no more fat jokes, I promise.) but was writing and producing annoyingly catchy tunes before this. Chav-tastic and much parodied “Don’t you wish your girlfriend…” being the biggest hit that comes to mind.
‘The Lady Killers’ is Cee Lo’s debut solo album and has been generating plenty of talk receiving play across the commercial stations and on both Radio One and Two. The two singles that preceded the release of the album (Band of Horses cover ‘No One’s Going to Love You’ and ‘Fuck/Get You’) both hinted at a the album being a soulful affair, a back to roots sound owing more to Rhythm and Blues than Rhythm, Bass and Hip Hop swagger. This made the boastful, swaggering introductory track somewhat of a disappointment but not for long, in come heavy synthesised synths that morph into Spectoresque wall of sound strings over the course of the first track proper Bright Lights Bigger City. Next is ‘Fuck You’ which sounds like a bad mouthed Smokey Robinson track. To be honest I prefer the Radio edit of ‘Get You.’ I have heard it said that a good record is one that the listener is sure they have heard before ‘Fuck/Get You’ certainly fits this description and wouldn’t sound out of place on a crackling Motown LP.
Wildflower, has classy production and a great vocal performance but is one of a number of tracks that isn’t remarkable enough to maintain interest upon repeat listens. Classy production values make a return with Bodies and then we are right back to the retro feel of a polished horn section with vocals looming large in the mix. ‘Satisfied’ wouldn’t sound out of place in a Sammy Davies Jnr album.
The Motown vibe is brought back mid-album with ‘Fool For You’ and ‘It’s Ok’ and ‘Old Fashioned’ which are all songs with a timeless sound and lush velvet 60’s style production. The previously haunting No One’s Going to Love You is now reinterpreted to be warm and reassuring with layers of strings, a strong beat and understated guitar work. When Band of Horses tell me that no one is going to love me like they do I feel that the sentiment is mildly threatening and if I don’t heed their warning I will end up alone in a house of cats, but with Cee Lo, he is just letting me know that we are in a good place right now and I’m happy to snuggle down with him on that note.
This album could maybe have done with being two tracks shorter but other than that I am struggling to find fault. The production job is absolutely outstanding as is the song writing. What audience this album will attract is however a vexing question, Cee Lo’s hip hop/pop background means that he is marketed to a mainstream audience but the album may be better appreciated by a more specialist older crowd already acquainted with the music of Motown. My hope is that he does get the young listeners that are being courted and Motown is introduced to a new audience through this album.
Click on the link below to get your copy, it really is rather damn good.
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