In the winter of 2001, I purchased the self titled debut album from the “Gorillaz.” I was super enthusiastic about getting it, and based on how much I loved the lead single “Clint Eastwood,” I thought it would be amazing. Initially, I was wrong. Very wrong. I hated it. It made no sense to me, had no flow, and, in my opinion, it was a jumbled mess.

Months passed, and it sat on my shelf. I was completely over it and considered it a loss. Some time after that I was hanging with a good friend of mine. Hanging out, drinking, and chatting, the record was playing. Perhaps I had changed in the preceding months, but this album I once loathed had taken on a new life, and it spoke to me. From that point on, I couldn’t get enough. Every song was a completely different feeling, and they were all good. The album felt to me, and still does in a way that a really interesting house party is: Many different types of people and attitudes are there, but it still works and everyone has a good time. Today we discuss the legendary self titled debut album from the wildly imaginative and all over the map “Gorillaz.”

If you’re a fan of Blur, even in a loose way, you might have thought this would be somewhat in line with Albarns work with the band, but you’d be dead wrong. Even from the opening crispness of “Re-Hash” you get the feeling this isn’t like any album you’ve ever heard. Helping to push the boundaries of what was popular at the time is the intimidating cast of musicians Albarn got to make this record. From the list found on the website and various other pieces on the album, the recordings were done by Albarn, Dan the Automator on beats, Cass Brown, Jason Cox, Junior Dan, Ibrahim Ferrer( who sings on the exquisite “Latin Simone”), DelthaFunkyHomosapien(also known as Deltron3030), Miho Hatori on vocals, Kid Koala on dj stylings, and finally Tina Weymouth. That’s quite a bit of people, and it truly helps to make the album its own living, breathing entity. The other extremely important element in this band though, isn’t musical at all. It’s the visual side of things. This band after all, was billed as a cartoon band. A very serious, wonderous cartoon band, but a cartoon band one in the same. The person that brought this to life is Jamie Hewlett. The visual aspect also has members. 2D is responsible for vocals, while Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs and the ever interesting Noodle bring up the rear and make the sound what it needs to.

Getting back to the album though, by the fourth song you’re enveloped in a mesmerizing spectrum of sound and elements that go out of its way to open doors for the listener. “ New Genius (Brother)” has a little trip hop element to it, but it goes beyond the traditional trip hop elements. It’s a very spooky song, and like most of the other songs on the record, it sounds totally different from anything else.

The next song, “Clint Eastwood,” is of course the calling card the band used to announce themselves, and it’s still the best, most well-known song the band has released to date. The beat is insane, and the vocals featured by Del are spectacular to say the least. It’s been mentioned that at an early age Deltron’s mother gave him a book about how to write songs and rhymes, and when he wrote these verses he, in fact, used that book. Upon the song getting Gold record status, he gave his mom the award, and thanked her for the book. I have no proof that this is actually true, but it’s an amazing story and I felt it should be included. The song has a constant flow and a jamming quality to it that really makes the song feel whole.

The way the album flows while still managing to sound individual is just as wonderful and brilliant as the songs themselves. In the course of a few songs, we’re given immediate dirty notes(“Punk”), transported to a quiet field in the dead of night to watch the stars and feel small(“Sound Check (Gravity)”), then we find ourselves in an interstellar dance club dancing under blue lights and swerving to the grooves brought to us by “Double Bass.”

“Gravity” especially is a song of major atmospheric epicness. The production quality on the song is second to none, and the turntable effects really help to make the song a standout track on the record. Not enough can be said about the production really. Albarns, or 2D’s vocal as you might say, go hand in hand with the empty space feeling the song conjured up. Multiple times I’ve imagined listening to this song on a dark, but clear night with a million celestial bodies as my only companion. In my opinion that’s what this song was meant for. Long nights lost in the majesty of space and time.

“Rock the Bass,” the tenth number, opens up with a powerful horn entry that’s quickly joined by another, albeit different flavor in the funky spectrum. The song has all of the elements for a great house party, and yet again it’s made even better by Deltron. His verses here are better in my opinion than on the other contributions he makes on the record. That’s what is great about this album. Every song is wildly different, but none of them are sub par in any way. It’s more than likely the most wide-ranging, eclectic popular record to have major success in the 2000’s. There’s simply no other band that can bring this variation of style to one platform and excel at it continually. Another favorite of mine finds us next. The track is called “19-2000” and it’s the poppiest, jangely awesome song on the album. The beat is simple, but often times that’s the best approach. Things don’t have to be complicated to be amazing, and everything from the beat, to the chorus, to the perfect execution in the music video help to make this song one you aren’t likely to instantly forget. At the heart of the song though, it’s a purely fun, danceable track that is meant to inspire movement.

Now, since you’ve come this far, you might expect the last for songs to begin to tie in to the rest of the album. In a way, it does though. The way I mean is that all of these last four are as weird and independent as the rest of the record. “Latin Simone” is a heartbreaking ballad full of South American charm and even though I don’t actually know what the singer is saying, it seems clear that it’s a broken heart ballad, and the listener is channelled to a vast country side as the final phase of a doomed relationship comes to an end. From there, “Starshine” brings us a weird, “Twin Peaks”-esque vibe. I picture million of ants climbing mountains in search of the answer to life and gradually realizing the answer is only Chaos. It’s a simplistic, but gorgeously mixed song. On a good pair of headphones, you feel almost overtaken at times by the little touches you might otherwise miss.

Album closer “M1 A1” excellently opens up with a sample from the George A. Romero classic “Day of the Dead.” In the film, this man is searching through a city that has been abandoned after a zombie outbreak. The bass line in the song is growing angry under the sample serves as the perfect complement to the voice, but pretty soon we’re thrust into the actual song, and the bass line gives way to the fresh drums and crazy vocals and perhaps the loosest section of the whole album. If you’re going to make an album as weird and challenging as this one, this song is not only the natural choice for the closer, but it may very well be the only choice.

In the end, I’m thrilled I was exposed to the album again. You never know what things will change in your head, and what you may miss out on if you don’t try again. This album is one of the best examples of music that make me look outside of my normal box and try new things, and as you can see by the placement on this list, it’s one of the best thing’s I’ve ever heard.

Next week, we kick things off with an album that was as much inspired by a post apocalyptic world where citizens are scared as it by the ARG campaign that saw this industrial visionary try new things he’d never attempted before. Thanks for reading.