Cee-Lo Green – The Lady Killer (Platinum Edition) (26/02/2012)
For those living under a rock for the last 2 years, you may have missed the ongoing stratospheric rise of Cee-Lo Green. How anybody could possibly have missed the track ‘F**k You’ or it’s more family-friendly-title ‘Forget You’ being flogged across mainstream radio airwaves boggles the mind. This release is basically a slightly pumped up version of the original ‘The Lady Killer’ LP release in 2010 but with a few extra tracks. However I’ll indulge those who may not have heard the initial release with a little run-down of Green’s work on this record.
From the opening of ‘The Lady Killer Theme (Intro)’ we are automatically thrust headlong into a record whose main purpose is to be a hook-laden pop record with R&B, rap, hip-hop and nu-soul influences. This material is nothing like his collaborative work as part of Gnarls Barkley (alongside DangerMau5) and an even bigger leap from his earlier more gritty solo work into a more polished sound. However this is clearly a strategic business move as it has now garnered him more public recognition.
‘Bright Lights Bigger City’ has a distinct synth 80’s feel whilst his duet track ‘Love Gun’ could quite easily be something out of a James Bond film with bonus gunshot sound effects underneath Lauren Bennett’s sultry vocals. The other track which features guest vocalist Phillip Bailey (of Earth, Wind & Fire fame) is a more subdued homage to the bygone era of Motown and Stax Records artists. With call and response vocals and hints of horns overlaid on top of some gospel-esque backing vocals.
The additional tracks featured on this re-release ‘Platinum Edition’ include the summer-y house music feel of the single ‘Anyway’. Whilst lyrically Green tries to thrum our heart-strings with the post-break-up ‘No One’s Gonna Love You’, beseeching “I did anything to make you smile, you are the every-living ghost of what once was, I never want to hear you say, that you’re beeter off or you liked it that way”. We are also treated to both the explicit ‘F**k You’ and its edited radio friendly counterpart both interestingly placed in the tracklisting (Forget You is Track 3 whilst the final track 17 is the explicit F**k You) of the overall LP.
The release of ‘The Lady Killer (Platinum Edition)’ isn’t anything new for people who are familiar with the original release of the album. But for those who may have missed it the first time around, is an adequate way of immersing yourself in the skills of Cee-Lo Green. For fans of Green’s earlier material though this might be a tad too clean, but in saying that it’s not too heavy on the rap or hip-hop influences so is accessible enough for even the urban music naysayers to enjoy.
Carina Nilma
From the opening of ‘The Lady Killer Theme (Intro)’ we are automatically thrust headlong into a record whose main purpose is to be a hook-laden pop record with R&B, rap, hip-hop and nu-soul influences. This material is nothing like his collaborative work as part of Gnarls Barkley (alongside DangerMau5) and an even bigger leap from his earlier more gritty solo work into a more polished sound. However this is clearly a strategic business move as it has now garnered him more public recognition.
‘Bright Lights Bigger City’ has a distinct synth 80’s feel whilst his duet track ‘Love Gun’ could quite easily be something out of a James Bond film with bonus gunshot sound effects underneath Lauren Bennett’s sultry vocals. The other track which features guest vocalist Phillip Bailey (of Earth, Wind & Fire fame) is a more subdued homage to the bygone era of Motown and Stax Records artists. With call and response vocals and hints of horns overlaid on top of some gospel-esque backing vocals.
The additional tracks featured on this re-release ‘Platinum Edition’ include the summer-y house music feel of the single ‘Anyway’. Whilst lyrically Green tries to thrum our heart-strings with the post-break-up ‘No One’s Gonna Love You’, beseeching “I did anything to make you smile, you are the every-living ghost of what once was, I never want to hear you say, that you’re beeter off or you liked it that way”. We are also treated to both the explicit ‘F**k You’ and its edited radio friendly counterpart both interestingly placed in the tracklisting (Forget You is Track 3 whilst the final track 17 is the explicit F**k You) of the overall LP.
The release of ‘The Lady Killer (Platinum Edition)’ isn’t anything new for people who are familiar with the original release of the album. But for those who may have missed it the first time around, is an adequate way of immersing yourself in the skills of Cee-Lo Green. For fans of Green’s earlier material though this might be a tad too clean, but in saying that it’s not too heavy on the rap or hip-hop influences so is accessible enough for even the urban music naysayers to enjoy.
Carina Nilma