CD reviews
Gnarls Barkley, "The Odd Couple" (Downtown/Atlantic)
Where Gnarls Barkley's breakthrough "Crazy" was a smooth, futuristic funk blockbuster, "Run," the new single, takes an old-school soul tack with bursts of brass punctuating busy double-speed percussion. The duo's modern take on a classic sound runs throughout the new album, a worthy 13-song effort.
It's there in the big, round funk bass line of "Charity Case" and the '60s folk-pop harmonies of "Surprise." It permeates the late-night atmospherics of "Who's Gonna Save My Soul," a song Marvin Gaye would have loved, and floats in the sampled strings that scroll through the background of the turbulent "Open Book."
"The Odd Couple" is not, however, a throwback record. Singer Cee-Lo Green takes stock of the human condition, often his own, with lyrics born of a dark and uncertain time in the national consciousness. He muses on the pull between selfless and selfish impulses, loneliness and, of course, love, and he freely admits not having many answers.
ERIC R. DANTON, HARTFORD COURANT
The B-52s, "Funplex" (Astralwerks)
The bewigged crew from Athens, Ga., shimmies out its first album in 16 years. The Seussian sex-party sound hasn't changed much. But there's still comfort in the quirky interplay of Kate Pierson, Cindy Wilson and Fred Schneider, 56, who continues to sell nonsense ("Bootybots! Erotobots!") with conviction. At this stage in the game, the B-52s are better off blasting out the beats than going for nuance. So, although more careful offerings such as "Juliet of the Spirits" are kinda dull, humpy bumpers "Pump" and "Funplex" are easier to crank. Secret weapon Keith Strickland sets his guitar on randy and fills in the fun. The B-52s perform June 9 with Cyndi Lauper at Target Center.
SEAN DALY, ST. PETERSBURG TIMES
Counting Crows, "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings" (Geffen)
The two sides of Counting Crows are clearly defined here. The "Saturday Nights" songs that take up the first half are dominated by electric fury and produced by Gil Norton, known for his work with Foo Fighters and The Pixies. Brian Deck (Modest Mouse, Iron & Wine) produced the more acoustic-oriented "Sunday Morning" segment, in which singer Adam Duritz and company scale the volume back.
Both parts of the recording have appeal, whether it's found in the rocket-powered "Cowboys," which is as good a song as Counting Crows have ever recorded, or the softly percolating "Anyone but You," which interweaves some Beach Boys-styled harmonies. Duritz still has a tendency to be overemotive and by this point it's obvious that's never going to go away.
KEVIN O'HARE, NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE