Gorillaz (album)

Gorillaz
Studio album by Gorillaz
Released	26 March 2001 (2001-03-26)
Recorded	1 December 1998 – 7 May 2000 at Studio 13 in London, England and Geejam Studios in Portland, Jamaica
Genre	Alternative rock, trip hop, alternative hip hop
Length	56:42
Label	Parlophone Virgin Warner Bros. Records (2013 reissue)
Producer	Tom Girling, Jason Cox, Dan the Automator, Gorillaz
Gorillaz album chronology
Tomorrow Comes Today (2000) Gorillaz (2001) G Sides (2001)
Damon Albarn chronology
Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000) Gorillaz (2001) G Sides (2001)
Singles from Gorillaz
"Clint Eastwood" Released: 5 March 2001 "19-2000" Released: 25 June 2001 "Rock the House" Released: 22 October 2001 "Tomorrow Comes Today" Released: 15 February 2002

Gorillaz is the debut album by the British virtual band Gorillaz, released in March 2001. It includes the singles "Clint Eastwood", "19-2000", "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today". The album reached number three in the UK, and was an unexpected hit in the U.S., hitting number 14 and selling over five million copies worldwide.^[1]

Album information

Throughout the album the band experiments with many combinations of genres, including hip hop, rock, Latin, punk, dub, acid jazz, and reggae. The beginning of the song "M1 A1" features a successive sound clip from the movie Day of the Dead. The song "Dracula" features sound clips from Merrie Melodies' Transylvania 6-5000. The song "Slow Country" features a sample from The Specials' 1981 single "Ghost Town". A sampled loop from "In the Hall of the Mountain Queen" by Raymond Scott is repeated throughout the song "Man Research (Clapper)". The song's title is a nod to Raymond Scott's Manhattan Research.

It was recently revealed that the track "Starshine" has an alternative version, which features Luton-based rap group Phi Life Cypher. This version is not available on any releases, but it is available on the Phi Life Cypher SoundCloud channel and also on the video-sharing website YouTube.^[2]

All editions of the Gorillaz album feature an enhanced section that included screen savers, wallpaper and an autoplay, featuring a short movie which opens the user's Internet browser to a special section of the Gorillaz website, which gives the user full access to Murdoc's Winnebago.^[3]

In 2004, the album was packaged with 2002's Laika Come Home in a limited edition box set as part of EMI's "2CD Originals" collection. Other songs saw a release such as the reggae-dub song: "Dub Dumb" which features British-Jamaican artist Sweetie Irie; it is available on the PlayStation 2 game MTV Music Generator 2 rather than on G Sides or the album itself. Other tracks include "Gor Beaten", which was another track that didn't make the album; however, elements of the track's instrumental were once available on one of the Gorillaz member's computers in Kong Studios.^[4]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[6]
Alternative Press	[7]
Robert Christgau	[8]
Muzik	[9]
NME	6/10[10]
Pitchfork Media	7.0/10[11]
Q	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Spin	[14]

Gorillaz received generally positive reviews from critics, with the exception of Rolling Stone.^[13] It was ranked number six in Spin's Albums of the Year 2001,^[15] ranked number 96 in Slant Magazine's best of the 2000s list,^[16] and was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die until the most recent edition.

Q listed the album as one of the best 50 albums of 2001.^[17]

Track listing

Singles

• "Tomorrow Comes Today" was released as an EP before the album was released. A video for the song was also released.
• "Clint Eastwood" was the first single from the album on 4 March 2001. The single peaked at number four in the UK Singles Chart, number 57 in the Billboard Hot 100 and number three in the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks.
• "19-2000" was the second single from the album, released in June 2001. The single peaked at number six in the UK Singles Chart and number 23 in Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks.
• "Rock the House" was the third single from the album, released in October 2001. The single peaked at number 18 in the UK Singles Chart.
• "Tomorrow Comes Today" was the fourth and final single from the album, released almost a year after the album, in February 2002. It peaked at number 33 in the UK Singles Chart.
• "5/4" was repeatedly considered for a single but was edged out by "19-2000" and "Rock the House". A video was considered for this song, but never got past the storyboarding stage.

Chart positions