2001 studio album by Gorillaz
Gorillaz is the debut studio album by English virtual band Gorillaz , released on 26 March 2001 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and in the United States by Virgin Records .[1] The album reached number three in the UK and number fourteen in the US, and the top ten in several other countries. Gorillaz has sold over seven million copies worldwide. The album's success earned the group an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Most Successful Virtual Band",[2] and spawned the singles "Clint Eastwood ", "19-2000 ", "Rock the House ", and "Tomorrow Comes Today ".
Background
Damon Albarn , co-creator of Gorillaz
Musician Damon Albarn and comic book creator Jamie Hewlett met in 1990 when guitarist Graham Coxon , a fan of Hewlett's work, asked him to interview Blur , a band Albarn and Coxon had recently formed.[3] The interview was published in Deadline magazine, home of Hewlett's comic strip, Tank Girl . Hewlett initially thought Albarn was "arsey, a wanker"; despite becoming acquaintances with the band, they often did not get on, especially after Hewlett began seeing Coxon's ex-girlfriend Jane Olliver.[3] Despite this, Albarn and Hewlett started sharing a flat on Westbourne Grove in London in 1997.[4] Hewlett had recently broken up with Olliver and Albarn was at the end of his highly publicised relationship with Justine Frischmann of Elastica .[3]
The idea to create Gorillaz came about when Albarn and Hewlett were watching
Although not released under the Gorillaz name, Albarn has said that "one of the first ever Gorillaz tunes" was Blur 's 1997 single "On Your Own ", which was released for their fifth studio album Blur .[8]
20th anniversary reissue
In March 2021, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the album's release, a vinyl box set was announced.[9] The first edition of the boxset, which was exclusive to the band's webstore, was released on 10 December 2021. The boxset includes previously released material, including the original album, the B-sides compilation album G-Sides , and the remix album Laika Come Home (which received its first reissue since its initial press) and previously unreleased material, including live performances from the 2001 London Forum concert and five demos.[10] Additionally, it also includes notes and early sketches by Jamie Hewlett during the making of the album.[11] [12]
Composition
Critics have described the album as
The album's first single "Clint Eastwood", is named after
All editions of the Gorillaz album feature an enhanced section that included screen savers, wallpaper and an
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 saw a release such as the reggae-dub "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.[30]
Reception
Gorillaz received generally positive reviews from critics. It was ranked sixth in both Spin 's and Kludge 's end-of-year lists,[41] [42] 48 on NME's 2001 year-end list[43] and Q ranked it among the 50 best albums of the year.[44] The album was nominated for the 2001 Mercury Music Prize (Gorillaz was bookmakers' favourite before the nomination was withdrawn at the band's request).[45]
The album made some retrospective "best of" lists.
Singles
"Tomorrow Comes Today " was released as an EP before the album was released. A video for the single was also released.
"Clint Eastwood " was the first single from the album, debuting on 4 March 2001. The single peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart,[52] number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100[53] and number three on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.[54]
"19-2000 " was the second single from the album, released in June 2001. The single peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart[52] and number 23 on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks.[54]
"Rock the House " was the third single from the album, released in October 2001. The single peaked at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart.[52]
"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 on the UK Singles Chart.[52]
"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, but never got past the storyboarding stage.
Track listing
All songs are written by Damon Albarn and performed by Gorillaz, except where noted. Produced by Dan the Automator /Gorillaz with the exception of Track 13 produced by Tom Girling & Jason Cox
Gorillaz – Standard edition[55] Title Writer(s) Performer(s) 1. "Re-Hash" 3:41 2. "5/4 " 2:42 3. "Tomorrow Comes Today " 3:14 4. "New Genious (Brother)" ([note 1] ) 4:00 5. "Clint Eastwood " 5:41 6. "Man Research (Clapper)" 4:33 7. "Punk" 1:39 8. "Sound Check (Gravity)" 4:43 9. "Double Bass" 4:47 10. "Rock the House " 4:09 11. "19-2000 " 3:31 12. "Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)" 3:39 13. "Starshine" 3:34 14. "Slow Country" 3:37 15. "M1 A1" ([note 2] ) 8:30 Total length: 62:00
Sample credits[58]
"New Genious (Brother)" contains samples of "Hit or Miss", written by Odetta Gordon and performed by Bo Diddley .
"Man Research (Clapper)" contains samples of "In the Hall of the Mountain Queen" written and performed by Raymond Scott .
"Rock the House" contains samples of "Modesty Blaise", written and performed by John Dankworth .
"Slow Country" contains samples of ".
"M1 A1" contains samples of music from the film Day of the Dead , written by John Harrison .
20th Anniversary Edition
G-Sides
Laika Come Home (Spacemonkeyz vs Gorillaz)
Title 1. "Jungle Fresh" 5:28 2. "Strictly Rubbadub" 3:41 3. "Bañana Baby" 5:29 4. "Monkey Racket" 5:57 5. "De-Punked" 5:20 6. "P.45" 4:26 7. "Dub Ø9" 5:17 8. "Crooked Dub" 5:31 9. "Mutant Genius" 5:02 10. "Come Again" 6:04 11. "A Fistful of Peanuts" 5:53 12. "Lil' Dub Chefin' " 4:28 Total length: 62:36
Live At The Forum, 2001
Title 1. "M1 A1" 4:08 2. "Tomorrow Comes Today" 3:52 3. "Slow Country" 3:58 4. "5/4" 3:02 5. "Starshine" 5:25 6. "Man Research (Clapper)" 4:58 7. "Sound Check (Gravity)" 5:13 8. "Re-Hash" 4:14 9. "Clint Eastwood" 5:00 10. "Rock The House" 4:23 11. "Dracula" 5:14 12. "19/2000" 3:57 13. "Punk" 4:36 14. "5/4" (Reprise) 3:21 15. "Clint Eastwood" (Reprise) 5:58 Total length: 67:35
Demoz
Title 1. "1st Idea" 2:41 2. "Shaga Laga" 3:05 3. "Genious" (Demo version of New Genious (Brother)) 3:57 4. "Hand Clapper" 3:05 5. "Acoustic 2" (Demo version of Latin Simone) 2:06 Total length: 14:54
^ Changed to "New Genius (Brother)" in current streaming versions[56] [57]
^ Vinyl and Europe first edition CD includes hidden track "Clint Eastwood (Ed Case and Sweetie Irie refix)"
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Gorillaz .[58]
Musicians
Damon Albarn – vocals, keyboards, piano, melodica , guitars, bass guitar (tracks 2–3, 7, 9) , drum programming, flute (track 10)
Junior Dan – bass guitar (tracks 4, 6, 8–15, "Dracula", "Left Hand Suzuki Method")
Jason Cox – drums, drum programming
Dan the Automator – sampled loops, drum programming (tracks 2, 8, 12–13) , additional synthesizers
Tom Girling – drum programming
Kid Koala – turntables
Miho Hatori – additional vocals (tracks 1–4, 6, 11–12, "Left Hand Suzuki Method")
Del the Funky Homosapien – vocals (tracks 5, 10)
Dave Rowntree – drums (tracks 7, 15) [a]
Tina Weymouth – additional vocals, additional percussion (track 11)
Chris Frantz – additional percussion (track 11)
Ibrahim Ferrer – vocals (track 12)
Mike Smith – trumpet (track 12) , saxophone ("Dracula")
Technical
Dan Nakamura – production (tracks 1–12, 14–15)
Gorillaz – production (tracks 1–12, 14–15)
Tom Girling – production (track 13) , co-production, engineering, Pro Tools
Jason Cox – production (track 13) , co-production, engineering
Toby Whelan – engineering assistance
Howie Weinberg – mastering
Artwork
Jamie Hewlett – artwork
Zombie Flesh Eaters – artwork
Jow – photography
Ed Reeve – photography
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications and sales
‹See Tfd› ‹See Tfd›
Release history
Region
Label
Catalog
Edition
United Kingdom
Parlophone
7243 5 32093 0
original
7243 5 31138 0 3
reissue
France
7243 5 34488 0 6
limited
United States
Virgin
7243 5 33748 0 8
original
reissue
Malaysia
EMI
7243 5 38704 0 9
limited
USA
Warner Bros. Records
337480-2PRL
December 2013, reissued after Universal acquired EMI and Warner’s acquisition of Parlophone.
Notes
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Bibliography
Browne, Cass; Albarn, Damon (26 October 2006). .
External links
Studio albums Compilations Extended plays Video albums Remix albums Singles Other songs Tours Touring members All contributors Related articles