A few years back, Cee Lo Green invaded clubs, radio stations and filled the cars of many thanks to his infectious collaboration in Gnarls Barkley's hit "Crazy". That was back in 2006, and since then it seemed as if the charts had eluded him. However, Green was not done with music success just yet, he's been working hard on a solo album that would return him to mainstream radio everywhere and so, 4 years later, we are found with his new record, "The Lady Killer", a collection of soulful melodic songs.
In this album, Green seems to have focused on what he does best, singing catchy tunes with an old school-ish feel that matches perfectly with his style and playfulness. The intro sets the mood for the rest of the album with a theme that could perfectly serve as the score to any old TV show from the 70's. The atmosphere quickly changes into a more contemporary sound mixed with echoes from the 80´s ("Bright Lights Bigger City" contains a bassline heavily influenced by Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean").
The record carefully tries to balance the old with the new, with tunes containing classic Motown elements ("It's Ok", "Cry Baby", "Wildflower" or the lead single "F*** You" to name a few) with a more polished sound as far as production goes, making it trendy but timeless all at once. However, the album does have its flaws and certain songs such as "Bodies" or "Please (Feat. Selah Sue)" come dangerously close to filler status, interrupting the continuous flow of this highly comforting musical experience. This is quickly forgotten when we come across remarkable tracks like the appropiately titled "Old Fashioned", where Cee Lo Green's emotional vocals will give you chills (If they don't...check your pulse!) or the radio friendly "It's Ok" which definitely has single potential.
The best thing about the record is that Green does not attempt to be original or highly innovative, he just presents a collection of timeless songs that talk about love and heartbreak that could easily speak to a different number of generations, old and new. You won't get the slightest glimpse of autotune here, just raw talent and an album that could have easily been recorded decades ago, only with that new spin that contemporary music can add to the mix production wise. This is, hands down, one of the best records of the year that will take you on a journey to a time where music really mattered and spoke for itself.
Listen to one of my favourite tracks from the album, "It's Ok", below!
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