Cee-Lo Albums (2)
'Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine'
Release Date 1/20/2004
Tracks 18
Label Arista
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Cee-Lo's debut album had been an interesting listen but resonated with very few listeners, so some changes were due for his second go-round, Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine, which is indeed a drastically improved effort. Arista head honcho L.A. Reid had no doubt let Cee-Lo fly his freak flag high and mighty for Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections (2002), for what resulted was an album that was, in a word, curious -- a sprawling carnival of Dirty South-inflected soul singing that knew no boundaries whatsoever, willfully professing its weirdness on out-there songs like the lead single, "Closet Freak," the closest Cee-Lo came to crossing over commercially. In other words, cross over à la OutKast he didn't -- not by a long shot. In fact, most listeners took him at face value and wrote him off as a freak. It'd be a real shame if that happened again with Cee-Lo Green Is the Soul Machine. Sure, the big guy is still fairly weird here, but he's tastefully weird and, above all, focused this time. He's written a stronger batch of songs and has aligned himself with some of the best producers in the industry (the entire industry, that is): Timbaland and the Neptunes, most notably, and also Jazze Pha, Organized Noize, and DJ Premier. How he managed to rein in such a team of big-money producers is a good question (maybe the concurrently dismissed L.A. Reid can answer that one), but the result is nothing short of delightful. The album opens with a flawless run of radio-ready tunes -- "The Art of Noise" through "My Kind of People" -- and then spins off into a mélange of Cee-Lo-isms: stream-of-consciousness spoken word-style raps that cut deep, stirred into kaleidoscopic musical arrangements that straddle the hip-hop and deep soul eras simultaneously, all of it utterly distinct from track to track, ultimately culminating all too soon at the 65-minute mark. Once again Cee-Lo has recorded a peerless album, except this time he's recorded one that should connect, or at least deserves to. OutKast's Speakerboxx/The Love Below (especially André 3000's half) is probably the best touchstone you're liable to find this side of your imagination, in terms of not only style but also quality and vision. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections'
Release Date 3/19/2002
Tracks 21
Label Arista
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Breaking away from Goodie Mob for a major-label solo debut, Cee-Lo follows the curious lead of OutKast, who had recently broken through big-time with Stankonia, and unleashes a willfully weird album that eschews rap clichés in favor of full-fledged songs that are more neo-soul than hip-hop. He'd always been more of a crooner than a rapper, of course, but the tattooed big man really lurches forward with his singing voice here on Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections, crossing Al Green's down-home soul singing with Rick James' freakishness. Touchstones only go so far, however, as Cee-Lo is a free spirit if anything -- he goes out of his way to be himself and only himself here, to the extent that the album's commercial hopes seem questionable at best. That's not to say that Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections is an unsatisfying album per se. It's just that this is an edgy album, one that goes out of its way to challenge your expectations of what a major-label (neo-soul? Southern rap?) release should sound like. There's nothing prepackaged here, absolutely nothing. The lead single, "Closet Freak," is a good choice, but even that song is pretty far out-there and sounds unlike anything on the charts in 2002 sans OutKast. Cee-Lo Green and His Perfect Imperfections is ultimately an album for folks who like their music creative, folks who like to hear an artist climb out on a limb and chase his muse, regardless of whether or not the result falls into any clear-cut genre boundaries. It helps, of course, if you like Cee-Lo, because this is undoubtedly his show -- there aren't really any guest star producers, rappers, or singers here, just the big man himself center stage. Kudos to the head of Arista, L.A. Reid, for letting Cee-Lo fly his freak flag with such freedom. It's not often you get a major-label release that's this daring and this colorful, surely not often enough. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
