G Sides

by Gorillaz

Overview

Though it seems a bit soon for a virtual group with only one album to its name to be releasing a B-sides collection, Gorillaz' G-Sides more or less justifies its existence by gathering some of the best extra tracks from the band's singles, most of which are only available as imports. As with Gorillaz, which surrounded catchy songs like "Clint Eastwood" and "19/2000" with quirkier, more experimental tracks, the band uses its B-sides as a chance to stretch out even further musically, either with remixes or with unconventional musical sketches. G-Sides features some of each, ranging from the even bouncier, more upbeat remix of "19/2000" by Soulchild, to the rather eerie "Hip Albatross," which mixes samples of moaning zombies from Dawn of the Dead with trip-hoppy beats and moody guitars. Rapper Phi Life Cyber reinforces Gorillaz' hip-hop roots by joining them on two tracks, for a reworking of "Clint Eastwood" and "The Sounder." The appealingly simple "12D3," with its strummy guitar and playful Damon Albarn vocals, recalls some of Blur's later work, and the funky, quirky "Ghost Train," and the English version of "Latin Simone" are as enjoyable as anything that appeared on Gorillaz. Aside from the Wiseguys' rather limp reworking of "19/2000," the only problem with G-Sides is its brevity; the U.S. version only includes ten of the B-sides, none of which are from their biggest single, "Clint Eastwood." And while most of the import singles featured CD-ROM tracks of the group's amazing animated videos, none of them appear here. Though the enhanced version of G-Sides and the Japanese B-Side Collection feature more of Gorillaz' B-sides (and they'll probably have a video collection sooner rather than later), these kinds of omissions make G-Sides a slightly frustrating collection. Gorillaz completists will no doubt have all of the import singles already, but G-Sides is the logical next step for anyone intrigued by the group's debut. [The enhanced U.K. issue of the CD not only includes videos for "Clint Eastwood" and "Rock the House," but a slightly different track listing, trading "Latin Simone" and "19-2000 [Wiseguys House of Wisdom Remix]" for "Dracula" and "Rock the House," and adding the track "Left Hand Suzuki Method."] ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date:	04/16/2002
Label:	Parlophone
UPC:	0724353694203

Tracks

1. 19-2000 [Soulchild Remix]
2. Dracula
3. Rock the House [Edit]
4. Sounder
5. Faust
6. Clint Eastwood [Phi Life Cypher Version]
7. Ghost Train
8. Hip Albatross
9. Left Hand Suzuki Method
10. 12D3
11. Clint Eastwood
12. Rock the House

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Gorillaz   Primary Artist
Phi-Life Cypher   Primary Artist,Rap
Jamie Hewlett   Primary Artist
Damon Albarn   Primary Artist,Vocals
Del the Funky Homosapien   Primary Artist
Sydney Shoid Gussine   Bass
Ibrahim Ferrer   Vocals
Miho Hatori   Vocals
Tina Weymouth   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Si PhiLi   Rap

Technical Credits

Melvin London   Composer
Simon Philbert   Composer
Ellas McDaniel   Composer
Del the Funky Homosapien   Composer
Jason Cox   Engineer,Producer,Associate Producer
Teren Jones   Composer
John Dankworth   Composer
Ibrahim Ferrer   Composer,Producer
Phi-Life Cypher   Composer
McDaniel   Composer
Ian Burden   Composer
Miho Hatori   Producer
McKinley Morganfield   Composer
Tim Burrell   Engineer,Mastering Engineer
Murdoc Niccals   Composer,Producer
Dan Nakamura   Composer
Stuart Bradbury   Engineer,Producer
Gorillaz   Composer,Producer
Damon Albarn   Composer,Musician,Producer
Philip Oakey   Composer
Martin Smith   Composer
Mel London   Composer
Jamie Hewlett   Composer
Damien Mendis   Arranger,Engineer,Producer
Dan the Automator   Composer,Producer
Dave Jolicoeur   Composer
Laurence Diana   Engineer
Tom Girling   Engineer,Producer,Pro-Tools,Digital Editing,Associate Producer
Toby Whelan   Engineer,Assistant Engineer
Lazaro Villa   Composer
Cass Browne   Producer
Murdoc   Composer
Curtis Lynch, Jr.   Producer
Si PhiLi   Composer
2D   Composer,Producer
Touche   Remix Engineer