The Odd Couple
Studio album by Gnarls Barkley
Released	March 18, 2008 (2008-03-18)
Recorded	2007–2008
Genre	Soul, Alternative rock, R&B
Length	39:11
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Danger Mouse
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Billboard (positive) link The Guardian link NME (8/10) link The Observer link Pitchfork Media (7.2/10) link PopMatters (9/10) link Rolling Stone link Uncut link
Gnarls Barkley chronology
St. Elsewhere (2006) The Odd Couple (2008)

The Odd Couple is the Grammy-nominated second studio album by Gnarls Barkley, released digitally on March 18 and in stores March 25, 2008. Due to an early leak of the album over the internet in early March 2008, the duo decided to push up the release from April 8. The album was released to the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 on March 18.

Contents 1 Pre-release 2 elpuoc ddo eht 3 Track listing 4 Samples 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Pre-release

In late January, an assumed leaked track appeared on several music blogs. "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)", the previously unknown song, was given positive reviews from most music outlets.^[1] "Run" was released as the album's first single as a digital download in the U.S. on February 5, 2008.

Despite "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" being the lead single at the time, "Going On" was the highest charting album track on iTunes having made it as high as #23 on the Top 100 chart as of March 25, subsequently debuting at #88 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was then released as the second single from the album, and the song's video premiered on March 20, 2008.

In March 2008, the album's third single, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" was premiered by hip hop band The Roots' drummer Questlove through a video uploaded to YouTube.^[2]

An early leak of the album over the Internet in early March, 2008, prompted the duo to push the release of the album from April 8. Digital versions of the sophomore effort were released to the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 on March 18.^[3] Physical copies of the album were slated for March 25, however some copies hit independent record stores on March 18.

[edit] elpuoc ddo eht

An instrumental reverse edition of the album, retitled elpuoc ddo eht, was released on April 17, 2008. The entire album is fused into one 38 minute, 44 second track played completely in reverse, starting with the album's last song and ending with the album's first. This unorthodox edition was released officially by Danger Mouse and is legally available as a second disc on the vinyl edition or for download free of charge at fronttobackbacktofront.com

[edit] Track listing

1. "Charity Case" – 3:12
2. "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" – 3:15
3. "Going On" – 2:54
4. "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" – 2:44
5. "Would Be Killer" – 2:22
6. "Open Book" – 3:20
7. "Whatever" – 2:18
8. "Surprise" – 3:50
9. "No Time Soon" – 2:55
10. "She Knows" – 2:44
11. "Blind Mary" – 3:25
12. "Neighbors" – 3:05
13. "A Little Better" – 3:07

[edit] Samples

• "Going On" samples "Folder Man" written by Peter Dunton and performed by Please
• "Going On" is featured on the soundtrack of NBA 2K9
• "Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)" samples "Junior Jet Set" by Keith Mansfield
• "Would Be Killer" samples "Fluid" by Twink
• "Open Book" incorporates sampled elements from "Träume" by Françoise Hardy
• "Whatever" samples "The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin" by Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
• "Surprise" contains elements of "Building With A Steeple" written by Ron Dante, Gene Allen and Bobby Feldman and performed by The Eighth Day
• "She Knows" samples "Gentle Flute" performed by Cy Payne
• "A Little Better" incorporates elements of "Trying To Be Free" written by Nacabal and Yvon-Goudy

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website

v • d • e Gnarls Barkley Cee-Lo · Danger Mouse Studio albums St. Elsewhere  · The Odd Couple Singles "Crazy"  · "Smiley Faces"  · "Who Cares?"  · "Gone Daddy Gone"  · "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)"  · "Going On"  · "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" Related articles Downtown Records