If you never heard Gnarls Barkley's mega-hit "Crazy" in 2006, well then congratulations, your Henry David Thoreau-type hermit status impresses me because that song was virtually unavoidable everyday for about six months. Rapper Cee-Lo and beat maker Danger Mouse went from being respected artists in their own fields to superstars literally overnight. While their debut St. Elsewhere did have a few bright shining moments besides that of "Crazy," if always felt like an uneven mess to me; the kind of album that you pop in from time to time to hear the really good stuff and fast-forward through the rest.

Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse's fast-tracked new record The Odd Couple has that exact same feel to it; even more so in fact than St. Elsewhere did. The album starts off hot and heavy with the "ooohhh, ahhh's!" of the funky opener "Charity Case" and next track "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" is the most soulful song either performer has ever been involved in making (well, besides that one big song we already mentioned, I forget, what's it called again?) Then the real fun begins. "Going On" with its handclaps and little guitar solo is a blast and first single "Run (I'm A Natural Disaster)" with its paranoid, schizophrenic spirit is one of the greatest songs so far this year. Every time I hear that bongo sample right before the chorus…oh, chills man. After those four tracks though, I'm just not feeling it. Cee-Lo's vocal cadence on tracks like "Would Be Killer" and Whatever" are just annoying and terrible and Danger Mouse's Squarepusher-esque beats on the track "Open Book" are interesting but sorely out of place. "Blind Mary," with its Billy Joel "Longest Time" feel, is the only track on the second half of The Odd Couple that I consistently come back to. Everything else to me just seems like filler. I know these two are capable of making great albums from start to finish because I've heard them. But in my humble opinion, as far as whole works go, I hate to say it but the Gnarls Barkley project is unfortunately 0 for 2.