CD Me

Deluxe version of Plastic Beach includes the standard 16-track CD as well as a 45-minute "making of" documentary DVD that provides online access to extra music, games and video.

User Reviews about Plastic Beach (CD DVD)

After months of listening to the singles from the album on Youtube, I am proud to say that I've finally purchased the Plastic Beach album! As one of the best alternative acts of the last decade, The Gorillaz have been the consistently manufacturing classic tracks that I can repeat over and over and over. The Plastic Beach album is full of repeaters: Stylo, Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach, Rhinestone Eyes, Empire Ants, Broken, Melancholy Hill....basically the whole album. I am glad that I've finally purchased a piece of work from the Gorillaz and Amazon.com was a wonderful way in which to do so. A very happy customer I am. -- The Gorillaz (Damon Albarn and all his friends) still got it!

Hands down best Gorillaz album to date. I have to say I was very impressed. It's really a love/hate thing I think. You have to be a Gorillaz fan to enjoy it. -- Awesome album

When I first got this CD and popped it into my computer to give it a listen, I wasn't impressed. The songs seemed forgettable, repetitive, and it just seemed like a just above mediocre CD. In a state of shock, I listened to it again on my iPod, and while it still wasn't my favorite CD, I found more little things I liked about it. I just kept listening to it to find more things that they put in there, and after a while, it became brilliant in my mind. Now, before I begin my analysis, I think you should know what the Gorillaz are. I'm not going to put a big description and waste space here, so just look them up on Wikipedia. Here we go!

1. Orchestral Intro: This is a nice little tune, I felt kind of like I was looking at a beach covered in syringes, plastic bags and other crap. Good show, Jamie/Damon.
2. Welcome to The World of The Plastic Beach: This is not a good way to start out the vocal songs. I guess the melody is fine, just really sleepy. And that seemed to have an effect on Snoop Doggy Dawg. I have a feeling he just crashed on the studio doorstep, and Damon Albarn just but him front of a mic with a lyric sheet, for him to speak at whatever point he wanted. Maybe I'm going a little harsh on him, but I'm just not fond of the track.
3. White Flag: I like this song. The rapping is really entertaining, and the flute(?) section sounds really cool. The backing beat, I could like more. It sounded like a drum looping machine. Still a very cool track, though.
4. Rhinestone Eyes: The first track with 2D/Damon's vocals. Finally! If you think he speak-sings in his other songs, you'll think he's just talking in this one. Frankly, I thought that it was a very good choice. A beautiful, calming song.
5. Stylo: There is some Controversy about this track. They have been accused of stealing the beginning of the song from Eddy Grant's 'Time Warp'. The tracks are similar for that part, although I'm not sure that 3 notes warrant a lawsuit. Regardless, I thought this was probably the best track all around, but the vocals were absolutely outstanding. Bobby Womack, Mos Def, and of course Damon were all really into the song. Also, the music video is quite nice. Shame it did not come with the 'Experience' edition.
6. Superfast Jellyfish: THis is the Weirdest track, and you can decide for yourself if that's good or not. I loved it, starting out like a breakfast commercial, and then getting deep-voiced rappers to sing about how much they love this treat for breakfast, and the little toys that come with it. Genius!
7. Empire Ants: This track starts out about as excited as a nerd having to sit through Batman and Robin. It starts off like another 'WTTWOTPB', but it gets better when Little Dragon joins in. Still a sleepy track, but ore interesting. At this point I realized the album had a recurring theme of a 'system', or 'machine'. Possibly representing an independent government being established? I don't know, all I know that this is just a fair track.
8. Glitter Freeze: This was my favorite track when I first heard the CD online (legally, mind you). But now it just sound like a lot of sirens. Bland.
9. Some Kind of Nature: People already seem to loving this one. And it's certainly a great song. It's another weird one like Jellyfish, but it fits in with the calm and worried feel of the other songs.
10. On Melancholy Hill: THis is another popular one, but I don't really understand what instruments they used for that warping sound that would be in teen pop songs back around 2000-2004. That doesn't make it a bad song, it just makes me think about listening to the radio back then.
11. Broken: This one sticks in my head sometimes, but there's nothing much to say. It's a good, but not great song.
12. Sweepstakes: I liked this song on my initial listening too, but I don't resent it as much as Glitter Freeze. It's pretty much just Mos Def chanting/rapping to a drum-machine, and unlike most Gorillaz songs it feels like you're not gaining anything from it. It just doesn't work.
13. Plastic Beach: Ah, the title song. The one that is expected to be a hit by piggybacking off of he CD's name, but really just ends up being a B-Side. THis is no exception to that. 'Casio on the Plastic Beach'? Really? That's the chorus?
14. To Binge: Sounds like we're getting back on track! How many songs are left? ...2? Whatever. I enjoy this track. While the 'drum machine' songs suffered from their simplicity, this one actually exceeds expectations from it. It's like a folk song, and Little Dragon is fantastic again. I'll have to see what they've released.
15. Cloud of Unknowing: Bobby Womack, you seem really talented. But I'm not sure that this is the best song for you. It's not that you're bad! It's just that this sounds kind of like an old man reminiscing about a song from his youth. You're still great.
16. Pirate Jet: This one sounds more like the Gorillaz from Demon Days. It's a nice way to end the CD, but I'm not sure how I would have felt if it was placed somewhere else.

So there you have it! A solid effort from Gorillaz, if not as good as Demon Days. Looking forward to the music videos!

EDIT: I've spent even more time with this, and I have to say, it's not worth the money to buy the "Experience" version. I expected to get exclusive streaming events, but all I got was a digital booklets, some desktops, and a cool screensaver. Album gets an 8.5, the DVD and experience drag it down to a 6. -- It's Like a Tumor, It Grows on You (UPDATE: Buy the Cheaper Version)

In a few words: If you want Demon Days or Gorillaz pass this up. If you want to hear the next phase of Gorillaz' musical adventure, as well as a solid, Earth conscience, electropop album, go out right now and get this. For what it's worth, I'd say get it either way. But the slow, melancholy hip-hop swagger of Demon Days is traded in here for a upbeat (if ironic) electronic sound. Damon Albarn's vocals are sounding more and more... well, like Damon Albarn's and less like 2-D's lately. But this was already happening In Demon Days when the falsetto was ditched nearly completely. The falsetto makes a return here, but with a different vibe. More like Albarn on "The Universal."

The guests are prominent on this album, but I feel they're not a main feature. While I feel that the guest heavy tracks in Demon Days are some of the best ("November Has Come," "Feel Good Inc.," "DARE," "All Alone",) "Rhinestone Eyes," "Broken," and "On Melancholy Hill" may be some of the best Gorillaz tunes in quite some time that do not feature guests. However, while many of the guests on this album manage to sound a little out of place (like Snoop Dogg on "Welcome to the Plastic Beach," and Marky Smith on "Glitter Freeze") many of them help to paint an amazing musical palette of nearly epic proportions. Little Dragon does a fantastic job of covering female vocals on this album, presumably playing the role of Noodle for this phase with songs like "To Binge" and "Empire Ants," the former containing some of the most emotional lyrics yet in a Gorillaz tune. Likewise, Mos Def and Bobby Womack electrify "Stylo," and Lou Reed (a pairing I thought I'd never see) sprinkles "Some Kind of Nature" with his usual sarcasm and dry wit. Of course, Gorillaz pair up with my favorite hip hop group De La Soul once again on "Superfast Jellyfish," a quirky tune if a bit disappointing in concept (it's a commercial for Superfast Jellyfish, a conceptual food of the future when the polar ice caps melt and the Earth is mostly water.) The album closes with a mysterious, airy tune by Bobby Womack, "Cloud of Unknowing" and the soul-inspired green tune "Pirate Jet" (contains my favorite line in the album "It's all good news now, because we left the taps running for a hundred years") which brings the album to a faded close, but leaves a bit to be desired. All-in-all the track listing in massive in its scale but leaves you wanting for more. It almost doesn't feel as much like a Gorillaz album, but rather like a mixtape of some kind. And the extra tracks included with the iTunes Deluxe edition are no more than instrumentals, including an extended version of the Orchestral Intro. So, while the music is outstanding, the album as a whole suffers from a lack of... well, Gorillaz. There are around five tracks on this album that don't feature Albarn's vocals at all, concentrating on the guests instead, unless you count Damon's looped line "Just like that" in "Welcome to the Plastic Beach."

Taking a step back outside the music for a moment, the storyline of Gorillaz continues to be interesting, saving much of this phase's intrigue for after the album's release instead of before, like in Demon Days or Gorillaz. There are many mysteries to be solved, and even the new Gorillaz website is going to be opened piece by piece to allow for exploration of the storyline and to add some anticipation to figuring out the puzzle contained within Plastic Beach's history. Many fans complain of a lack of Russel or Noodle (both having been ditched by Murdoc... sort of,) but I remain faithful that Cass and Jamie have many creative twists and turns in store for us yet. It should be noted that the idea of a movie has not been nixed, and the idea that this is Gorillaz' last album has been walked back quite a bit. To add to that, the artwork this phase has been taken a step up. It's some of the best, most vibrant Gorillaz artwork I've ever seen from Mr. Hewlett. He opted to breathe new life into the design of the characters this time around by redesigning them almost completely (especially with Murdoc) and straying from old conventions on their stylings. The packaging is absolutely beautiful, which is why I remain hopeful for a vinyl release.

All-in-all, another fantastic album from Gorillaz. It's always hard for me to place which one is my favorite because it seems like each album is a new experience on its own, rather than a continuation of the same thing. I would suggest going into this album with an open mind, and an open heart.

Standout Tracks: "Rhinestone Eyes," "Stylo," "Superfast Jellyfish," "Some Kind of Nature," and "To Binge" -- Powerful, but be advised: Gorillaz have once again turned their music on its head.

This is an article I wrote for my school's newspaper about Plastic Beach:


After a five year hiatus, the world's most famous animated quartet composed of 2D, Russel, Murdoc, and Noodle, otherwise known as Gorillaz, are back with their highly-anticipated album Plastic Beach. Though the album is set to be released on March 8, early last week the band gave NPR and a handful of media outlets permission to let fans listen to it before it hits shelves.

Damon Albarn, Gorillaz `creator' and best known as the front man of Blur and The Good, the Bad, and the Queen, arrived back strong as a songwriter, producer, and lead singer. With Plastic Beach Albarn has recruited an arsenal of featured artists such as Lou Reed, Mike Jones of The Clash, Snoop Dogg, De La Soul, among others. The first single, Stylo, which was leaked by band member Murdoc on the bands website was the first wacky gesture as he cited "A leak! A leak! Plastic Beach has sprung a leak! One of those Russian pirates has put a bullet hole in my island! My single's leaked! STYLO!" The single features rap star Mos Def and R&B singer Bobby Womback, with Albarn taking the back seat vocally, in a sleek and funky roll-your-windows-down tune.

A beautiful two-minute orchestral trailer takes you to the fictional beach as oceanic clips hover over the symphony. The listeners "arrival" at the beach happens with none other than the swanky sounds of Snoop Dogg as he greets the listener with "Kids, gather around/Yeah, I need your focus/I know the world seems so hopeless/it's like a wonderland," and as a final salute before delving in, "Welcome to the world of the Plastic Beach".

Perhaps the characters of the band wanted to show playfulness and ease above all in this album. Albarn takes cues from Arabian influences as well as Caribbean ones. "Rhinestone Eyes" is the most familiar Gorillaz sound with Albarn's smooth voice gliding over rhythmic tones and a M.I.A.-esque choral sound bite, that gives you the ache to dance as much as their past hit "19-2000" as he chants "I'm a scary gargoyle on a tower/that you made with plastic powder/Your rhinestone eyes are like factories far away."

If you are only familiar with radio hits such as "Feel Good Inc." and "D.A.R.E.,"his may not be the record for you. While that contagious rhythm that remains constant in most songs is present, this is unexplored territory; their personal dark side of the moon. Each song is unique in its own and is contrived in the least, which means that this unfamiliarity is very much an acquired taste.

Above all, what Albarn and the gang have accomplished with this album is refreshingly joyous, and they have managed to reach unprecedented levels of playfulness and tranquility not always heard in their music. Take a break. Relax. Let the music consume you, and surely you'll be at the Plastic Beach in no time.
-- A New Side