The Odd Couple

1	Charity Case 3:14
2	Who's Gonna Save My Soul 3:17
3	Going On 2:56
4	Run (I'm a Natural Disaster) 2:42
5	Would Be Killer 2:23
6	Open Book 3:22
7	Whatever 2:20
8	Surprise 3:52
9	No Time Soon 2:57
10	She Knows 2:46
11	Blind Mary 3:27
12	Neighbors 3:07
13	A Little Better 3:07

Barnes & Noble

The Odd Couple showcases 13 songs that explore the connection between popular music and human psychology. Highlights from this creative duo's second disc include the hypnotic "Charity Case," the Motown-meets-Delta blues "Who's Gonna Save My Soul," and the uplifting "A Little Better."

All Music Guide

In a world where it's the norm to have a one-off collaboration between a producer and a rapper, something special has to happen to prompt a sequel. Of course, "Crazy" was all the prompting needed for Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse to rejuvenate Gnarls Barkley, their collaboration by mail that sparked the brightest and catchiest single since OutKast's "Hey Ya." But fans and critics have to understand that these two were exactly the types to walk away from a follow-up simply for the purpose of a cash-in, which makes that follow-up, The Odd Couple, such a strange proposition -- it's exactly like St. Elsewhere, and fails to reveal a single new thing. All the hallmarks of a follow-up record are here -- similar sounds and themes, for sure, but also a clear lack of innovation, lyrical and production touches that have since become clichés, and more than just a few passages that will prompt a severe case of listener déjà vu. (Of course, many listeners may enjoy that sense of déjà vu.) As before, Danger Mouse's productions are miniature, modernist spaghetti Westerns, very closely detailed whether their major voice is an acoustic guitar or a choir of unholy voices. These are then chained to amped-up beats and beefed-up basslines to create something that sounds both vintage and up to date, all at the same time. Cee-Lo's lyrics and vocals again reveal a lunatic (or seer) who's occasionally more lucid than the sane, an enlightened psychopath wrestling with his demons and revealing the thin line between being crazy and sensible. At times, The Odd Couple is a more beautiful record than its predecessor -- the duo has never put out anything more moving on a musical and emotional level than "Who's Going to Save My Soul," and Danger Mouse's production work outshines St. Elsewhere on one track ("Open Book"). But all too often Cee-Lo relies on the same sort of lyrical cipher as on St. Elsewhere, although none of them are as effective. "I don't understand how I'm so understanding"; "I'm goin' on, and I think they'll have a place for you too"; "I could be a would-be killer" -- these are the ramblings of a madman; they may sound deep and profound late at night, but they're revealed as nonsense with the light of day. John Bush

Rolling Stone

Thanks to Danger Mouse, the album has the always unpredictable sonic brilliance of their first collaboration, St. Elsewhere, even when the songwriting misses the mark. They don't try for any crowd-pleasing pop energy — instead, Danger Mouse filters Cee-Lo's gospel-trained voice through alien studio effects over druggy, distorted funk loops for the kind of sound they called "trip-hop" back in the Nineties. 1/2 Rob Sheffield