Cee-Lo Green... Is The Soul Machine
Cee Lo Green
2004
Album Summary
Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine is the second studio album by Cee Lo Green, released on March 2, 2004.
WikipediaIm glad a man with T-Rex arms can make it in the world these days. He might not be able to do a push up, touch this hands together, put his arms around someone etc. but he can make an absolutely mediocre generic album.
Though Cee-Lo might also wish to be a little bit taller and perhaps a baller, it’s important to note that Skee-Lo and Cee-Lo are two different people. I should know that. Their voices are completely different. Cee-Lo’s voice is very unique, though I would not consider it a soulful voice, as the title of this album would suggest. It’s more of a Sarah Silverman, Megan Mullaly cute voice that is best enjoyed in SMALL increments. Unfortunately, "Cee-Lo Green … Is the Soul Machine” has SIXTEEN songs on it and none of them are soul. After listening to this album, it is apparent the only link between Cee-Lo and soul is that he shares a last name with Al. A lot of the arrangements here seem dated and don’t hold up well over time. But it’s his voice that is really difficult to endure, especially on Scrap Metal. In this song, CL takes on a hard persona and sings about being strapped with a MAC-10 and threatening to box cutter your face while telling people he doesn’t give a f**k. Sorry, but that stuff coming out of your mouth in that cute voice is straight comedy, CL. Buuuuuut..., that got me thinking about Sarah Vowell from early episodes of This American Life. If you didn’t know, Sarah Vowell was born to play the voice of Violet Parr, the American teenager forced into a life of secret superpowers in The Incredibles. Vowell, however didn’t just begin here career there. She used her fun, thought-provoking essays and contributions to This American Life as a springboard. Voicing Violet probably wasn’t a career highlight for her personally, but it was appreciated and she was spot-on perfect. I imagine she’d rather be writing for the New Yorker just like CL would rather be singing. And so, I would like to present this album as a launchpad for Mr. Green and address him directly. Mr. Lo: Don’t worry, bud, your voice is fun and you’ve got a talent for singing, but that voice is best used elsewhere. I’m thinking Spongebob Squarepants or similar cartoons, maybe one of those greeting cards that makes funny noises when you open it up or even stand up comedy where it can truly be valued, admired and even imitated. Rest assured there are big things waiting for you. This isn't the end, it's only the beginning. Oh wait, this is the guy that does the 'Fuck You' song?! I Love that song. It's hilarious! _________________________________________________________ *Correction from the Elvis review (https://tinyurl.com/yhbfbm68). The reference to Curb can be found here: https://youtu.be/1-7W1sftcXw
It's fun and playful but I can't completely get into it. I think I prefer his Gnarls Barkley material.
I don’t know how a cee lo green album made this list. He’s not very good. This album felt like it would easily forgotten during the 2000s. There were several better albums then. Only a couple songs on this album were okay. His voice and singing style is a bit weird. The beats and vibe was ok but nothing special. 3.9/10
Wow, is this man full of himself. The opening & closing tracks tell me pretty much all I needed to know about him and set me up to dislike the album. But first, I was loathe to listen to this at all, given the sexual harassment/rape charges that removed him from the public eye a decade ago. And it was super hard to stomach the misogyny & violence contained in this album while thinking about the woman who brought those charges against him. It's a little bit (but only a little bit) too bad, because a couple of the songs could have been enjoyable. He employs catchy beats and seems to have a real talent with both his voice and his rhymes. But there was just too much other stuff for me to get beyond to be willing to give the rest a chance.
Starting to notice that anything with the Pharrell touch is a good sign. Old school southern styles big Outkast vibes. Can also hear a bit of Anderson Paak as well. The One was my highlight, sick TI verse
Pretty good! I kind of don't like CeeLo's singing voice but I liked the big-band style hip hop sound overall
This album is a heaping pile of grits, not offensive, but also not very good without something else added to it. This album is missing cheese, shrimp, or even just some basic butter to keep it interesting. I think the guy who goes “oh oh oh oh oh oh” on The Art Of The Noise might be the best part of the album. His part is a total of about 15 seconds on the album. I’m stretching for compliments here. Childz Play is like a bad circus attraction soundtrack. Cee-lo’s voice is unique and grating some times, but not always. Conclusion: I do not think that Cee-lo is the soul machine.
For an album declaring in the title that Cee-Lo Green is a soul machine, I wanted more soul! Sometimes Cee Lo's voice works for me, and sometimes it doesn't. He can sing, and he can rap, but sometimes the nasally high pitch isn't used well. Or its growly and yappy (I'm looking at you, "Scrap Metal"). But there were definitely some fun tracks on here. "I'll Be Around" was the first one that jumped out at me - it definitely had that Timbaland sound. What Timbaland sound, you ask!? Why don't you know Timbaland? More like, why do I know Timbaland? Its weird, Timbaland & Magoo's "Welcome to Our World" album has apparently stuck in my mind as a standout late 90's hip-hop album, though I hadn't thought about it in years. As soon as I heard "I'll Be Around" though, I immediately recalled "Clock Strikes," with its sample of the Knight Rider theme song. Seriously. It's amazing. And also "Up Jumps da Boogie" with Missy Elliot! But sorry, back to Cee Lo. "Childz Play" with Ludacris is fun, and the soul finally appears on "All Day Love Affair." Those, along with "Die Trying," are the best tracks, but overall this anointing of the soul machine would have benefitted from more soul. Also, I find it troubling that his name is hyphenated in the album title, but not anywhere else...
I like simple pleasures, like butter in my ass, lollipops in my mouth. That's just me. That's just something that I enjoy. And I like my CeeLo Green with Gnarls Barkley. Here, he sounds like he wants to be the late Biz Markie, Morris Day of The Time, or a poor man's Al Green. Props for realizing his voice gets annoying pretty fast, I guess? Not even Pharrell Williams helping out on a few tracks is enough to disguise this album's flaws.
I was surprised that Cee all Green made this list. Listening to the album has not changed that.
Don't like his voice and found the songs consistently boring. Only managed the first half of the album before I switched off.
Pretty boring and think calling himself a soul machine is a bit of false advertising.
You really don't need to listen to this before you die. Why is this on the list? It's over an hour of either irritating or just bland music. Vocals get annoying very quickly. Cee Lo does not suit hip hop, so why not include his next album, the shorter, better one, the poppier one, the one with the big hits? Now I'm embarrassed of showing my Cee Lo Green discography knowledge. 26/10/22
Nothing special, but good hip-hop album, there are some references to funckadelic and others, that's nice. Really easy to listen, I have liked several songs, so I guess it deserves 5 start by me
This album is just wonderful. One of my favorite hip-hop records. 14 of the 16 music tracks are top-shelf, with a brief lull in tracks 15 and 16. That's mighty impressive. Lo is a true artist, and when he's not leading a banger about getting high, he's reciting raw and introspective poetry over an easy beat. If you're too invested in either mode, the other may put you off, especially since the album sets an upbeat expectation by being so front-loaded with party music. Still, Cee-Lo Green can do it all and this is his best record among an impressive catalog.
Excellent. This is the first album we heard since Thriller (and one of the only in this whole process) that was pure fun to listen to. While I have respect for lots of grandiose music, there is also a time and a place for music that is just a lot of fun. There are several bangers on here (the songs with Timbaland, Ludacris, and T.I. in particular) and the fusion of upbeat R&B with hip-hop was really great. Cee-Lo was singing and rapping a decade before Drake made it mainstream and is a legitimately good singer (Sorry Aubrey). I never heard this before but will be listening again.
I throughly enjoyed this project. It had a nice blend of rap, R&B, soul, and funk. I’m used to hearing cee lo sing but not rap as much and he’s pretty good at it. The features were also very nice. I downloaded and would listen again.
always knew ceelo was talented, but never listened to a lot of his albums. this album was surprisingly good. respect++;
Cee-lo is so underrated. Wild, creative jamz. An amazing roster of producers. I think I might like his debut better, but this is still great.
I had never heard this one before actually, but I really enjoyed it bc it sounded so much like the rest of the hip hop/r&b that I listened to in high school
I don’t really like his voice, but there’s no denying that the production value is high and the songs are fun to vibe/bounce/verbs to. Stunned I went above two stars for this.
Wtf I love it much more than I thought I would. He really do be Cee Lo Green. It's not a 5 but damn it's close. 4.5/5
September 16, 2021 Surprisingly fun! It's longer than I normally like and a different genre, but I danced a little.
There is a perfect, 5-star album within this. One wants to vaunt the ambition, talent and bravery of such a vast work, but it is just too vast. The effect is one of eating a whole box of chocolates: every morsel is delicious, but you are left exhausted and a little nauseated. That criticism feels a little harsh: every song on the album is fine, and taken individually they'd be a treat. However, taken together they clamour for attention, drowning out each other. Prolificacy can be a virtue, but it easily degenrates into self-indulgence, and one should always remember that precision is just as virtuous.
Wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did, it’s very long but it’s versatility makes it easy to hear. The second half is harder but good nevertheless
Listened as background music but was very unfocused on it. It was fine.
Why does such a bad dude gotta make such good tunes. At least sometimes he sounds like a muppet (a talented muppet, but still).
great first track. awesome voice. fun features - luda! southern production style is great and very creative dungeon family flows. easy listen overall, very enjoyable. good vibes, fun background music while cooking. THE NIGHTLIFE, THE DARK SIDE OF MY SOUL "sometimes" is creative af
Interesting, varied, strong songs. Great lyrics. No songs fully hit me though
This album falls in my TLC rule. They combine soul and hip hop in a way that makes listening to this not being a chore. Hate to phrase a compliment in a negative way but it's late and my vocabulary is sleeping.
This is a weird one.. on one hand the music is pretty great and CeeLo’s lyrics are surprisingly fantastic as well. But on the other it’s always hard to take CeeLo seriously when he’s rapping just cause it’s CeeLo and he looks and sounds so silly. Overall pretty cool record though, definitely reminds me of some other early 2000s southern hip hop. 7/10
Here's another artist that I have to separate my feeling about them personally from my feelings about them as an artist. I really like Cee-Lo as an artist. I've seen him live, and he was really good (in Sioux City, Iowa no less. It's no small feet to get those people dancing). One the other hand, his sexual battery accusation and statements about consent are fucking reprehensible. Setting all of that aside, this album is really cool. It's a lot of fun and featured more of Cee-Lo rapping than I was expecting. The music compliments perfectly. It's hard to call this a hidden gem, since Cee-Lo is so well known, but his work before Gnarls Barkley is well worth exploring 4/5
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: The art of noise, Living again, I’ll be around, The one, My kind of people, All day love affair
[14/09/2022] Noicee : D I guess I’ve become lazy with my reviews or too busy with life. But this was good. An easy 3.5 or 4 stars
I liked this one more than most of hip hip albums I’ve heard. Some really good funk bass and guitar here.
Surprisingly decent album! Cee-Lo with his style resembles a little combination of guys from Outkast - Andre3000 and Big Boi. It's an album combining southern rap, rnb and a specific type of 'soul', many times underlined by Cee Lo in his lyrics. The songs have really nice beat and flow, great use of different types of vocals by Green, nice choruses, in general really entertaining stuff! It's easy to follow through with the song and end up in kind of a trance. I didn't know that Cee Lo is also the singer in Gnarls Barkley project, but after listening to this album, all the points are connected. Very positive record, I will come back to it very soon.
Entertaining album that is high pace and enjoyable throughout. I believe that it is a bit too long and dragged out. I also thought the more rap heavy songs were not as good as the singing ones
2.5|La mitad del disco está bueno bueno, lo malo es cuando comienza a meter demasiado hippity hoppity o a rapear de formas extrañas, mientras se enfoque en el neo soul y R&B de balada bonita todo fluye muy bien. Su timbre no ayuda mucho para esas canciones raras y el rapeo termina siendo incomodo y rebuscado.
Me pasó algo interesante con este disco. En primer lugar, no conocía al amigo Cee-Lo, y este estilo de música como R&B no es mi favorito, por lo que la primera vez que lo escuché lo hice sin poner mucha atención y se me hizo equis... Luego, volví a escucharlo con audífonos y ohhh, qué diferencia! (la primera vez lo hice con las bocinas de mi computadora). Los arreglos de este disco son muy interesantes, la composición de los samples con efectos (ruido de ciudad, voces, etc.) le dan a varias canciones un ambiente muy rico y agradable. Desafortunadamente creo que el disco tiene demasiadas canciones, y algunas simplemente son aburridas, por lo que dejé su calificación en 3.
I do find Cee-Lo Green's vocal styles kind of interesting, he has an interesting cadence and good range. There is some neat instrumentations/flows here but, not quite the potential it could be, weighed down by some of the themes. Not my jam, but not bad.
Very tight initially, but failed to hold together as well for me in the latter half.
I know CeeLo mainly from Gnarls Barkley, not familiar with much from him earlier than that. I was expecting to like this more than I did. I liked a few of the songs but most of them I just found uninteresting. It was fun to see all the guest artists he had on the album though.
La música está muy bien, muy movido y bien rapeado pero hubo algo que no me atrapó. Creo que es demasiado, muchos sonidos, mucho rap, mucho por todos lados y termina aturdiendo. Creo que el disco es muy bueno pero algo no me dejó disfrutarlo.
Not my cup of tea, but found myself tapping my pen to the rhythm on a few songs on the back half of the album.
I hadn't heard any of these songs before - is it bad if all the worst songs were CeeLo by himself? This album was "fine"
Actually not too bad. Some interesting cameos and collaborations. But I bet Cee Lo Green would be an arsehole to hang around with. His songs are very ego centric. Just pipe down Cee Lo! Also I feel like when he really goes for it, it kind of sounds like his voice box is malfunctioning. I don’t even know if he can sing... he is just making noise.
Weird to see Green on this list... I guess he was more popular than I thought lol. It was pretty good! A bit dated but still worthwhile
Early 2000s Atlanta was clearly such a fun place to make a record, but this guy really benefitted from Dangermouse. The music of the early 2000s shows us how advanced the present always seems, and looking back, how primitive the present is. I like that the album is good enough to get us to ignore the somewhat rudimentary production, but this is no Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.
I was really into the first few songs (especially The Art of Noise), but the rest were only ok for me. I do appreciate his eclectic mix of genres within his songs. I also had a bit of trouble separating his artistry from the various problematic things that occurred in his personal life in the later years of his fame.
Lots of interesting stuff here. Lots of different styles in play. As usual way too long so I can't say that it held my interest through to the end but enough interesting moments to make it a worthwhile listen 3.5 🌟
I'm not a huge fan of CeeLo's voice, there's something about his tone that just reminds me of a squeaky wheel. That said, this album has a hit-or-miss collection of songs. The ones that strive are the ones that really take up the instrumentation and lean into the soul and R&B side of his production. When he tries to rap or do spoken-word narratives, there's just a disconnect that interrupts the flow of the album. Overall, his aura and approach to making this album is just too cocky and self-important, especially for somebody who relies on a lot of featured guests to really add something to the songs. There are fun moments that solidify him beyond a one-hit wonder in his solo career, but beyond that I wouldn't say this is an "album-centered experience."
-"Soul machine" has a great fast verse -Liked the guest verse on "My Kind Of People" -Cool flow on "The Art of Noise" and "Childz Play" -generally good flow throughout, although I felt the beginning was much stronger than the end -one of the stronger 3's, I just don't particularly care to listen again
It’s good. I have a couple of his albums and this one seems good but not as good as some of his others. Nice listen though.
Some interesting songs and a quirky take on hip hop. Would give this another spin.
An interesting mix of soul/funk and rap, with some great highlights of each. A lot of versatility in terms of flow and structure.
Lots of interesting stuff here. Lots of different styles in play. As usual way too long so I can't say that it held my interest through to the end but enough interesting moments to make it a worthwhile listen 3.5 🌟
Strong 3 stars. Overall the music is fine.. his voice is a little annoying. I do like the variety of styles though on the album. Tempos all over the place and good beats
Hubo una que otra canción que sí me pareció muy agradable. En general, un álbum que fluye, mismo mood, con texturas (?), pero tampoco me parece nada sorprendente. Está bien y hasta ahí. 7.5/10
Not a fan of Glockapella. When We Were Friends is really lifting this album up. Good vibe Die Trying is good too
This is pretty good. I nearly gave it a fourth star. There should be ten stars, this is clearly a 3.5 star album.
I really like this man's voice, he can sing but also he's a little goofy which makes him stand out from other R&B artists. Liked the first half more but definitely has some stand out cuts on the second side. Definitely is the soul machine, I'm interested in listening to his other projects. 3.5/5
Some songs hold this back. Mostly the “hard” rap songs. I’m sorry CeeLo but I just can’t see you as hard and gangsta no matter how strapped you say u are. But he can sing. And should stick mostly to that
I enjoy the songs that sound a little more like classic soul music, but overall not my thing. 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3.
It was cool and I do love ATL rappers, but this didn't make me a CeeLo follower - it was average
Cee-Lo is like a turtle on a fencepost. No-one really knows how he got there. One of those dudes that seemed to come out of nowhere, was everywhere for a couple of years, then immediately went to the "Hey remember when Iw as famous" circuit. (Until he cropped up on Masked Singer). I can't see that this album would have been made or got the number of guest stars on there if his rise hadn't been so meteoric. It's pretty over-produced but I guess it suits that. It goes on about 20 min too long, but it's got some nice beats. It feels like something you'd hear on a Saturday morning radio show (heavily edited of course).
Not what I expected from a “soul machine”- was alright though, maybe I’ll come back to it. I like the intro 5/10
This is my first time hearing about this album, despite being really into anything the Neptunes touched in this era. Cee-Lo presents a real variety of styles, some more soulful straight-up singing, some raps, but not much endures as something I'd love to hear again. Soul Machine feels under developed, especially next to The Art of Noise, a classic Neptunes production. Childz Play is FUN. I'm missing the catchy vibe I associate with Cee-Lo.
D'abord plutôt convaincu, Cee-Lo Green a fini par me casser les couilles avec son album interminable. Une belle comparaison a faire avec le générateur.
Listening to this, it's a fun and uptempo album with a range of good producers, like Timbaland to the Neptunes. And they leave their respective marks on the songs. But the album as a whole has way too much filler in between some really decent songs. Not a standout.
I feel like I have reviewed a bunch of albums like this; perfectly produced, highly skilled, over long... it doesn't have the slight edge that captures my attention. Another Ok album I don't think I ever need to hear again. And did it really need to be 73 minutes long? Interestingly, once spotify had finished playing this album, it started on his first album, which grabbed my ears much more immediately
There’s some decent stuff here but I really just can’t get past how creepy cree lo is
Interesting to hear his less-poppy stuff. But had to go and listen to the pop album after that 😅
CeeLo Green has an interesting career. Many may know him from his 2010 pop soul hit Fuck You (perhaps better remembered for the radio-friendly version Forget You), or his 2006 neosoul hit Crazy under the name Gnarls Barkley, a project he had with DJ Danger Mouse. Either way, Green has established himself pretty well since this release. Soul Machine, however, I knew very little about. Green started out in Atlanta's southern hip hop scene as a member of Goodie Mob and the Dungeon Family. He could also be found on a few early Outkast songs, so needless to say he was on ground floor of an important hip hop scene. This naturally led to him going solo after the success of their album Soul Food, but Green would still stick to his southern hip hop sound for his first solo effort. This eventually brings us to his followup album, which is where we're at right now. Green's songs here are produced by Timbaland during his late 90's, 2000's reign of terror. He had finished Jay-Z's Black Album the year prior and would work with Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado on their big establishing albums. Timbaland also has a claim to the southern hip hop scene, having come up in Miami, but his credits can be found across the map from 2pac to Missy Elliot to Nas. Either way, he brings interesting beats and samples to this album that only sometimes land for me. It's a shame that there are no clear hits on this album, even with all the star-studded features from Ludacris, Pharrell Williams, and Timbaland. While Soul Machine is still distinctly southern hip hop with soul influences, it feels like it doesn't have much edge to it at all (Scrap Metal is exception to this). It's also too long for seemingly no reason. Did we need to pack 16 songs in this thing with an intro and outro to boot? The CD was a mistake.
Overall, I liked it. My mind wandered at times when things felt a bit repetitious, but I did enjoy the coordination of melody and rhythm. His voice is distinct and musical -- he seems to have a real knack for delivering his lyrics and raps in a solidly melodic fashion, and that's pretty darn cool. I sing but I've not tried rapping or hip-hop or any similar style, but I have a feeling it's really difficult to do what he's doing so well. (In case there's any question, I am most squarely NOT in the camp that claims rap, hip-hop, or any similar genre or style isn't music -- good gods, I really hate that ignorant view -- and I experience it all very much as real music in every sense of the word)
I didn't get much of a chance to listen to this. A nice mixture of soul and hip-hop.
You know how on track 15 it starts with 'Ladies and Gentlemen... Cee-Lo'? That bugs me. You could maybe lead off the album with that. But when it happens just before the 15 track... it starts to feel like, you know what, maybe this album should be over already. I don't know - another album I'm torn on. I like Cee-Lo's voice a lot. I like the sense of humor generally. But the songs don't get under my skin. And this one feels overlong and out of focus. Tons of good material, but maybe it needed a little curating. I bet at 12 or 13 songs... even 10 songs... it plays a little better.
This is good quality neo-soul. Well produced and strong songs were hallmarks of Cee-Lo's sophomore effort. My issue with neo-soul is that fo me it is no match for 70s soul. Listen to Cee-Lo's Let's Stay Together and compare it Let's Stay Together by Al Green (a different song) and the point is clear.
This was a fun listen, I hadn't heard much Cee-Lo before. I felt like it was unique from other stuff in the genre but not necessarily my jam
Really solid project throughout, I’ve loved Cee Lo since I was a kid but never listened to his older stuff. Not exactly innovative or pushing the boundaries but the swagger and soul in this thing make it worth adding to your playlists (some songs more than others)
I don't care for the general theme of a few songs, but it's a solid album.
Wow, this is not really soul, huh? I liked almost everything with this album except the main part, Cee-Lo's rapping. His voice just does not much what he is saying at all. The couple times he actually did sing were far better, but that was rare on this overly long album.
Oh leuker dan ik had verwacht nadat ik hem voornamelijk ken door het nummer 'fuck you'
Cee Lo's comments in recent years have soured his reputation. Solid production by the Neptunes and Jazzy Pha, but the album contains too much filler.
Cee-Lo can do better than this, I've heard it. There's a couple of decent tracks on here, but it mostly feels self-indulgent and repetitive. I'm rather disappointed, I expected more.
Like the PG version of Cee-lo's best song, I think I'll say "forget you" to this album
Cuando empezamos y hubo hip hop con The Roots pensé que podría tener espacio para que algo de este estilo me guste, pero este disco me demostró que mñeh… hay cosas realmente aburridas y sin ningún interés para mí. No me gusta la voz, no me gusta el estilo de rapeo y no me gusta que casi en ninguna canción la instrumentación. Le rescata la segunda estrella que en algún momento me recordó a un desfile en NOLA.
i know i'm biased but i just really don't like him as a person so i cannot justify giving him anything above a 2
The best thing I can say about this album is that the music is better than the hideous cover art.....but that’s a low bar
Hay que empezar por decirlo, Cee-Lo sí tiene talento; de hecho es un músico bastante talentoso con buen oído, muy versátil y es un excelente productor. Por otro lado, Cee-Lo es malo rapeando y siempre se ha empecinado en hacerlo. Tiene una voz muy particular que funciona en algunas canciones y en muchas otras no. El peor problema de este disco es que esa versatilidad la utiliza para mal; termina tratando de abarcar demasiado y, a diferencia de otros discos que nos han tocado, en este no funciona. Las canciones que suenan más a soul son buenas, muy bien producidas y de sonido brillante. El problema es que trata de hacer demasiado hip-hop con ritmos sosos que no dan nada especial y letras mensas; trata de hacer medio románticas que tampoco cuadran. Si este fuera un disco ceñido a la forma en que suenan las primeras dos canciones sería un buen disco, de la forma en que quedó es un desastre sin pies ni cabeza que se siente cansado y largo a pesar de durar solo una hora. El disco Lady Killer de él mismo es muchísimo mejor a mi parecer, más concentrado a enfocarse y con un resultado mucho mejor. Cosas rescatables perdidas en este pero el disco termina sintiéndose muy raro e incomodo.
Not my bag. A bit silly at times. Also listened to a whole other album I didn't need to, which may have skewed my opinion
The run time is too long and I find his voice irritating by the end of it. The songs are also just not interesting at all.
For me it was a bit meh. I got about half way through this album before I remembered that Cee-Lo Green features on ‘The Mouse and the Mask’ with Dangermouse and MF DOOM. Then I remembered how incredible that album is. Then I went and listened to that instead. Maybe the second half of this album is better than the first, but even if it is I still think I made the right choice. Cracking voice though, and I’m not sure Van Morrison’s ever been asked to appear on ‘The Masked Singer’, so he’s got that going for him.
Didn't listen to it all and skipped a few, but surprisingly not as bad as I was expecting. Few funky soul tunes in there... Can't say I didn't enjoy Soul Machine 🕺
This one really wasn’t for me. There are some very good tracks on it. I think it suffers from cd bloat, at over an hour long, there is some serious editing that could have probably made it a tight, better album. Good songs on it, but overall a slog to get through
Bestimmt seit Ludacris keinen Southside Rap mehr gehört. Macht gut Laune, hat aber nicht genug Texttiefe, um mich zum Weiterhören zu animieren. Da höre ich dann lieber OutKast. Zum putzen& aufräumen OK
Didn't even know this album was a thing 😂 I rate Cee-Lo though from the days of Goodie Mob, Gnarles Barley too. Halfway through and I'm not that impressed 😂 it's OK but it's nowhere near as good as Gnarles or Goodie. Feels like a bit of a swing and a miss. Shame, wanted to enjoy it. 2/5
It was alright. I'm not the biggest fan of Cee-Lo. It was nice to hear other music of his other than just the one I know. 2-3 stars probably.
Guessing you either like his vocal tone or loathe it. Made it half way through the album...
Groovea löyty ja suurimmalta osin oli viihdyttävä levy. Piti muutaman kerran kuunnella. Tosin en usko, että tulee löytymään omilta soittolistoilta.
Muutama ihan jeekkis biisi, mutta kokonaisuus ei säväyttänyt. Välistä kuulosti kuin Dave Chappelle olis vaihtanut laulun puolelle (eikä ollut kehu)
ceelo is a good singer but this was annoying. It's not that bad, I liked the songs toward the end more, but still
Ja vet int om de va mixen eller min högtalare som e broke men de här albumet lät inte bra. Childz play fanar dock
Some of the best albums on this list are genre benders. This one attempts to combine soul and rap, and it falls flat for me. It's not just that Cee-Lo really isn't a rapper (he really, really isn't); even the features don't work. It comes across as confused more than innovative. It's baffling that this made the list and the Gnarls Barkley debut didn't. Best track: The Art of Noise
Starts off completely uninteresting (muzak-level composition and vox) before taking a turn into the annoying with grating vocals that come across as trying too hard. There are some commendable production decisions on this LP, but everything above coupled with an overall dollop of arrogance throughout means I won't soon be returning to this one.
There is some reality to face here, Cee-Lo may be a soul machine but he is not _the_ soul machine. While his solo efforts are respectable, his collaborative works tend to be better. We can appreciate the musical offerings here and respect them for what they are, but whether or not these definitive claims hold any weight is up for considerable debate. Cee-Lo is talented, as a vocalist/rapper/composer his music is catchy, and they do earn their popularity. Perhaps the reason this album makes 1001's list is that we need to be reminded that sometimes we are better together.
I mean, it was ok until I got to "Glockappella" what a stupid piece of music
2.5 / 5 Decent, a couple of good tracks here and there but overall the album felt a bit drawn-out.
The Soul Machine lyckas tyvärr inte skapa något som berör min själ. Hip-hop med soulinfluenser. Ok rap, oftast lite halvtråkiga beats. Ganska lekfull känsla. Inte speciellt dåligt, men de flesta låtarna är inte speciellt bra. Bitvis, i de mer "seriösa" låtarna, finns det ändå lite mer substans, t.ex. i Living Again. I Am Selling Soul har ett coolt beat switch, och en väldigt bra andra halva. Bra flow i When We Were Friends (kings?). Sometimes är bra, spoken word över skönt beat. Bästa låt(ar): Living Again och Sometimes.
Auf Dauer nervige Stimme. Insgesamt nix besonderes. Hab manchmal mitgenickt, daher 2.
Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood, but I really didn't enjoy this album. I thought I would - all the ingredients are there - but it left me cold. It's like a cake decorated with fondant. It looks impressive, but when you try to eat it's, like just like sweet play dough.