Reviews (page 4 of 8)
Some undeniably cool beats completely ruined whenever CeeLo opened his mouth. Unfortunately I found myself hating this more and more as the album went on.
Incredibly imaginative beats and flows on this one, I guess I had never been properly introduced to Southern Hip Hop’s game. Agreed that the runtime might make a full future listen a bit daunting, but track for track, just about the whole thing made it into Liked Songs, so.... ”Damn CeeLo, what can't you do?? Fuck arouuund 🤪🥁🥁" Standouts: The Art of Noise • Living Again • I’ll Be Around • The One • My Kind Of People • Childz Play • I Am Selling Soul • All Day Love Affair • Glockappella • Let’s Stay Together • Die Trying
Did not like. This album is way, way too long and desperately needed some editing. The beats and the features were overall fantastic, but Cee Lo does not have the chops to carry a long album like this by himself. There were definitely lyrics and flow that caught my attention and that i appreciated, and I got the impression he was having a good time on here. But it overall left no real impression on me and started to blend together. Found myself wanting it to be over.
Too long and too much of it is just plodding, unremarkable R&B that I can do without. The Ludacris feature had me bopping my head so that's a bonus star but I'm not going any higher than that.
Looong, but some good stuff in it
Älskar ju Cee-Los röst. Av nån anledning. Men den är skön som fan. Ett par grymma låtar men också en del halvannan. Tror det blir en trea ändå, var uppe å nosa på fyra. Men nja känner jag nu.
Endast hört Cee Lo i Gnarls och Goodie tidigare. Gillade den här skivan rakt igenom, framförallt för hur varierade och välproducerade alla beats är (bortsett från Timbaland som i vanlig ordning levererar ett Timbalandtypiskt skitbeat). Det gör att det flyter på hela tiden och aldrig blir tråkigt, trots längden. Många riktigt bra låtar. Solid fyra.
This is definitely much better than the cover would have you think. It looks like the most dated 00s hip hop album cover I have ever seen, but the actual music is actually pretty good. I guess it is still of its time in its own way, but there's just about enough going on that it's easy to forgive. The blending of soul and hip hop I think is done generally pretty well, and ultimately makes it an album that if nothing else feels impossible to hate.
Oh fuck me running, I have absolutely zero desire to listen to a CeeLo Green album. I listened to one of his albums several years ago, and I absolutely hated it. It may have even been this one, but I'm not sure, because whatever it was, I deleted it out of my iTunes library. CeeLo is the most disappointing thing to come out of Atlanta since the 2016 Falcons, so I have incredibly low expectations for this album. I guess I'll get this over with... Well, maybe I overreacted to this album just a bit. It was bad, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The first couple of tracks after the intro were not my jam at all. “Soul Machine” was incredibly busy in the worst way, and the rapping was indecipherable. I find CeeLo’s voice pretty grating in large doses, and “Soul Machine” was a brutal reminder of why. “The Art of Noise” was pretty bland, which was disappointing since The Neptunes were involved. However, the next couple of songs were really good. The softer vocals on “Living Again” were good, and the beats and instrumentation were excellent. The piano and saxophone were awesome, and this song had an infectious groove that I really loved. “I’ll Be Around” was really good too. Timbaland’s voice balanced out CeeLo’s really well, and the choral vocals were excellent. The beat was excellent, and the horns were really good too. The rest of the album was really bland to me, and the only other song worth mentioning was “Scrap Metal.” I really enjoyed the bass and the horns, and Big Rube and G-Rock provided some good guest rapping to break up the monotony of CeeLo’s voice. I’m mostly grateful that this album is over with, but now I really want to watch that video of Gnarls Barkley performing “Crazy” dressed in Star Wars costumes.
Worth a listen
At first I thought it was an old lady singing, not Cee Lo. After that, I recognized and moved through it and didn't hate it. Is it amazing, no...it doesn't stand out as amazing, but there are a few dance songs (I'll be Around) that make you want to get up and dance. This album was very early 2000's and a move from hard rap to booty shaking club rap/R&B. They aren't deep or meaningful, but they are fun to dance and grind to. Not sure why its on this list, unless they are just trying to say can you believe a guy that sounds like this made not one but two albums.
Sensational fusion of soul, r&b, & rap. Enjoyed this more with each listen. Great beats, lyrics. Love his voice. Beyond just being a positive vibe, Cee Lo drops some poetic wisdom.
I had low expectations going into this, but I was very pleasantly surprised. Dude can really rap, and the blend of soul and electronica scattered throughout was fun and inventive. Loved all the variety too, it's like a box of chocolates! Really hard not to groove along to, this music has moves.
This isn't bad you know. It's pretty upbeat and funky and I can get on-board with that. It's quite musical, and the music and production in general are pretty much on-point. There's also a good amount of variance across the album, with various styles thrown in. A lot of it breezed past quite quickly, and I very much enjoyed myself. That said, it did start to feel overlong coming into the last quarter, especially as further tracks dropped that felt very much like filler (eg. 'Sometimes'). I'm less enthused with his rapping. It feels off, and I'm not buying him as a gangster rapper. I was looking at a 3.5 rounded up, but for all the reasons mentioned above, I'm going.... 3.5 rounded down.
So, CeeLo Green paid his dues in Goodie Mob back in the 90s, an Atlanta act so popular I heard about them way out in the Pacific Northwest while listening to punk and metal. And yet he managed to reduce himself in the 00s as the F.U. guy. Is this the true tragedy of viral success — everything gets flattened into a single moment? Decades of work erased as you become a cartoon version of yourself. Even if he invited it (which I suspect he did), his early music, including and up to The Soul Machine, deserves better than being a footnote to a wedding reception staple (no shade to the DJs). And yet, having lost track of him over time, I also vaguely recall there was some controversy...and back from wikipedia I guess he can remain the F.U. guy — only now that's what we're sayin'.
Misleading Titling. The album should be "Cee-Lo Green ... Is A Fairly Average Singer. It's pleasant enough, might make good background music in a suburban family diner. Bland.
2.3 1x catch up 10/7, not horrible just not interesting
77% Best: The Art of Noise; I'll Be Around; All Day Love Affair; Let’s Stay Together Must-Hear? Not quite
Its alright
It’s ok. Not a fan of his voice. May have to give another listen, but it was hard to get through this.
2/10
Sadly not for me. Wasn't even the album with that semi famous song on it. A little bit meh for me.
Sounds like the same songs over and over. Great vocals but music is bland
As many, many other reviews state, why the hell is this album on the list? I thought The Replacements were misplaced, but retrospectively, I would give them two stars instead of 1, because this album is really utterly shit, that by no means belongs to a list of this. Crap songs, way too pretentious, and I can't stand the man's voice nor his self-aggrandizing lyrics. Apart from that, these were the longest 65 minutes ever to sit out an album, wish I could give it 0/5, but we can't, so 1/5.
The music behind the vocals is pretty decent and well put together, but this guy can't rap and does not have the voice to rap. I mean, every feature was just so much better than CeeLo even if they weren't great themselves, to the point where every time CeeLo came back to rap I winced. Did not have to be over an hour long neither
Mind-numbingly boring.
Cee-Lo Green... Is not the Soul Machine
This album doesn’t feel particularly essential. It isn’t groundbreaking, and it’s not even Cee-Lo’s strongest work. It’s listenable enough, but it breezes by without leaving much of an impression. Nothing here really justifies its place as a “must-hear before you die” record. What makes that even clearer is how much stronger Cee-Lo’s work became afterwards, especially with Gnarls Barkley, where his talent and creativity really took off in ways this album never quite achieves. The Timbaland collaboration is the standout here, easily the best track on the record, but even that isn’t enough to elevate the whole album.
It was fine, but did not deserve to be on this list.
Honestly this is the first album I've laughed at on first sight. What the hell did Cee Lo Green do to get an album on this list, and if there was one, why is it one that's over an HOUR LONG????? That said, music itself wasn’t offensive, but also laughed out loud at Cee Lo rapping. I’d love to speak to whoever decided the man with the golden voice should be a rapper. 2.5 rounded to 2.
The man may be trash but this is a pretty solid record. Nice variety of hip-hop & soul.. beats are solid, nice flow. Maybe a tad too long though.
Some bangers on here to kick off, just slows down too much for my tastes.
Weak
Good clean fun (well 2 out of 3 isn't bad). It's an enjoyable listen, to some considerable extent because the fun the artist was having is absolutely palpable. There's a major "entertainer" vibe here – like CLG a modern version of Sammy Davis, Jr, say, or even Nipsy Russell. Not all the jokes land (nothing like a Blockbuster Video mention for keeping it timeless). But there are too many likable grooves to quibble and this is clearly meant to be a party record more than otherwise, so let's not poop on it for not being something else, for it more or less delivers what it seems to have set out to do. He's far from the worst of the musicians who ultimately became better known for being well known. Best cuts: "My Kind of People," "When We Were Friends." "Die Trying" approaches something like soulfulness. The unique voice is a plus.
Good hip hop / r&b. Didn’t find anything particularly stand out, but good more or less
Eh.
I didn't actively hate this, but it wasn't good. I have done farts with more soul than Cee-Lo Green... Is The Soul Machine
Great work Cee-Lo. He brings passion soul and a unique vocal. His harder energetic rap music is preferred. Great Listen - add to my list of favorites. 7.7
mi stava piacendo un sacco, poi mi ha iniziato a tumulare i testicoli
mamma mia ragazzi io mi volevo pure sforzare ma non ce la faccio
Ho vibato slay
Non è il mio genere. Non posso dire che è brutto ma un’ora di sta roba non ce la faccio ad ascoltarla e poi lui ha una voce un po’ fastidiosa
lui mi fa pariare dai, però non è un 4 pieno
tutte molto sullo stile crazy, genere che trovo assai leggero e piacevole ma diciamo non mi resta molto. 3 pieno
This is going to be fun. Nice, but will probably be another 3.
Eh didn't like Cee Lo then and I still don’t like him. A couple decent songs but other than that nothing really note worthy. Great beats and production.
Cee-Lo Green... Is The Interminable & Forgettable Music Machine Childz Play is astonishingly bad, i think George Clinton should have the legal right to kill Cee Lo for Glockappella, the rest of the songs are varying levels of forgettable to bad. Cee Lo's voice is annoying and weirdly badly engineered here, and the music isn't half-bad sometimes but is mostly the sort of glossy, overly bombastic and repetitive slop you typically get with 2000s mainstream hip hop. the idea that this had to be a soul crushing 65 minutes truly shocks the conscience
Pretty impressive album, CeeLo Green throws modern soul a twist with some hip hop and good sampling. 3.25 / 5 stars
This was a tough one. Hip hop album where you hate the sound of the artists voice. I just don't like it. Some of the beats were great, some of the guests were great, (LUDA) but overall I just couldn't get past Cee-Lo's voice. Also he's a terrible person.
I said this about a few albums now but it’s really a tale of two halves. First half was incredible. The soundscape was amazing. It produced really well and then it got the second half and I just felt like the album fell flat.
4/5
Arrancamos el martes con el segundo disco del cantante de Gnarls Barkley, que ahora me vengo a enterar que es el nombre del grupo y no del tipo que canta. Hip hop chill, ideal como muchos discos de éste género para música de fondo que levante una reunión. Hasta mañana
good
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this one, good to know I was wrong. What I've learned from this list so far is that I have a soft spot for earlier rap music. It wasn't particularly deep or meaningful, but it was just a damn good time for an hour. Lots of personality and some really fun beats.
Honestly better than expected, still a shitty dude
Day616 - this is definitely 2004,just throw cee-lo, timbaland, pharrell and ludacris in a pot and see what comes out
Not entirely my thing, but the production was mostly nice.
Early 2000s bops featuring production by Pharrell & Timbaland.
7/10… southern hip hop / r&b
I knew I'll be around. Rest of the album blended Imo. pretty good, no songs I didn't like.
pretty ordinary neo-soul - nothing remarkable about it, at all
Maso
Meh. No thank you
Joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo Minulla on halu, minulla on aalto ja se on riistäytynyt käsistä Minulla on halu puhdistaa itseni Koska olen menettämässä kontrollin (Hänellä on hallitsematon halu) Minulla on hallitsematon halu (Hänellä on hallitsematon halu) Minulla on hallitsematon Siinä on tyyliä, siinä on luokkaa Niin vahva, en voi antaa sen mennä Minun on kerrottava sinulle kaikki siitä Minun on huudettava ja huudettava se Joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo joo. TERVETRTULOA HULVATTOMUUTEEn nimeni on rob dyrdek ja minun kanssani ovat steelo brim ja chanel länsi rannikko... b olin tämän päivä vanha kun tajusin että steelo brim ja cee-lo green ovat eri henkilöotä (molemmat mustia) tje art of noise
Lmao this was fun. 3 stars, fuck it. Fire work, Mr. Lo. Edit: man, there's just an infinite supply of better hip-hop out there. Sorry, Mr. Lo. Fave songs: - The Art Of Noise - Living Again - I'll Be Around - I Am Selling Soul - All Day Love Affair - Glockappella - Let's Stay Together
Respectfully… why is this on here?
Probably don't need to listen to this before you die. There's better hip hop.
Bit boring.
Bastante volado para algo que crei iba a ser super genérico Nota: 3.6
Sad this is starting with a rapist. Silly to open an album with 2 intros, but ok. This is CeeLo when he still had it. 7.2/10
anything pharrell touches is pure gold - p solid album everywhere else though!
Not really a fan on rapping but this is real music! Love it
Seriously… what the fuck is this doing here?
His voice is quite annoying. The production is also pretty bad, with the kick having way too much bass, leaving everything else to sound thin by comparison.
1.94
Respectfully, the beat on Childz Play is garbage. This whole thing is very 2004. There are other better projects from the time period. Ehh. Favorites were The Art Of Noise and I’ll Be Around.
Really enjoyed this album. Cee Lo Green has a great voice, brings together a diverse cast of features, and keeps the tracks interesting. Love the intro with his son too and love that I had queued an LCD Soundsystem song so at first it went into that
Pish.
7/10
dnf, got to track 13 but just really wasn’t my kind of thing
I think The Lady Killer was the only Cee Lo album I had heard before this, and while I love his cover of No One’s Gonna Love You and his iconic Fuck You, …Is The Soul Machine is a better album overall. It’s a great mix of rap and R&B with some really fun guest appearances. It’s a great sounding album too over 20 years later, and doesn’t really sound overly “early 2000’s” to me.
This doesn't belong on the list -- but this was kind of a bop, it's a massive guilty pleasure. It was so breezy to listen to, I honestly can't even complain. Shout out to "The Art of Noise" and "Evening News" specifically, those tracks did the most for me.
The features are what saves this, for example The Art of Noise. But I can't take this man seriously with that voice, so the songs that are only him are just too painful.
bro really wasn’t lying. he was the soul machine
A one hit wonder who's one hit makes me wonder why it's not here. The rest of the album is a generic blending of funk and hip hop. Examples of which are better represented elsewhere than on this album. 2/5
Struggles to get through to the end. Annoyingly bad
I expected more :(
What the hell is even that? This is the shittiest, most 2004 thing ever. No way this wasn’t removed from later editions.
Raspy. My throat hurts just listening to this much falsetto.
Hip hop y soul. Empieza bien pero es muy largo y monótono
uggggh 65 minutes! WHY! I don't really see the significance of this album? Feels like a weird addition on this list.
Pretty fun album. A couple songs were standout bangers and the rest were fine to listen to.
Explicit and explicit
It's fun and playful but I can't completely get into it. I think I prefer his Gnarls Barkley material. 2⭐️
This is trash
killer
I get the distinct impression from this album that Cee-Lo loves Cee-Lo. The music was actually pretty decent but the lyrics left something to be desired.
Just doesn't do it for me. 2/5
Doesn’t do much for me
Struggled to get through this all - not that it wasn’t good….
NOPE
- bei dem Cover hatte ich direkt null Bock, aber ich wurde überrascht. Bis Song 9 bisher echt launig und gut anzuhören. Weitestgehend entspannt und einigermaßen abwechslungsreich. - Rest war auch in Ordnung, allerdings hätte es auch nicht geschadet, wäre das Album etwas kürzer gewesen - insgesamt eine 3/5 , weil mich nichts davon so sehr gecatcht hat, dass ich es unbedingt nochmal hören muss 3 – War okay / Interessant 👌 Solides Album, einige gute Momente oder Ideen. Vielleicht nichts, was ich nochmal hören würde, aber spannend zu kennen.
Not rating this.
This wasn't my style of music, but it was fine. Personal enjoyment: 3/5 Relevance to this list: 2/5
Never before has anyone been so confident in so little.
📱
I was previously familiar with Cee-Lo Green's songs Fuck You and Crazy, but nothing from this album. I really did not care for this. The production is pretty good for the most part and I do like that this touches on several genres, but the vocals and lyrics are just not my cup of tea at all. While I can see some appeal of having so many guest rappers, I did not care at all. Had to start skipping after a couple songs. Would not listen again.
Nothing really grabbed me here
I enjoyed a lot of this, but found myself skipping through some songs also. Giving this a 2.5, but I'll round up to a 3 because it's a Friday and it was a mostly fun listen.
He just has no business being this cocky
I can’t exactly explain why but this album reminds me of what it feels like to waddle around the house after overeating on thanksgiving
We, as a culture, have moved on from Cee Lo Green, and he deserves that, but for a few years, he was really cooking. This album suffers from typical 2000s bloat, but virtually every song that wasn't produced by Cee Lo himself is pretty solid, and the parade of mostly Atlanta-centric guests gives it a real party vibe at times. But there's a lot of chaff here.
Made a bit of a mistake with this one, thought he was the one who wears a hood. He's not. Don't know where he got the sole machine from. He's not. Didn't have time to listen to this in one go, which is probably just as well as I'd have been bored or annoyed and much more scathing. Basically bits of it were good, bits of it were shite, bits of it were stolen from George Clinton, and the rest was there. We've had a lot worse than this on here, and a lot that was infinitely betters im going to give it a mediocre 3
Bops along in a poppy cheesy way and seems less offensive than other cheese based pop. But I’ll never choose to listen to this again.
That was hard work. Harder than the week I had at actual real life work, and that is saying something. What sort of soul does he possess? A self centred, egotistic one filled with gibberish? Dreadful.
I don't think this outshines many albums of the 00's
I liked this better than I expected to, but didn’t quite get through the whole thing. I tend to gravitate more towards the ones where he sings versus raps. This is a two or three for me, but I will give it three.
3/5
It’s OK
This went on for what felt like forever. Mirroring some of the reviews here, he has a great voice but it’s also so irritating at times. Some fun samples throughout, but I’m not sure I’d want to listen to this again.
Bro is NOT music. I hated his style, his weird squeaky voice and most of the beats. Child Playz was straight up goofy. The only thing that could have saved this from a one star rating is the occasional catchy beat, but that is canceled out by the awful album cover.
At first I wondered why this album was on the list. But it’s actually better than a thought. It’s got great production, cool beats and the flows are cool.
I liked the songs with featured artists and some of the soul numbers. Unfortunately the filler on this one brings down my review to three stars.
For an album called "The Soul Machine" there's very little soul. Cee Lo's voice is also high pitched and that makes the album a difficult listen
Cee-Lo Green is nothing without Danger Mouse (The musician, not the cartoon). There's nothing but low-quality '00s R&B. If "I Am Selling Soul" meant Cee-Lo sold his soul to Satan, then he must've gotten a crappy deal. "Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine" is the worst album I've heard in months. I must've lost my mind, if only I remembered when. Looks like I'll have to give "Cee-Lo Green.. Is the Soul Machine" the dreaded 1 star.
Cee-Lo's new stuff is kinda pop slop but he used to be great
Hard album to enjoy, to be honest. I think I just get annoyed by Cee-Lo's voice, even though the music was good.
This album is way too long. By the halfway point, I was ready to call it quits, but I suffered through to the end.
для любителей рэпа... (3 ставлю только за песни с Фаррелом, без него было бы 2)
A joyful album of Southern hip-hop and soulful R&B. A lot of good tracks but “My Kind of People” stood out as particularly great. A little more hit or miss as the album went on, but still had plenty of highlights.
Cee-Lo Green definitely deserves atleast one album on this list, but I have an argument that it shouldn't be this one. Just going off of playcounts alone (a terrible parameter), on Spotify as of today, this album has one song "I'll Be Around" that stands out with 50 million listens. It's a good track. However, no other song even comes close to that on this record. Meanwhile his most popular song, "Crazy" (on a different album), as over 1 BILLION streams. His second most popular song, "Fuck You", has close to 500 million streams... I did enjoy this album however. It's got the foundational elements that make his music good: fun beats and production, nice lyrics, and his famously unique voice.
Cee Lo can throw down some rhymes, no doubt. It as also cool to see him assume different styles of rap throughout the album. My “beef” is that it was a bit bloated, and feel like at least 3 songs could have been culled, and the most of the remaining songs could use a 15% edit/trim.
This was mid. And it turns out the guy is a loser who beats women. So ...
One of the best albums to come out of the dirty south IMO
I enjoyed the cooperation of other artist on the album.
Did not like.
wow the mixing on this is bad, sounds like a million things at the exact same level and it blends together... the actual music isnt bad but samey and too long
I wish we could give half stars too. This one is a 2.5/5 for me.
There's no reason this needed to be 18 tracks (or 16, minus the intro & outro). Related: I find CeeLo's voice grating after a while, even with it's enmeshed with well-arranged soul music. I wish there were more of that and less of everything else.
Didn't do anything for me, have no desire to listen to any song from this album again.
Not my genre.
*Actually not a bad album. Fun to listen to. Melodic and a little soulful. RATING - 6.5/10
Party in the studio - didn’t hate - didn’t like - it was as if it never happened
His voice is a little bit disturbing after a couple of songs. I did not enjoy it.
The album title itself is a classic example of overpromise and underdeliver. Calling yourself the "Soul Machine" and then delivering this? It’s disappointing, to say the least.
Phenomenal
i mean... i guess this was fine? i'll be honest, these tracks weren't as impactful or memorable as i was hoping they were. i'll just slap a 3 on this one and call it a day
There’s a lot I like here, the song with timber lake is really fun , the singing is soulful and the rapping is fun. It does feel like it captured the time really well… it drags on a little for me
cee-lo green is coming at you with this genre-hopping hip hop collection. this album came out just before he was a household name, and even before he had the talent and creativity that would shake up the rap game. cee-lo green fuses hip hop with gospel, soul, and slam poetry. he has a very infectious way of rapping, sometimes nice and slow, sometimes rapidfire. when he talks about himself and his life, he's just so EXPRESSIVE with it. it blows my mind, and with top producers on a lot of these tracks, it makes for a worthy listen in my opinion.
Didn't get much time to listen to this. I know he has done some food stuff however he is apparently a horrendous person in real life and that had a part to play in not really putting much effort into listening to it 😜
Not my bottle of milk
Not bad! Recognised the feat with Timbaland which I love. I can imagine Eminem rapping instead on that music lol
I like Cee Lo Green and had no idea he has such a gritty rap album. I preferred the stand alone songs over the features though
Not bad. I love Cee Lo's voice, but I really much prefer hearing him paired up with Danger Mouse in Gnarls Barkley. 3/5
Was surprised how much I liked this. It stayed pretty engaging. I do think it's a bit overlong, but I still had a good time with it. 3.75/5
Cee-Lo Green is not the soul machine
Cee-Lo had better albums with Goodie Mob. It feels like he tried to reinvent soul but stuck in his ego. It's new enough my brain goes not the soul music I grew up with, but catchy and good enough to want to listen to more. Some of the songs just don't work with his voice though. With him having a unique voice it can be distracting on some tracks. Works great on a few.
Another album with heavy Pharrell (and the Neptunes) and Timbaland production that was made around the same time as that Justin Timberlake album we had. Forgot how prevalent they were in the early 00s pop/hip-hop/R&B scene. There are some songs with sick beats: The Art Of Noise, I'll Be Around, The One. However, early on we're getting way too much of Cee-Lo rapping and it's not landing. Yeah this goes on way too long and doesn't improve much. Sticking this one with a 2. I'm sure if Cee-Lo saw this he would tell me FUCK YOUUUUUU.
This album runs a little long for my liking, but a benefit of the long-play is that he covers a lot of different space musically. I found the mid-section of the album to be the most enjoyable. The One is a fun one -- feels a bit like a Dr. Dre beat with a serviceable feature from T.I. Have always loved Childz Play -- the beat is so quirky, and CeeLo's rapping staccato and satisfying, but Luda is the one who takes the show here imo. Absolutely love Evening News. I really enjoy the instrumental built around a Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds sounding synth-line. Also loving the good ol' dirty south sound on Scrap Metal. Enjoyable, but not amazing. Soft 4 for me.
Pretty good at times and pretty average at times. His voice annoys me a little. Couple of the songs had me tuned in a bit more than most, but this one was pretty average through and through.
Got a smooth voice and this was chock full of mega star guests. A lot of songs were really good, but others were really not good. I am Selling Soul sounded like the intro to an 80s action cop show. Going to be pretty firmly in a 3 here.
The only 2 Cee Lo Green songs that I know aren't on here so we'll see how this goes. Liking this a lot and then really hate some parts of Scrap Metal. Glockapella is an incredible name for a song. This was just ok. Low 3.
Proper pants
Despite it being Cee Lo Green, this album is pretty good. The beats are good, the features are good, Cee Lo's voice is good, but he's a much better singer than rapper in my opinion and also a few songs too long. Much better than I expected, but unfortunately I have to knock down a star because Cee Lo is a piece of shit.
I can't listen to this shit
Mixed feelings about this one. I liked the energy of the music… but goddamn Cee-Lo Green has one of the most annoying voices and presence out there. My man sounds like Eric Cartman on the mic
I was excited since I expected the dude from Gnarls Barkley showing why he's the "soul machine". What I got was just hip hop and rap. Not that I don't enjoy that, I love both, but it just wasn't what I was expecting. As for the album, when the extended silence after Evening News played, I thought the album was over, and I felt relief....only for Scrap Metal to start. Imma stick with Gnarls Barkley I think. And Cee-Lo should probably stick to Fuck You. That was at least fun. 2/5
It's fine. Not sure why it's here, but it's fine. Mind you, I didn't pay much attention to the lyrics, but when I did, they tended to be a bit cringey. Starting with that spoken word intro with Cee-Lo's son.
Appreciated the beats, the flow, collaborations and just the sound of his voice in general. Wouldn't be upset ever if it came back on. The album art is remarkably corny to me though
When there are more than, say twenty, headlines that include your stage name and the words “rape tweets”, I’m thinking your career has not gone exactly as you envisioned it. I assume that this album made it on an early version of the 1001 albums list and was cut in subsequent editions. There’s not really anything wrong with it. Fairly middle of the road 2000’s hip-pop. It has all the guys that were doing that well at that time on it (Luda!). It hits all the marks. But there is nothing exceptional or special about this album whatsoever.
What an annoying voice.
He is... the music. Honestly, really cool album both musically and lyrically. I love how the glasses look like they have diamond lenses from a distance.
Best Song: Childz Play Don't get the hype
Maybe not a perfect album, but I'd give it at least a 4.5. A brilliant hip-hop/rap album, better than anything by Kanye, JayZ, or Lamar, in my book.
Hell nah
Cee-Lo Green ken ik als die ene van Fuck You en Crazy, maar blijkbaar heeft hij ook nog andere, kuch, hits. Als deze in de lijst staat, verwacht ik ook nog Pitbull en LMFAO. 1.3
It didn't seem a like a soul album, and it went on forever... Wasn't a great listen for me
Hard to believe he's a soul machine when this wasn't really a soul album. The beats were decent though.
This ain't my jam. I don't enjoy his squeaky voice that's adjacent to Outkast but I find more grating. Music backing was good but didn't grab me. An album to be tolerated in the name of completing the list. Does the woefully empty wiki page hint at the mediocrity of this album?
It's a fairly mediocre 2000s soul/hip hop album. Nothing super appealing about it to me.
Yeah it wasn't bad
Got to give Cee-Lo props for including credits to OG Stax greats James Banks, Eddie Marion, and Henderson Thigpen, as well as Philip Bailey and Maurice White of Earth, Wind, and Fire. Play time felt a bit long but if that's what it takes to tell the tell, so be it.
This was surprisingly good. A very moody hip-hop and soul album. Totally different from what I expected. It was only after listening to the album that I discovered that this guy sang Kung Fu Fighting for the Panda movie. I listened to that version my entire childhood. I thought I had heard that voice somewhere before. Anyway, 4 stars.
Melodic rap with a some real bops. I'm not the biggest fan of most of it, but that's just preference; I can see the talent and creativity.
Lets hope he won't do that again.
2.8
I had a good time - a few really good winners.
Some fun songs
It's great being introduced to a new-to-me album that totally slaps. This hit the mark for me.
Some good songs and solid production but there is a lot to dislike about this album.
Not as good as I remember. 3
Not really my thing. Did I really need to listen to this before I died?
Cee Lo has a solid flow and great beats backing him up. He's also a clever lyricist. And I believe him as angry, cool, and smooth, but he's unconvincing when he's trying to convince me to have sex with him.
Interesting... I did like it. Thought this not would be my music.
For the most part, I really enjoyed this album. For me, the explicit nature of the music grows weary on me, and I am grateful that the album sort of moves between the graphic and the celebratory. Mostly, I find Cee-Lo and many of his guests extremely talented and the music is creative, witty, and charming in a way. Cee-Lo sometimes seems like he has a bit of a messianic complex, but I am not sure he buys it.
I want to like it more than I do.
Cee Lo Green is a good artist. I knew a few of the songs off this one, and as a whole this was catchy and fun to listen to. I'd listen through this again.
Can't deny this guy's voice is solid
Cee Lo has such a distinct voice, makes this one kinda stick out for me. Catchy tunes, entertaining lyrics.
Überraschend guter Rap. Die Stimme erinnert an Gnarls Barkley ... wait ... das ist die gleiche Stimme (CeeLo Green). Nice!
Wish he was a little bit Skee-Lo.
I really dig all these songs and i love cee lo's voice. hes cool smooth and just cool man. Great music to have on at a party.
Enjoyable album but no stand out singles I’d return to. I liked the trumpets and the variety in the album overall. A solid listen.
This is a tough one to review. The novelty of Cee Lo Green really wore off about a decade ago, and the sexual misconduct allegations certainly didn't help him. To top it off, this album doesn't even have his best song (the infinitely catchy "F*ck You"). Despite that, I can't really call it a bad album and I can still see the appeal it had. There's a slightly gritty and non-serious take on soul-funk here that just made for a good pop album at the time. Not perfect and not timeless, but Cee Lo did have his deserved 15 minutes of fame.
Typ skön/feel good hiphop ändå, o känns som flera låtar man hört här o där. Stabilt!
Många gästartister! Helhetsintrycket är blandat
I enjoyed this way more than I expected. Great beats, flow and vocal harmonies. Lyrics that are refreshingly heartfelt.
Pretty good and funky
This album was okay, but no standout tracks, went on too long and didn't feel like it was doing anything new or unique. 4/10
Maybe I've been exposed to too many a Cee Lo Green meme growing up on the internet but I could not for the life of me take this thing seriously, and maybe that's the whole point. He is extraordinarily himself. There's an obnoxious novelty to his demeanor. There is no possible way he could be mistaken as anybody else. His inflection is definitely southern and precise; but add in very ridiculous, goofy and gaudy bars at every opportunity as well as using his voice in a far more soulful way, and you end up with the soul machine. He is all over the place on this thing, in a very eccentric and cartoony way. It is a LOT. There's a lot of character here and I can appreciate it in a vacuum for a character study of the bling era. I can feel Cee Lo staring into my soul, and I do not like it one bit. He is a malevolent entity.
Jo men bra emellanåt
I really enjoyed a lot of what Cee Lo does after this album, but this feels very messy and unfocused. This album feels like it’s been made by an artist who hasn’t found their niche yet. It isn’t atrocious, but I wouldn’t be interested in re-listening. Also, abismal album cover. First track is a ten out of ten, though. 3/5
#604. I was kinda just waiting for it to be over the whole time. 2/5: less than exceptional
also not my thing
There were some fun songs on there, the style varied throughout. Lots of pretentious reviews of this one Rating: 3.6
Cee Lo tuvo un éxito tan merecido como desmesurado con Crazy, en Gnarles Barkley su proyecto con Danger Mouse. Esta canción, a dos años de este segundo disco, le vale para estar en cualquier lista de las mejores del siglo, sin duda alguna. Aún tuvo otro hitazo como fue Fuck You, de su tercer disco, más allá de la versión de Kung fu fighting. Aquí nos encontramos con parámteros similares: mezcla de hip hop. rap, soul, música ambiental de los 60 y sobre todo calidad. Sin embargo el sencillo I´ll be aronud (con Timbaland) no me dice gran cosa, pero The one, a lomos de los Earth, Wind & Fire. y Public Enemy sí que despega. My Kind of People con ese toque Pass the Dutchie es de lo mejor junto con Sometimes y esa flauta omnipresente. También Let's Stay Together (junto a Pharrell). Glockapella usa el Holy Ghost de los Bar-Kays, y siendo un tema casi a capella (el título es mejorable) le queda muy bien.
Some parts of this were nice background music. Mainly I was just waiting for it to end. Would have rather listened to Gnarls Barkley over this.
The first time I heard of CeeLo Green was when he released F You, so you'll gather I'm pretty ignorant of the hip hop genre (he was already a big deal by then, I find), although this project is helping to catch me up a bit. I quite liked this blend of laid back beats, soul and and funk; I liked that there was singing alongside the rap, and the little trumpety bits were up my street too. I liked the upbeat vibe, and danced around quite a lot. I'm still not confident in rating this sort of music objectively, and it was a bit long, but 3 feels right for the level of creativity, production, and energy. Glockappella nearly lost it a star, but things picked up again; Let's Stay Together was gorgeous.
Nummers boeien niet genoeg, teveel filler, wel vaak origineel.
mid
Meh
muito ruim bicho pelo amor de deus que coisa horrorosa de ruim
eh... ruim... não foi PÉSSIMO. tem uns beats que passam, mas a voz de kermit desse mano é difícil demais
This is very of the time. It's fine, I suppose, but it isn't much more than a moment in time.
A lot of variety to what I was expecting. Quite fun, if not too long
I rather enjoyed this. Plenty catchy, not all. And suffered from bring too long and therefore boring in parts.
I didn’t dislike this as much as I thought I would.
Well that was abysmal. I was hoping a ceelo green album called the soul machine would have been more to my tastes. This was just some bloke having an ego trip and inviting all his new famous friends over to pretend they're edgy. What a load of toss
i love the voice and the album gives you such a good mood
While the cover art did not make me expect good things, I do like Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley, so I expected to have at least a little fun here. Unfortunately, I just did not like this, and I think there is a reason this isn't brought up a ton any more (at least in spaces that I'm around). Like I said, I feel like I should at least be having a little fun here, and a lot of these songs aren't terrible, but there's almost *always* something bugging me about this thing, just getting in between me and enjoying this almost constantly. Firstly, the overall sound of this is *very* dated, this is not my era of music, and it isn't quite old enough or good enough that it sounds truly classic to me. This probably wouldn't be a problem if one of these songs came on in public or in a car or something, but when listening to this as a whole, it really becomes apparent how stiff and sort of awkward even some of the better beats sound. Now let's discuss CeeLo Green himself, I do not like his presence on here. It feels like his approach should be interesting, he is kind of getting into a pocket with a very sing-song-y cadence and a lot of push and pull. However, to sell some kind of soul adjacent persona, he gets like really growly in a way that's sort of hard to explain, but as a consequence his annunciation on here is awful, especially when he hits faster flows, and it all just turns to mush. Additionally, he is usually mixed *bad*, like way to low, it feels like he is competing for space in the mix with the beat most of the time, which compounds with the cadence to make his presence *super* grating. Additionally, his singing voice itself is really not that good, sometimes it sounds fine, but on a song like All Day Love Affair, he doesn't sound confident and, sometimes, especially on the first verse of evening news, I'm not even sure if he's in key. It's also worth noting that his lyrics don't do much for me, he isn't saying much that's especially interesting, and especially when he's in double time flow he even gets into a "spiritual lyrical miracle" pocket every once in a while (on I Am Selling Soul he kicks off with "I am the actual and factual supernatural sight and surrounds..."). Also, it feels kind of weird and awkward whenever he tries to get kind of sensual on here because of his allegations, it just rubs me the wrong way. Now, usually, only one of these things is bugging me at a time, but there are a couple of songs here that are, at times like *bad*. Some minor offenders include the off singing on Evening News, and the extremely obnoxious, blown out chorus on Scrap Metal. However, the worst song on here is *easily* Childz Play. I understand this is going for a particular tone, but it just isn't pulled off well, and I think it sounds *awful*. The like, toy store xylophone beat is grating and unnecessarily busy, and the effect is like jaw dropping, it's like circus music, I'm baffled. Then CeeLo comes in with mushy double-times for like the whole song, and he even hits what sounds like a Carol of the Bells interpolation in the chorus. Even more annoying, the Ludacris verse buried on this song is one of the very best verses on the entire album. He is charismatic and fun, and there's like a beautiful 30 seconds during his verse where the worst tendencies of the beat drop out and its like the only part of the album that I can just enjoy. Speaking of Ludacris, the other features on here are *all* better than CeeLo Green, with the notable exception of Timbaland, who starts his verse with "Here comes Timbaland, I'm also from the South" which is one of the most clunky, inelegant ways anyone could ever start a verse. This album's final crime is the 75 minute runtime, which is not warranted, especially after you realize that there are really only like two main types of songs here. Like I said, most of these songs aren't independently terrible, but as a whole, there is almost nothing here that I can just sit back and enjoy. While I am calibrating the lower end of my scale, I found this a *lot* less enjoyable than the 2s I've been giving, I think this may really get a 1 from me.
Garbage music by a garbage human being
Really good album, could've been 4 stars on another day but didn't completely vibe with me. Songs aren't too varied and the more varied songs are worse. I'd listen to it again but not a go-to album.
I was not in the right mood for an hour of someone claiming to be the king of soul when Al Green is still alive.
His ego clearly exceeds his talent. Mediocre at best. Not sure why it is on this list.
Jag gillade den men lyssnade inte igenom hela
CeeLo is fucking weird but for the most part it works. As usual this hip-hop is too long. I don’t think we need the overly experimental tracks. His straight southern rap is good. It’s also a bit to clubby at times 5.7/10
This dude only has one hit and it's not on this album.
This album only had a couple of excellent R&B songs. It’s just too bad that the rest of the album was him rapping with his friends from The Dirty South.
Not a very good album. CLG has talent, but he does not exhibit much skill here. Give me F-You and Bright Lights, Bigger City on loop over this entire album.
intro- 5 soul machine- 5 the art of noise- 5 living again- 5 ill be around- 5 the one- 4 my kind of people- 5 childz play- 4 i am selling soul- 5 all day love affair- 5 no more its just not good
I was thinking I would enjoy this one more. Its okay, its like a soul singer tried his hand at a rap album and it just kinda falls flat, although that song with Timbaland is pretty damn good, I wish the rest of the album had that vibe.
Gnarly Davidson > Cee Lo Green and its insane to me that this album is on the list but neither of the Gnarls Barkley albums made it. Bad list? No! Bad YOU The song with Timbaland bumps though and this albums continues to prove that anything Pharrell touches turns to gold. How he was sued for Blurred Lines and not Let’s Stay Together is a mystery to me but damned if that song isn’t the high point of this overly long and sometimes cringy album
Is this soul?? Parts are okay or even good, but not enough to make up for the album as a whole.
I'm not really sure that you could call this soul music. I know what you could call it, but it ain't soul. The sort of thing that makes you cringe.
It was ok very warbly
Soul machine my arse. Didn't really like or enjoy this at all. When it wasn't just annoying background noise and actively popped into my consciousness it was somehow even more annoying.
A really nice album. An odd choice, given the smash hit Gnarls Barkley album, that came out only two years after. I listened on Friday and here I am reviewing it on Monday unable to remember any of the tracks, but I did enjoy it.
I like his vocals in Gnarls Barkley, less so on this album. It was okay, but mostly fell into background music.
The guy sometimes sounds like Steve Urkel.
Mediocre at best hip hop album from a guy that seems to have a very inflated opinion of himself.
It's no Gnarls Barkley...
No love for rapists
I don’t mind some rap or hip-hop, some I have on my regular rotations - but this album isn’t and never will be. Just didn’t hit for me.
Cee-Lo Green... Is the Soul Machine is the second studio album from the soul singer and rapper. Thomas DeCarlo Calloway-Burton records as Cee-Lo Green, and he originally found fame in the Goodie Mob. Green makes hip-hop that is a version of modern funk, and he sings in a distinct, falsetto voice. Green added his soulful thread to the Atlanta based, "Dirty South" sound. Some of ego-heavy rants get a bit much, but the soulful sides make up for them.
Kind of laughed when this came up, and wasn't expecting much, but man this was great and was a lot of fun and really grooved. Enjoyed this way more than I thought I would.
Long et chiant.
Nothing special here. I think of this dude as a one-hit wonder, and his wonder does not even appear on this album. Pretty irritating voice/style
I'm not sure why this album is on the list. Firstly its not great, is it? and its a bit too long, and a bit boring, and his voice is a bit annoying. Secondly, its not even the album that has his most popular song, he's basically a one-hit-wonder with 'Fuck/Forget you'? At a pinch you could say a two hit wonder as Gnarls Barkley (Crazy is a great song, not featured on this list as far as I can see)
Not a big hip hop fan but the instrumentation was pretty great on a few songs.
Definitely 2000’s rap mixed with some funk/soul. Ok. Saved a couple songs. Just not my vibe.
I prefer old(er) school hip hop than this, but I didn't mind listening to this album. Nice mix of sound, but it didn't really click for me. This is good background music, but unfortunately not much else.
first listen i do not think this is very good
Som ett konvent för ja-sägare
Very few good parts to this album
back to back albums i kinda dont understand the inclusion of given the lists' own supposed methodology/goals, but that rly surprised me with how much i like them...this one way more so ! most of this is rly blissful, buttery, sunshiney southern hip hop with a big soul angle carried by cee-los rly memorable and powerful voice. the tracks that are just him doing his soul singer thing r extremely beautiful, and the production is p much all golden as far as im concerned (tho my sentiments lie v much w/ southern hip hop anyway). particularly interesting is a late-album set of "nighttime" tracks that are more dark and dangerous and dirty and prob some other words that start with D...a nice show of variety for an album that otherwise is all about smooth edges. the warm bop My Kind Of People, interestingly abstract braggadocio of I Am Selling Soul (with a killer beat switch), and staunch grittiness of Scrap Metal are particular highlights for me...not often i go out of my way to name individual tracks, whew! kind of an underappreciated classic tbh!! pure enjoyability!!!
Heard Fuck You before and once again I'm not sure what this album is doing here. It's a well produced early 00s music but really subpar overall. Cee Lo sounds kind of annoying on some songs. And the album is way too long 2/5
Good album, but fuck Cee-Lo Green
Ultra vibe-y, some great throwback features, and some super catchy songs. There are some annoying parts to it that i would not go back to though.
Very much a drag at the end. Cee Lo's voice can be an acquired taste, and I have never acquired it.
Man! Découverte bien plaisante! Je vais essayer de me le procurer. On a affaire à un gros disque des années 2000 bien remplis, aux limites du médium cd. Mais c'est surtout l'fun, les arrangements captent notre attention de facon continuelle et c'est remplis de petits moments magiques.
Beaucoup trop long. Hyperactivité qui fini par me taper sur les nerfs. Musique tiède sur prod un peu froide. Y'en a certains que la voix schtroumpf pas mais perso moi je schtroumpf pas.
Wasn't my vibe
Not my soul
Had no idea this existed! I knew cee Lo from ‘Crazy’ and that album but this is a bit rawer and funkier. Definitely going to revisit.
Funk
3.5
Boring.
I'm not buying that this, in 2004, was influential.
Very uninteresting
Enjoyed this one more than I thought I would! Some unexpected features from TI and Ludacris (LUDA!!) made it worth the listen! Hated a couple tracks, looking at you Scrap Metal and Glockapella (despite the hilarious name)
So much nostalgia here. Cee Lo’s first two albums (“And His Perfect Imperfections” and “Is The Soul Machine”), Sleepy Brown’s “Mr Brown”, Mystikal’s “Tarantula” along with many 60’s and 70’s soul albums were the inspiration for my 2007 self titled project Fishhawk. These artists were pushing so many boundaries in the early 2000’s and the Dungeon Family connection of Sleepy and Cee Lo was a huge part of that inspiration too. Cee Lo is a one of a kind artist whose voice and delivery is impossible to recreate. To be honest I prefer the previous album “And His Perfect Imperfections” to this one mainly because it’s a more raw album that feels like it was created on another planet during the 70’s and just discovered in 2002. “Is The Soul Machine” is a more polished and palpable album with many notable 2000’s artist/producer features though and I’d say it might be a better intro to Cee Lo’s solo work. I’m a long time Goodie Mob fan so I was pretty excited to hear Cee Lo was doing solo work and he truly delivered. Then to follow these albums up with the genius of Gnarls Barkley solidified him as an Atlanta icon. Cee Lo was fearless during this time and every creative risk he took resulted in gold. If you like this album and have already heard Gnarls Barkley’s two incredible albums then go back to “And His Perfect Imperfections”, you won’t be disappointed! I’d give this album a 4.5 only because the previous album is an easy 5.
This is a cool album. It has a bit of that Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik and Parliament vibe. I enjoyed it as background music while I worked, and a few songs piqued my interest. I give this a 3.5.
Because of the title, and not knowing what to expect, I thought there would be even more of a Soul emphasis on this album, but there was a lot of variety that touched a lot of genres. A lot of ATL on this album. I remember once seeing Cee-Lo and his lady at Burlington Coat Factory. She was pregnant and they were looking at baby gear. The timing is right for the kid on the intro to have been that baby...cute. 3.5
Fun album, ran a little long but was enjoyable. None of the tracks stood out as excellent, just easy to listen to. 5/10
I liked the intro skit, it is very of the time. I see that the album is over an hour long, which is almost always too long. "The Art of Noise" is an awesome song. Great energy. I love the production, and the scatting at the end. I didn't really like "I'll Be Around". Not a lot going on in this song, it felt very one dimensional. It was mostly repeating one line over and over. The beat sounded like classic Timbaland, I felt like I was listening to Justin Timberlake. Same for "The One". Not great. "My Kind of People" has better vocals and I like the horns. "Childz Play" is dope. The fast lyrics are great, and Ludacris is a great feature. So far the album has felt like Cee Lo & Friends, with the songs being defined by the features. "I Am Selling Soul" is a super Tribe-sounding song in the first half. It sounds like he's trying to emulate Phife Dawg. The second half switches it up, and it was pretty tight too. Good song. "All Day Love Affair" was a nice switch-up to a slower pace, but it wasn't really my speed. "Evening News" has a cool beat and great flow. "Glockapella" is an amazing song name, that's all I have to say about that. This album has so many songs that sound like other songs, and I can't quite remember any of them. "When We Were Friends" is another one of those. This album was pretty enjoyable, but none of the songs really stood out as amazing. It was a fun listen that I was ready to be done with about 2/3 of the way through. 6/10
Liked this so much more than I thought I would
Overall: 4/10 This isn't bad, but no matter how hard I try to give it a fair chance, it just ends up being background noise for the most part. I don't really like Cee-Lo's voice that much and I don't think he's a great rapper. There were definitely moments that caught my attention but they were few and far between. Fav Song: My Kind of People Least Fav Song: Scrap Metal
Inizio non proprio top, poi le prime canzoni mi hanno preso. Alla fine ho quittato, no no no.
I'm just not personally a fan of Cee-Lo Green. I don't like his voice at all. That being said, there were a few songs I did like. Favorite Tracks: -Scrap Metal -Childz Play
Fuck you cee Lo
Finally some good fucking food
Cee-Lo you stupid motherfucker. This is some of the most vapid shit I have ever heard. Only redeeming track is 'Die Trying' which is almost ruined by the unnecessary outro. Good production though.
Instantly recognizable and iconic voice. Cee-Lo really didn’t become the fun and interesting artistic that I enjoy until he teamed up with Danger Mouse and created Gnarls Barkley - he really needs that creative and playful musical force behind him. This, his hip-hop-persona, doesn’t really speak to me. There’s simply not enough to hold onto along the loooong runtime.
Meh album from the early 2000s.
Good not great. Love I’ll be around and the one. Low 3
Very fun
I kinda cringed when I saw this guy/album, but there were times I was pleasantly surprised. There were some songs that remined me of the good old R&B days with some nice grooves and sound. Liked Soul Machine, My Kind of People and my favorite song off the album, All Day Love Affair. Songs I didn't really care for are when he tried to go full blown gangster. It went on little too long, but for the most part, I thought the album was decent. Can't say I've become a fan, but I was really expecting to dislike this album. Side note, the song Living Again has the lines, "Hut 2 3 4, what the hell are we fighting for". These lines are lyrics written by Prince, for a band called The Time, in the song Walk. Shout out to both Prince and Morris Day and The Time! 3
3 F this sexual predator and piece of shit. That out of the way, I begrudgingly admit to liking most things I’ve heard by CeeLo. I know a lot of people have trouble with his voice, but I’ve always kind of dug it - it’s super distinct and works really well with the brand of soul he puts out. Fuck/Forget You (pick your poison) and Crazy are both classics, and there’s even a cover of Violent Femmes’ Gone Daddy Gone he has with Gnarls that I’ve always liked as well - but man, nothing on this album feels like his A-game in comparison. For the most part, it’s still pretty decent, but there also isn’t anything here that really stands out as particularly great, which makes an 18-track album like this feel somewhat bloated. There’s definitely some stuff that could have been cut, with Childz Play feeling like the most obvious example (sounded like dude was rapping over an Itchy & Scratchy cartoon minus the gratuitously fun cartoon violence), but honestly, even then I’m not sure how much that would have fixed things. It definitely would have felt less padded, but something about this album also felt really unstructured to me, almost like there was no real flow from one song to the next. In fact, the only time I really found myself in a groove was around the time things started wrapping up with the tracks Sometimes and Let’s Stay Together. For as much shit as my dad will toss on Sometimes for its flute usage, the instrumentation worked for me paired with the beats and insightful lyrics - though, the highlight of the song (and probably album) for me was the delivery of “Brother I'm eating” as timed with the cutout of the music. Honestly, I have no idea why I got so much enjoyment out of that, but I found myself looking forward to it with each listen. As for Let’s Stay Together, I found it to be a really solid R&B track with an enjoyable feature from Pharrell that… also references Oasis? I refuse to believe that homeboy isn’t with his delivery of “Live foreeeeeeever”. Anyway, IS CeeLo Green the Soul Machine? Nah, probably not. At least, he’s certainly no Marvin Gaye. The dude has his hits, but I’m not sure he’s a back catalog kind of guy. He’s also a predator, so do with that what you will.
For someone calling themselves "The Soul Machine", the music is definitely lacking a lot of it. How much copy/pasta was done creating this album?
It's a decent album. No bangers, but not bad. 3/5