Break out the red wine and scatter some rose petals on the bed. Cee Lo Green is back in town and ready for sexy times with his new album The Lady Killer.
From the album’s beginning to the end, fans will recognize the same quirky and edgy musical innovations found in Gnarls Barkley, where Green sang alongside Danger Mouse, but The Lady Killer brings something new to the table while switching up sounds for every track.
Anyone who has not heard the album’s hit single “Fuck You,” has quite likely taken up residence in a cave–a cave without a radio.
The viral music video’s storyline sets the tone of the whole album: Little Green gets repeatedly snubbed by the girl of his dreams until the end when, after reaching fame and fortune, he drives away in a sleek car with a bunch of babes, leaving the girl who rejected him behind.
From there, Green’s dorky, petulant yet triumphant attitude in “Fuck You” switches to a crooning, sensual lady’s man as the album goes on. While it may be tempting to keep the track on replay, the album flows to songs which will truly kill the ladies.
“When it comes to ladies, I have a license to kill,” Green says seductively in the album’s intro, which is self-consciously corny. From his cheesy narration, the intro breaks into a theme which could have come from a low-budget ’70s spy movie.
“Bodies” would fit right into a sex scene in a James Bond movie, with Green’s polished vocals layered over whispers of “body” and “let me touch you.” The song tries to convey a mystique and danger, but the less overtly sexual “Wildflower” is a celebration of the woman he loves.
In “Cry Baby,” Green sings to one of his seduced victims, “Cry, cry baby, just like all the other ones.” Sure, he gets around, but there is an elegance to the the way he presents himself–it is definitely classier than the Ying Yang Twins’ mating call: “Ay bitch, wait till you see my dick.”
The musical influences span several decades from “Bright Lights Bigger City,” which is reminiscent of a record spinning in Studio 54 in the 1970s to “Old Fashioned,” where Green’s velvety voice sounds like it is coming out of the radio of a baby blue 1950s Buick.
Try as one might, it is difficult to pin The Lady Killer into one genre. Green reaches back into the days of disco and gospel and pulls it forward, making it contemporary with his sassy persona and powerful, distinct voice.
Before the album comes to a close, Green reminds his listeners the business of being a lady killer is not strictly fun and games with the heavy track “No One is Gonna Love You,” which is a tribute to a tattered, torn and lost love.
Lots of albums have an intro, but not many have an “outro.” Set to the same corny low-budget seventies music and electric guitar riffs, Green’s “Outro” ensures The Lady Killer will make an impression on his listeners. New listeners may come for the single, but will stay for the musical variety, which Green seamlessly weaves together with killer vocals.
3.5 out 5 stars
