St. Elsewhere (album)

The group created an elaborate backstory for the "Gnarls Barkley" persona, claiming to be close friends of Lester Bangs, Isaac Hayes, Gordon Gano, and lovers of Janet Jackson and Mariah Carey. The character taught the band Kraftwerk English, as well as set up a meeting between the group Wu-Tang Clan and members of the Stuckist art movement. In promotional photographs, the group wears costumes similar to the character Alex from A Clockwork Orange. ==Composition==

In an interview with New York, Gnarls Barkley were asked if they intended to make a contemporary psychedelic record with St. Elsewhere. Producer Danger Mouse agreed, wishing to fuse melody with experimentation like late-1960s music he admired. Indeed, Elsewhere sees Cee-lo Green's neo soul style set against Mouse's psychedelic rock / soul-infused music. "Creepy-crawly" also features hip hop, yielding a "big [and] amorphous" take on the genre. ==Critical reception and awards==

The album received general acclaim from critics: At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81 out of 100, which indicates "universal acclaim", based on 37 reviews. In 2007, the album won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, with nominations for Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Crazy". St. Elsewhere placed on Slant Magazines list of best albums of the 2000s at number 92. ==Track listing==

Sample credits • "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" contains samples from "Goin Down to Freedom's Land", written and performed by Nicolas Flagello. • "Crazy" incorporates elements and samples of "Last Man Standing", written and performed by Gian Franco Reverberi and Gian Piero Reverberi. • "St. Elsewhere" incorporates elements of "Geordie", arranged by Barry Clarke, David Costa, Celia Humphris, and Stephen Brown, and performed by Trees. • "The Boogie Monster" incorporates elements and samples of "Ku Klux Klan Sequence", written and performed by Armando Trovaioli and Angelo Francesco Lavagnino. • "Feng Shui" incorporates elements and samples of "Tropical", written and performed by Nino Nardini. • "Just a Thought" incorporates elements of "A Touch of Class", written and performed by Kevin Peek. • "Transformer" incorporates elements of "Rubber Solution", written by Marlene Moore and performed by Lee Mason. • "Who Cares?" incorporates elements of "Mono Ski", written and performed by Keith Mansfield. • "The Last Time" incorporates elements and samples of "Chicano Chaser", written and performed by Ian Langley. ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. • "Go-Go Gadget Gospel" contains samples from "Goin' Down to Freedom's Land" written and performed by Nicolas Flagello. • "Crazy" incorporates elements of "Last Man Standing" written and performed by Gian Franco Reverberi and co-written by Gian Piero Reverberi. • "St. Elsewhere" incorporates elements of "Geordie" performed by Trees and arranged by Barry Clarke, David Costa, Celia Humphris and Stephen Brown. • "The Boogie Monster" incorporates elements of "Ku Klux Klan Sequence" written and performed by Armando Trovaioli and Angelo Francesco Lavagnino. • "Feng Shui" incorporates elements of "Tropicola" written and performed by Nino Nardini. • "Just a Thought" incorporates elements of "A Touch of Class" written and performed by Kevin Peek. • "Transformer" incorporates elements of "Rubber Solution" written by Marlene Moore. • "Who Cares?" incorporates elements of "Mono Ski" written and performed by Keith Mansfield. • "Online" incorporates elements of "Welcome to the Rain" written by Flip Davis and performed by Mid Day Rain. • "The Last Time" incorporates elements of "Chicano Chaser" written and performed by Ian Langley. ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts Decade-end charts ==Certifications==