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Gorillaz	G-Sides	Demon Days
Gorillaz - Phase One - Celebrity Take Down	Gorillaz - Phase Two - Slowboat to Hades	Demon Days Live

Well, enter this disc, and ka-pow you have your gift from the dub gods of Jah. Bad dub, especially nowadays when the perpetrators are so far removed from the original sound, is easy to do. But this, THIS is great dub, done by professionals who clearly know what makes a great dub record. Listen to "De-Punked" (dub mix of Punk from the original) and TELL me these guys don't know what they're doing! It's cosmic. This disc is everything G-Sides SHOULDA been. From head-bobbing to downright head-thrashing, this disc WILL move you, guarandamnteed. I'm listening to it as I type, and the brass sections are just incredible.

It's funny how people compared the Gorillaz album to the Clash's ahead-of-its-time melting pot triple-album Sandinista, and now we have dub versions of the Gorillaz tracks, just like there were sides of Sandinista that were nothing but dub versions of the album's own songs. It's great! Honestly, if you have any prediliction towards dub reggae AT ALL, you need to hear this. It's like a time-machine and a future-transducer all in one 12-track package. Makes me happy. Long live the dub!!!!


Gorillaz' warfare on music   August 22, 2002
 17 out of 20 found this review helpful

As you'd expect with a cd that doesn't even list the name of the big band first, "Space Monkeys vs. Gorillaz: Laika Come Home" is like eating just the complementary rolls at a steakhouse. Sure, they're delicious, and there's nothing wrong with it, but the experience could be so much better with some of the restaurant's trademark meals. Such is the case in the Gorillaz eatery.

Some of the tracks fall flat, such as the lack of the spooky background voices in "New Genious". The real problems are mostly due to monotony and similarity within the tracks, most noticeably the first two, both of which go the reggae angle, almost identically. The only reggae track which doesn't overstay its welcome is the mix of the top single, "Clint Eastwood". Rasta's an everpresent theme throughout the album, but luckily, other tracks make up for the sins of the others.

"Banana Baby", a remix of "Tomorrow Comes Today", is the first great track of the album, beginning with a haunting and everlasting techno beat which can never seem to get enough steam, thankfully. "P45" offers the most energetic and perky Gorillaz track since the "19/2000" remix from the Ice Breakers commercial. "Dub 09" somehow manages to be even creepier than "starshine" the track from the self-titled cd from which it was mixed.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, the metaphorical steak dinner is the first cd, the self-titled, best selling tribute to 2-D, Noodle, Russel, and Murdoc. "Laika Comes Home" is a good cd, and while it isn't nearly as good as "Gorillaz", and probably not quite as good as "G-Sides", Gorillaz still prove their abilities. Listen to these two back to back, and when Gorillaz begins to add more menu items, you'll be sure to return for seconds.


Not so great...   May 19, 2005
 10 out of 23 found this review helpful

Now, I love Gorillaz. Their self-titled debut album is one of my favorites ever, and Demon Days is great too. Their G-Sides album also has some good stuff. So naturally, I looked to this CD next to see how good the songs were. And, well, I was dissapointed.

My main gripe is that they did away with most of the vocals. The vocals hold the music by the Gorillaz together. Whether it's D-2's singing, Russell's rapping or Noodle inserting her cute voice into 19-2000. It was a big mistake to just get rid of the vocals. The album becomes less appealing without the vocals.

The music itself is nothing to go crazy over. They mixed it, but most songs don't sound like the originals anymore. I know remixes are supposed to be different, but you can't tell that these are the songs anymore. The new sound is rather poor, trying to add reggae elements into the music, which just doesn't work. However, Dub 9 (Starshine) isn't bad, though somewhat similar to the original, and still not as good. The other songs just don't have a great sound to them and the originals are better in every case.

My third problem is that not all the songs from the s/t are represented here. Where are Latin Simone, Dracula and Rock the House? Those are three of my favorite from their CD, and while the other remixes hadn't impressed me, I would've been interested in hearing these. Also, Double Bass, having started as an instrumental, might've made a good track as well.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this CD. I would take their self-titled or Demon Days if you want to get into the band, and then G-Sides afterwards. If you are into instrumentals you may like this, but this just wasn't to my liking. And if you click "No" in the "Was this review helpful", you're not saying it wasn't helpful, you're saying you don't agree.


new Classic Dub Reggae   August 20, 2004
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I bought this cd on a whim when it came out, having heard ( and seen the video for ) Clint Eastwood.I have since bought the original Gorillaz cd, and I must say I prefer this over the original, being a big fan of dub reggae and chill-out type grooves. This is AWESOME. If you have the original Gorillaz cd and appreciate the diversity of the songs, you will more than likely not get into this one, as the songs admittedly all sound somewhat the same, they all have a very laid back reggae groove to them. But I can highly recommend this for fans of dub reggae.


Incredibly laidback!   February 3, 2006
 7 out of 8 found this review helpful

You will enjoy this Album, especially if you enjoy Reggae.

While randomly going through CD's on sale at a store (somewhere in India) I saw this one for about $7. For 7 bucks, it wouldn't hurt to listen. Having heard it, the experience was worth more (maybe the full price too).

The background is traditional Reggae rhythym, yet each track is contemporarily styled and fused with different Instruments. I guess this is a hallmark of the SpaceMonkeyz. I often find myself listening to this album alongside tracks from Willie Williams, Max Romeo, UB40 and even Pink Floyd amongst other artists that have a strong anchoring in easy tunes and rhythyms. The mixes were all originally part of the Gorillaz album from 2001 (except perhaps one track at the end). Even if you do own the original album, buy this one, it is very different and will not fail to surprise you.