“
In an eye-blink it was everywhere; timeless, perfectly formed and etched into everybody's internal songsheet--you knew it before you even knew you'd heard it and could sing along to it by the end of the first listen.
”
“
MOJO: What's been the best thing about the fame that the song has brought you this year? DM: I think seeing a couple of things on YouTube, with people having little kids singing it in a room with their parents and stuff like that.
”
“
It's the greatest song of the year, and we should have 30 like it every year. It's like with Outkast's Hey Ya, another great song that everyone went absolutely crazy about.
”
“
It's still a spectacular song, like "Hey Ya" before it, effortlessly taking the hip-hop aesthetic and molding it into a tasty pop song.
”
“
The seemingly dead dream of an alternative music in which rock, hip-hop, funk, R&B, electronic, et al., speak a fresh Esperanto is given a liberating new pulse.
”
“
What's even crazier is how this infectious, scratchy-soul-influenced ode to insanity became the song that everyone from hipsters to grandparents could agree on.
”
“
"Crazy" is a joke that chills its intended audience seconds after its teller has stopped giggling. Cee-Lo respects the chorus' rhetorical question; the subtle harmonies and sampled strings heighten a psychodrama as lachrymose as any by Portishead.
”
“
In a perfect world, Al Green could still sing collard-green soul gems like this one, but Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse stepped up with an instant classic, winning this year's "Hey Ya!" award for the song nobody even pretended not to like. Everybody tried to cover it (our personal fave: the Raconteurs') -- but nobody can hit the chorus like Cee-Lo, and nobody ever will.
”
“
There's no chance of spoiling 'Crazy'. It's Marvin Gaye rolled fresh from the deep freeze, jolted back to life with the jump-leads from Andre 3000's mink-lined monster truck, and pushed stagewards wearing nothing but James Brown's pimp cloak.
”
“
Gnarls Barkley's song 'Crazy.' We covered it recently in the U.K., and I was thinking 'Damn! This song's so good!'
”
“
Scoring another huge hit for Dangermouse and Cee-Lo, the video is comprised of ever-changing Rorschach images, used by psychiatrists to assertain if a patient is indeed "Crazy". Filter saw a snake, wearing a vest, rolling out a big donut. Does that mean we're "Crazy"?
”
“
Cee-Lo unleashes his inner gospel choir as Danger Mouse creeps in with a Gorillaz-style beat and an ooh-child melancholy that lingers like a question mark.
”
“
The duo's debut single, "Crazy," is music for an integrated world: It synthesizes rock, soul, and funk into a unique, eclectic whole. Sporting a soulful groove and a memorably soaring chorus, it's perfect for every environment, from cars to dance floors.
”
“
Oodles of energy: we have a vocalist who combines rap and soul in a way I've not heard from anyone else. It has the rhythmic sensibility and drive of the liveliest hip hop, and the beauty and feeling of old soul music. It's only in recent years that vocals like these became a possibility, even though his tones hark back to old soul and even older blues.
”
“
When pop music is done with this much heart and soul, better just to appreciate. Less hip-hop than pop and more dance than electronic, the track rings of instant vintage on a first spin and only improves from there.
”
“
Cee-Lo and dangermouse team up for a weird, space-age funk jam.
”
“
This is an instant classic. Utterly contemporary and capable of inspiring a stampede to dancefloors everywhere through the rest of 2006, it is also darkly redolent of mysterious Thirties blues hollerings.
”
“
But Goodie Mob alum Cee-Lo Green's buttery falsetto soars and bubbles over Grammy-nominated Gorillaz producer (and mash-up maestro) Danger Mouse's nostalgic, soul-infused groove.
”
“
It sounds like a contemporary version of Sam Cooke. We got asked to remix it and Bernard said, 'But that'll ruin it' (laughs).
”
“
Cee-Lo and Dangermouse team up and get gnarly.
”
“
Cee-Lo's high-pitched, scatchy tenor has never sounded better, mostly because he's cut the quirk. Finally, Cee-Lo's embraced the soul he keeps talking about.
”
Get a free trial Rhapsody account now for instant hi-fi playback of 25 thousand confirmed classics here -- and 5 million other tunes at Rhapsody.com.
