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| cover = Plasticbeach452.jpg
| cover = Plasticbeach452.jpg
| alt = An artificial island rests on the ocean during a sunset. Apart from the base, it is mostly mushroom-shaped. It contains a few palm trees and small buildings. At the very top is a large white building with many windows. Other objects in and around the island include a ship, a buoy, a lighthouse and a crate. The artist name and album title both appear in the lower left corner of the picture.
| alt = An artificial island rests on the ocean during a sunset. Apart from the base, it is mostly mushroom-shaped. It contains a few palm trees and small buildings. At the very top is a large white building with many windows. Other objects in and around the island include a ship, a buoy, a lighthouse and a crate. The artist name and album title both appear in the lower left corner of the picture.
| caption = Afternoon version of cover
| released = {{start date|2010|03|03|df=yes}}
| released = {{start date|2010|03|03|df=yes}}
| recorded = June 2008 – November 2009
| recorded = June 2008 – November 2009
| studio = * Studio 13 (London, England){{efn|All tracks}}
| studio = * [[Studio 13]] (London, England){{efn|All tracks}}
* [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] Factory ([[Derby]], England){{efn|Tracks 1, 13 and 15}}
* [[Rolls-Royce Limited|Rolls-Royce]] Factory ([[Derby]], England){{efn|Tracks 1, 13 and 15}}
* [[Capitol Studios|Capitol]] (Hollywood, California){{efn|Track 2}}
* [[Capitol Studios|Capitol]] (Hollywood, California){{efn|Track 2}}
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| next_year = 2010
| next_year = 2010
}}
}}
{{Extra album cover
{{Singles
| header = Alternate cover
| type = studio
| cover =
| border = no
| alt =
| caption = "Day" cover
}}
{{Extra album cover
| header = Alternate cover
| type = studio
| cover =
| border = no
| alt =
| caption = "Night" "Experience Edition" cover
}}
{{Extra album cover
| header = Alternate cover
| type = studio
| cover =
| border = no
| alt =
| caption = "Night" [[iTunes]] edition cover
}}
{{Singles
| name = Plastic Beach
| name = Plastic Beach
| type = studio
| type = studio
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}}
}}
}}
}}
'''''Plastic Beach''''' is the third studio album by British [[virtual band]] [[Gorillaz]]. It was released on 3 March 2010 by [[Parlophone]] internationally and by [[Virgin Records]] in the United States. Conceived from an unfinished project called ''Carousel'', the album was recorded from June 2008 to November 2009, and was produced primarily by group co-creator [[Damon Albarn]]. It features guest appearances by such artists as [[Snoop Dogg]], [[Gruff Rhys]], [[De La Soul]], [[Bobby Womack]], [[Mos Def]], [[Lou Reed]], [[Mark E. Smith]], [[Bashy]], [[Kano (rapper)|Kano]] and [[Little Dragon]].


'''''Plastic Beach''''' is the third studio album by British [[virtual band]] [[Gorillaz]]. It was released on 3 March 2010 by [[Parlophone]] internationally and by [[Virgin Records]] in the United States. Conceived from an unfinished project called ''Carousel'', the album was recorded from June 2008 to November 2009, and was produced primarily by group co-creator [[Damon Albarn]]. It features guest appearances by such artists as [[Snoop Dogg]], [[Gruff Rhys]], [[De La Soul]], [[Bobby Womack]], [[Mos Def]], [[Lou Reed]], [[Mark E. Smith]], [[Bashy]], [[Kano (rapper)|Kano]], and [[Little Dragon]].
''Plastic Beach'' received mostly positive reviews, and was later named one of the decade's best albums by several critics. In 2020, the album was ranked at 71 on the 100 Best Albums of the Century list by ''Stacker''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stacker.com/stories/4750/100-best-albums-21st-century|last=Berkman|first=Seth|title=100 best albums of the 21st century|website=Stacker|date=23 October 2020|access-date=21 June 2021}}</ref> The album debuted at number two on the [[UK Albums Chart]], selling approximately 74,432 copies in its first week. It debuted at number two on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] with 112,000 copies sold in its first week; overall it reached the top 10 in 22 countries in total.

''Plastic Beach'' received mostly positive reviews on release and was later named by several critics as one of the decade's best albums. In 2020, the album was ranked at 66 on the 100 Best Albums of the Century list by ''Stacker''.<ref name="Berkman">{{cite web|url=https://stacker.com/stories/4750/100-best-albums-21st-century|last=Berkman|first=Seth|title=100 best albums of the 21st century|website=Stacker|date=23 October 2020|access-date=21 June 2021}}</ref> The album debuted at number two on the [[UK Albums Chart]], selling approximately 74,432 copies in its first week. It debuted at number two on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] with 112,000 copies sold in its first week; overall it reached the top 10 in 22 countries in total.


==Background==
==Background==


===''Carousel''===
===''Carousel''===
The creators of [[Gorillaz]], musician [[Damon Albarn]] and artist [[Jamie Hewlett]], began working on a new Gorillaz project in November 2007 called ''Carousel'',<ref name="Q 2007" /> which evolved into ''Plastic Beach'', the group's third studio album.<ref name="guardian 2009">{{cite news|last=Morley|first=Paul|url=http://audio.theguardian.tv/audio/kip/music/series/paul-morley-showing-off/1259329339795/8827/AlbarnMorleyFINAL.mp3|title=Paul Morley's Showing Off... Damon Albarn|date=27 November 2009|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=29 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5le8WXHB0?url=http://audio.theguardian.tv/audio/kip/music/series/paul-morley-showing-off/1259329339795/8827/AlbarnMorleyFINAL.mp3|archive-date=29 November 2009|format=MP3|author-link=Paul Morley}}<!-- Article URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/28/showing-off-damon-albarn --></ref> In the November 2007 issue of ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'', when asked what his top priority for 2008 was, Damon Albarn replied "Well, I'm doing the next Gorillaz thing, but it won't be called Gorillaz."<ref name="Q 2007">{{cite magazine |last = Lynskey |first = Dorian |date=December 2007 |title= Damon Albarn |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]}}</ref> In the February 2008 Gorillaz-Unofficial interview, Hewlett elaborated on this, saying "I think the idea behind it is that it's like how [[the Who]] presented their movies&nbsp;– ''[[Tommy (1975 film)|Tommy]]'' and ''[[Quadrophenia (film)|Quadrophenia]]'' and so on. Those were presented as by 'the Who' even though none of the members of the band were in the movies. I don't think anyone from the Who was in ''Quadrophenia''. But it's the same people working on it, that's the principle."<ref name="Hewlett 2008 Interview">{{cite web|url=http://gorillaz-unofficial.com/Jamie08/jamie.html |title=Jamie Hewlett: The Gorillaz-Unofficial 2008 Interview |access-date=5 October 2008 |date=February 2008 |work=Gorillaz-Unofficial |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327140329/http://gorillaz-unofficial.com/Jamie08/jamie.html |archive-date=27 March 2010 |url-status=dead}} All four members of The Who appeared on-screen in ''Tommy,'' with [[Roger Daltrey]] starring in the title role.</ref> In a July 2008 interview with ''[[The Observer]]'' he also said, "Gorillaz now to us is not like four animated characters any more&nbsp;– it's more like an organisation of people doing new projects ... That's my ideal model&nbsp;– Gorillaz is a group of people who gave you this, and now want to give you new stuff."<ref name="Observer 2008">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/jul/20/art |title=The year of the monkey |access-date=5 October 2008 |last=Kermode |first=Mark |date=20 July 2008 |work=The Observer |location=UK |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219055150/http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/jul/20/art |archive-date=19 December 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
The creators of [[Gorillaz]], musician [[Damon Albarn]] and artist [[Jamie Hewlett]], began working on a new Gorillaz project in November 2007 called ''Carousel'',<ref name="Q 2007" /> which evolved into ''Plastic Beach'', the group's third studio album.<ref name="guardian 2009">{{cite news|last=Morley|first=Paul|url=http://audio.theguardian.tv/audio/kip/music/series/paul-morley-showing-off/1259329339795/8827/AlbarnMorleyFINAL.mp3|title=Paul Morley's Showing Off... Damon Albarn|date=27 November 2009|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=29 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5le8WXHB0?url=http://audio.theguardian.tv/audio/kip/music/series/paul-morley-showing-off/1259329339795/8827/AlbarnMorleyFINAL.mp3|archive-date=29 November 2009|format=MP3|author-link=Paul Morley}}<!-- Article URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/nov/28/showing-off-damon-albarn --></ref> In the November 2007 issue of ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'', when asked what his top priority for 2008 was, Damon Albarn replied "Well, I'm doing the next Gorillaz thing, but it won't be called Gorillaz."<ref name="Q 2007">{{cite magazine |last = Lynskey |first = Dorian |date=December 2007 |title= Damon Albarn |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]}}</ref> In the February 2008 Gorillaz-Unofficial interview, Hewlett elaborated on this, saying "I think the idea behind it is that it's like how [[the Who]] presented their movies&nbsp;– ''[[Tommy (1975 film)|Tommy]]'' and ''[[Quadrophenia (film)|Quadrophenia]]'' and so on. Those were presented as by 'the Who' even though none of the members of the band were in the movies. ... But it's the same people working on it, that's the principle."<ref name="Hewlett 2008 Interview">{{cite web|url=http://gorillaz-unofficial.com/Jamie08/jamie.html |title=Jamie Hewlett: The Gorillaz-Unofficial 2008 Interview |access-date=5 October 2008 |date=February 2008 |work=Gorillaz-Unofficial |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327140329/http://gorillaz-unofficial.com/Jamie08/jamie.html |archive-date=27 March 2010 |url-status=dead}} All four members of The Who appeared on-screen in ''Tommy,'' with [[Roger Daltrey]] starring in the title role.</ref> In a July 2008 interview with ''[[The Observer]]'' he also said, "Gorillaz now to us is not like four animated characters any more&nbsp;– it's more like an organisation of people doing new projects ... That's my ideal model&nbsp;– Gorillaz is a group of people who gave you this, and now want to give you new stuff."<ref name="Observer 2008">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/jul/20/art |title=The year of the monkey |access-date=5 October 2008 |last=Kermode |first=Mark |date=20 July 2008 |work=The Observer |location=UK |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219055150/http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/jul/20/art |archive-date=19 December 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref>


In the ''Observer'' interview, Hewlett said that there is "a new project which Damon and I are working on now, called ''Carousel'', which is even bigger and more difficult than ''[[Monkey: Journey to the West|Monkey]]'', and it isn't going to fit anywhere and no one's going to like it, ha ha ha! We've started work&nbsp;– I've done a lot of visuals and Damon's done a lot of music but we haven't figured out how they're going to fit together. I can't say much about it yet but it's sort of like a film, but not with one narrative story. There's many stories, told around a bigger story, set to music, and done in live action, animation, all different styles, well... originally it was a film but now we think it's a film and it's a stage thing as well and... look, it's basically us doing what the fuck we want without worrying about whether it's for a record company or a film company or whatever. So I'm not sure how it'll pan out, or even if it will happen. But Damon's written around 70 songs for it, and I've got great plans for the visuals, but right now, at this moment, it's still just a really good idea."<ref name="Observer 2008" /> ''Carousel'' was to be about the mystical aspects of Britain.<ref name="guardian 2009" />
In the ''Observer'' interview, Hewlett said that there is "a new project which Damon and I are working on now, called ''Carousel'', which is even bigger and more difficult than ''[[Monkey: Journey to the West|Monkey]]'', and it isn't going to fit anywhere and no one's going to like it, ha ha ha! We've started work&nbsp;– I've done a lot of visuals and Damon's done a lot of music but we haven't figured out how they're going to fit together. I can't say much about it yet but it's sort of like a film, but not with one narrative story. There's many stories, told around a bigger story, set to music, and done in live action, animation, all different styles, well... originally it was a film but now we think it's a film and it's a stage thing as well and... look, it's basically us doing what the fuck we want without worrying about whether it's for a record company or a film company or whatever. So I'm not sure how it'll pan out, or even if it will happen. But Damon's written around 70 songs for it, and I've got great plans for the visuals, but right now, at this moment, it's still just a really good idea."<ref name="Observer 2008" /> ''Carousel'' was to be about the mystical aspects of Britain.<ref name="guardian 2009" />


===Concept===
===Concept===
Damon Albarn got the idea for ''Plastic Beach'' while on a beach next to his house: "I was just looking for all the plastic within the sand", he said.<ref name="guardian 2009" /> On 17 September 2008, Albarn and Jamie Hewlett announced that they would be doing another Gorillaz album in an interview with [[CBC News]].<ref name=CBC>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2008/09/17/f-albarn-hewlett-monkey.html |title=Simian city |access-date=10 January 2010 |last=Liss |first=Sarah |date=17 September 2008 |publisher=[[CBC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204092023/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2008/09/17/f-albarn-hewlett-monkey.html |archive-date=4 December 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Hewlett said that from their work on ''Monkey'', "we just learned more about what we do, musically and artistically. That's a great place to come at when we come to another Gorillaz album. It doesn't have to be animation and music".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/09/22/gorillaz-monkey-around-damon-albarn-and-jamie-hewlett-on-their-new-album.aspx |title=Gorillaz Monkey around: Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett on their new album |access-date=5 October 2008 |last=Frenette |first=Brad |date=22 September 2008 |work=[[National Post]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100122080424/http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/09/22/gorillaz-monkey-around-damon-albarn-and-jamie-hewlett-on-their-new-album.aspx |archive-date=22 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Hewlett also expressed annoyance at having to draw the band members again: "I'm so f---ing{{sic}} bored of drawing those characters. But then we had a moment where we had a new angle on it... I'm gonna adapt them".<ref name=CBC/> In a later interview Hewlett said: "they'll be the same characters, but a little bit older and told in a different way".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/monkey-business-artist-jamie-hewlett-reveals-how-he-created-his-antihero-997071.html |title=Monkey business: Artist Jamie Hewlett reveals how he created his anti-hero |access-date=23 December 2008 |last=Birrell |first=Ian |date=7 November 2008 |work=The Independent |location=UK |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128060958/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/monkey-business-artist-jamie-hewlett-reveals-how-he-created-his-antihero-997071.html |archive-date=28 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
Damon Albarn got the idea for ''Plastic Beach'' while on a beach next to his house: "I was just looking for all the plastic within the sand", he said.<ref name="guardian 2009" /> On 17 September 2008, Albarn and Jamie Hewlett announced that they would be doing another Gorillaz album in an interview with [[CBC News]].<ref name=CBC>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/simian-city-1.714492 |title=Simian city |access-date=10 January 2010 |last=Liss |first=Sarah |date=17 September 2008 |publisher=[[CBC News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204092023/http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2008/09/17/f-albarn-hewlett-monkey.html |archive-date=4 December 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hewlett said that from their work on ''Monkey'', "we just learned more about what we do, musically and artistically. That's a great place to come at when we come to another Gorillaz album. It doesn't have to be animation and music".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/09/22/gorillaz-monkey-around-damon-albarn-and-jamie-hewlett-on-their-new-album.aspx |title=Gorillaz Monkey around: Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett on their new album |access-date=5 October 2008 |last=Frenette |first=Brad |date=22 September 2008 |work=[[National Post]] |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100122080424/http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/09/22/gorillaz-monkey-around-damon-albarn-and-jamie-hewlett-on-their-new-album.aspx |archive-date=22 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Hewlett also expressed annoyance at having to draw the band members again: "I'm so f---ing{{sic}} bored of drawing those characters. But then we had a moment where we had a new angle on it... I'm gonna adapt them".<ref name=CBC/> In a later interview Hewlett said: "they'll be the same characters, but a little bit older and told in a different way".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/monkey-business-artist-jamie-hewlett-reveals-how-he-created-his-antihero-997071.html |title=Monkey business: Artist Jamie Hewlett reveals how he created his anti-hero |access-date=23 December 2008 |last=Birrell |first=Ian |date=7 November 2008 |work=The Independent |location=UK |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100128060958/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/monkey-business-artist-jamie-hewlett-reveals-how-he-created-his-antihero-997071.html |archive-date=28 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>


The first time Albarn went to Mali, he was taken to a landfill where he observed how differently rubbish was dealt with compared to England; he had previously visited a landfill outside London to record the sound of seagulls for the album.<ref name="guardian 2009" /> In Mali, the landfill had "more snakes... like adders, grass snakes, slow worms, toads, frogs, newts, all kinds of rodents, all kinds of squirrels, a massive number of squirrels, foxes, and obviously, seagulls. [...] This is part of the new ecology. And for the first time I saw the world in a new way. I've always felt, I'm trying to get across on this new record, the idea that plastic, we see it as being against nature but it's come out of nature. We didn't create plastic, nature created plastic. And just seeing the snakes like living in the warmth of decomposing plastic bags. They like it. It was a strange kind of optimism that I felt... but trying to get that into pop music is a challenge, anyway. But important."<ref name="guardian 2009" />
The first time Albarn went to Mali, he was taken to a landfill where he observed how differently rubbish was dealt with compared to England; he had previously visited a landfill outside London to record the sound of seagulls for the album.<ref name="guardian 2009" /> In Mali, the landfill had "more snakes... like adders, grass snakes, slow worms, toads, frogs, newts, all kinds of rodents, all kinds of squirrels, a massive number of squirrels, foxes, and obviously, seagulls. [...] This is part of the new ecology. And for the first time I saw the world in a new way. I've always felt, I'm trying to get across on this new record, the idea that plastic, we see it as being against nature but it's come out of nature. We didn't create plastic, nature created plastic. And just seeing the snakes like living in the warmth of decomposing plastic bags. They like it. It was a strange kind of optimism that I felt... but trying to get that into pop music is a challenge, anyway. But important."<ref name="guardian 2009" />
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==Recording==
==Recording==
Albarn began recording material for a new Gorillaz album around June 2008.<ref name="nme jan2010">{{cite magazine |first = Paul |last = Stokes |date = 23 January 2010 |title = Unfinished monkey business |magazine=[[NME]] |pages = 6–7 }}</ref> He travelled to [[Beirut]] in March 2009 to record with the National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music.<ref name="q2010">{{cite magazine |first = Johnny |last = Davis |date=March 2010 |title = Yo Ho Ho |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue = 284 |pages = 44–52}}</ref> The following month, he recorded with [[Derby]]-based orchestra sinfonia Viva.<ref name="q2010" /> [[Grime (music)|Grime]] MCs Kano and Bashy, who feature on "White Flag", both had the flu during recording. Kano said "We weren't feeling great, the music was out of our comfort zone, it could have been a complete disaster".<ref name="q2010" /> Bobby Womack knew nothing about Gorillaz and was initially unsure about the collaboration, however, his daughter liked Gorillaz and convinced him to do it.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Gorillaz Attempt to Draft Bobby Womack For Upcoming Album |first=Andy |last=Greene |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/04/09/gorillaz-attempt-to-draft-bobby-womack-for-upcoming-album/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=9 April 2009 |access-date=22 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412110024/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/04/09/gorillaz-attempt-to-draft-bobby-womack-for-upcoming-album |archive-date=12 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Womack was told to sing whatever was on his mind during the recording of "Stylo". "I was in there for an hour going crazy about love and politics, getting it off my chest", said Womack.<ref name="q2010" /> After an hour of recording, Womack, a [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetic]], started to pass out. He was sat down and given a banana, before waking up minutes later.<ref name="q2010" /> "Sweepstakes", the first song Mos Def recorded with Gorillaz,<ref name="semtex mosdef">{{cite video|people=[[DJ Semtex]] (interviewer); [[Mos Def]] (musician) |date=11 December 2009 |title=50 Cent & Mos Def Drop In On Semtex |url=http://vimeo.com/8200106 |work=Hip Hop With Semtex |publisher=BBC Radio 1Xtra |access-date=22 January 2010 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5nBeZkIlh?url=http://av.vimeo.com/53549/381/13075616.mp4?token=1264922497_05cea5a7b4b3d5c4dea965a3690f6ce6 |archive-date=31 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> was done in one take.<ref name="q2010" /> Mos Def described the song as "one of the greatest things as an MC that I've ever done".<ref name="semtex mosdef" /> Mick Jones and Paul Simonon completed their portion of the title track "Plastic Beach" in a day.<ref name="q2010" />
Albarn began recording material for a new Gorillaz album around June 2008.<ref name="nme jan2010">{{cite magazine |first = Paul |last = Stokes |date = 23 January 2010 |title = Unfinished monkey business |magazine=[[NME]] |pages = 6–7 }}</ref> He travelled to [[Beirut]] in March 2009 to record with the National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music.<ref name="q2010">{{cite magazine |first = Johnny |last = Davis |date=March 2010 |title = Yo Ho Ho |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue = 284 |pages = 44–52}}</ref> The following month, he recorded with [[Derby]]-based orchestra sinfonia Viva.<ref name="q2010" /> [[Grime (music)|Grime]] MCs Kano and Bashy, who feature on "White Flag", both had the flu during recording. Kano said, "We weren't feeling great, the music was out of our comfort zone, it could have been a complete disaster".<ref name="q2010" /> Bobby Womack knew nothing about Gorillaz and was initially unsure about the collaboration, however, his daughter liked Gorillaz and convinced him to do it.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Gorillaz Attempt to Draft Bobby Womack For Upcoming Album |first=Andy |last=Greene |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/04/09/gorillaz-attempt-to-draft-bobby-womack-for-upcoming-album/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=9 April 2009 |access-date=22 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090412110024/http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2009/04/09/gorillaz-attempt-to-draft-bobby-womack-for-upcoming-album |archive-date=12 April 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Womack was told to sing whatever was on his mind during the recording of "Stylo". "I was in there for an hour going crazy about love and politics, getting it off my chest", said Womack.<ref name="q2010" /> After an hour of recording, Womack, a [[Diabetes mellitus|diabetic]], started to pass out. He was sat down and given a banana, before waking up minutes later.<ref name="q2010" /> "Sweepstakes", the first song Mos Def recorded with Gorillaz,<ref name="semtex mosdef">{{cite video|people=[[DJ Semtex]] (interviewer); [[Mos Def]] (musician) |date=11 December 2009 |title=50 Cent & Mos Def Drop In On Semtex |url=http://vimeo.com/8200106 |work=Hip Hop With Semtex |publisher=BBC Radio 1Xtra |access-date=22 January 2010 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/5nBeZkIlh?url=http://av.vimeo.com/53549/381/13075616.mp4?token=1264922497_05cea5a7b4b3d5c4dea965a3690f6ce6 |archive-date=31 January 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> was done in one take.<ref name="q2010" /> Mos Def described the song as "one of the greatest things as an MC that I've ever done".<ref name="semtex mosdef" /> Mick Jones and Paul Simonon completed their portion of the title track "Plastic Beach" in a day.<ref name="q2010" />


"This record has only scratched the surface of [that] period of work and the sort of adventures we went on," he said. The unreleased material is "some really out-there stuff, which hopefully will see the light of day at some point". Among these is a song Gorillaz wanted to record with [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]]. "He was supposed to do it, but then he declined, which was a real shame", Albarn explained to ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine. "It's a very dramatic song, very moving. Arabic strings. It's imagining Earth losing its gravitational pull and starting to fall". As it turned out, Humperdinck's manager had listened to the proposed selection and declined the offer for him without his knowing. Humperdinck later stated in an interview that his manager declining the collaboration offer was "the most grievous sin ever committed", and that he would have gladly collaborated with Gorillaz if he had known they asked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undercover.fm/news/12718-engelbert-humperdinck-sets-gorillaz-story-straight |title=Engelbert Humperdinck Sets Gorillaz Story Straight |website=Undercover.fm |date=12 November 2010 |access-date=29 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305101831/http://www.undercover.fm/news/12718-engelbert-humperdinck-sets-gorillaz-story-straight |archive-date=5 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gorillaz-news.livejournal.com/324445.html |title=Interview |author=Adam |website=Gorillaz Unofficial |date=24 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719050638/http://gorillaz-news.livejournal.com/324445.html |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref> With or without Humperdinck, Albarn insists the tune will eventually be released. "I'm going to finish that off", he said. "It just needs the vocal. We've made contact with Indian singer [[Asha Bhosle]] and I think it's definitely going to happen. I'll maybe duet with her; the song has these answering phrases".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/apr/28/gorillaz-plastic-beach-albums | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Sean | last=Michaels | title=Gorillaz planning two more Plastic Beach albums? | date=28 April 2010}}</ref> The band were also rebuffed by former [[Sex Pistols]]' frontman [[John Lydon]] and [[Tom Waits]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6xyPMFggmg | title=- YouTube | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.co.uk/gorillaz/news/john-lydon-turned-down-gorillaz|title=John Lydon Turned Down Gorillaz &#124; MTV UK}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHEo5lWV5pY | title=- YouTube | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref>
"This record has only scratched the surface of [that] period of work and the sort of adventures we went on," he said. The unreleased material is "some really out-there stuff, which hopefully will see the light of day at some point". Among these is a song Gorillaz wanted to record with [[Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)|Engelbert Humperdinck]]. "He was supposed to do it, but then he declined, which was a real shame", Albarn explained to ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine. "It's a very dramatic song, very moving. Arabic strings. It's imagining Earth losing its gravitational pull and starting to fall". As it turned out, Humperdinck's manager had listened to the proposed selection and declined the offer for him without his knowing. Humperdinck later stated in an interview that his manager declining the collaboration offer was "the most grievous sin ever committed", and that he would have gladly collaborated with Gorillaz if he had known they asked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.undercover.fm/news/12718-engelbert-humperdinck-sets-gorillaz-story-straight |title=Engelbert Humperdinck Sets Gorillaz Story Straight |website=Undercover.fm |date=12 November 2010 |access-date=29 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305101831/http://www.undercover.fm/news/12718-engelbert-humperdinck-sets-gorillaz-story-straight |archive-date=5 March 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gorillaz-news.livejournal.com/324445.html |title=Interview |author=Adam |website=Gorillaz Unofficial |date=24 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719050638/http://gorillaz-news.livejournal.com/324445.html |archive-date=19 July 2011 }}</ref> With or without Humperdinck, Albarn insists the tune will eventually be released. "I'm going to finish that off", he said. "It just needs the vocal. We've made contact with Indian singer [[Asha Bhosle]] and I think it's definitely going to happen. I'll maybe duet with her; the song has these answering phrases".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/apr/28/gorillaz-plastic-beach-albums | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Sean | last=Michaels | title=Gorillaz planning two more Plastic Beach albums? | date=28 April 2010}}</ref> The band were also rebuffed by former [[Sex Pistols]]' frontman [[John Lydon]] and [[Tom Waits]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6xyPMFggmg | title=- YouTube | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mtv.co.uk/news/miaex3/john-lydon-turned-down-gorillaz|title=John Lydon Turned Down Gorillaz}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHEo5lWV5pY | title=- YouTube | website=[[YouTube]] }}</ref>


Several musicians who collaborated on songs for the album did not end up having all or any of their songs appear on the final album; some guests announced to have collaborated with the band do not feature on the album. British [[garage rock]] band [[The Horrors]] were invited to play on the album after Albarn heard their 2009 album ''[[Primary Colours (The Horrors album)|Primary Colours]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/gorillaz/47069 |title=Damon Albarn enlists The Horrors for new Gorillaz album |date=1 September 2009 |work=NME |location=UK |access-date=17 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904221656/http://www.nme.com/news/gorillaz/47069 |archive-date=4 September 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They recorded a track with Albarn,<ref>{{cite video|people=Mar, Pete (interviewer); Furse, Tomethy (band member); Webb, Spider (band member) |date=14 June 2009 |title=The Horrors Interview with B-Sides |url=http://bsides.myx.tv/artist-spotlight-the-horrors |format=flv |publisher=B-Sides |access-date=14 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812221338/http://bsides.myx.tv/artist-spotlight-the-horrors/ |archive-date=12 August 2011 }}</ref> but no songs with the band appear on the final album. In an interview with ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', [[Kelvin Mercer|Posdnuos]] of [[De La Soul]] said that the group had provided vocals on two songs for the album, "Electric Shock" and "Sloped Tropics".<ref name="Posdnuos">{{cite magazine|url=http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/05/de-la-nike.html |title=De La Soul's Posdnuos on their Nike mix, their next album, and working again with Gorillaz |access-date=29 May 2009 |last=Vozick-Levinson |first=Simon |date=28 May 2009 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815140629/http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/05/28/de-la-nike/ |archive-date=15 August 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> De La Soul only features on one song on the album, titled "[[Superfast Jellyfish]]". [[Gruff Rhys]] recorded two songs&nbsp;– "Superfast Jellyfish" and "Leviathan". The latter, described by Rhys as "more of a night-time song, a three o'clock in the morning, speeding down the [[autobahn]] evading West German police-type track", does not feature on the album.<ref name="q2010" /> [[Mos Def]] said that he collaborated with Albarn on three songs;<ref name="semtex mosdef" /> however, Def only appears on two songs on the album. Albarn had previously announced that musician [[Barry Gibb]] would feature on the album but Gibb did not turn up to any recording sessions.<ref name="guardian 2009" />
Several musicians who collaborated on songs for the album did not end up having all or any of their songs appear on the final album; some guests announced to have collaborated with the band do not feature on the album. British [[garage rock]] band [[The Horrors]] were invited to play on the album after Albarn heard their 2009 album ''[[Primary Colours (The Horrors album)|Primary Colours]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/gorillaz/47069 |title=Damon Albarn enlists The Horrors for new Gorillaz album |date=1 September 2009 |work=NME |location=UK |access-date=17 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090904221656/http://www.nme.com/news/gorillaz/47069 |archive-date=4 September 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They recorded a track with Albarn,<ref>{{cite video|people=Mar, Pete (interviewer); Furse, Tomethy (band member); Webb, Spider (band member) |date=14 June 2009 |title=The Horrors Interview with B-Sides |url=http://bsides.myx.tv/artist-spotlight-the-horrors |format=flv |publisher=B-Sides |access-date=14 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812221338/http://bsides.myx.tv/artist-spotlight-the-horrors/ |archive-date=12 August 2011 }}</ref> but no songs with the band appear on the final album. In an interview with ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'', [[Kelvin Mercer|Posdnuos]] of [[De La Soul]] said that the group had provided vocals on two songs for the album, "Electric Shock" and "Sloped Tropics".<ref name="Posdnuos">{{cite magazine|url=http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/05/de-la-nike.html |title=De La Soul's Posdnuos on their Nike mix, their next album, and working again with Gorillaz |access-date=29 May 2009 |last=Vozick-Levinson |first=Simon |date=28 May 2009 |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815140629/http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/05/28/de-la-nike/ |archive-date=15 August 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> De La Soul only features on one song on the album, titled "[[Superfast Jellyfish]]". [[Gruff Rhys]] recorded two songs&nbsp;– "Superfast Jellyfish" and "Leviathan". The latter, described by Rhys as "more of a night-time song, a three o'clock in the morning, speeding down the [[autobahn]] evading West German police-type track", does not feature on the album.<ref name="q2010" /> [[Mos Def]] said that he collaborated with Albarn on three songs;<ref name="semtex mosdef" /> however, Def only appears on two songs on the album. Albarn had previously announced that musician [[Barry Gibb]] would feature on the album but Gibb did not turn up to any recording sessions.<ref name="guardian 2009" />
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==Music==
==Music==
[[File:Little Dragon Red Wall Snap.jpg|thumbnail|left|200px|[[Yukimi Nagano]] of [[Little Dragon]] features on the track "Empire Ants", with instrumental support from the whole group. Nagano (second from left) also contributes vocals on "To Binge".]]
[[File:Little Dragon Red Wall Snap.jpg|thumbnail|left|200px|[[Yukimi Nagano]] of [[Little Dragon]] features on the track "Empire Ants", with instrumental support from the whole group. Nagano (second from left) also contributes vocals on "To Binge".]]
According to ''[[The Times]]'' journalist [[Peter Paphides]], ''Plastic Beach'' is a [[Pop music|pop]] and [[concept album]],<ref name="Paphides">{{cite web|last=Paphides|first=Pete|author-link=Peter Paphides|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article7050337.ece|title=Gorillaz: Plastic Beach|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=5 March 2010|access-date=27 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615062356/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article7050337.ece|archive-date=15 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> while [[AllMusic]] editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] said that "Damon's painstaking pancultural pop junk-mining" on the album posits [[hip hop music|hip hop]] with [[Britpop]] and "accentuates moody texture over pop [[Hook (music)|hook]]s".<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/plastic-beach-mw0001961566|title=Gorillaz - Plastic Beach Album Reviews, Songs & More|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref> ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'}}s Sean Fennessey wrote that "ornate ''[[Village Green Preservation Society]]''-style pop" is the dominant style on ''Plastic Beach'', but that Albarn also "dips into [[Krautrock]], [[funk]], and [[dubstep]], as well as the weary, more melodic music he's been perfecting for much of last decade" on an album that serves as "sort of an [[Electronic music|electronic]] take on [[baroque pop]]."<ref name="Fennessey">{{cite web|last=Fennessey|first=Sean|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14008-plastic-beach/|title=Gorillaz: Plastic Beach|work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=10 March 2010|access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> According to ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' magazine's Danny Eccleston, the album reprises the "combination of stupid-fresh pop melody, 21st-century hip hop substructure and catholic cast of collaborators" featured on ''Demon Days'',<ref name="Eccleston">{{cite magazine|last=Eccleston|first=Danny|url=http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/754/mojo2.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929145135/http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/754/mojo2.jpg|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 September 2011|title=Gorillaz, Plastic Beach (Parlophone)|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|page=99|date=April 2010|access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> while [[Miles Marshall Lewis]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' observed "funky [[electroclash]]" and hip hop elements in the music.<ref name="Lewis">{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=Miles Marshall|author-link=Miles Marshall Lewis|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-03-09/music/gorillaz-get-serious/|title=Gorillaz Get Serious|work=[[The Village Voice]]|date=9 March 2010|access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> Lawrence Vaughan of [[DIY (magazine)|''DIY'']] saw it as combining "[[world music]] and a more subdued [[lo-fi music|lo-fi]] electronic sound.<ref name="diy">{{cite web|url=https://diymag.com/archive/gorillaz-plastic-beach|title=Gorillaz – Plastic Beach|last=Vaughan|first=Lawrence|website=DIY|date=12 March 2010|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref> [[AbsolutePunk]] called ''Plastic Beach'' as a "full-blown [[trip hop]]/hip hop album",<ref name="absolutepunk">{{cite web|url=http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1613732|title=Plastic Beach|work=AbsolutePunk|access-date=26 November 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141027123236/http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1613732|archive-date=27 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> while [[HipHopDX]] observed elements of [[soft rock]] and [[surf rock]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.1389/title.gorillaz-plastic-beach|title=Plastic Beach|work=HipHopDX|date=9 March 2010 |access-date=30 November 2014}}</ref> [[Kitty Empire]] described it as "rolling from [[space-age pop|space-age]] [[Electro (music)|electro]] to mournful [[soul music|soul]] and back again."<ref name="empire" /> Jessicka Lee Loduca of ''[[Exclaim!]]'' saw it as a demonstration of the band's "picturesque mishmash of rhymes, pop, [[disco]], [[orchestration]], [[blues]] and dark electronic beats.<ref name="exclaim">{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/gorillaz-plastic_beach|title=Gorillaz – Plastic Beach|last=Lee Loduca|first=Jessicka|work=Exclaim!|date=8 March 2010|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref> ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' observed [[classical music|classical]] influences and world music overtones.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2010/04/gorillaz/|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|title=Gorillaz Talk Plastic Beach, Subtle Environmentalism and 'Sunshine in a Bag'|first=Eliot|last= Van Buskirk|date=29 April 2010|access-date=8 August 2019}}</ref> Noel Murray of [[The A.V. Club]] wrote that the record “chops up Bollywood, space-age [[Lounge music|lounge]], stoner funk, and wistful music-hall.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://music.avclub.com/gorillaz-plastic-beach-1798164487|title = Gorillaz Plastic Beach|website =avclub.com|date=9 March 2010}}</ref>
According to ''[[The Times]]'' journalist [[Peter Paphides]], ''Plastic Beach'' is a [[Pop music|pop]] and [[concept album]],<ref name="Paphides">{{cite web|last=Paphides|first=Pete|author-link=Peter Paphides|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article7050337.ece|title=Gorillaz: Plastic Beach|work=[[The Times]]|location=London|date=5 March 2010|access-date=27 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615062356/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/cd_reviews/article7050337.ece|archive-date=15 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> while [[AllMusic]] editor [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] said that "Damon's painstaking pancultural pop junk-mining" on the album posits [[hip hop music|hip hop]] with [[Britpop]] and "accentuates moody texture over pop [[Hook (music)|hook]]s".<ref name="Erlewine">{{cite web|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/plastic-beach-mw0001961566|title=Gorillaz - Plastic Beach Album Reviews, Songs & More|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=9 September 2022}}</ref> ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''{{'}}s Sean Fennessey wrote that "ornate ''[[Village Green Preservation Society]]''-style pop" is the dominant style on ''Plastic Beach'', but that Albarn also "dips into [[Krautrock]], [[funk]], and [[dubstep]], as well as the weary, more melodic music he's been perfecting for much of last decade" on an album that serves as "sort of an [[Electronic music|electronic]] take on [[baroque pop]]."<ref name="Fennessey">{{cite web|last=Fennessey|first=Sean|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14008-plastic-beach/|title=Gorillaz: Plastic Beach|work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=10 March 2010|access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> According to ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' magazine's Danny Eccleston, the album reprises the "combination of stupid-fresh pop melody, 21st-century hip hop substructure and catholic cast of collaborators" featured on ''Demon Days'',<ref name="Eccleston">{{cite magazine|last=Eccleston|first=Danny|url=http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/754/mojo2.jpg|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929145135/http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/754/mojo2.jpg|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 September 2011|title=Gorillaz, Plastic Beach (Parlophone)|magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|page=99|date=April 2010|access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> while [[Miles Marshall Lewis]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' observed "funky [[electroclash]]" and hip hop elements in the music.<ref name="Lewis">{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=Miles Marshall|author-link=Miles Marshall Lewis|url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-03-09/music/gorillaz-get-serious/|title=Gorillaz Get Serious|work=[[The Village Voice]]|date=9 March 2010|access-date=18 September 2011}}</ref> Lawrence Vaughan of [[DIY (magazine)|''DIY'']] saw it as combining "[[world music]] and a more subdued [[lo-fi music|lo-fi]] electronic sound.<ref name="diy">{{cite web|url=https://diymag.com/archive/gorillaz-plastic-beach|title=Gorillaz – Plastic Beach|last=Vaughan|first=Lawrence|website=DIY|date=12 March 2010|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref> [[AbsolutePunk]] called ''Plastic Beach'' as a "full-blown [[trip hop]]/hip hop album",<ref name="absolutepunk">{{cite web|url=http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1613732|title=Plastic Beach|work=AbsolutePunk|access-date=26 November 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20141027123236/http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=1613732|archive-date=27 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> while [[HipHopDX]] observed elements of [[soft rock]] and [[surf rock]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.1389/title.gorillaz-plastic-beach|title=Plastic Beach|work=HipHopDX|date=9 March 2010 |access-date=30 November 2014}}</ref> [[Kitty Empire]] described it as "rolling from [[space-age pop|space-age]] [[Electro (music)|electro]] to mournful [[soul music|soul]] and back again."<ref name="empire" /> Jessicka Lee Loduca of ''[[Exclaim!]]'' saw it as a demonstration of the band's "picturesque mishmash of rhymes, pop, [[disco]], [[orchestration]], [[blues]] and dark electronic beats.<ref name="exclaim">{{cite web|url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/gorillaz-plastic_beach|title=Gorillaz – Plastic Beach|last=Lee Loduca|first=Jessicka|work=Exclaim!|date=8 March 2010|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref> ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' observed [[classical music|classical]] influences and world music overtones.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2010/04/gorillaz/|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|title=Gorillaz Talk Plastic Beach, Subtle Environmentalism and 'Sunshine in a Bag'|first=Eliot|last= Van Buskirk|date=29 April 2010|access-date=8 August 2019}}</ref> Noel Murray of [[The A.V. Club]] wrote that the record “chops up Bollywood, space-age [[Lounge music|lounge]], stoner funk, and wistful music-hall.”<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/gorillaz-plastic-beach-1798164487|title = Gorillaz Plastic Beach|website =[[The A.V. Club]]|date=9 March 2010}}</ref>


Albarn said in an interview, "I'm making this one the most pop record I've ever made in many ways, but with all my experience to try and at least present something that has got depth."<ref name="guardian 2009" /> He added, "I suppose what I've done with this Gorillaz record is I've tried to connect pop sensibility with ... trying to make people understand the essential melancholy of buying a ready made meal in loads of plastic packaging. People who watch ''[[The X Factor (UK)|X Factor]]'' might have some emotional connection to these things, this detritus that accompanies what seems to be the most important thing in people's eyes, the celebrity [[voyeurism]]."<ref name="guardian 2009" />
Albarn said in an interview, "I'm making this one the most pop record I've ever made in many ways, but with all my experience to try and at least present something that has got depth."<ref name="guardian 2009" /> He added, "I suppose what I've done with this Gorillaz record is I've tried to connect pop sensibility with ... trying to make people understand the essential melancholy of buying a ready made meal in loads of plastic packaging. People who watch ''[[The X Factor (UK)|X Factor]]'' might have some emotional connection to these things, this detritus that accompanies what seems to be the most important thing in people's eyes, the celebrity [[voyeurism]]."<ref name="guardian 2009" />
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==Reception==
==Reception==
{{Album ratings
{{Music ratings
| ADM = 8.0/10<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/1581/Gorillaz-Plastic-Beach.aspx|title=Plastic Beach by Gorillaz reviews|website=[[AnyDecentMusic?]]|access-date=29 November 2017}}</ref>
| ADM = 8.0/10<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anydecentmusic.com/review/1581/Gorillaz-Plastic-Beach.aspx|title=Plastic Beach by Gorillaz reviews|website=AnyDecentMusic?|access-date=29 November 2017}}</ref>
| MC = 77/100<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/plastic-beach/gorillaz|title=Reviews for Plastic Beach by Gorillaz|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=26 April 2010}}</ref>
| MC = 77/100<ref name="metacritic">{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/plastic-beach/gorillaz|title=Reviews for Plastic Beach by Gorillaz|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=26 April 2010}}</ref>
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Erlewine"/>
| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Erlewine"/>
| rev2 = ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
| rev2 = ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
| rev2score = B+<ref name="Murray">{{cite web|last=Murray|first=Noel|url=https://www.avclub.com/articles/gorillaz-plastic-beach,38985/|title=Gorillaz: Plastic Beach|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=9 March 2010|access-date=10 March 2010}}</ref>
| rev2score = B+<ref name="Murray">{{cite web|last=Murray|first=Noel|url=https://www.avclub.com/gorillaz-plastic-beach-1798164487|title=Gorillaz: Plastic Beach|work=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=9 March 2010|access-date=10 March 2010}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev3 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev3score = B<ref name="Greenblatt">{{cite magazine|last=Greenblatt|first=Leah|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20348249,00.html?xid=rss-music-Plastic+Beach|title=Plastic Beach|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=3 March 2010|access-date=10 March 2010}}</ref>
| rev3score = B<ref name="Greenblatt">{{cite magazine|last=Greenblatt|first=Leah|url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20348249,00.html?xid=rss-music-Plastic+Beach|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606180352/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20348249,00.html?xid=rss-music-Plastic+Beach|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 June 2011|title=Plastic Beach|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=3 March 2010|access-date=10 March 2010}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev4 = ''[[The Guardian]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Petridis">{{cite news|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|author-link=Alexis Petridis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/04/gorillaz-plastic-beach-cd-review|title=Gorillaz: Plastic Beach|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|date=4 March 2010|access-date=10 March 2010}}</ref>
| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Petridis">{{cite news|last=Petridis|first=Alexis|author-link=Alexis Petridis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/04/gorillaz-plastic-beach-cd-review|title=Gorillaz: Plastic Beach|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|date=4 March 2010|access-date=10 March 2010}}</ref>
Line 141: Line 167:
In a negative review, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' writer Mikael Wood said that "too many of these 16 hazy, half-crazy tracks sound like undercooked studio goofs", panning its second half as "one long, jammy drone, with none of Albarn's melodic or lyrical gifts on display".<ref name="Wood">{{cite news|last=Wood|first=Mikael|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/03/album-review-plastic-beach-from-the-gorillaz.html|title=Album review: 'Plastic Beach' from the Gorillaz|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=8 March 2010|access-date=10 March 2010}}</ref> Danny Eccleston from ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' commented that "Albarn and co's eco-parable is loud but not clear."<ref name="Eccleston"/> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'}}s Leah Greenblatt viewed its "sonic drift" as "dull, and even dispiriting" in the album's second half, stating "In the end, ''Beach'' offers a vision of the future as digitised kitsch: groovy, yes, but lonely too".<ref name="Greenblatt"/> Jon Caramanica of ''[[The New York Times]]'' viewed its music as "thin and inconsequential, car-commercial electronic funk and tension-free hip-hop", while writing "It's an appealing mess, moving at a fever pitch until swelling to something like an enthused climax. But still, a mess".<ref name="Caramanica">{{cite news|last=Caramanica|first=Jon|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/arts/music/15choi.html|title=New CDs|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=14 March 2010|access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref> Writing for [[MSN Music]], [[Robert Christgau]] singled out "Some Kind of Nature" and "Superfast Jellyfish" as "choice cuts",<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg2010-05.php|title=Consumer Guide|publisher=[[MSN Music]]|date=May 2010|access-date=6 June 2014}}</ref> indicating good songs on an album that he felt was otherwise unworthy of listeners' money or time.<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg90/grades-90s.php|title=Key to Icons|website=RobertChristgau.com|year=2000|access-date=6 June 2014}}</ref>
In a negative review, ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' writer Mikael Wood said that "too many of these 16 hazy, half-crazy tracks sound like undercooked studio goofs", panning its second half as "one long, jammy drone, with none of Albarn's melodic or lyrical gifts on display".<ref name="Wood">{{cite news|last=Wood|first=Mikael|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/03/album-review-plastic-beach-from-the-gorillaz.html|title=Album review: 'Plastic Beach' from the Gorillaz|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=8 March 2010|access-date=10 March 2010}}</ref> Danny Eccleston from ''[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]'' commented that "Albarn and co's eco-parable is loud but not clear."<ref name="Eccleston"/> ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''{{'}}s Leah Greenblatt viewed its "sonic drift" as "dull, and even dispiriting" in the album's second half, stating "In the end, ''Beach'' offers a vision of the future as digitised kitsch: groovy, yes, but lonely too".<ref name="Greenblatt"/> Jon Caramanica of ''[[The New York Times]]'' viewed its music as "thin and inconsequential, car-commercial electronic funk and tension-free hip-hop", while writing "It's an appealing mess, moving at a fever pitch until swelling to something like an enthused climax. But still, a mess".<ref name="Caramanica">{{cite news|last=Caramanica|first=Jon|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/15/arts/music/15choi.html|title=New CDs|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=14 March 2010|access-date=18 March 2010}}</ref> Writing for [[MSN Music]], [[Robert Christgau]] singled out "Some Kind of Nature" and "Superfast Jellyfish" as "choice cuts",<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg2010-05.php|title=Consumer Guide|publisher=[[MSN Music]]|date=May 2010|access-date=6 June 2014}}</ref> indicating good songs on an album that he felt was otherwise unworthy of listeners' money or time.<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg90/grades-90s.php|title=Key to Icons|website=RobertChristgau.com|year=2000|access-date=6 June 2014}}</ref>


At the end of 2010, ''Plastic Beach'' appeared on several critics' top-ten lists of the year's best albums.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/feature/music-critic-top-ten-lists-best-of-2010|title=2010 Music Critic Top Ten Lists|last=Dietz|first=Jason|date=6 December 2010|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=9 August 2015}}</ref> According to [[Acclaimed Music]], it was the 16th most ranked record on critics' year-end lists.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gorillaz|website=[[Acclaimed Music]]|date=14 September 2015|url=http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/Gorillaz.htm|access-date=14 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150922062614/http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/Gorillaz.htm|archive-date=22 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> The album was ranked tenth best by both ''[[Hot Press]]'' and ''[[Slant Magazine]]'', ninth by ''[[Rockdelux]]'', seventh by ''Q'', sixth by ''[[Filter (magazine)|Filter]]'', fifth by ''[[State (magazine)|State]]'', fourth by [[Consequence of Sound]], and third by both [[Beats per Minute (website)|Beats Per Minute]] and ''[[The Age]]''. It was also voted the 30th best record of 2010 in the [[Pazz & Jop]], an annual poll of American critics published by ''[[The Village Voice]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A5071.htm|title=Plastic Beach|website=Acclaimed Music|access-date=9 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416224636/http://www.acclaimedmusic.net/Current/A5071.htm|archive-date=16 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2020, the album was ranked at 66 on the 100 Best Albums of the Century list by ''Stacker''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stacker.com/stories/4750/100-best-albums-21st-century|last=Berkman|first=Seth|title=100 best albums of the 21st century|website=Stacker|date=23 October 2020|access-date=21 June 2021}}</ref>
At the end of 2010, ''Plastic Beach'' appeared on several critics' top-ten lists of the year's best albums.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/feature/music-critic-top-ten-lists-best-of-2010|title=2010 Music Critic Top Ten Lists|last=Dietz|first=Jason|date=6 December 2010|website=[[Metacritic]]|access-date=9 August 2015}}</ref> The album was ranked tenth best by both ''[[Hot Press]]''{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} and ''[[Slant Magazine]]'',{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} ninth by ''[[Rockdelux]]'',{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} seventh by ''Q'',{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} sixth by ''[[Filter (magazine)|Filter]]'',{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} fifth by ''[[State (magazine)|State]]'',{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} fourth by [[Consequence of Sound]],{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} and third by both [[Beats per Minute (website)|Beats Per Minute]]{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} and ''[[The Age]]''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} It was also voted the 30th best record of 2010 in the [[Pazz & Jop]], an annual poll of American critics published by ''[[The Village Voice]]''.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}} In 2020, the album was ranked at 66 on the 100 Best Albums of the Century list by ''Stacker''.<ref name="Berkman"/>


==Track listing==
==Track listing==
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{{Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = ''Plastic Beach'' {{nobold|– [[iTunes Store]] bonus tracks}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/plastic-beach/id358108041 |title=Plastic Beach by Gorillaz |website=[[iTunes Store]] |date=3 March 2010 |location=United Kingdom |access-date=16 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123204340/http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/plastic-beach/id358108041 |archive-date=23 November 2010}}</ref>
| headline = ''Plastic Beach'' {{nobold|– [[iTunes Store]] bonus tracks}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/plastic-beach/id358108041 |title=Plastic Beach by Gorillaz |website=[[iTunes Store]] |date=3 March 2010 |location=United Kingdom |access-date=16 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123204340/http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/plastic-beach/id358108041 |archive-date=23 November 2010}}</ref>
| title17 = Pirate's Progress
| title17 = Pirate's Progress
| note17 = also on the Japanese edition<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/16775025-Gorillaz-Plastic-Beach|title = Gorillaz – Plastic Beach|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
| length17 = 4:01
| length17 = 4:01
| title18 = Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons
| title18 = Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons
Line 282: Line 309:
{{album chart|Australia|1|artist=Gorillaz|album=Plastic Beach|rowheader=true|access-date=29 May 2015}}
{{album chart|Australia|1|artist=Gorillaz|album=Plastic Beach|rowheader=true|access-date=29 May 2015}}
|-
|-
!scope="row"| Australian Urban Albums ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.aria.com.au/Issue1046.pdf |title=ARIA Urban Album Chart – Week Commencing 15th March 2010 |magazine=[[The ARIA Report]] |issue=1046 |page=19 |date=15 March 2010 |access-date=4 July 2021 |via=[[National Library of Australia]] |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20100322222642/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20100305-0000/Issue1046.pdf |archive-date=23 March 2010 |url-status=dead}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
!scope="row"| Australian Urban Albums ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.aria.com.au/Issue1046.pdf |title=ARIA Urban Album Chart – Week Commencing 15th March 2010 |magazine=[[The ARIA Report]] |issue=1046 |page=19 |date=15 March 2010 |access-date=4 July 2021 |via=[[National Library of Australia]] |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20100322222642/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20100305-0000/Issue1046.pdf |archive-date=22 March 2010 |url-status=dead}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
| 1
| 1
|-
|-
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{{album chart|Scotland|4|date=20100314|rowheader=true|access-date=29 May 2015}}
{{album chart|Scotland|4|date=20100314|rowheader=true|access-date=29 May 2015}}
|-
|-
{{album chart|Korea|94|date=2010.03.21|rowheader=true|access-date=29 May 2015}}
{{album chart|Korea|94|date=2010.03.28-2010.04.03|rowheader=true|access-date=29 May 2015}}
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{{album chart|Spain|24|artist=Gorillaz|album=Plastic Beach|rowheader=true|access-date=29 May 2015}}
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{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|artist=Gorillaz|title=Plastic Beach|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=2010|certyear=2011|source=archive|access-date=29 May 2015}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Gorillaz|title=Plastic Beach|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=2010|certyear=2024|access-date=7 December 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Ireland|artist=Gorillaz|title=Plastic Beach|award=Gold|type=album|certyear=2010}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Ireland|artist=Gorillaz|title=Plastic Beach|award=Gold|type=album|certyear=2010}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Gorillaz|title=Plastic Beach|award=Platinum|type=album|id=8601-1720-2|date=4 February 2011|salesamount=345,223|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sutherland|first=Mark|date=3 May 2017|title=Return to the Planet of the Apes: Gorillaz return|magazine=[[Music Week]]|url=https://www.musicweek.com/interviews/read/return-to-the-planet-of-the-apes-gorillaz-come-back-with-humanz/068354|url-access=subscription|access-date=14 August 2021}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Gorillaz|title=Plastic Beach|award=Platinum|type=album|id=8601-1720-2|date=4 February 2011|salesamount=345,223|salesref=<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sutherland|first=Mark|date=3 May 2017|title=Return to the Planet of the Apes: Gorillaz return|magazine=[[Music Week]]|url=https://www.musicweek.com/interviews/read/return-to-the-planet-of-the-apes-gorillaz-come-back-with-humanz/068354|url-access=subscription|access-date=14 August 2021}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Gorillaz|title=Plastic Beach|nocert=true|type=album|relyear=2010|salesamount=112,000|salesref=<ref name="billboardsales"/>}}
{{Certification Table Summary}}
{{Certification Table Summary}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|artist=Gorillaz|title=Plastic Beach|nocert=true|type=album|relyear=2010|salesamount=1,000,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/new-gorillaz-ipad-album-streams-online-2170930.html|work=[[The Independent]]|title=New Gorillaz iPad album streams online|date=28 December 2010|access-date=11 April 2023}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Worldwide|artist=Gorillaz|title=Plastic Beach|nocert=true|type=album|relyear=2010|salesamount=1,200,000|salesref=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediatraffic.de/albums-2010.htm|work=[[MediaTraffic]]|title=Albums Countdown 2010|date=2010|access-date=5 August 2024}}</ref>}}
{{Certification Table Bottom}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true}}


==Release history==
==Release history==
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[[Category:Albums recorded at Chung King Studios]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Chung King Studios]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Studio 13]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at Studio 13]]
[[Category:Concept albums]]
[[Category:2010s concept albums]]
[[Category:Environmental mass media]]
[[Category:Environmental mass media]]
[[Category:Gorillaz albums]]
[[Category:Gorillaz albums]]

Latest revision as of 16:45, 7 December 2024

Plastic Beach
An artificial island rests on the ocean during a sunset. Apart from the base, it is mostly mushroom-shaped. It contains a few palm trees and small buildings. At the very top is a large white building with many windows. Other objects in and around the island include a ship, a buoy, a lighthouse and a crate. The artist name and album title both appear in the lower left corner of the picture.
Afternoon version of cover
Studio album by
Released3 March 2010 (2010-03-03)
RecordedJune 2008 – November 2009
Studio
Genre
Length56:46
LabelParlophone
ProducerGorillaz
Gorillaz chronology
D-Sides
(2007)
Plastic Beach
(2010)
The Fall
(2010)
Damon Albarn chronology
All the People: Blur Live at Hyde Park
(2009)
Plastic Beach
(2010)
The Fall
(2010)
Alternate cover
Alternate cover
Alternate cover
Singles from Plastic Beach
  1. "Stylo"
    Released: 26 January 2010
  2. "Superfast Jellyfish"
    Released: 9 May 2010
  3. "On Melancholy Hill"
    Released: 12 June 2010

Plastic Beach is the third studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was released on 3 March 2010 by Parlophone internationally and by Virgin Records in the United States. Conceived from an unfinished project called Carousel, the album was recorded from June 2008 to November 2009, and was produced primarily by group co-creator Damon Albarn. It features guest appearances by such artists as Snoop Dogg, Gruff Rhys, De La Soul, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Lou Reed, Mark E. Smith, Bashy, Kano, and Little Dragon.

Plastic Beach received mostly positive reviews on release and was later named by several critics as one of the decade's best albums. In 2020, the album was ranked at 66 on the 100 Best Albums of the Century list by Stacker.[1] The album debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, selling approximately 74,432 copies in its first week. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 112,000 copies sold in its first week; overall it reached the top 10 in 22 countries in total.

Background

[edit]
[edit]

The creators of Gorillaz, musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, began working on a new Gorillaz project in November 2007 called Carousel,[2] which evolved into Plastic Beach, the group's third studio album.[3] In the November 2007 issue of Q, when asked what his top priority for 2008 was, Damon Albarn replied "Well, I'm doing the next Gorillaz thing, but it won't be called Gorillaz."[2] In the February 2008 Gorillaz-Unofficial interview, Hewlett elaborated on this, saying "I think the idea behind it is that it's like how the Who presented their movies – Tommy and Quadrophenia and so on. Those were presented as by 'the Who' even though none of the members of the band were in the movies. ... But it's the same people working on it, that's the principle."[4] In a July 2008 interview with The Observer he also said, "Gorillaz now to us is not like four animated characters any more – it's more like an organisation of people doing new projects ... That's my ideal model – Gorillaz is a group of people who gave you this, and now want to give you new stuff."[5]

In the Observer interview, Hewlett said that there is "a new project which Damon and I are working on now, called Carousel, which is even bigger and more difficult than Monkey, and it isn't going to fit anywhere and no one's going to like it, ha ha ha! We've started work – I've done a lot of visuals and Damon's done a lot of music but we haven't figured out how they're going to fit together. I can't say much about it yet but it's sort of like a film, but not with one narrative story. There's many stories, told around a bigger story, set to music, and done in live action, animation, all different styles, well... originally it was a film but now we think it's a film and it's a stage thing as well and... look, it's basically us doing what the fuck we want without worrying about whether it's for a record company or a film company or whatever. So I'm not sure how it'll pan out, or even if it will happen. But Damon's written around 70 songs for it, and I've got great plans for the visuals, but right now, at this moment, it's still just a really good idea."[5] Carousel was to be about the mystical aspects of Britain.[3]

Concept

[edit]

Damon Albarn got the idea for Plastic Beach while on a beach next to his house: "I was just looking for all the plastic within the sand", he said.[3] On 17 September 2008, Albarn and Jamie Hewlett announced that they would be doing another Gorillaz album in an interview with CBC News.[6] Hewlett said that from their work on Monkey, "we just learned more about what we do, musically and artistically. That's a great place to come at when we come to another Gorillaz album. It doesn't have to be animation and music".[7] Hewlett also expressed annoyance at having to draw the band members again: "I'm so f---ing [sic] bored of drawing those characters. But then we had a moment where we had a new angle on it... I'm gonna adapt them".[6] In a later interview Hewlett said: "they'll be the same characters, but a little bit older and told in a different way".[8]

The first time Albarn went to Mali, he was taken to a landfill where he observed how differently rubbish was dealt with compared to England; he had previously visited a landfill outside London to record the sound of seagulls for the album.[3] In Mali, the landfill had "more snakes... like adders, grass snakes, slow worms, toads, frogs, newts, all kinds of rodents, all kinds of squirrels, a massive number of squirrels, foxes, and obviously, seagulls. [...] This is part of the new ecology. And for the first time I saw the world in a new way. I've always felt, I'm trying to get across on this new record, the idea that plastic, we see it as being against nature but it's come out of nature. We didn't create plastic, nature created plastic. And just seeing the snakes like living in the warmth of decomposing plastic bags. They like it. It was a strange kind of optimism that I felt... but trying to get that into pop music is a challenge, anyway. But important."[3]

Albarn said in September 2008 that he wanted "to work with an incredibly eclectic, surprising cast of people".[9] As with previous Gorillaz albums, Plastic Beach features collaborations with several artists; it features Snoop Dogg, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Kano, Bashy, Bobby Womack, Mos Def, Gruff Rhys, De La Soul, Little Dragon, Mark E. Smith, Lou Reed, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, sinfonia Viva and the Syrian National Orchestra for Arabic Music.[10][11]

Possible sequel

[edit]

In October 2020, Albarn stated that he had "loads and loads of songs" for a direct sequel to Plastic Beach, citing "the need to keep reminding people that we need to change our habits" as his main reason for revisiting the album's themes. He added, "I'd like to just have an album called Clean Beach, but at the moment it's still Plastic Beach."[12]

Recording

[edit]

Albarn began recording material for a new Gorillaz album around June 2008.[13] He travelled to Beirut in March 2009 to record with the National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music.[14] The following month, he recorded with Derby-based orchestra sinfonia Viva.[14] Grime MCs Kano and Bashy, who feature on "White Flag", both had the flu during recording. Kano said, "We weren't feeling great, the music was out of our comfort zone, it could have been a complete disaster".[14] Bobby Womack knew nothing about Gorillaz and was initially unsure about the collaboration, however, his daughter liked Gorillaz and convinced him to do it.[15] Womack was told to sing whatever was on his mind during the recording of "Stylo". "I was in there for an hour going crazy about love and politics, getting it off my chest", said Womack.[14] After an hour of recording, Womack, a diabetic, started to pass out. He was sat down and given a banana, before waking up minutes later.[14] "Sweepstakes", the first song Mos Def recorded with Gorillaz,[16] was done in one take.[14] Mos Def described the song as "one of the greatest things as an MC that I've ever done".[16] Mick Jones and Paul Simonon completed their portion of the title track "Plastic Beach" in a day.[14]

"This record has only scratched the surface of [that] period of work and the sort of adventures we went on," he said. The unreleased material is "some really out-there stuff, which hopefully will see the light of day at some point". Among these is a song Gorillaz wanted to record with Engelbert Humperdinck. "He was supposed to do it, but then he declined, which was a real shame", Albarn explained to New York magazine. "It's a very dramatic song, very moving. Arabic strings. It's imagining Earth losing its gravitational pull and starting to fall". As it turned out, Humperdinck's manager had listened to the proposed selection and declined the offer for him without his knowing. Humperdinck later stated in an interview that his manager declining the collaboration offer was "the most grievous sin ever committed", and that he would have gladly collaborated with Gorillaz if he had known they asked.[17][18] With or without Humperdinck, Albarn insists the tune will eventually be released. "I'm going to finish that off", he said. "It just needs the vocal. We've made contact with Indian singer Asha Bhosle and I think it's definitely going to happen. I'll maybe duet with her; the song has these answering phrases".[19] The band were also rebuffed by former Sex Pistols' frontman John Lydon and Tom Waits.[20][21][22]

Several musicians who collaborated on songs for the album did not end up having all or any of their songs appear on the final album; some guests announced to have collaborated with the band do not feature on the album. British garage rock band The Horrors were invited to play on the album after Albarn heard their 2009 album Primary Colours.[23] They recorded a track with Albarn,[24] but no songs with the band appear on the final album. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Posdnuos of De La Soul said that the group had provided vocals on two songs for the album, "Electric Shock" and "Sloped Tropics".[25] De La Soul only features on one song on the album, titled "Superfast Jellyfish". Gruff Rhys recorded two songs – "Superfast Jellyfish" and "Leviathan". The latter, described by Rhys as "more of a night-time song, a three o'clock in the morning, speeding down the autobahn evading West German police-type track", does not feature on the album.[14] Mos Def said that he collaborated with Albarn on three songs;[16] however, Def only appears on two songs on the album. Albarn had previously announced that musician Barry Gibb would feature on the album but Gibb did not turn up to any recording sessions.[3]

Music

[edit]
Yukimi Nagano of Little Dragon features on the track "Empire Ants", with instrumental support from the whole group. Nagano (second from left) also contributes vocals on "To Binge".

According to The Times journalist Peter Paphides, Plastic Beach is a pop and concept album,[26] while AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine said that "Damon's painstaking pancultural pop junk-mining" on the album posits hip hop with Britpop and "accentuates moody texture over pop hooks".[27] Pitchfork's Sean Fennessey wrote that "ornate Village Green Preservation Society-style pop" is the dominant style on Plastic Beach, but that Albarn also "dips into Krautrock, funk, and dubstep, as well as the weary, more melodic music he's been perfecting for much of last decade" on an album that serves as "sort of an electronic take on baroque pop."[28] According to Mojo magazine's Danny Eccleston, the album reprises the "combination of stupid-fresh pop melody, 21st-century hip hop substructure and catholic cast of collaborators" featured on Demon Days,[29] while Miles Marshall Lewis of The Village Voice observed "funky electroclash" and hip hop elements in the music.[30] Lawrence Vaughan of DIY saw it as combining "world music and a more subdued lo-fi electronic sound.[31] AbsolutePunk called Plastic Beach as a "full-blown trip hop/hip hop album",[32] while HipHopDX observed elements of soft rock and surf rock.[33] Kitty Empire described it as "rolling from space-age electro to mournful soul and back again."[34] Jessicka Lee Loduca of Exclaim! saw it as a demonstration of the band's "picturesque mishmash of rhymes, pop, disco, orchestration, blues and dark electronic beats.[35] Wired observed classical influences and world music overtones.[36] Noel Murray of The A.V. Club wrote that the record “chops up Bollywood, space-age lounge, stoner funk, and wistful music-hall.”[37]

Albarn said in an interview, "I'm making this one the most pop record I've ever made in many ways, but with all my experience to try and at least present something that has got depth."[3] He added, "I suppose what I've done with this Gorillaz record is I've tried to connect pop sensibility with ... trying to make people understand the essential melancholy of buying a ready made meal in loads of plastic packaging. People who watch X Factor might have some emotional connection to these things, this detritus that accompanies what seems to be the most important thing in people's eyes, the celebrity voyeurism."[3]

Albarn says the album maintains a lot of the melancholy from Carousel.[3] He worked hard on making his lyrics and melodies clear on the album.[3] "Loads of orchestral stuff" was recorded but only a fraction made it onto the final album.[3] On 14 January 2009, Damon Albarn appeared on BBC Radio 1 with animated bass player Murdoc Niccals, and played a selection of songs including four demos for Plastic Beach: "Electric Shock", which features Derby-based Orchestra sinfonia ViVA (a song which does not appear on the album, although certain elements of it were used in "Rhinestone Eyes"), the demo for "Stylo" (which was named "Binge" at that point) and the demo for "Broken".

Release and promotion

[edit]
On a black background is red uppercase text in a thick wavy font. The top line says "Gorillaz", the second line says "Plastic" and the third line says "Beach".
The Plastic Beach logo used in promotional videos

A new picture of the band was published on 9 December 2009 on the cover of the UK edition of Wired magazine. On 14 January 2010, Albarn made an appearance as a guest DJ on BBC Radio 1, premiering demos of three new Gorillaz songs – "Electric Shock", "Broken" and "Stylo".[38] "Stylo" was heavily edited for its final version, while "Broken" remained mostly unchanged. "Electric Shock" did not make the album, though samples of the song were used in "Rhinestone Eyes", as well as the intro orchestral separated into bonus track "Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons".

On 20 January 2010, the official Gorillaz website was heavily revamped to fit the Plastic Beach theme. Over a period of time, numerous short clips were posted on the site, mainly showing various shots of a large Plastic Beach model backed by segments of new Gorillaz music. Out of the 13 short clips, only two of the clips had audio that would eventually end up on the album. The tracks were "White Flag" and "Pirate's Progress" (an extended version of the Orchestral Intro found on the album). Also on the website was a countdown timer, which on 23 February 2010 counted down to zero. After a significant delay, a new full Kong studios-esque interactive Plastic Beach "Beachsite" was uploaded onto the website, opening certain sections of Plastic Beach to be visited by guests.

On 21 January 2010, Gorillaz member Murdoc "took over" NME Radio and Yahoo! Radio. He played a 45-minute set of songs while providing exposition on the story of Gorillaz. A total of four broadcasts were uploaded online, leading to the release of the album. All four were available on the official Gorillaz website.

Similar to the previous album, short animated "idents" have been released for fictional band members Murdoc, 2-D, Russel, and the Noodle cyborg. The first depicts Murdoc fleeing from an unknown, rifle-wielding assailant (featuring a clip of "Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons" in the background), and the second depicts 2-D's abduction and transportation to Plastic Beach by a masked figure, who according to the Boogeyman (with a snippet of the instrumental version of "Rhinestone Eyes"). The track can be found as a bonus track along with "Pirate's Progress" on the iTunes Deluxe edition. Russel's ident has him stomping off of the edge of a pier and diving into the ocean, presumably headed to Plastic Beach for reasons unknown. The fourth features a zoom in on Cyborg Noodle with its face plate open. A fifth ident was also released, showing a luxury cruise sail being bombarded by torpedoes coming from planes flying above it. A crew member rushes over to cabin 13 to warn a passenger, who is revealed to be Noodle (wearing the oni mask), that the cruise is under attack by pirates and he was told to escort her to the lifeboats. Noodle then grabs her briefcase and opens it, revealing a gun, and passes the crew member while heading out, presumably to face the pirates. Noodle's ident acts as a trailer to the "On Melancholy Hill" music video, which was released on 15 June.

On 26 February 2010, a "minimix" of the album was made available on the official website to download for free.[39] The minimix is an eight-minute composition of songs from the album, a number of which had not been previously released.

"Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach", "Rhinestone Eyes" and "White Flag" were premiered on the Australian radio station Triple J on 28 February 2010, in respective order, at one-hour intervals. On 1 March 2010, NPR debuted the entire album via streaming.[40] Later that same day, the album also became available for streaming at Guardian.co.uk.[41]

Singles

[edit]

The album spawned three singles.

Originally, "Rhinestone Eyes" and "To Binge" were both slated to release as the 4th and 5th singles respectively.[45][46] However, both releases were cancelled in favor of the non-album single "Doncamatic". A storyboard version of a possible music video for "Rhinestone Eyes" was released on 4 October 2010 to the band's official YouTube channel.[47] Although it wasn't released as a single, the song peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.[42]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?8.0/10[48]
Metacritic77/100[49]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[27]
The A.V. ClubB+[50]
Entertainment WeeklyB[51]
The Guardian[52]
The Independent[53]
NME7/10[54]
Pitchfork8.5/10[28]
Q[55]
Rolling Stone[56]
Spin7/10[57]

Plastic Beach debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart, selling 74,432 copies in its first week.[58] The album also debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 112,000 copies, of which 62,000 were digital copies.[59][60] As of 25 March 2010, Plastic Beach sold 8,136 copies in Japan and debuted at number 17 on the Oricon Albums Chart. Selling 13,822 copies in France, Plastic Beach debuted at number two on the SNEP albums chart.[61]

Plastic Beach received generally positive reviews from critics; it holds an aggregate score of 77 out of 100 at Metacritic.[49] In Rolling Stone, Rob Sheffield called it "Gorillaz's third excellent album in a row".[56] while Q magazine's David Everley described it as "some of the most forward-thinking pop you'll hear this or any year",[55] and Uncut's John Lewis said it was "a brilliant concept album, full of perfect pop singles."[62] Michael Kabran of PopMatters wrote that "the band's trademark brand of electro-funk-hip-pop is more focused, with tighter production and more sure-fire hooks."[63] Kitty Empire wrote for The Guardian that though the album's "electronic pop songs are more sneaky than sure-fire ... it is probably Gorillaz's most engrossing project so far."[34] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the album's success depends on Albarn's growth as a composer: "he's a master of subtly shifting moods and intricately threaded allusions, often creating richly detailed collages that are miniature marvels."[27] Pete Paphides wrote in The Times, "this concept group has delivered its most fully realised concept album".[26] In the Chicago Tribune, Greg Kot was impressed by Albarn's ability to produce exceptional music using "seemingly mismatched elements from different cultures, genres and generations".[64] Alexis Petridis also of The Guardian commended Albarn for his "kaleidoscopic musical ambition" and said despite some failed experiments, "there's something hugely impressive about Albarn's ability to coax artists out of their comfort zone."[52]

In a negative review, Los Angeles Times writer Mikael Wood said that "too many of these 16 hazy, half-crazy tracks sound like undercooked studio goofs", panning its second half as "one long, jammy drone, with none of Albarn's melodic or lyrical gifts on display".[65] Danny Eccleston from Mojo commented that "Albarn and co's eco-parable is loud but not clear."[29] Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt viewed its "sonic drift" as "dull, and even dispiriting" in the album's second half, stating "In the end, Beach offers a vision of the future as digitised kitsch: groovy, yes, but lonely too".[51] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times viewed its music as "thin and inconsequential, car-commercial electronic funk and tension-free hip-hop", while writing "It's an appealing mess, moving at a fever pitch until swelling to something like an enthused climax. But still, a mess".[66] Writing for MSN Music, Robert Christgau singled out "Some Kind of Nature" and "Superfast Jellyfish" as "choice cuts",[67] indicating good songs on an album that he felt was otherwise unworthy of listeners' money or time.[68]

At the end of 2010, Plastic Beach appeared on several critics' top-ten lists of the year's best albums.[69] The album was ranked tenth best by both Hot Press[citation needed] and Slant Magazine,[citation needed] ninth by Rockdelux,[citation needed] seventh by Q,[citation needed] sixth by Filter,[citation needed] fifth by State,[citation needed] fourth by Consequence of Sound,[citation needed] and third by both Beats Per Minute[citation needed] and The Age.[citation needed] It was also voted the 30th best record of 2010 in the Pazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published by The Village Voice.[citation needed] In 2020, the album was ranked at 66 on the 100 Best Albums of the Century list by Stacker.[1]

Track listing

[edit]
Plastic Beach – Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Orchestral Intro"Gorillaz1:09
2."Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach" (with Snoop Dogg)
  • Gorillaz
  • Snoop Dogg
3:35
3."White Flag" (with Bashy and Kano)
  • Gorillaz
  • Bashy
  • Kano
3:43
4."Rhinestone Eyes"Gorillaz3:20
5."Stylo" (with Mos Def featuring Bobby Womack)
  • Gorillaz
  • Mos Def
4:30
6."Superfast Jellyfish" (with Gruff Rhys featuring De La Soul)
  • Gorillaz
  • De La Soul
  • Gruff Rhys
2:54
7."Empire Ants" (with Yukimi Nagano)
  • Gorillaz
  • Nagano
4:43
8."Glitter Freeze" (with Mark E. Smith)
  • Gorillaz
  • Smith
4:03
9."Some Kind of Nature" (with Lou Reed)
  • Gorillaz
  • Reed
2:59
10."On Melancholy Hill"Gorillaz3:53
11."Broken"Gorillaz3:17
12."Sweepstakes" (with Mos Def)
  • Gorillaz
  • Mos Def
5:20
13."Plastic Beach"Gorillaz3:47
14."To Binge" (with Yukimi Nagano)
  • Gorillaz
  • Nagano
3:55
15."Cloud of Unknowing" (featuring Bobby Womack)Gorillaz3:06
16."Pirate Jet"Gorillaz2:32
Total length:56:46
Plastic Beach iTunes Store bonus tracks[70]
No.TitleLength
17."Pirate's Progress" (also on the Japanese edition[71])4:01
18."Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons"2:14
19."Stylo" (music video)5:02
Total length:68:03

Sample credits

[edit]
  • "Superfast Jellyfish" contains samples from the Swanson advertisement for frozen breakfast sandwiches and an episode of Natural World, "Sperm Whales: Back from the Abyss", narrated by David Attenborough.

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the Experience Edition of Plastic Beach.[72]

Musicians

[edit]

Technical

[edit]
  • Gorillaz – production
  • Jason Cox – recording, mixing
  • Stephen Sedgwick – recording
  • Josh Shultz – recording (track 2)
  • Chris Jackson – recording (track 2)
  • Ted Chung – recording (track 2)
  • Michael Makowski – recording assistance (tracks 5, 9, 12)
  • Howie Weinberg – mastering

Artwork

[edit]
  • J.C. Hewlett – artwork, design
  • Zombie Flesh Eaters – artwork, design

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications for Plastic Beach
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[129] Gold 35,000^
Belgium (BEA)[130] Gold 15,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[131] Gold 40,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[119] Gold 15,000^
France (SNEP)[132] Platinum 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[133] Gold 100,000
Ireland (IRMA)[134] Gold 7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[136] Platinum 345,223[135]
Summaries
Worldwide 1,200,000[137]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]

Plastic Beach was released in a total of six editions, many of which contain a multitude of exclusive features. These are shown below:

Standard edition Experience edition Japanese standard edition Japanese experience edition iTunes standard edition iTunes deluxe edition Vinyl edition
Standard 16 tracks Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Bonus track: "Pirate's Progress" No No Yes Yes No Yes No
Bonus track: "Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons" No No No No No Yes No
Stickers and poster No No Yes Yes No No No
Making of Plastic Beach DVD No Yes No Yes No No No
Access to exclusive online content[note 1] No Yes No Yes No Yes No
Lyrics No No Yes
(physical booklet)
Yes
(physical booklet)
Yes
(digital)
Yes
(digital)
No
Notebook Partial Yes Partial Yes Partial Yes No
"Stylo" music video No No No Yes Yes
Access to iTunes LP features No No No No No Yes No
T-shirt[note 2] Depends Depends No No No No No
  1. ^ Content such as wallpapers and screensaver(s) offered may vary depending on the edition.
  2. ^ The T-shirt offered varies depending on the edition.

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ All tracks
  2. ^ Tracks 1, 13 and 15
  3. ^ Track 2
  4. ^ Tracks 2, 5, 9, 12 and 15
  5. ^ Track 3
  6. ^ Track 4
  7. ^ The Purple, the People, the Plastic Eating People consist of Wayne Hernedez, Janet Ramus, Wendi Rose, John Gibbons, Ladonna Harley-Peters, Sharlene Hector, Lucy Randell, Marion Powell, The Bullitts, Yvonne Stevens and Gruff Rhys.

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