“Hongkongnation” really did not do anything for me, so I skipped through the track midway to check out “We Are A Happy Landfill.”  This track proved to keep my attention in line.  The track was a little louder with interesting experimental feel to it.

I decided my new favorite Gorillaz track once I heard “Hong Kong.”  The oriental feel to this track (thanks to the amazing string section) makes it really enjoyable to listen to.  This song was actually played live during the Demon Days tour, but never made its way to CD until now.  Again, this really was a surprise to hear on a B-sides CD as it could easily be a single for the band.

“Rockit” may have had some “blah blah blah” lyrics that did not make sense, but I liked it for some strange reason.  The song was a little dark and demented with a touch of 80’s synthesizers.  The vocals were interesting as well, when 2D sang with the electronic backups. A video exists for this song too, even though the track was not released as a single.  The video pays tribute to the classic horror movie The Exorcist and reminds me a lot of Monty Python with the animation. 

As much as I like the actor, I could do without the track “Bill Murray.”  It was almost like I was listening to a jam band of some sort when the singing started.  The music was fine at times, but I just could not get into the song as a whole.   “The Swagga” to me did not fit the rest of the songs here.  Seems like Damon Albarn could have put this on another one of his collections

“Mudoc Is God” pretty much sums up how the virtual bass player perceives himself.  Repeating “Murdoc Is God” throughout the ode to a cartoon bad ass was interesting to say the least.  Towards the end of the song there is a nice distorted guitar solo.

“Stop The Dams” ends the first CD. In the middle of the song there is a spoken word part, which speaks of the Icelandic highlands being in danger thanks to industrialization. 

Disc two is full of remixes by other artists. Some are attention-grabbing and some just not captivating at all.  There are three remixes of “DARE.”  The DFA remix is OK, but I prefer the Junior Sanchez remix, as it follows the original version more so than the others.  There are also three remixes of “Kids With Guns” with the Hot Chips remixes being my favorite.  Another remix that stood out to me was the Schtung Chinese New Year remix of “Dirty Harry.”  This remix includes what sounds like a Chinese rap towards the end.

Overall I prefer the B-sides and rarities over the remixes.  I have never really been a remix person though.  Disc one is just full of material that most all Gorillaz fans will appreciate.  I am really glad that this virtual band decided to release more material, and I hope that Damon Albarn and his incredible imagination continue to do so.