Not too long ago, I found myself on the closing end of St. Elsewhere, debut album conjured up by musical geniuses Cee-lo Green and Brian Joseph Burton, otherwise known as Gnarls Barkley. From closing to end, this album transforms musical landscapes, whether it’s the fact that each and every track is more incomparable than the prior or succeeding, or that it’s nearly impossible to place a label on this album. Some can argue the duo created its own genre, really.

However, as incomparable the tracks may perceive themselves to be, each listener can listen to one of the singles (“Crazy”, “Gone Daddy Gone”, and “Smiley Faces”) and call it their own. Some may take ownership in the Chinese resonance of “Feng Shui”, with its lounge-y, atmospheric tone and floating rhymes (“Tailored and tapered couture to to the curb/Demanding the attention that it does deserve/Fabrics for the forecast of the day/I admit it, everything is fitted to fall in Feng Shui”), while others may fall victim to the story of sexual gratification in cold vulnerability, that being Necrophilia– oh wait, I mean “Necromancing”.

As for me, I’m one for old school thunder bass, the type that makes your rear-view mirror shake and your ears bleed, all equipped with fast, plastic beats — only on cocaine. Gnarls Barkley gave me such a song with “Transformer”. This is a track you attempt to recite but meet with disaster when you realize you cannot breathe a quarter of the way through. This is also that song where you focus so much on the dimension of the material within that you get into your first car accident (again, something I connect with). Finally, this is the song that sums up the album in full: It’s pure, unadulterated fun.

So, when I found out that Gnarls Barkley performs with kick ass costumes (i.e. The Big Lebowski, Donnie Darko, Back to the Future, and Star Wars), I had to see what was in store for “Transformer”. Was Cee-Loo going to be Optimus Prime while Danger Mouse played the role of Bumble Bee? So many possibilities! With that curiosity, I took a stroll through YouTube, figuring that  “I had to find something.”

To my amazement, I found nothing. Well, not exactly. I found this extremely slow version of the song which I chose to listen to for maybe less than 10 seconds before continuing on with my search for “thunder bass and plastic beats on cocaine” as mentioned before.

A five-year-old temper tantrum later, I gave up. This was a song truly for the record that simply could not be put in the forefront of a live performance. With this, I withdrew from my tragedy and succumbed to the slow version.

As oblivious as I was, I didn’t even come to realize that the video itself was recorded in Abbey Road. This turned me on to say the least and it honestly should to most individuals due to the fact that this was where all the greatest songs in music history were recorded and played, some even for the first time (e.g. Abbey Road by The Beatles). Although I wanted to see Cee-lo as Optimus Prime and Danger Mouse as Bumble Bee, there’s so much more here.

Don’t get me wrong, the fast pace “Transformer” holds on record is fantastic, but this version simply holds more emotion and compassion, making the song feel real and almost tangible. What’s more, all of the genius is still in the song, that being Cee-lo’s drop dead gorgeous voice and Danger Mouse’s fine tuning. It’s hard to come by live performances and find yourself enjoying it over the studio version (unless you’re listening to The Allman Brothers or The White Stripes), especially when the performance is a complete makeover, and that’s why you just have to sit back and marvel.

So, what are you waiting for?