It certainly was crazy. The way Gnarls Barkley, a whimsical collab (the band name alone is a hoot that may or may not have instigated a lawsuit from Sir Charles) between Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo stormed up the charts in the summer of 2006 with its ubiquitous hit tune "Crazy," a song that married Seal-like vocals with a hip-hop beat that just didn't quit.

That track, in turn, launched the duo's debut, St. Elsewhere, into top-selling territory, and Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo were suddenly faced with having to deliver a live show. The guys didn't flinch. They recruited a band of sorts, put on space suits (the better to hide their ugly mugs) and had a blast.

Well, that's all in the past, and it's time to see if Gnarls is more than a flash in the proverbial pan. The sophomore effort opens with the rather predictable "Charity Case." Cee-Lo sings through a vocoder while cooing singers hum seductively in the background. It's not a bad tune, but it certainly comes across as a second-rate version of just about anything on St. Elsewhere. Good thing the guys don't settle for the same old thing on the rest of The Odd Couple.

The following track, the eerie "Save My Soul," is better. It sounds as if they're doing a gender-bending version of a Portishead tune, complete with soulful vocals and understated percussion. The same goes for the queasy "No Time Soon." That said, "Would Be Killer" comes off as a haphazard nod to the trip-hop of Portishead as Cee-Lo simply tries too hard to sound sinister and the orgasmic backing moans take things one step too far.

While not quite as instantly addictive as "Crazy," "Going On" is a terrific vehicle for Cee-Lo's powerhouse vocals. He channels a sweet soul sister as he belts out notes such as "I'm prepared to go it alone/and I'm going on." Though it stumbles through an awkward bridge, the song's an Odd Couple highlight.

The retro production on the first single, "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)," works perfectly, turning the track into a modern-day blaxploitation shuffle. The same goes for the skittish "Open Book," a nice mix of drum 'n' bass beats and pulsating synths. "Whatever" successfully carries over the snotty energy of Gnarls' cover of the Violent Femmes' "Gone Daddy Gone" and shows yet another dimension to Cee-Lo's vocal abilities.

Festive numbers such as "Surprise," "She Knows" and "Blind Mary" aren't as catchy as "Crazy" (though "Blind Mary" comes damn close and would have made a better single than "Run") but they're plenty of fun and should be good additions to the Gnarls' repertoire. Getting a good single to translate into a good album is tricky business in these disposable days. Having a second hit album is even trickier territory, something Gnarls negotiates quite skillfully on this solid showing that finds the band getting as "odd" as it wants to be.

music@freetimes.com

Gnarls Barkley

The Odd Couple

(Downtown/Atlantic)

HHH

Gnarls Barkley Still "crazy" after all these years.