Being one of the fusing forces of Goodie Mob and then going solo, Cee-Lo's been blazing some trails here and there. Admittedly the trail being blazed for the debut release didn't leave much of a mark. Between releases, he managed to make himself known, most recently in Speakerboxxx in the very short, eloquent rap in Reset. With Cee-Lo Green Is The Soul Machine he's managed to make himself a formidable force. Considering the last couple of months with mediocre releases from others (witness Janet), this album is a nice surprise.

As productions and artists go, he's got some high powers in his camp. He's got Timbaland in the mix for the first release, Call Me, Ludacris in Childz Play, Pharrell in The Art Of Noise and Let's Stay Together, and Scrap Metal with Organized Noize. They're all great, and easily accessible by the masses.

It's all about adding his own nuances that makes this one shine.

He spreads love across multiple places. In My Kinda People, complete with Jazze Pha and Menta Malone in the background, he sings about Southern simplcity:

I can smell it, somebody put wood grain in the air
And there's a lot of fine ass women everywhere
Ain't nothin' wrong with passin' and drinkin and havin' fun
Why don't you take your dead ass home if you ain't havin' none?

From the spoken words in I Am Selling Soul and Sometimes, he gives more than just lyricism -- he also slams spoken word, in surround sound even.

Sometimes good just ain't good enough
And othertimes evil will get you even
Sometimes faith is not knowing any better
Sometimes nothing is what you believe in...sometimes I don't even have a hook.

He also uses the N-word in Southern style that's love instead of hatred in the lively When We Were Friends. He uses romance and love, complete with watching Blockbuster movies, in All Day Love Affair.

As it he put it himself, he's "the obviously odd, five foot, six inch god" proclaimed in Evening News. I believe that's the best assessment that can be made.

8/10. The best release this year so far. Your take?

To remain plain and simplistic, realistic, accurate, articulate, and absolutely artistic
Uninhibited, unadulterated, unstoppable, unfuckwithable and unforgettable
But since I've been granted the power of choice to make God be the voice he is so all the credibility is his
So let these be words of wisdom and in the same breath warning...
Son, I shine like Sunday morning
- Sometimes