Media

Cee-Lo Green: "Please" f. Selah Sue

1:29 p.m. · November 4, 2010 · by Kali Holloway

“Please” has more in common with “Old Fashioned” than “Fuck You”: Like its immediate predecessor, it’s built on a foundation of ‘60s sonic romanticism and washes of organs, but there’s far less retro-gazing and a lot more retro-futurism to be heard on Cee-Lo Green’s latest single. What initially sounds like the soundtrack to a dance held fifty years ago – with Cee-Lo crooning like a velour fog and Belgian singer Selah Sue with Tammi Terrell on the brain – grows into an expansive track that touches heavily on ‘70s soul and gospel. Amidst all the retro fixtures are modern flourishes – an almost inaudible electrostatic hiss, otherworldly noises and just-beneath-the-surface rumblings – that keep the sound firmly rooted in the present, instead of attempting to faithfully replicate the past. Basically? This is just a really pretty song. To download “Please,” which will be featured on the European version of The Lady Killer, visit On Smash here. You can also stream the album in its entirety from NPR.