Laika Come Home

Laika Come Home
Remix album by Spacemonkeyz vs Gorillaz
Released	26 June 2002
Recorded	2000–2002
Genre	Dub
Length	66:33
Label	Parlophone/EMI (UK) Astralwerks/Caroline/Virgin/EMI Records (US)
Producer	Space Monkeyz
Gorillaz chronology
G Sides (2002) Laika Come Home (2002) Demon Days (2005)
Damon Albarn chronology
Mali Music (2002) Laika Come Home by Spacemonkeyz vs Gorillaz (2002) Think Tank by Blur (2003)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
NME	7/10

Laika Come Home is a Gorillaz remix album released in July 2002 (see 2002 in music). Unlike a typical remix album, it is done by just one group, Spacemonkeyz. It contains most of the songs from the Gorillaz' first album, Gorillaz, but remixed in dub and reggae style. The album features Terry Hall, U Brown, Earl 16 and 2D. One single, "Lil' Dub Chefin'", was released from the album on 22 July 2002, with moderate success. In 2004, the album was packaged with 2001's Gorillaz in a limited edition box set as part of EMI's "2CD Originals" collection. The album's title is a reference to Laika, the Soviet space dog, and the film Lassie Come Home. The album contains mixes of every song on the original album except "Double Bass", "Latin Simone (¿Que Pasa Contigo?)" , and "Rock the House".

Track listing

1. "19-2000" ("Jungle Fresh") – 5:27
2. "Slow Country" ("Strictly Rubbadub") – 3:40
3. "Tomorrow Comes Today" ("Bañana Baby") – 5:28
4. "Man Research (Clapper)" ("Monkey Racket") – 5:56
5. "Punk" ("De-Punked") – 5:19
6. "5/4" ("P.45") – 4:25
7. "Starshine" ("Dub Ø9") – 5:16
8. "Sound Check (Gravity)" ("Crooked Dub") – 5:31
9. "New Genious (Brother)" ("Mutant Genius") – 5:01
10. "Re-Hash" ("Come Again") – 6:03
11. "Clint Eastwood" ("A Fistful of Peanuts") – 5:52
12. "M1 A1" ("Lil' Dub Chefin'") – 11:20
13. "Spacemonkeyz Theme" (Hidden Track) - 5:19

Limited Edition Digipak Bonus Tracks

14. "Slow Country (More Rubba Dub)" – 5:14

15. "Clint Eastwood (More Peanuts)" – 6:39

Backgrounds

The Spacemonkeyz appear to be first referenced before the album in the "Tomorrow Comes Today" video. During the video, in the background, a poster can be seen with three pictures of monkeys with spacesuits and the caption "Laugh now but someday we'll be in charge". The artwork is a famous piece of artwork by Banksy, the visual artist who worked with Damon Albarn for Think Tank's artwork and Demon Days producer Dangermouse in an attack against Paris Hilton. While the band were on hiatus in Beverly Hills, after touring for their debut album, they took a break from writing a script for their unfinished movie to appear at the Isle of MTV concert off the coast. After the show, Murdoc was asked to sign a record he didn't recognize, which turned out to be the Spacemonkeyz album. It appears that 2D never locked Kong Studios up properly before leaving on tour, and the three chimps entered and hijacked the master tapes in an attempt to contact Laika herself, who is supposedly their leader. After discovering the record, Gorillaz shot one or two photos with the monkeys and then they disappeared. Murdoc is still angry at them for doing the album, despite the extra income he gets from it. He maintains that Dr. Wurzel, his archenemy, is behind the incident and complains about getting monkey feces out of the carpets at Kong.

Chart positions

Chart (2002)	Peak position
US Billboard 200	156
US Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums	6
UK Albums Chart	108

Release details

The album was released in various countries in July 2002.

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
United Kingdom	1 July 2002	Parlophone	CD	540 3622
			2×LP	539 9821
Japan	3 July 2002	Toshiba-EMI	CD	TOCP-66045
United States	16 July 2002	Astralwerks	CD	ASW 40362
			CD digipak	ASW 40522

References