Laika Come Home

Laika Come Home is a reworkings album of the Gorillaz's debut album, Gorillaz released in July 2002. Unlike a typical remix album, it is done by just one group, Spacemonkeyz. It contains most of the songs from Gorillaz' debut album, but remixed in dub and reggae style. The album features Terry Hall , U Brown, Earl 16 and 2-D.

Background
The Spacemonkeyz originally remixed just one track ("Tomorrow Dub", which later suffered minor changes and was renamed into 'Bañana Baby') which appeared on the "Tomorrow Comes Today" single release, but Damon Albarn liked the result so much he gave the go-ahead for a whole album of dub reworkings. In real life, the remix was made by DJ Darren Galea, but the same story applies.

The Spacemonkeyz certainly know their dub; even seasoned reggae fanatics have been known to admit that 'Laika Come Home' 's sound is truly authentic, and the Gorillaz songs for the most part lend themselves excellently to this treatment. The fan reaction was mixed; for many young fans this departure from the Gorillaz usual sound was too much, and the soundscape was too sparse. And of course not everyone likes dub reggae in any case. In spite of this many fans did rate the album, at least as a soundtrack to a chillout session. Damon, renowned lover of World Music must surely have taken pleasure at the thought of so many Gorillaz fans being introduced to the world of Dub in this way. The standout track 'Lil' Dub Chefin' ' (originally M1 A1) was lifted from the album for a single release in the UK. This release has always been referred to as officially by 'Gorillaz Versus Spacemonkeyz'.

Track Listing

 * 1) "Jungle Fresh" - [5:28]
 * 2) "Strictly Rubbadub" - [3:41]
 * 3) "Bañana Baby" - [5:29]
 * 4) "Monkey Racket" - [5:57]
 * 5) "De-Punked" - [5:20] [4:57 track itself]
 * 6) "P.45" - [4:26]
 * 7) "Dub Ø9" - [5:17]
 * 8) "Crooked Dub" - [5:31]
 * 9) "Mutant Genius" - [5:02]
 * 10) "Come Again" - [6:04] [5:15 track itself]
 * 11) "A Fistful Of Peanuts" - [5:53]
 * 12) "Lil' Dub Chefin'" - [5:42] [4:23 track itself]

Hidden Tracks


 * 1) "More Rubbadub" - ("Strictly Rubbadub" Extended Version) - [5:15] [5:06 track itself]
 * 2) "More Peanuts" - ("A Fistful Of Peanuts" Extended Version) (Limited Edition only) - [6:39] [5:31 track itself]

Release dates and chart positions

 * UK: 01/07/02 (highest chart position: did not chart)
 * US: 01/07/02 (highest chart position: did not chart)
 * JAPAN: 16/07/02 (highest chart position: did not chart)
 * FRANCE: 16/07/02 (highest chart position: did not chart)

Trivia

 * According to the fictional Gorillaz biography Rise of the Ogre, the Spacemonkeyz were actually three escaped lab monkeys used in space tests. 2-D had accidentally left Kong Studios unlocked while the band were touring America in 2002. This allows the trio to break into the studio, steal the master tapes and create a remix album in to contact their god, Laika. Impressed by the monkey's recordings, he decided to release the compilation as an album under the Gorillaz name.
 * The album's title is both references to Laika, the Soviet space dog, and the 1943 film, Lassie Come Home.
 * The album contains mixes of almost every song on the original debut album except for Double Bass, Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo), and Rock the House.
 * The album also features singer Tina Weymouth, who provided additional vocals for the song "19-2000", and consequently the Spacemonkeyz remix and the album's first track, "Jungle Fresh", however she was not credited on the cover of it such as how the other featured artists were.
 * Noodle, who provides backing vocals for some of the tracks, is also not featured on the cover, unlike 2-D.