Gorillaz – Humanz

This box set is, for sure, only for those VERY into collecting Gorillaz releases. It doesn't need to be said that this is the most impractical way to ever listen to an album, with each track on a separate record. The enjoyment of this release comes from the novelty of each record being a fun color as well as having exclusive tracks not available on streaming services. So, with that in mind, this release will likely only be enjoyed by those willing to spend a hefty sum to add this release to their collection as a grail piece. As for the quality, the box is built wonderfully and the records sound great, though the material that holds the latch of the box has started to fall apart since I bought this box around its release, even though I don't open it often. The art book is wonderful, but I've had to use extreme caution to not rip the paper cover. Overall, I don't recommend this box if you're looking to actually LISTEN to the records, as silly as that sounds, unless you want to hear the rare B-sides once or twice. Definitely a release you'll likely only buy and enjoy if you're a major Gorillaz fan and want to add "that expensive Humanz box" to your collection.

Okay this boxset is often trashed for the price of it and I will join in saying if you pay full freight for this box set you are an idiot. However, Amazon often heavily discounts this boxset and if you can get it for less than 200 AUD it is worth the pick up then. I have a standard copy of Humanz on Vinyl, the deluxe album CD and this box set. Am I happy with this boxset? For the price I paid yes very happy but had i paid the more than double price commanded for RRP no I would have been absolutely livid. This boxset should have been made available for no more than 200 AUD from the get go.

On to the music, I was and still am a big fan of this album it is by no means the best work of the gorillaz but i still love the music and the story behind. The artwork included with this boxset is something else and I thank this boxset for introducing me to little simz who i absolutely adore now and was lucky enough to get to see her live before covid in Australia. I quite like a lot of the bonus tracks to be honest and feel that add to the atmosphere that Gorillaz were going for in this record in terms of its concept. Remember as well these tracks are not available anywhere else bar here so if you are perfectionist or want the full set this is the only way to get these extra tacks. I am disappointed though that they didnt include the bonus tracks found on the deluxe CD version especially the apprentice as I love that song so much. So push comes to shove yes it is a little tedious to get up for every song but it forces you to listen to each song on its own which is something you dont really do otherwise and can lead to songs just becoming background noise. This boxset as well i believe is a critique of how ridiculous it is for people to be so absorbed within consumerism that they will buy something even if it is inherently inconvenient. For a comeback album after their hiatus, this setup Gorillaz for the Now Now and Song Machine series which I am glad happened.

TL:DR if you can get it for a good price (Sub 150 USD) pull the trigger just dont pay full price it isnt worth that. The additional songs are no where near as bad as people make them out to be and I quite enjoy them

By far the most dissapointing and overpriced box set I ever bought. The only Bonus track I knew before I bought this was Garage Palace. So I was really hyped and also expected songs of similar quality, especially because the price of this box is quite high and every record has a bonus track. But most of the songs are lost demos that just aren't enjoyable enough. The only tracks I actually liked were Midnite float and Duetz. All the other tracks sound like an unfinished mess which Damon did not want to develop further. Some songs start of really promising but wont fulfill that expectation as the songs progress, to many instrumental songs that just don't cut it. Waste of Vinyl, waste of time and above all; a waste of money.

This is a gorgeous release... and that's all the praise I can give. I payed the retail price and I am sorely disappointed. I am a huge gorillaz fan, I have listened to every song released by them including live recordings, demos, b-sides, (you name it) and felt obligated to buy this release.The presentation is a 5/5 and that's really all your paying for... a nice display piece. Almost all of the songs on this release are forgettable and sound like royalty free trip hop youtube songs. Andromeda Dram Special, Garage Palace, Duetz, and the spanish version of She's my collar are great, every other song is either generic or feels like throwaway demos Damon had no use for. I have alot of rare gorillaz memorabilia, and this release made me doubt my love for gorillaz. It made me realize how pointless it is to collect every gorillaz song ever released, it made me reflect on all the records I had turned down in favor of an obscure gorillaz b-side record. I'm currently selling off my Gorillaz collection, all because this release made me realize how much money I was wasting on crappy b-side tracks. So, coming from a die hard gorillaz fan and collector, DONT BUY THIS RELEASE YOU WILL BE SEVERELY DISAPPOINTED.

I don't own this, but I just wanted to get a little something out there.

Splitting Humanz onto a shitload of 12" 45 rpm singles is a great idea, but isn't it such an enormous waste of vinyl AND an added inconvenience to have only one real song (plus an interlude where applicable) per side when every song is only like 2 to 4 minutes long? Yeah, I get it, if the runouts are large enough then the only thing that could possibly justify it is the complete elimination of inner groove mistracking (oh, and the variety of colours included), but imagine having to get up, flip over and swap the records after EVERY song.... EVERY LESS THAN FIVE FREAKING MINUTES.

I mean, we're talking 12" records here, NOT 7" records.

At least they weren't foolish enough to dedicate a side solely to the likes of "Elevator Going Up", but for the love of God, they should've made it at least 2 real songs per side - no sacrifice in sound quality there especially when it's cut at 45 rpm - and maybe then this premium item would've been released closer to schedule.

Beautiful release. I freakin’ love the music, colored vinyl, the incredible art book, and all the love that went into this.