Product Description

No Doubt's members cite a strange variety of musical influences: Kiss, Prince and Madness, to name a few. And it's easyto imagine that their hometown itself, Anaheim, California (home to Disneyland), may have played a part in forming the band's schizophrenic, high-energy sound, which took TRAGIC KINGDOM, the band's second album, on a slow, steady ride up the pop charts. It finally hit No. 1 in December 1996, 14 months after it was released.
This is ska-punk-new wave-dance music, with instrumentation ranging from hardcore guitar to mellow, reggae-style horns. Singer Gwen Stefani's voice isby turns peppy, almost adolescent ("Spiderwebs") and emotionally wailing; she can sound a lot like Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano ("Just A Girl"). When Stefani sings, "I'm just a girl, little ol' me/Don't let me out of your sight", she does so without a hint of girlishness; her voice is all attitude, with a warbling edge of melodrama. For the most part, these are happy songs, though No Doubt do get philosophical on "Different People": "Once in a while I sit back/And think about the planet/Most of the time I trip on it/To kick back and think of how massive it all is/And how many others are on it".

Track Listing

1. Spiderwebs
2. Excuse Me Mr.
3. Just A Girl
4. Happy Now?
5. Different People
6. Hey You
7. The Climb
8. Sixteen
9. Sunday Morning
10. Don't Speak
11. You Can Do It
12. World Go 'Round
13. End It On This
14. Tragic Kingdom

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20025 in Music
• Released on: 2001-03-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
There have been more baffling occurrences than the late-1990s ska revivial in the US--but not many. Yet somehow, this distinctly British movement--arising specifically out of the country's polarised racial dynamic--managed to cross over, finding an eager audience among suburban American teens, most of whom viewed it less as a social determinant, than as a stylistic outcrop of skate-punk and hardcore. Fronted by platinum-blonde Gwen Stefani, No Doubt defied the genre's traditionally masculine archetype, just as their sound--part Two-Tone, part Blondie--hinted at broader commercial ambitions. The supremely annoying "Just A Girl" might have bought them to mainstream attention, showcasing Stefani's little-girl delivery, but it was their subsequent singles--"Don't Speak", a melodramatic power-ballad, and the bouncy, irrepressible "Sunday Morning"--which really proved their mettle, even as their new-found success alienated many long-time fans. --Andrew McGuire

Customer Reviews

Reggae reggae sauce
Man, this is a bad album. Unless you like reggae or ska of course, in which case it's fine. But if you're looking to buy this as a back catalogue of Gwen Stefani, then please don't, it really isn't very listenable.

Just amazing!
There is not a single song on this album that I don't like, sure, I like some more than others, but they're all great!
Of course the singles - Just a Girl, Don't Speak, Spiderwebs, Sunday Morning and Excuse Me Mr are brilliant, my personal favourite of these being Spiderwebs, but the others are just as good.
Happy Now is my absolute favourite song ever, Different people is really fun, happy and singable, Hey You is great, Sixteen is slightly more 'rock-ish', but really good, You can Do it, World Go Roubd, End it on this and Tragic Kingdom are also great...All I can say is buy it - now!

head-bangily, toe-tappingly, hand-clappingly good!
well what can I say, this album is certainly catchy. At first when I got the album I never listened to it properly and just skipped from one track to the next, as you usually do when you get a new album... eager to hear a bit of each tracks, or to get to the most popular, as with this album it was "Don't Speak" ... which I don't think is the best, but its certainly fantastic! Gwen's voice is just splendid, she can really sing! She really shows this in songs such as "Don't Speak", "Different People", "Just a Girl" and "Tragic Kingdom"... My favourite being "Different People"... mainly because it has such a fabulous rhythem, as do all the songs on this album. The instrumental work in this album is certainly all talent, because they use the instruments so beautifully, the wide variety of instruments used just give the music a totally different, refreshing, catchy sound, which I think makes the band what they are.
Other songs to take note of are "Just a girl", which was another popular song of this album, I would call it exceptional. They have managed to use alernative rock in a way that doesn't sound annoying or irratating. The Chorus is very catchy and the use of electronic keyboard in this album is very smart!
"Sunday Morning" is also a very catchy song, isn't it ironic how the catchy songs are always the most popular? hehe, well this has a very smooth rhythem, the chorus is very catchy with Gwen certainly expelling and expressing her voice in a fantastic way!
"Don't speak" seems like it shouldn't be on this album, because its quite different from the rest of the songs on this album... its got a slower beat, but the lyrics are beautiful and Gwens voice is just gorgious in this song, so silky and soft.
"Tragic Kingdom" is an unusual song; starts off like the voice which comes through the speakers on fair ground rides "Please don't stand up, the ride is about to begin"... and the song starts... a very wonky song, with a dramatic, suprised beat.
To sum up the whole album, its absolutely fantastic, some songs are far better than others, but what else can I say, not many bands can achieve every song to be absolutely perfect... A definate for any No Doubt fans, this album is a sign post of this bands uprisal into fame, some great classics!