Posted on Wednesday, January 26, 2005 1:50 PM
General Description
Artist/Band: Gwen Stefani
Album Title: Love, Angel, Music, Baby
Year: 2004
Platinum RaggaPunkSkaOldSchool Chick.
How I Got Into This Music
Well.. Not really.. Just selected this one from the new releases. Her video for her first single “What You Waiting For“ didn't leave a real impression other than the great looking dames she had as supporting cast.
Tracks that got my attention:
What You Waiting For
For the wrong reason, coz this track is really, really annoying. The producer deity Nellee Hooper can't get it right all the time. Just a demi-god, I guess ;o)
Hollandback Girl
I really dig the old school, double-dutch feeling of this track
Cool
Hmm, interesting eighties sound, that almost gets catchy, produced by Dallas Austin
Bubble Pop Electric
High energy, high vibe served by Andre 3000, the title says it all! Fun track.
Luxurious
A track you can't ignore, just because of the great sample of the Isleys Brothers' classic "Between the Sheets”! Her voice gets a bit too Mickey Mouse for me. “I love it when you call me Big Poppa..“
Harajuku Girls
I think this track really represents the tone or feeling of the album. You can't avoid tapping your feet and smile. Jam & Lewis showed what they're worth on this track
Crash
Notable because of its old school, Bambaata groove and keyboards, produced by Tony Kanal
Real Thing
Notable because when I first heard it, I couldn't put my finger on what the trick was: it so sounds like a specific eighties track! And then I found the anwer: New Order band members performed on the track.
Danger Zone
A typical No Doubt track..
Conclusion
Okay, this lady's album has a great number of great producers working on her tracks, it's like a who's who of producerdom. Does it work? Not sure, I don't think I'll be playing this album a lot. You can give credits for the producer value, but the artist just doesn't work for me. The often annoying bubblegum vocals only work great on “Hollandback Girl” and “Harajuku Girls“ but that's about it. I think she's a talented performer, wouldn't mind to see No Doubt live, but this album? Nope.
2(and quite a bit)/5