After four Grammy award-winning, multi-platinum albums, singer Gwen Stefani’s recent efforts to break away from No Doubt and become solo have resulted in her album, “Love.Angel.Music.Baby,” which was released Nov. 23. Its energetic, sexy, emotional vibe gives the listener a good feeling. Each track is different, portraying personal and playful emotions.
In the first track, “What You Waiting For,” Gwen introduces the attitude that the whole album offers. This track was inspired by her uncertainty to begin recording again after she got married to Gavin Rossdale, lead singer of Bush.
Eve, whom Gwen had worked with before in “Let Me Blow Ya Mind,” is featured in “Rich Girl.” This dance-like cover of the 1971 musical “Fiddler on the Roof” allows Gwen to perform in a different way than she has in the past.
The songwriter usually writes from scratch about personal experiences, but on this track she takes the song “If I Were A Rich Man” from the musical and modifies the lyrics to justify her own thoughts.
“Hollaback Girl” can pass as a cheer with the sounds of stopping and clapping throughout the entire track. It portrays high school drama with an upbeat rhythm and catchy lyrics.
Gwen writes about her ex-boyfriend and No Doubt bandmate Tony Canal in “Cool.”
The lyrics, “And after all the obstacles/It’s good to see you now with someone else/And it’s such a miracle that you and me are still good friends,” reflects her past and talks about how even though they are broken up, Gwen and Tony are “cool” with each other.
The track “Bubble Pop Electric” features Johnny Vulture. It’s a more girlie pop song, offering a 50s drive-in movie feel.
“Luxurious” changes the mood of the album to R&B. Set to a slow beat, the song explains Gwen’s wealthy relationship with her husband – “Working so hard, every night and day/And now we get the pay back/Cha-ching, cha-ching, we’re loaded and we’re not gonna blow it.”
“Harajuka Girls” is also a different song for Gwen. Japanese words like, “Bishoujo,” which means “you’re so vogue,” are sung throughout this catwalk track.
The car-driving tune “Crash” gives off a funky and playful vibe, imploring “Drive back baby to me, fast in your car.”
Both “The Real Thing” and “Serious” also explain Gwen’s love for her husband. “The Real Thing” is slow with a soft beat in the background, and “Serious” is more like an upbeat Madonna track.
In “Danger Zone,” Gwen explains a zone in which she does not know what will happen next in her life.
Lyrics such as “What will happen next/we’ll never know” reflect her uncertain future.
The album’s last song, “Long Way To Go,” features Andre 3000. The theme of this track is Gwen’s hope for the world’s future, taken from the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. – “that all men are created equal/children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged/by the color of their skin/but by the content of their character.”
Liana Boghosian can be reached at [email protected].
