Admit it. The first time you heard No Doubt's new single, "Hey Baby," you knew you hated it. That contagious chorus, that rapper. That line about chamomile. Your favorite Southern California ska band had morphed into some horrible genre-mangling monster in a vain attempt at widespread appeal.
Well, Gwen Stefani and Co., you wanted to say, you can't please all the people all of the time. It's a shame, really - you were such a bright spot on the dreary music scene. Better luck next time.
Fortunately, "Hey Baby" is the worst offender on No Doubt's "Rock Steady," a surprisingly lightweight album after the pathos of "Tragic Kingdom" and "The Return of Saturn." "Rock Steady" is a party disc that mixes genres like an extremely desperate DJ. Rap, ska, reggae and new wave all get a spin through the No Doubt wringer.
The band does best when it recalls the '80s pop of the members' youths. The ecstatic "Don't Let Me Down" is strikingly similar to the Cars' "Just What I Needed." This is no surprise, as Cars frontman Ric Ocasek produced it.
In fact, production is the most remarkable thing about "Rock Steady." Bells and whistles have become more important than the primary colors of rock for the quartet. While guitarist Tom Dumont is featured prominently among songwriting credits, you get the feeling that he was out putting the kettle on during the actual recording of the album - the guitar makes so few appearances.
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But, of course, it's never been No Doubt's raging musical skill that made the band a success. It's attitude, plain and simple. The quartet has fearlessly exposed (exploited?) its own turmoil, starting way back in 1996 in the video for "Don't Speak." Who could forget Stefani's plaintive cry to her ex-lover/bassist? The song is, after all, still the band's signature.
"Rock Steady" continues the singer's tradition of transparently autobiographical lyrics. This time, however, Stefani is blissfully in love. Yawn. The schmaltzy sentimentality of "Underneath It All," where Stefani owns up to being pretty damn lucky, and the long-distance loving of "Making Out" (actual lyric: "I hardly can wait for us to hang out / I anticipate us making out") make it pretty hard to feel sorry for Stefani and all her rock star woes.
Still, "Rock Steady" has enough spark to keep a listener happy. "Start the Fire" features Stefani's voice at its full-throated best, and the band adopts the jumpy reggae beats successfully.
The brooding "In My Head" recalls some of the frustration of "Just a Girl:" "Sometimes I think that Cupid / Is just taking the piss," Stefani pouts. But "In My Head" has none of "Just a Girl's" frantic raving; instead, its restraint demonstrates how No Doubt is able to explore other musical textures far from the punk and ska influences that dominated "Tragic Kingdom."
Meanwhile, album bookends "Hella Good" and "Rock Steady" sail on attractive grooves, the former on a mad dash at dance and the latter on a midtempo, reflective swing.
Not all the tracks are so successful in claiming new ground for No Doubt. "Waiting Room" is a simply disastrous collaboration with Prince. "Detective" chronicles a woman's discovery of her lover's infidelity by the highly sophisticated means of rifling through his sock drawer (actual lyric: "Hey girl, see the liar / Can't you see his pants on fire").
But even if "Rock Steady" is not a lyrically mature record, it's still a decent party disc from a band that's done the power ballad thing.
No Doubt just seems to be having fun with "Rock Steady." "I want a platinum blonde life," Stefani cries. Well, she's got it, and it looks like she's enjoying it. "Rock Steady" passes the fun on to the fans.
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