• Home /
• Search /
• Charts /
  • Overall
  • Rock
  • Pop
  • Punk
  • Metal
  • Alternative
  • Miscellaneous
• Videos /
• Add Artist / 
• Login / 
• Signup / 
• About / 

The Sweet Escape  >>

There's nothing like a Gwen Stefani disc to rip you from your pop comfort zone and, in the pleasantest way possible, knock you around a bit. On The Sweet Escape, the blows arrive roughly every four minutes: a yodel ("Wind It Up") skitters off ceremoniously before the title track, featuring Akon, catches you off guard with its infectious yelps of "Woo-hoo, YEE-hoo!," and the pouty rap of "Orange County Girl" has barely petered out before we're vectored somewhere back toward the '80s with the indie rock-ish "Early Winter." That the sound of these songs doesn't follow a formula--that they pounce wherever they please, without regard for genres or decades--is no big whoop; this is Gwen Stefani, after all, and her up-for-anything, play-along fans probably wouldn't have it any other way. More surprising is the extent to which Stefani inserts what seems to be her genuine self into the music: "4 in the Morning," a Madonna-reminiscent midtempo groover, drops the wide-eyed Betty Boop pose and basks in a rarely plumbed depth of feeling ("I give you everything that I am / I'm handing over everything that I've got / 'cause I wanna have a really true love," she sings with something like sincerity). A single track later, she's owning up to motherhood in the sexiest, most unapologetic way possible: "I know you've been waiting," she pants, "but I've been off making babies / And like a chef making donuts and pastries / It's time to make you sweat." Lyrics don't get much cleverer than the ones to "Breakin' Up," a kiss-off disguised as a dropped cell phone call, and sounds don't get much swizzier than the ones on "Now That You Got It." Which is to say that Gwen's got game--as much as on Love.Angel.Music.Baby, if not more--and that anytime she's prepared to hollaback, the world will do well to listen. --Tammy La Gorce

Love. Angel. Music. Baby.  >>

On No Doubt's great Rock Steady, Gwen Stefani was a "girl that hangs with the boys... just sippin' on chamomile." Three years and a KROQ-nerd Talk Talk cover later, she presents a solo debut that wants it all--Vivienne Westwood and John Galliano, backseat love and lifetime devotion, '70s pop throwbacks and hip-hop beats as well as Clash adoration (she continues to be managed by the firm of Rebel Waltz, named for a mournful Sandinista! cut). Among the standout tracks are the stomping, Neptunes-driven "Hollaback Girl," the tongue-in-cheek Eve/Dr. Dre collaboration "Rich Girl," and the girl-power manifesto "What You Waiting For?"; another tune, "The Real Thing," nods toward role-model Madonna's "Holiday." Though it can't match Rock Steady's inexorable track-by-track flow, Love, Angel, Music, Baby is such state-of-the-art pop that the description almost feels like damning it with faint praise. --Rickey Wright

The Sweet Escape  >>

What You Waiting For  >>

Music idol, fashion idol, role model - Gwen has already conquered the entertainment world. Now she embarks on her first solo music project. 'What You Waiting For?' was penned by Linda Perry (4 Non Blondes, Pink) & produced by Nellee Hooper. Taken from the 2004 album 'Love, Angel, Music, Baby'. The album version is backed with the video & 2 non-album versions - Jacques Lu Cont Twd Remix & Instrumental. 2004.

South Side  >>

Early Winter  >>

EU only two-track single includes the album version and a live version of the title track. Universal. 2008.

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (Deluxe)  >>

Rich Girl  >>

The Second Single from her Debut Solo Album "Love Angel Music Baby". Following the Number One Smash "What You Waiting For", "Rich Girl" features Eve and was Produced by Dr Dre.

4 in the Morning  >>

Australian enhanced pressing of the 2007 single, pulled from the immensely popular No Doubt vocalist's sophomore solo album The Sweet Escape. This single is another stunning Gwen ballad which is already setting Radio and TV airplay charts on fire! Features four versions of '4 In The Morning': Main Version, Thin White Duke Edit, Oscar The Punk Remix and Enhanced Video. Interscope.

Cool  >>

Australian pressing. In the retro 80's world of Gwen Stefani's multi-platinum Love, Angel, Music, Baby, 'Cool', the album's fourth single, sounds like the lost Cyndi Lauper tune. That's a good thing, reminding listeners of the mid-tempo reflective classics T'ime After Time' and 'All Through the Night'. The Album version is backed with the Photek Remix Main Version, 'Hollaback Girl' (Dancehollaback Remix by Tony Kanal) & the video. Interscope. 2005.