Awkward and alluring in equal measures, Gwen Stefani's 2004 solo debut, Love.Angel.Music.Baby., did its job: it made Gwen a bigger star on her own than she was as the lead singer of No Doubt. With that established and her long-desired wish for a baby finally fulfilled, there was no rush for Gwen to get back to her regular gig, so she made another solo album, The Sweet Escape, which expanded on what really sold her debut: her tenuous connections to Californian club culture. There was always a sense of artifice behind the turn-of-the-century makeover that brought Gwen from a ska-punk sweetheart to a dance club queen, but that doesn't mean it didn't work at least on occasion, most spectacularly so on the gloriously dumb marching-band ap of "Hollaback Girl," the Neptunes production that turned L.A.M.B. into a blockbuster. There, as on her duet with Eve on "Let Me Blow Ya Mind," Gwen made the transition into a modern-day material girl with ease, but when she tried to shoehorn this ghetto-fabulous persona into her original /p>
ew wave girl character, it felt forced, nowhere more so than on the Linda Perry written and produced "What You Waiting For." Gwen doesn't make that mistake again on The Sweet Escape -- by and large, she keeps these two sides of her personality separate, favoring the streets and nightclubs to the comfort of her /p>
ew wave home. Just because she wants to run in the streets doesn't mean she belongs there; she continues to sound far more comfortable mining /p>
ew wave pop, as only a child of the '80s could. As always, it's those celebrations of cool synths and stylish pop hooks that work the best for Stefani, whether she's approximating the chilliness of early-MTV /p>
ew romantics on "Wonderful Life," mashing Prince and Madonna on "Fluorescent," or lying back on the coolly sensual "4 in the Morning."
Only once on the album is she able to bring this style and popcraft to a heavy dance track, and that's on the irresistible Akon-produced title track, driven by a giddy "wee-oh!" hook and supported by a nearly anthemic summertime chorus. Tellingly, the Neptunes, the architects of her best dance cuts on L.A.M.B., did not produce this track, but they do have a huge presence on The Sweet Escape, helming five of the 12 songs, all but one being tracks that weigh down the album considerably. The exception is "U Started It," a light and nifty evocation of mid-period Prince, with its lilting melody, silken harmonies, and pizzicato strings. It sounds effortless and effervescent, two words that do not apply to their other four productions, all skeletal, rhythm-heavy tracks that fail to click. Sometimes, they're merely leaden, as on the stumbling autobiographical ap "Orange County Girl"; sometimes, they're cloying and crass, as on the rather embarrassing "Yummy"; sometimes they have an interesting idea executed poorly, as on "Breakin' Up," a breakup song built on a dying cell phone metaphor that's interesting in theory but its stuttering, static rhythms and repetitive chorus are irritating in practice. Also interesting in theory is the truly bizarre lead single, "Wind It Up," where the Neptunes force fanfares and samples from The Sound of Music's "The Lonely Goatherd" into one of their typical minimalist tracks, over which Gwen spouts off clumsy material-minded lyrics touting her fashion line and her shape. Nothing in this track really works, but it's hard not to listen to it in wonder, since its unwieldy rhythms and rhymes capture everything that's currently wrong about Stefani.
From the stilted production to the fashion fetish, all the way down to her decision to ap on far too much of the album, all the dance-pop here seems like a pose, creating the impression that she's a glamour girl slumming on a weekend night -- something that her self-proclaimed Michelle Pfieffer in Scarface "coke whore" makeover showcased on the album's cover doesn't do much to dissuade. If the dance production on The Sweet Escape were better, these hipster affectations would be easier to forgive, but they're not: they're canned and bland, which only accentuates Stefani's stiffness. These misfires are so grand they overshadow the many good moments on The Sweet Escape, which are invariably those songs that stay true to her long-standing love of /p>
ew wave pop (not coincidentally, these include every production from her No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal). These are the moments that give The Sweet Escape its sweetness, and while they may require a little effort to dig out, they're worth the effort, since it proves that beneath the layers of bling, Gwen remains the SoCal sweetheart that has always been as spunky and likeable as she has been sexy.
Well, it's official. I've gone 'round the bend. Try as I might, I've been unable to escape the insane siren call of No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani's "Wind It Up" (from her second solo album), and now, after weeks of hearing it, I am in its evil thrall. It might have been a crass, arrogant attempt to duplicate the oddball success of her single "Hollaback Girl," which stood out with its half-ghetto...
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Cookies & milk for the house! I'm not sure there will be any left for the bearded dude but he usually finds the liquor cabinet anyway. Enjoy!Anybody else baking out there?
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Okay so i went to Virgin Mega Store to pick up some CD's... yes i still buy CD's to upload to my ipod, and yes i do 'download' too, and ways thats not the point... i decided to pick up Gwen Stefani's new cd "The Sweet Escape" and i must say i quite enjoy it. Yes it's out of the norm of what i would normally listen to but i decided to shake things up and check it out, i think you should also pic...
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The early tracks had me worried, but now? Frak! I'm so in love with Gwen Stefani!! Also, listen to Don't Get It Twisted.
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A new Gwen Stefani video aired on MTV this week and we are psyched to see MTV putting a Marley on their TRL. Ahh, the days of the Backstreet Boys and 'NSYNC seem so far away. The new Stefani video is a remix of "Now That You Got It" off her latest solo album Sweet Escape. It features Damian JR. Gong Marley who adds a pop-reggae vibe to the number.
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Gwen Stefani premiered a new video today for "Early Winter" off of her Sweet Escape album. Her look in the vid is very similar to Kylie Minogue's vampy siren look in her new video for "2 Hearts." I'm digging both!Stefani just finished up her Sweet Escape Tour on the west coast with Sean Kingston. I wonder what she will focus her creative energies on next. L.A.M.B.? Back to the studio? Or ...
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Well, it's official. I've gone 'round the bend. Try as I might, I've been unable to escape the insane siren call of No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani's "Wind It Up" (from her second solo album), and now, after weeks of hearing it, I am in its evil thrall. It might have been a crass, arrogant attempt to duplicate the oddball success of her single "Hollaback Girl," which stood out with its half-ghetto...
More >
Cookies & milk for the house! I'm not sure there will be any left for the bearded dude but he usually finds the liquor cabinet anyway. Enjoy!Anybody else baking out there?
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ARGH!!! GOOD GRIEF!!! I'm am sorry all but this is it I have finally had it up to here with all of these pseudo artists claiming the glory and the respect of music as actually contributing something that will be remembered and make a difference... Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas with her solo release and an old horn toot about "Gwen Stefani":http://www.zshare.net/download/gwen-stefani-wind-it-upr...
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"The Sweet Escape" (featuring Akon)
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Okay so i went to Virgin Mega Store to pick up some CD's... yes i still buy CD's to upload to my ipod, and yes i do 'download' too, and ways thats not the point... i decided to pick up Gwen Stefani's new cd "The Sweet Escape" and i must say i quite enjoy it. Yes it's out of the norm of what i would normally listen to but i decided to shake things up and check it out, i think you should also pic...
More >
i actually kinda dig this song... back in '04 - when the stefani solo hype-machine steam-rolled music media - i'd sorta hoped she'd accomplish two thing with her solo outing: (1) it would be an all uptempo record w/ no whiny 'just a girl' / 'underneath it all' type no doubt tracks - building off of 'hella good' and 'it's my life.' (2) that she'd do a little 'girl-rap' à la debbie-harry in 'rap..
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A great song by Gwen Stefani and Pharell. Hope you like it.
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The early tracks had me worried, but now? Frak! I'm so in love with Gwen Stefani!! Also, listen to Don't Get It Twisted.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Wind It Up |
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| 2 The Sweet Escape |
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| 3 Orange County Girl |
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| 4 Early Winter |
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| 5 Now That You Got It |
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| 6 4 in the Morning |
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| 7 Yummy |
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| 8 Fluorescent |
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| 9 Breakin' Up |
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| 10 Don't Get It Twisted |
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| 11 U Started It |
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| 12 Wonderful Life |
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Click to purchase…
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 "The Sweet Escape")
