This is ska-punk-new wave-dance music, with instrumentation ranging from hardcore guitar to mellow, reggae-style horns. Singer Gwen Stefani's voice is by turns peppy, almost adolescent ("Spiderwebs") and emotionally wailing; she can sound a lot like Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano ("Just A Girl"). When Stefani sings, "I'm just a girl, little ol' me/Don't let me out of your sight," she does so without a hint of girlishness; her voice is all attitude, with a warbling edge of melodrama. For the most part, these are happy songs, though No Doubt do get philosophical on "Different People": "Once in a while I sit back/And think about the planet/Most of the time I trip on it/To kick back and think of how massive it all is/And how many others are on it."
No Doubt was nominated for the 1997 Grammy Award for Best New Artist. TRAGIC KINGDOM was nominated for a 1997 Grammy for Best Rock Album. "Don't Speak" was nominated for 1998 Grammys for Song Of The Year and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.
No Doubt: Gwen Stefani (vocals); Tom Dumont (guitar); Eric Stefani (piano, keyboards); Tony Kanal (bass); Adrian Young (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Aloke DasGupta (sitar); Melissa Hasin (cello); Gerard Boisse, Bill Bergman (saxophone); Greg Smith (baritone saxophone); Phil Jordan, Les Lovitt (trumpet); Nick Lane (trombone); Gabe McNair (trombone, percussion); Matthew Wilder (keyboards); Stephen Perkins (steel drums).
Recording information: Nrg; Record Plant, Hollywood, CA; Santa Monica Sound, Santa Monica, CA; Total Access Studios, Redondo Beach, CA. Audio Mixer: Paul Palmer. Engineers include: Matt Hyde, Phil Kaffel, George Landress.
Produced by Matthew Wilder.
Track Listing:
1. Spiderwebs - 4:28 2. Excuse Me Mr. - 3:04 3. Just a Girl - 3:29 4. Happy Now? - 3:43 5 Different People - 4:34 6. Hey You - 3:34 7. The Climb - 6:37 8. Sixteen - 3:21 9. Sunday Morning - 4:33 10. Don't Speak - 4:23 11. You Can Do It - 4:13 12. World Go 'Round - 4:09 13. End It on This - 3:45 14. Tragic Kingdom - 5:31
TRAGIC KINGDOM is the third studio album by the American third wave ska band No Doubt. It was released on October 10, 1995, on Trauma Records, a division of Interscope Records. The album was produced by Matthew Wilder, mixed by Paul Palmer, and recorded in 11 studios in the Greater Los Angeles Area between March 1993 and October 1995. Between 1995 and 1998, seven singles were released from it, including "Just a Girl", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K. Singles Chart; and "Don't Speak", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and peaked in the top five of many international charts.
The album received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At the 39th Grammy Awards, No Doubt earned nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Album. The album has sold over 18 million copies worldwide; and was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States and Canada, platinum in the United Kingdom, and triple platinum in Australia. It helped to initiate the ska revival of the 1990's, persuading record labels to sign more ska bands and helping them to attract more mainstream attention. No Doubt embarked on a tour to promote the album. It was designed by Project X and lasted two and a half years. An early 1997 performance at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim was filmed and released as LIVE IN THE TRAGIC KINGDOM on VHS and later DVD.
No Doubt's members cite a strange variety of musical influences: Kiss, Prince and Madness, to name a few. And it's easy to imagine that their hometown itself, Anaheim, California (home to Disneyland), may have played a part in forming the band's schizophrenic, high-energy sound, which took TRAGIC KINGDOM, the band's second album, on a slow, steady ride up the pop charts. It finally hit No. 1 in December 1996, 14 months after it was released.
This is ska-punk-new wave-dance music, with instrumentation ranging from hardcore guitar to mellow, reggae-style horns. Singer Gwen Stefani's voice is by turns peppy, almost adolescent ("Spiderwebs") and emotionally wailing; she can sound a lot like Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano ("Just A Girl"). When Stefani sings, "I'm just a girl, little ol' me/Don't let me out of your sight," she does so without a hint of girlishness; her voice is all attitude, with a warbling edge of melodrama. For the most part, these are happy songs, though No Doubt do get philosophical on "Different People": "Once in a while I sit back/And think about the planet/Most of the time I trip on it/To kick back and think of how massive it all is/And how many others are on it."
ReplyDeleteNo Doubt was nominated for the 1997 Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
TRAGIC KINGDOM was nominated for a 1997 Grammy for Best Rock Album.
"Don't Speak" was nominated for 1998 Grammys for Song Of The Year and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.
No Doubt: Gwen Stefani (vocals); Tom Dumont (guitar); Eric Stefani (piano, keyboards); Tony Kanal (bass); Adrian Young (drums, percussion).
Additional personnel: Aloke DasGupta (sitar); Melissa Hasin (cello); Gerard Boisse, Bill Bergman (saxophone); Greg Smith (baritone saxophone); Phil Jordan, Les Lovitt (trumpet); Nick Lane (trombone); Gabe McNair (trombone, percussion); Matthew Wilder (keyboards); Stephen Perkins (steel drums).
Recording information: Nrg; Record Plant, Hollywood, CA; Santa Monica Sound, Santa Monica, CA; Total Access Studios, Redondo Beach, CA.
Audio Mixer: Paul Palmer.
Engineers include: Matt Hyde, Phil Kaffel, George Landress.
Produced by Matthew Wilder.
Track Listing:
1. Spiderwebs - 4:28
2. Excuse Me Mr. - 3:04
3. Just a Girl - 3:29
4. Happy Now? - 3:43
5 Different People - 4:34
6. Hey You - 3:34
7. The Climb - 6:37
8. Sixteen - 3:21
9. Sunday Morning - 4:33
10. Don't Speak - 4:23
11. You Can Do It - 4:13
12. World Go 'Round - 4:09
13. End It on This - 3:45
14. Tragic Kingdom - 5:31
Tragic Kingdom (1995)
ReplyDeleteNo Doubt
Album Description:
TRAGIC KINGDOM is the third studio album by the American third wave ska band No Doubt. It was released on October 10, 1995, on Trauma Records, a division of Interscope Records. The album was produced by Matthew Wilder, mixed by Paul Palmer, and recorded in 11 studios in the Greater Los Angeles Area between March 1993 and October 1995. Between 1995 and 1998, seven singles were released from it, including "Just a Girl", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the U.K. Singles Chart; and "Don't Speak", which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and peaked in the top five of many international charts.
The album received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At the 39th Grammy Awards, No Doubt earned nominations for Best New Artist and Best Rock Album. The album has sold over 18 million copies worldwide; and was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States and Canada, platinum in the United Kingdom, and triple platinum in Australia. It helped to initiate the ska revival of the 1990's, persuading record labels to sign more ska bands and helping them to attract more mainstream attention. No Doubt embarked on a tour to promote the album. It was designed by Project X and lasted two and a half years. An early 1997 performance at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim was filmed and released as LIVE IN THE TRAGIC KINGDOM on VHS and later DVD.
No Doubt's members cite a strange variety of musical influences: Kiss, Prince and Madness, to name a few. And it's easy to imagine that their hometown itself, Anaheim, California (home to Disneyland), may have played a part in forming the band's schizophrenic, high-energy sound, which took TRAGIC KINGDOM, the band's second album, on a slow, steady ride up the pop charts. It finally hit No. 1 in December 1996, 14 months after it was released.