No Doubt had its breakthrough in the Netherlands with the beautiful single Don't Speak, after which Just A Girl was also very successful. Originally, No Doubt was a ska / pop punk band with a formidable live reputation and the group struggled to maintain credibility after the Don't Speak ballad. On the rebound, the band plunged into an overly pretentious album (Return Of Saturn) led by the blonde
… figurehead Gwen Stefani, after which a large part of the fans turned away from the group. Stefani stayed in the picture for her prominent vocal contribution to rap star Eve's hit Let Me Blow Ya Mind. To ensure the continued existence of the band, the next No Doubt record had to become a real pop album again. No expense was spared for this: we worked with top producers such as William Orbit, Sly & Robbie, Nellee Hooper, Ric Ocasek and Prince. Despite all the outside interference, No Doubt has mainly continued to sound like itself: a sympathetic but otherwise quite meaningless band that mainly relies on Stefani's performance. The bonus CD contains three remixes and three video clips. (MS)more
