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Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

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Love. Angel. Music. Baby. is the debut solo album by American pop rock singer Gwen Stefani, released by Interscope Records in November 2004 (see 2004 in music). The album originally began as a small side project, but grew into a large production with numerous collaborations and producers. It was designed as a modern version of 1980s music, with the majority of its lyrics focusing on fashion and wealth.

Upon release, the album received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics. It had high sales, going multi-platinum in several countries and selling seven million copies. L.A.M.B. also earned Stefani several Grammy Award nominations in 2005 and 2006.

Conception and writing

During Stefani's time with No Doubt, she began appearing on songs with artists including Eve, Moby, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra; the band also worked with artists including Prince, The Neptunes, and Dr. Dre during the production of Rock Steady (2001). While the band was on tour to promote the album, Stefani listened to Club Nouveau's "Why You Treat Me So Bad" and considered recording new material that modernized 1980s music.[1] She approached No Doubt member and former boyfriend Tony Kanal, who had introduced her to music by Prince, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, and Debbie Deb, and they talked about producing songs from Kanal's bedroom.[2]

In early 2003, Stefani began recording solo material, unsure of the project's direction.[3] She showed interest in creating singles to be used on soundtracks, later playing Jean Harlow in The Aviator, but also considered continuing her series of collaborations or making a full solo album.[3] During her first sessions, with Linda Perry, Stefani's combination of writer's block and self-consciousness resulted in an unfruitful attempt.[1] During the second day, the two wrote a song about Stefani's writer's block, which became "What You Waiting For?", the lead single.[1]

When the two began working on a song that Stefani felt was too personal, she left to visit her former boyfriend and fellow band member Tony Kanal, who played her a track on which he had been working, which later became "Crash", another single from the album.[1] The two tried to work on new material but gave up after two weeks and did not return to work until six months later, when Stefani decided that she was comfortable collaborating with other artists, commenting, "If I were to write the chorus of 'Yesterday' by the Beatles, and that's all I wrote, that would be good enough to be part of that history."[1] Stefani returned to work with Linda Perry, who invited Dallas Austin, and many other artists, including Outkast's André 3000, The Neptunes, and Dr. Dre.[1] More than a year after starting on the album, Stefani announced in 2004 that she would be releasing what she referred to as "my dance record" later that year.[4]

Lyrical content

Like pop of the 1980s, L.A.M.B. focuses primarily on money, with songs such as "Rich Girl" and "Luxurious" featuring descriptions of riches and wealth.[5] The album also contains several references to Stefani's clothing line, L.A.M.B.[5] Stefani later released a series of dolls named the Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Fashion Dolls designed after the costumes from her tour.[6]

Stefani performing with the Harajuku Girls on the Harajuku Lovers Tour.

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. also introduced the Harajuku Girls, an entourage of four Japanese women. The Harajuku Girls are frequently mentioned in the album, with the song "Harajuku Girls" entirely dedicated to them. They have since appeared in most of the music videos produced for the album and those for Stefani's second album The Sweet Escape (2006). In October 2005, Korean American actor and comedian Margaret Cho wrote an article largely critical of the group.[7] In the article, Cho referred to the group as a "minstrel show" and compared the act to the blackface tradition, stating, "I am just in acceptance over it, because something is better than nothing."[7] Salon magazine also criticized the practice, stating that Stefani had "swallowed a subversive youth culture in Japan and barfed up another image of submissive giggling Asian women."[8]

Musical style

Stefani performs "Luxurious" in the black and white stripes popular in New Wave fashion.

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. takes influence from a variety of 1980s genres, with one reviewer stating that "the only significant '80s radio style skipped is the ska revival that No Doubt rode to success".[9] The album is primarily pop, with the synthesizers characteristic of synthpop, most popular from the late 1970s through the mid 1980s.[10] New Wave, present in much of No Doubt's work, continues into Love. Angel. Music. Baby., drawing comparisons to The Go-Go's and Cyndi Lauper.[11] L.A.M.B. also includes various styles of urban music. Several songs are influenced by old school hip hop, with electro beats designed for club play.[12] Producers Dallas Austin and Tony Kanal incorporated R&B into their songs, and "Luxurious" contains a sample of the Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets". Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who had produced for acts including Boyz II Men, Usher, and Mary J. Blige, incorporate new jack swing, a fusion genre of R&B and hip hop that the pair had developed and popularized during the mid 1980s. To a lesser degree, the album draws from pop genres such as bubblegum pop, Europop, and disco.[10][11][13]

Critical reception

The album received mixed reviews, with many noting the large number of collaborations and producers. The Guardian argued that although "others lend a hand...it's very much Stefani's show"; however, most others disagreed.[14] PopMatters compared to album to a second No Doubt greatest hits album,[11] and Pitchfork Media said that the large number of collaborators resulted in sacrificing Stefani's identity on the album.[15] Most reviewers held that the collaborations prevented the album from having a solidified sound; Drawer B stated: "Stefani tries to be all things to all people here", but that the result "comes off as manipulative and contrived."[9] Entertainment Weekly shared this opinion, stating that the album "is like one of those au courant retail magazines that resembles a resembles a catalog more than an old-fashioned collection of, say, articles."[5]

Many reviewers also focused on the album's light lyrical themes. Entertainment Weekly called the references to Stefani's clothing line "shameless" and stated that "each song becomes akin to a pricey retro fashion blurb",[5] and Pitchfork Media said that "the Joker's free-money parade through Gotham City was a much more entertaining display of wealth, and he had Prince, not just Wendy & Lisa."[15] Slant magazine stated that the album's "fashion fetish...gives the album a sense of thematic cohesiveness" but that the "obsession with Harajuku girls borders on maniacal".[10] The Guardian disagreed with this perspective, arguing that "her affinity with Japanese pop culture...yields a synthetic sheen...that works well with the other point of reference, hip-hop."[14]

Sales and chart performance

The album debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number seven, higher than any of Stefani's albums with No Doubt, selling 309,000 copies.[16] It peaked at number five in June 2005[17] and was certified triple platinum that December in the U.S.[18] At the Billboard Music Awards, Stefani won the awards for Digital Song of the Year (for "Hollaback Girl") and New Artist of the Year, and performed with Slim Thug at the event.[19] At the 2005 Grammy Awards, Stefani received a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for What You Waiting For?[20] and performed "Rich Girl" with Eve.[21] At the next year's awards, Stefani received five nominations for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.[22]

The album also fared well outside the U.S. L.A.M.B. reached number four on the UK Albums Chart in May 2005[17] and was on the chart for over a year.[23] In Australia, the album reached the top of the ARIA Albums Chart and charted at number four on the 2005 end of year chart.[24] It went on to become certified quadruple platinum.[25] In Canada, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. stayed at a peak position of number three for two weeks[23] on the albums chart and sold over half a million copies, certified quintuple platinum in April 2006.[26] The album reached the top twenty in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland.[23] L.A.M.B. debuted on the United World Chart at number six and stayed there for four weeks. It remained on the chart for almost a year[23] and sold seven million copies worldwide.[27]

Singles

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"What You Waiting For?", one of the first songs written for the album, was chosen as the lead single as an "explanation for doing the record".[28] The song discusses Stefani's fears of beginning a solo career, and an accompanying music video was made, in which Stefani regains her confidence after an experience inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The single was moderately successful, reaching the top ten in most countries.[29] The second single, "Rich Girl" charted equally well.[30] The song, a hip hop adaptation of the Fiddler on the Roof song "If I Were a Rich Man", featured rapper Eve, with whom Stefani had worked when featured on Eve's single "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (2001).

"Hollaback Girl", the third single, became Stefani's best-selling and most popular song to date. The song was written as a response to a derogatory comment by grunge musician Courtney Love,[31] and its lyrics and music video feature a cheerleading theme. Despite several reviews criticizing its repetitive use of the word "shit" several dozen times,[11] the single went on to acheive multi-platinum status and become the first U.S. digital download to sell one million copies.[32] The fourth single "Cool" was very well-received by critics, but charted moderately compared to its predecessors. The song chronicles Stefani's previous relationship with Tony Kanal,[33] and in its music video, the relationship between Stefani and Kanal, played by Daniel González, is illustrated through a series of flashbacks.[33]

"Luxurious", which features rapper Slim Thug, compares riches like platinum, diamonds, and limousines to love.[34] The song received mixed reviews from critics and was less successful than the other singles. The sixth single "Crash" was not heavily promoted and sold poorly, unable to reach the top forty in any country.[35] While on tour, Stefani discovered that she was pregnant, so a live video was released instead of producing a music video.[36] A music video was produced for "Serious", but no single or video were officially released.

Track listing

  • UK/Australian/USA/Europe Edition
  1. "What You Waiting For?" (Linda Perry, Gwen Stefani) – 3:41
  2. "Rich Girl" featuring Eve (Mark Batson, Jerry Bock, Kara DioGuardi, Mike Elizondo, Eve, Sheldon Harnick, Chantal Kreviazuk, Stefani, André Young) – 3:56
  3. "Hollaback Girl" (Chad Hugo, Stefani, Pharrell Williams) – 3:20
  4. "Cool" (Dallas Austin, Stefani) – 3:09
  5. "Bubble Pop Electric" featuring Johnny Vulture (André Benjamin, Seven, Stefani) – 3:42
  6. "Luxurious" (O'Kelly Isley, Rudolph Isley, Vernon Isley, Marvin Isley, Chris Jasper, Tony Kanal, Stefani) – 4:24
  7. "Harajuku Girls" (Bobby Avila, I.J. Avila, James Harris, Terry Lewis, Stefani, James Wright) – 4:51
  8. "Crash" (Kanal, Stefani) – 4:06
  9. "The Real Thing" (Perry, Stefani) – 4:11
  10. "Serious" (Kanal, Stefani) – 4:48
  11. "Danger Zone" (Austin, Perry, Stefani) – 3:36
  12. "Long Way to Go" featuring André 3000 (Benjamin, Stefani) – 4:34
  • International bonus track
  1. "The Real Thing" (Wendy and Lisa Slow Jam mix) – 3:35
  • UK/Japan bonus tracks
  1. "What You Waiting For?" (Elevator mix) – 4:06
  2. "The Real Thing" (Wendy and Lis Slow Jam mix) - 3:35
  3. "Rich Girl" (Remix) - 4:06
  4. "Hollaback Girl" (Live) - 5:23
  5. "F*** You All" - 2:59
  • Bonus CD
  1. "What You Waiting For?" (Jacques Lu Cont TWD mix) – 8:04
  2. "What You Waiting For?" (Jacques Lu Cont TWD dub) – 8:21
  3. "What You Waiting For?" (live) – 3:43
  4. "Harajuku Girls" (live) – 4:37
  5. "Hollaback Girl" (Hollatronix remix By Diplo) – 2:45
  6. "Cool" (Photex remix) – 5:49
  7. "Hollaback Girl" (dance Hollaback remix By Tony Kanal) – 6:52


Unreleased Tracks

  1. "Wind It Up"
  2. "Yummy" featuring Pharrell
  3. "Sparkle"
  4. "Sh!t, This Is Me" featuring Lil'Kim
  5. "I Wrote Myself A Big Book Of Lies, But It Can Be Destroyed" featuring Fergie
  6. "Naughty In The Bed"
  7. "Sleep Tight"

Production

In addition to the artists credited on the album inlay, Stefani had a number of others involved in either the writing or performing of the songs on the album, including Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner of New Order on "The Real Thing". These artists are credited on the album's website. Linda Perry also worked with Stefani on several tracks for the album, but none recorded by her made the final track listing.

Charts

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Vineyard, Jennifer. "Gwen Stefani: Scared Solo". MTV News. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
  2. ^ Eliscu, Jenny. "'I'll cry just talking about it'". The Guardian. January 30, 2005. Retrieved March 8, 2007.
  3. ^ a b Moss, Corey and Downey, Ryan. "Gwen Stefani Recording Solo Material". MTV News. April 18, 2003. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  4. ^ Orshoski, Wes. "Gwen Stefani Warns, 'Watch Out' For Solo LP, Summer Single". MTV News. March 10, 2004. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  5. ^ a b c d Browne, David. "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." Entertainment Weekly. November 23, 2004. Retrieved January 25, 2007.
  6. ^ Associated Press. "Gwen Stefani launches series of dolls". MSNBC. September 6, 2006. Retrieved March 6, 2007.
  7. ^ a b Cho, Margaret. "Harajuku Girls". October 31, 2005.
  8. ^ Ahn, MiHi. "Gwenihana". Salon.com. April 9, 2005. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  9. ^ a b Smith, RJ. Gwen Stefani : Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Review". Blender. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  10. ^ a b c Cinquemani, Sal. "Music Review: Gwen Stefani: Love. Angel. Music. Baby.". Slant. 2004. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  11. ^ a b c d Damas, Jason. "Gwen Stefani: Love.Angel.Music.Baby.". PopMatters. November 29, 2004. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
  12. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Love.Angel.Music.Baby. > Review". All Music Guide. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
  13. ^ Sheffield, Rob. "Love Angel Music Baby : Review". Rolling Stone. December 9, 2004. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  14. ^ a b Sullivan, Caroline. "Gwen Stefani, Love Angel Music Baby". The Guardian. November 19, 2004. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
  15. ^ a b Sylvester, Nick. "Gwen Stefani: Love Angel Music Baby". Pitchfork Media. November 24, 2006. Retrieved February 26, 2007.
  16. ^ Whitmire, Margo. "U2's 'Bomb' Explodes At No. 1". Billboard. December 1, 2004. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  17. ^ a b "Gwen Stefani Love, Angel, Music, Baby". Top40-Charts.com. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  18. ^ Hooper, Joseph. ELLE. "Escape Artist". Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  19. ^ Jeckell, Barry A. "50 Cent, Green Day Reap Major Billboard Music Awards". Billboard. December 7, 2005. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  20. ^ "47th Grammy winners and nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  21. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "Charles Tops Grammys With Eight Trophies". Billboard. February 14, 2005. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  22. ^ "ASCAP Members Receive Multiple Nominations for the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  23. ^ a b c d e "Chart Data: Gwen Stefani". Mariah-charts.com. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  24. ^ "ARIA Charts - End of Year Charts - Top 100 Albums 2005". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  25. ^ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2005 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  26. ^ "Gold & Platinum - April 2006". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  27. ^ Infantry, Ashante. "Stefani has it all, baby". Toronto Star. A27. Retrieved December 6 2006.
  28. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer. "Gwen Stefani's Debut Solo LP Inspired By Insecurity And Japan". MTV News. November 10, 2004. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  29. ^ "Gwen Stefani - What You Waiting For?: Charts". Music Square. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  30. ^ "Gwen Stefani - Rich Girl: Charts". Music Square. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  31. ^ Rubenstein, Atoosa. "Courtney Love speaks about Gwen Stefani". Seventeen (August 2004): pg. 19.
  32. ^ Hiatt, Brian. "Stefani, Peas Lead Singles Boom". Rolling Stone. January 19, 2006. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  33. ^ a b Vineyard, Jennifer. "Gwen Stefani's Song About Tony Kanal To Be Her Next Single". MTV News. June 21, 2005. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  34. ^ Moss, Corey. "For Gwen Stefani, Egyptian Cotton Is Something Like Love". MTV News. November 1, 2005. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  35. ^ "Gwen Stefani - Crash: Charts". Music Square. Retrieved February 27, 2007.
  36. ^ "Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, Gwen Stefani, Nick Lachey & More". MTV News. February 28, 2006. Retrieved February 27, 2007.


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