Gwen's mixed bag of songs (The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani)

Member Name: Nickycool

Product:	The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani
Date:	07/02/08 (362 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Got some great songs like 4 in the Morning, Early Winter and Wonderful Life

Disadvantages: Got some not so good song like Yummy and Wind It up

Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape

I've been a No Doubt fan since I was 11 so it's no surprise that when Gwen Stefani went solo that I followed. Her debut album came out in 2004 and was called Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Her second album came out in 2006. She called it 'The Sweet Escape'


* A bit of History about Gwen *

Gwen Renée Stefani was born on 3 October 1969. That makes her 38 years old. I think she looks fab for her age. She was born in Fullerton, California, United States. In many way, she is an all American girl. An orange county girl but in so many ways, she's not.
Her brother Eric asked her to join No Doubt, a Ska band, in 1986 and she shared lead vocals with John Spence until he committed suicide. Alan Meade took over vocals for awhile after that but he left the band. That's when Gwen Stefani became the true lead singer of No Doubt. The band was finally signed by Interscope Records in 1991. They released two albums before their third album "Tragic Kingdom" shot them to fame. They went on to have many hits and released many albums. The last record, they released together was "It's my Life" in 2003. She decided to start a solo career in 2004 with the help of former bandmate Tony Kanal. Originally, it was meant to be a quick dance record but turned into an album called Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Her second album came out in 2006. She called it 'The Sweet Escape'. This is the album that I'm reviewing.

* The Sweet Escape *

The front cover of the album is Gwen looking very style and sleek. Compared to her debut album, it gives her an air of sophistication.

"Wind It Up" is the first song on the album. When this got released as the first song off her new album, I absolutely hated it. I thought "What the hell was she thinking when she came up with this?" I know Gwen likes to experiment but had she lost the plot? For one, I do not like "The Sound of Music." The tune was annoying, it had this strange yodelling song and it was too repetitive, every other line was "Wind up". The music is upbeat, slightly like a marching song, it's catchy making you tap your foot to it even when you don't like it. Slowly as the weeks went on, it grew on me but still to this day it's my least favourite song on the album.

"The Sweet Escape" is another one of those songs that I didn't like when it was first released. I didn't like woohoo bits that Akon sings. It was/is annoying. The rest of the song is very poppy, upbeat, nice to listen to and I love it. It's funny how you love one bit of a song and hate another bit of a song. She should have left it the way it was and not collaborated with Akon.

"Orange County Girl" is a trip down memory lane with Gwen. It's about her life in her small town and that's just an ordinary girl. It's very bouncy with a hip hop style to it. The lyrics are catchy, it just makes you want to sing along to it.

"Early Winter" is my favourite of this song. It's intimate song that touches me in so many ways. When I close my eyes, I see myself looking out the window and it's snowing. It's such a beautiful song. The lyrics are spot on. 'Why do you act so stupid and 'You know I'm always right' make me smile. The music has a relaxing keyboard sound to it. My fiance loves this song too. It's our song now.

"Now That You Got It" is another song with a hip hop slant on it. Also another song with that military style to the song. It's Gwen experimenting again. It's got some great lyrics in it but I just feel that it was made for the sake of it. It's a novelty song, just a space filler. Yes, I still sing along to it but I sing along to a lot of meaningless pop songs. Me sings along to it doesn't qualify it as a good song. It's not bad but not great.

"4 In The Morning" is another favourite of mine and also one of Gwen's favourite too. It's a lovely R n B song with a hint of poppy-ness. It shows the softer side of Gwen just like "Early Winter". It does have a slight 80s feel to it. She really sings this song with passion and love. The lyric have real meaning to me and it was an instant hit with me.

"Yummy" is ruined by Pharrell's boring monologue bits. I love the beat to this song. It's a feel good song, really light-hearted but when Pharrell cuts in, the song becomes annoying. It's like he's bored. It's like he says everything because he's getting paid not because he's excited to be producing a record with Gwen. He sounds like he's not even interested in what he is saying and that makes me not interested in what he is saying. Cut that bit out and the song would be 10 times better. The lyrics are bit strange too. This song I usually just have on in the background because it's great background music.

"Fluorescent" is another 80s sounding song on the album. Madonna-esque/ No Doubt style. It's emotionally touching and fun at the same time. It's got a great beat to it and it talks about wedded bliss that she was experiencing at that moment.

"Breakin' Up" has a brilliant beat to it and is very catchy. It's the harshest song on the album. The lyrics are very modern and they have a double meaning. "We're breaking up" and "I hate it when the signal drops on my cell phone" is it that the couple are breaking up or is the signal on the phone that is breaking up. It's good song but not the best song on the album.

"Don't Get It Twisted" is another song that I wasn't too sure of. I'm not completely convinced that it's a good song. The lyrics are talking about discovering that she was pregnant. It tries to be innovative by using different music styles and mixing it with different beats but it just seems a bit of a mess. Maybe the different music styles were meant to reflect the roller-coaster ride she was feeling when she discovered that she was pregnant but it just didn't work.

"U Started It" is another simple but effective tune. Not as good as "Early Winter" and "4 in the morning" but it's another look at the intimate side of Gwen. She looks tough but sometimes she does give in and this is reflected in her lyrics.

"Wonderful Life" is a song that should have been on her debut album or at least as the first track of the album. It feels like it's been forgotten about and stuck on the end of this album but don't get me wrong this is a song not to be ignored. It's a beautiful moving ballad. Another favourite of mine. It's a feel good song. It makes me smile.

There's two other tracks on the album. A live version of "Wind It Up" and another version of "Orange County Gir"l.

* Overall Opinion *

My mum bought me for Christmas 2006 and it's taken me nearly a year to appreciate it. A lot of the songs have to grow on you. Also it seems like nearly all my favourite songs on this album has been co-produced by Tony Kanal. My top three on the album are "Early Winter", "Wonderful Life" and "4 in the Morning". These are the softer songs, the ballads. I might be classed as boring as my top three doesn't have any of the songs that she experimented with but in most cases, the experimental songs didn't hit home with me on a musical or lyrical level. These three did. They made me feel something and they weren't just another pop/r n b single that was catch.

The album is a mixed bag but then again, everyone has their own opinion on music so my favourites, you might dislike and the ones that I dislike, you might love.

If you're a Gwen fan, buy the album as there will be a few songs that you like on it. If you didn't like Gwen's old stuff, then give it a try as it doesn't really sound like any of her No Doubt songs or even her debut album L.A.M.B. except for "Wonderful Life".

At the moment, Amazon is selling the CD for £4.97, which is good value for money even if you only like a few of the songs. In the high street stores like HMV, Zavavi, WH Smith, Woolies etc. You can find it for a range of prices.

If you're still not convinced to buy this album, go to Amazon.com (the US site) and listen to parts of the whole album to make a decision.

*Warning* There are explicit lyrics in Orange County Girl, Yummy and Don't Get It Twisted.

Track Listing

1. Wind It Up
2. The Sweet Escape
3. Orange County Girl
4. Early Winter
5. Now That You Got It
6. 4 In The Morning
7. Yummy Album Version (Explicit)
8. Fluorescent
9. Breakin' Up
10. Don't Get It Twisted Album Version (Explicit)
11. U Started It
12. Wonderful Life
13. Wind It Up Live Version
14. Orange County Girl

Summary: It's a mixed bag of songs but I'm sure you will at least like one of them.