Gwen's second album - not her finest moment but enjoyable none the less (The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani)

Member Name: nessyboo

Product:	The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani
Date:	13/05/09 (14 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A couple of amazing songs,

Disadvantages: Songs don't hang together very well, mediocre songs

I've been obsessed with No Doubt (particularly Gwen Stefani) since a young age. It took me a while to get used to the idea of her going solo and doing a 'dance record' but L.A.M.B, Gwen's first album, was fantastic.

Gwen has mentioned that one of the main reasons she recorded the Sweet Escape was to use up a couple of songs that were left over from the first album, mainly 'Wonderful Life'. Apparently she had to choose between this and the massive hit 'Hollaback Girl'. I don't see why they couldn't have had both, but record companies work in funny ways. And although this album is a bit hit and miss, I'm glad she recorded it and went out on the road again, this time touring Europe, which gave me a chance to see her.

The best songs on the album by far are 'Early Winter', which was written by Keane (I believe) and is a beautiful heart wrenching ballad, and Gwen's vocals some of the best she's ever recorded. The closing track 'Wonderful Life' is a haunting, electro pop song about her first boyfriend who commited suicide, and is a great song to round off the album.

Otherwise, the album is quite hit and miss and doesn't hang together very well. You get the feeling that this album was thrown together quite quickly, and there are too many producers and different things going on. Gwen likes to mix up different styles and is usually very good at this but has missed the mark slightly with this album.

The first single (and opening track) 'Wind it Up' is quite random, a bit catchy but also annoying. The lyrics are terrible and I don't think it represents Gwen very well as a recording artist, or even as a human being! Why they released this song as the first single and not 'Wonderful Life' or 'Early Winter' is beyond me.

The album is quite listenable and catchy but you will probably get bored with it fairly quickly. Apart from the couple of stand out tracks of course :)

Summary: Should have released an EP!