Disillusioned as you enter... (Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt)

Member Name: andrewl

Product:	Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt
Date:	30/03/05 (94 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great songs, Great fun

Disadvantages: patchy vocals, the odd duff track

'No Doubt' came to the attention of the UK public with 'Tragic Kingdom', on the release of the single 'Don't Speak', which was a fairly massive hit, topping the charts for several weeks in the mid-nineties. They enjoyed a brief spell of popularity thanks to their style of punk rock without too much noise. They could have become huge here then, but the marketing just seemed to give up after the re-release of their single 'Just a Girl'. Very odd, and also a shame, as 'Tragic Kingdom' was a great genre-straddling album, finding its way on to the shelves of even the most vacuous 'Take That' loving adolescents. A couple of disappointing albums later they would storm back with the majestic 'Hella Good'.

'Tragic Kingdom' was also, for reasons too tiresome to go into, the first compact disc I ever bought. So it does have a certain protected status on my shelf. However, I'll be as objective as possible.

The general style of the songs on the album has vocalist Gwen Stefani as the loudest element, with the instrumentals kept very much in second place, except for solos. I am unconvinced about this, as while Stefani has a great voice, I wonder whether it's quite strong enough to make up for the comparative lack of noise on what's supposed to be a rock album. On several songs she comes across as giving a technically perfect rendition without quite investing enough emotion in the lyrics. Plus, call me old-fashioned, but I like to hear those guitars scream. The music sounds great underneath all that singing, but it would have been nice to hear a bit more of it.

The band have also taken the decision to include more traditional instruments. Instead of taking the now normal approach and making a beeline for a violin section and a nice bit of cello in the third chorus, however, No Doubt tend to opt for brash, bright brass. Trumpets and saxophones pop up everywhere, adding a little bounce to proceedings. It makes it sound even less like rock, but it definitely sounds interesting, and I like it.

So, on to the songs themselves. 'Spiderwebs' was apparently released as a single, but I can only assume it flopped in the UK, because I only ever heard it on the album. A song about answerphones? No, a song about stalkers, or obsessives at least. The strong chorus (another notable feature of the album) is Stefani's answerphone message, talking about how she's walking into 'spiderwebs'. It's a great offbeat lyric that nudges the song from being worthy but predictable into being a quirky piece of great music.

'Excuse Me, Mr' is one of the most rocking tracks on the album. Gwen puts her all into the vocals, and the oddly brilliant interlude adds as a great contrast to the drive of the rest of the song.

'Just a Girl' was released twice as a single in the UK, and has appeared on numerous soundtracks (including 'Clueless', I think). We hear about the difficulties inherent in being 'just' a girl. All the things that a teenage girl has trouble doing without disapproval. I'm surprised it wasn't a bigger hit than it was, as it's quite poppy in its style, which isn't always a bad thing. And there's a healthy dose of rebellion in the mix as Stefani shouts 'I've had it up to here!' Hardly subtle, but to the point. Which probably sums up this band, actually.

'Happy Now' is a pretty good song, and Stefani is again really putting some effort into the vocals.

Next up, however, is 'Different People'. A tribute to the diversity of the human race, with sick-makingly twee lyrics about a mother being an inspiration 'to her little son'. The whole tone lurches over to the middle of the road. It's actually quite a good song, but it jars with many of the rest of the tracks on the album, and the singing isn't exactly first-rate.

'Hey You' sees a slight return to form. The opening sitar stirs hideous race memories of George Harrison (note: think of new sitar gag for future reviews), but the song turns out to be a vicious attack on self-delusional conformity. True punk sentiments starting to leak out (as I read elsewhere on Epinions.com, punk is traditionally political as much as it is musical in England), even if it is in a song that you could probably give to Madonna without too many worries.

'The Climb'. Oh dear. This is a very long song, and quite boring to boot. The singing is flawless but uninspired. When Stefani sings that she 'can't turn back now' in the first chorus, you do find yourself thinking, 'ah, go on, please?'

'Sixteen' is far better. At first glance it seems to be yet another song to play about how your parents just don't understand you, but you get the distinct feeling that it's all a lot more sarcastic than that. At a much faster pace, the lyrics contrast the idealistic side of teenage development ('I've got a soul, man!') with the more accurate aspect ('Am I EVER going to get a snog?'). Great stuff.

'Sunday Morning' is a difficult one to classify, seeing as it comprises two or three different tunes, chopping and changing with bewildering rapidity in an otherwise unremarkable story of role reversal within a relationship.

'Don't Speak' is of course the classic single from this album. Gwen's vocals are at their peak, and the instruments have been cranked up a notch. This is a great song that truly deserved its hit status, and endures to this day.

Unfortunately, the album starts to go into a bit of a dip after this smash hit. 'You Can Do It' and 'End It On This' are OK, but nothing special, and 'World Go Round' is an utterly toothless attack on destructive capitalism. We've, like, got to save the planet. Cheers for the insight, lads.

Luckily, the album ends on a storming high with its title track. 'Tragic Kingdom' sets out to slam the Disney empire mercilessly through a thinly-veiled fairy-tale analogy. References to the stories of Walt's cryogenically frozen remains jostle with the bold chorus line: 'Welcome to the Tragic Kingdom.' The rocking fusion of vocals, guitars, brass and saxophone reaches a brain-bubbling high as Gwen Stefani shakes her way out of whatever stupor has stopped her from caring about the last three tracks and screams abuse at purveyors of repetitious Hollywood tack.

And then it's all over, a lone saxophone tootling its unsteady way through the Star Wars riff. You leave this album not quite sure how to classify it. It's not exactly punk, but it's definitely not rock. It's certainly angry, but against what is unclear, given its blatant commercialism. In my view, this is an album to treasure, but not to take too seriously. And let's end it on that.

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