No Doubt - Return of Saturn

After No Doubt sold more than 10 million copies of Tragic Kingdom, riding that wave of success without toppling over must have been a daunting mission. No sweat for No Doubt. The band toiled as national unknowns with a loyal local following for a decade before that album's release, and during that time the band members were learning how to be better songwriters and musicians. The follow-up, Return of Saturn, glides along that continuum of songcraft perfection. The band presents a cleaner, less apologist representation of their influences. They pull off some of the more difficult maneuvers of pure reggae, ground-pounding ska, and Cars-esque New Wave. Gwen Stefani, the fearless Orange County princess, belts a powerful pout, her Mae West-meets-Siouxsie Sioux vocal bravado the bungee cord that springs in between the band's retro tendencies and SoCal pop-punk attitude. It seems believable that she could stamp her foot and always get her way, but her self-deprecating confessions evade brattiness. Songs like "Bathwater" and "Ex-Girlfriend" reveal the singer's vulnerability to being hurt or dumped on, and the band's sense of humor and exploration (albeit firmly controlled) matches the songs' sentiments. This group is growing out and tightening up, and while the rest of the ska-punk surfer-dude bands do nothing more than repeat history, No Doubt is creating it. --Beth Massa Amazon.com

"Sometimes I wish for a mistake..."

Return of Saturn by No Doubt is considered their most mature but least-selling album. This album is good but not brilliant, there are a lot of slow songs with heavy lyrics which are nice but depressing. Bathwater, Dark Blue, New, A Simple Kind of Life, and Magic's in the Makeup are standouts but the rest of the album gets boring pretty fast. This is a mixed bag but I like it better than Tragic Kingdom. May 28, 2008

It's good

IF you like No Doubt before they hit the main stream, then you should get this one March 29, 2008

Worthwhile music - I'd recommend giving it a listen.

I must confess, I'd never been familiar with No Doubt as a band before hearing Return of Saturn. I'd only heard some of their singles (I'm Just a Girl, Don't Speak, Hey Baby, Underneath it all, etc.) I also stumbled upon "Comforting Lie" and was blown away. Wow! That song alone is amazing - the heightened beat, drums, and Gwen's voice all come together perfectly. So I bought Return of Saturn just to hear the rest of the album. I wasn't sure what to expect. By the time I was done the CD I was satisfied.

One thing No Doubt does best is create catchy melodies; but changes things up a bit. "Ex-Girlfriend" for example, is a great song you want to get up and dance to. On the other hand, a "Simple Kind of Life" is more relaxing; whereas "Six Feet Underground" recalls a more retro (maybe 80s) feel to it and "Home Now" has a very sweet nostalgic feel about it. Most of the songs have their own unique feel to them, making each one a nice surprise. This is wonderful because if I find a song is predictable, it gets disappointing.

Lyrical content is quite surprising as well. This is considering that some of the songs could potentially be immature. Most artists are unable to capture the emotional impact of the message without sounding like they're whining. No Doubt manages to avoid both pit-falls. Even on the break-up songs, ie. "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Bathwater", the lyrics are sung with a sense of maturity about them. Gwen Stefani (lead singer) allows the listener to feel the emotions through her singing; but at the same time creates a more pensive atmosphere to the songs. She sings about the issues people think about daily (Being jealous of others, wearing a mask, the repetitiveness of life, lying for love, etc). Yet, Gwen allows a sense that you're taking a journey through a person's mind. She's not trying to belt out a message, but merely allowing their listeners to interpret and apply what they see in a song, what's presented, to their own lives. It's a different approach and it works very well.

So why only 4 stars? Well, I find it just falls short of a 5 star album. I believe it's because there are a few songs, in listening to the whole CD at once, that seem a tad mellow compared to the others (ie. New). Now, these songs aren't bad, but I feel they just need a bit of an extra push to them to allow me to get more into the song.

In conclusion, the CD shines for the most part. I'm not disappointed, so I would say if you're looking for a new band to check out, No Doubt would be it. Return of Saturn will be worth your time and money. March 27, 2008

Their Best

I believe this is No Doubt's best cd. The hits on this album are great: Ex-Girlfriend, Simple Kind of Life, Bathwater.... but i also love the other songs..... Suspension without Suspense, Magic's in the Make-up, Artificial Sweetener.... wow... I love all the songs. I am a huge No Doubt/Gwen Stefani fan...so I'm very familiar with all their CDs.... If you like No Doubt at all....this is the CD to own. January 8, 2007

Return Of No Doubt

It would take another 5 years from "Tragic Kingdom" to make the follower "Return of Saturn" and many things happened since, On the previous we found Gwen Stefani sing about the painful breakup with bandmember Tony Kanal where most of the songs were Ska/Punkish, now 5 years later Gwen was over 30 and was not only more mature but wanted to get married and start a family also. The music was also closer to New Wave, like early Cars even if some songs are still on fammiliar territory. While this may have alienated some fans from "Tragic Kingdom" this album show growth as a band and "Saturn" works fantastic as a concept, instead of recycling what worked in the past No Doubt tried something new and it worked just fine. However, there aren't as many highlights for the charts on this album but it's still perhaps the concept of songs that makes it this good. "Ex-Girlfriend" reminds you of their previous album's song's. A catchy ska-punk song and also a hit single. This song is actually about Gwen's future husband Gavin Rossdale. Second single called "Simple Kind of Life" is one of many simular song themes of this album which deals about Gwen's maturing and realizing what she really wants in life. In the video for it, you'll also see her getting married. The song is more of a midtempo but equally strong as the first single. "Bathwater" and "New" were also released in some countries as single's and the first a catchy uptempo is pretty good. The second is a new wave song. Good songs continue throughout the album with "Artificial Sweeter" about trying to be happy on the surface but feeling bad on the inside "Magic's In The Makeup" wether people would still love her underneath the makeup and "Suspension Without Suspense" about being in a relationship that doesn't go forward. I think No Doubt's music is excellent, their sound is unique full of admiration, but their best ability is to create feelings that fans can relate to and songs that really mean something. This album is a prime example of that where many songs are part of a concept with a mature Gwen Stefani dealing with relationship eventually leading to marriage and a family. I really can see why this album has a special place in many fans hearts, even if there weren't many hit singles like "Tragic Kingdom" here. Needless to say, this is another fantastic album from one of the best bands. December 27, 2006

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