Love Angel Music Baby Review

No Doubt has been one of the best ska bands of the past decade and has provided many songs for everyone to enjoy. My personal fave is "ex-Girlfriend". The popularity of its lead singer Gwen Stefani has since grown and Gwen has decided to make a new album without her band, though some songs on this CD (named after her new clothing line) are collaborations with her former bandmates. Led by the hot single "What You Waiting For", Gwen provides us with an eclectic mix of songs on her debut solo CD, showcasing her fascination with Harujuku girls and her own insecurity with making a solo album and how it will be recieived.

Track List

1) What You Waiting For- This is definitely something I have never heard before. Gwen's voice is all over the place with this song and it makes the song so good. This is the first single and it's a great song. This is an excellent song to dance around to (as well as sing to, which I have done several times today, lol.) 5/5

2) Rich Girl (featuring Eve)- Another collaboration with Eve that fails to match or even surpass their previous collaboration on that song "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", but it is still a good song nonetheless. 4/5

3) Hollaback Girl- Although a bit repetitive, this is still a great song. Backed with a stomping sound and trumpets, this song is good, but still could be better. But it is still a fun track. 4/5

4) Cool- A synth filled track, this song talks about a breakup, but puts a positive spin on things by being friends with the person you broke up with (*coughTonyandGwencough* lol). This is a perfect example of Gwen's 80s influences on this CD. 5/5

5) Bubble Pop Electric (featuring Johnny Vulture aka Andre 3000) - Produced by Johnny Vulture (who is also featured in the song), this is another danceable track. Even though it has a weird title, this is a really good song. I love this song! It does have a weird beat. When I was listening to this CD for the first time and I saw that title, I was like "I can only imagine what this song sounds like." 5/5

6) Luxurious- With a more R&B feel, this song is kind of mid tempo and isn't a really good song. It has pretty, beautiful music but the lyrics aren't good enough. It samples a piece from Notorious B.I.G's "Big Poppa". 3/5

7) Harujuku Girls- This song defines Gwen's fascination with the Harujuku girls and has an Oriental feel to it in the beginning. With occasional Japanese words thrown in, this is a good song with a catchy chorus. This is the longest song on this album, coming close to 5 minutes. 5/5

8) Crash- This is a REALLY good song! I love this song, and it sounds a lot like the song "Push It Real Hard" (I think it's called that...) by Salt N Pepa. It talks about driving, but the lyrics could definitely mean something else. Produced by Tony Kanal. 5/5

9) The Real Thing- Starting off slow like a ballad, it moves into mid tempo territory. The lyrics in this song are meaningful and are very beautiful. This song is very mellow and soothing. 5/5

10) Serious- Beginning with string instruments playing, it goes straight into an electronic beat. Written by Gwen and Tony, this song does sound like an 80s song done by Kylie Minogue that kind of combines her early career and her indie period. This is a good song, but not good enough. 3/5

11) Danger Zone- With an electro bass sound, this is one of my favorite songs. It does get a bit repetitive, but it is still a good track. 4/5

12) Long Way to Go (featuring Andre 3000)- This song deals with interracial dating and features clips from Martin Luther King Jr's famous speech. The clips are weird just because they are spliced with the beats and it sounds weird. With clever poetic lyrics, this song is sure to provoke some thought on this issue. 5/5

Despite her constant references to her new clothing line, this is still a good album to get. I would suggest getting it at Target because it's only $10 there. The booklet that comes with the CD contains the lyrics to each song, which I always like to have when I buy a CD. There is also a deluxe edition of the CD that costs anywhere from $25 to $35 that contains a "Fabric wrapped, gold embossed, hardcore digipak - Book style layout with gold ribbon bookmark - Plus a custom CD case designed by Gwen (taken from amazon.com)" So go out and buy it!

Just not the Gwen I have always known and loved....a real turn off.

I ran out and bought this the minute it was released just knowing that I would love anything from Gwen. Boy was I wrong...I won't try to convince you one way or the other...I see some good reviews here so apparently some must like it. Just check this album out before you spend your money. Not the same girl who used to rock out with Bradley back in OC.

First off, let me say that I am a Gwen Stefani and No Doubt fan. All the bigger the letdown with this album. It's not terrible...it's well put together, slick, danceable and slightly addicting in the way that a bag of Skittles is addicting. But it also leaves me feeling the way I feel after eating a bag of Skittles; jittery, unfufilled, and kind of diabetic.

While I am not by any stetch of the imagination a fashionista, I do enjoy Gwen's unique look and understand how important image is in her business. But must the entire album be devoted to repetitions of Harajuku girls and their "wicked style"? Idea overkilled.

The only tracks on this disc that seem to have any substance at all are "What Are You Waiting For" and "We've Got A Long Way To Go". Sandwiched in between these two graham crackers is the rest of the marshmellowy, chocolaty stickiness. I don't have anything against just having fun, and I don't want or expect social commentary with every song, but if I wanted that after-candy empty effect I would have bought an album by Jessica or Brittany. I didn't expect it from Gwen and hence I am disappointed. Next time Gwen a little less LAMB and a little more LION please!

If only there was a choice for 0 stars...

I would like to say that this girl is amazing on her own, but I can't. This cd is full of childish lyrics. The likes of which are more infantile than teen singers like avril levigne or hillary duff. It makes me wonder how so many people can just shake their head in disappointment at her lyrics and then shrug their shoulders and say "oh well, I LOVE it anyway." I would have hoped for more out of a matured woman and icon for the masses. What are you waiting for, Gwen? GROW UP. But as many of reviewers have said, "But it's about the music, right?"

With the music in mind, it is like she was a kid in the candy store. She overwhelmed herself with too many interests in various genres. I find her songs to sound weak in comparison to any of the ones they reflect. We all know that The Isley Brothers' song "Between the Sheets" holds it's on as being a great R&B beat that has been reused many a time. Gwen's lyrics and style of singing made me want to cry out in pain when juxtaposed with the chill beat. The same goes with her bastardization of New Order. I think my ears were literally bleeding. Her song "Crash" mimics that of 80's girl rappers, but how can she compare? Le Tigre did it so well. Fanny Pack is doing it well now. Even Peaches sounds like butter. Although this is her first solo album, I don't buy it as strong or groundbreaking. When Bjork split from the Sugarcubes and made her first album, "Debut," she quickly and solidly defined her style. From there she was able to evolve within her music over the years. Unfortunately, Gwen is still lost down the rabbit hole when it comes to finding her individual musical talent.

I really love Gwen's work with No Doubt, but solo albums tend to be hit or miss. Gwen's done a great job of hooking up with Today's Top Producers, but this doesn't always bode well for her. Somehow she comes across like too much of a fan copying other people's musical styles. I was expecting something a little more unique because Gwen was always so original with No Doubt.

I think Gwen's album is okay ear candy for a little while. The songs are catchy and sometimes infectious. If you don't take the whole thing seriously you might even like it. But if you want substance I doubt this album's what you are really looking for. Standout tracks are What You Waiting For, Long Way To Go and The Real Thing. Eve's rap in Rich Girl sounded dancehallish and cool, but Eve's words and Gwen's lyrics were so wack. The rest of the songs on Love Angel Music Baby suck in my opinion.

Gwen talks too much about Harajuku girls and objectifies them in a demeaning light. Maybe she doesn't mean to do this, but when I watch her performances, videos and interviews with these Harajuku Girls in the background like ornaments and mimes, I cannot help but notice this.

Sometimes I cannot understand Gwen's lyrics in her songs because they are difficult to hear in the midst of the noise in the background. I hear a bunch of stuff going on and it gets annoying and distracting. I've had to go online to get the lyrics to her CD. When I do understand what she is saying in her music, I am not impressed with what she is talking about. I think her references to drug use are so unnecessary. I know this is supposed to be a fun album, but saying nonsensical and vulgar stuff to make yourself appear relevant and cool is not the prerequisite in order to make fun music.

I also don't like how Gwen starts to pose like she is gangsta by cussing, pseudo rapping and singing about immature stuff you only hear from young hip hoppers and some R&B singers. Gwen's like 35 and she seems to have arrested development on this disc. Either she is grossly immature or she's turned into a loony.

I really like Gwen's takes on New Wave because I love 80's music myself. There were some songs that were TOO New Wavish because they sound like they were ripped from any album back then. There's a difference between being inspired and influenced by a certain sound and copying that kind of music to the point where it sounds like you are doing karaoke.

I really disliked how Gwen's album turned into a blatant and tacky ad for her fashion line. The music industry has become so commercial it's nauseating. Wherever you are, you are being shoved the latest hot item and now we gotta put up with even more advertising on CD's? Whatever happened to listening to music to unwind and forget about everything?

Love Angel Music Baby really could have been great album but Gwen's vanity, obsession with Harajuku girls, fear of taking musical risks, lack of creative control, and originality, fixation with material things and immaturity really spoiled L.A.M.B.