Malay Mail (Oct. 12th 2000)
Gwen’s The One
Her affair with music began years ago, when her brother virtually forced her to do backing vocals during the band's nascent days. But now, Gwen Stefani of No Doubt has blossomed into a leader of sorts. Return Of Saturn, the band's latest effort, has Gwen's stamp all over it, and it's all right by the three guys.
The title refers to the time the gas giant takes to orbit the Sun and the notion that the first 29 years of a person's life is spent trying to find his/her place in the world. Stefani's own journey of self-assessment colours most of the record.
"The sound on this album was a natural evolution, and it has a lot to do with the albums being so far apart. Tragic Kingdom was done in 1994, and this one in 1999. We've just grown a lot as musicians and people. I know Gwen had real specific ideas for this album, and she emerged as a creative leader. We did collaborate on many things, though," says guitarist Tom Dumont.
The Orange County, California, band formed in 1986 with Stefani's keyboardist brother Eric and singer John Spence whose favourite expression christened the group. No Doubt briefly split up in December 1987 after Spence committed suicide, but regrouped days later.
In 1993, Stefani, Dumont, drummer Adrian Young and bassist Tony Kanal began recording the album that would make them a huge international success, but the ride wasn't so smooth.
"Something happened during the making of Tragic Kingdom. Eric quit in the middle of the recording and all of a sudden, the task of writing lyrics fell on everybody else. Gwen started thinking about her own life. We all did," Dumont discloses.
Stefani penned lyrics about her break-up with Kanal on Sunday Morning and Don't Speak, the album sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, and the 10 years the band had toiled bore fruit. The pop, rock, punk, ska mix has been taken to another level on Return Of Saturn.
"Gwen wanted to explore a different sound. We all felt it was a good thing to have a leader we could respect, though we work on everything together," explains Dumont.
Contrary to popular belief, No Doubt is no ska outfit. "It's inaccurate to say we play ska. Bands like The Specials or Madness ... groups like that play ska. We don't sound anything like those groups. About 10-15 years ago when we were starting out, we were definitely imitating that kind of music, but it is not fair for people who like ska, and certainly not fair for us to be labeled a ska band."
A lot of Return Of Saturn is subdued, says Dumont, whose favourite track (also their new single) - Bathwater - stands out.
"There is something about that song that is very playful and very unique. It is not like the songs you listen to on radio. The vibe is from the 1930s or 1940s. It is really upbeat," he says..
The band took about four years to come up with the sequel to Tragic Kingdom, but Dumont says he wouldn't have had it any other way. "When Tragic Kingdom came out, we toured for two years and became very popular. Touring takes time and people wanted to hear us play. When the tour was over, we took two months off, and then started working on Return of Saturn. It took a year to write, six months to record and another six to get a release date. We were being very productive, and I wouldn't change it," he reiterates.
The reviews were mostly good, so the time out paid off, as it were. Dumont dispels the notion that No Doubt has been out of action for too long, and are now languishing in a sea of boybands and teenage girls.
"Rolling Stone gave us a great review. We wanted to improve as a band. It's the one album I can listen to, and feel most proud of.
"Pop trends come and go, and maybe we're not the flavour of the year, this year. But it doesn't mean we don't have a big place in this world," he says.
Apart from the music, Stefani has taken the lead in the video department as well.
"Gwen and Sophie Muller (a British director who has done many of their videos) have become friends, and they really collaborate. She is really interested in visual arts and the visual sides of things, and I definitely let her take the lead," said Dumont.
But the emphasis on Gwen was soon to spin out of control. The guys got cropped out of photos, and the video for Don't Speak succinctly told the story of the three guys and the girl in the limelight.
Dumont says, however, that there haven't been any hard feelings among the group's members. "Before we became popular, eight years before Tragic Kingdom, we were all best friends. We were like this little family.
"When we became popular, people gravitated towards Gwen, who is charismatic and beautiful. We always try to maintain that of course she is the focal point, but this isn't Britney Spears. She wasn't put together by songwriters.
"We wanted to put across the facts, and we don't want people to mistake us for a band fabricated by a record company."
Dumont guarantees that No Doubt has a great show lined up for local fans in KL, tonight.
"We are really excited to be here. And one of the best things is that we get to go places so far from home. We've never been here, and it is exciting to find out new things. Putting on a live concert is one of our strongest points. We put a lot of energy into our shows, and we are going to play all the songs that people like," he promised.