USA Today (May 3rd 2000)
No Doubt about it: ‘Back to fill the void!’
Selling 11 million copies of a breakthrough album should foster enough self-confidence to brave any obstacle, even one as towering as bubble-gum croon group 'N Sync.
But No Doubt knows doubt.
The Orange County, Calif., quartet that dominated airwaves and MTV with 1995's Tragic Kingdom isn't betting on carbon-copy success with fourth album Return of Saturn, which entered the chart at No. 2, behind 'N Sync's unsinkable No Strings Attached. A media blizzard greeted the band's reappearance, and radio quickly adopted first single Ex-Boyfriend. Healthy signs, but no guarantee that No Doubt will survive such inbound torpedoes as Limp Bizkit and Britney Spears.
Arriving during the reign of grunge, Tragic needed a year to muscle past gritty shoegazers and claim the chart's summit. Now No Doubt faces a glut of rap-rockers and boy bands.
"It feels like we're going in circles," says singer Gwen Stefani, who's grazing on Chinese food with bassist and former flame Tony Kanal in an Interscope Records cubbyhole. "When the last album came out, there was no way we could get on the radio. We squeezed in later. In the past year, we were the only female-fronted band on (L.A. alternative rock station) KROQ. There's so much male- dominated, testosterone-driven hard music. On the other hand, you have these lighthearted boy bands I thought America would never embrace. Once again, we don't fit in."
Kanal serves up cautious optimism. "Maybe we fit in between the extremes," he says. "We didn't fit last time, either, and it turned out to be a good thing. We can fill a void. You can't think about it too much or make predictions. You just make the best record you can and hope it finds its place."
Stefani brightens. "We're back to fill the void! Actually, I sense a void in music. There's not a lot I can attach myself to. I'm too old for the boy bands, and my heart can't connect with the macho bands. I feel they're pushing me away, like 'You're not welcome in our club.' The two records I really love now are by The Cure and Fiona Apple, sensitive, homegrown music."
Stefani, Kanal, guitarist Tom Dumont and drummer Adrian Young spent two years crafting Return of Saturn. The title refers to the planet's 29-year orbit, roughly the length of time required for the average earthling to find himself. The four players, all 30ish, took a short break after 27 months of touring, then reconvened to begin composing songs they hoped would reflect their personal and artistic growth.
"We had confidence but no confidence," Stefani says. "We had the validation of our success, but we hadn't been in a creative mode in so long."
They holed up in a rented Hollywood Hills manse.
"We decided to treat ourselves," Kanal says. "We set up a studio in this beautiful house with an amazing view of the valley. We just sat for six months and wrote and wrote. It was almost a little too decadent."
Adds Stefani, "We got way more done when we were at the S.I.R. studio in a smelly room with no windows. But after touring so long, we deserved that luxury. Some days nothing would get done, and it was frustrating. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were rehearsing in Flea's house one hill away, and we'd hear this full band with total energy while we were strumming our acoustic guitars."
After penning 40 tracks, No Doubt enlisted the aid of Glen Ballard, producer of Alanis Morissette's hit albums.
"We were stuck and feeling desperate, thinking we'd never finish this if we don't get somebody to push us," Stefani says.
Ballard encouraged the band to continue writing as recording progressed, resulting in the 11th-hour submission of key track Ex- Girlfriend.
"He helped us focus," Kanal says. "He was the filter we put our ideas through. He had everything we were looking for: knowledge of music theory, experience, skills as a producer, arranger and songwriter. It seemed like the perfect fit.
"In the past, we recorded while holding jobs and going to school. This time, we had the opportunity and means to experiment and take as long as we needed. We needed two years."
Saturn's lyrics reflect Stefani's emotional odyssey of reconciling dreams and reality. In self-lacerating observations, she reveals the indecision and insecurities that plagued her late 20s.
"The last couple of years weren't my favorite," she says. "I hit a definite low point. The songs are snapshots of that real confusing period. I had always been a passive, happy-go-lucky type. If I had a bad day, chocolate would fix it. That stopped working."
Marry Me, Simple Kind of Life and other tunes that dwell on domestic contentment shouldn't be interpreted as signs of regret, says Stefani, who has been romantically linked to Bush singer Gavin Rossdale for four years.
"It's more about the confusion over what I thought I'd be and what I've become," she says. "Everything I do is about the band. And other things, like relationships, definitely suffer. But I love what I'm doing. I can't help myself."
With career demands restricting time with family, friends and potential mates, the players find comfort in the band's cozy spirit.
"The chemistry is so amazing, which shocks me," Stefani says. "After the stress of the tour, I didn't think we'd be so supportive and respectful. We learned to let each other grow. There was a lot of stepping back. I know I have a big mouth and a big opinion, so I try consciously to shut up. We all did that.
"We were on the same page making this record. When we sat down to sift through it all, I was sick. I thought, 'Oh, God, here it is, the vote.' But we all had similar lists. The song was more important than any individual. It made me really happy, and I'm getting teary thinking about it."
Kanal sees the tight bond as essential to the band's durability.
"We're so lucky that we're good friends," he says. "As cheesy as it sounds, we still hang out, go to movies and have parties when we're not working. I don't know what will happen with this record, but I think it's our best work ever. As long as the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of being in this band, we'll keep going."