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Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

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Untitled

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. is the debut solo album by American singer Gwen Stefani, released by Interscope Records in November 2004 (see 2004 in music). The album originally began as a small side project, but grew into a large production with numerous collaborations and producers.

The album was designed as a modern version of 1980s music, and was influenced by artists such as Madonna, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, and Club Nouveau. Most of the songs focus on fashion and wealth. The album introduced the "Harajuku Girls", four backup dancers who dress in the Harajuku style, a move which drew accusations of racism.

Upon release, the album received mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, with criticism for its many collaborations and superficial lyrical content. It yielded six singles and had high sales, going multi-platinum in several countries and selling seven million copies. L.A.M.B. earned Stefani several Grammy Award nominations in 2005 and 2006.

Conception and writing

During Stefani's time with No Doubt, she began appearing on singles with Eve, Moby, and the Brian Setzer Orchestra; the band also worked with artists such as Prince, The Neptunes, and Dr. Dre during the production of Rock Steady (2001). While the band was on tour to promote the album, Stefani listened to Club Nouveau's "Why You Treat Me So Bad" and considered recording material that modernized 1980s music.[1] She approached No Doubt bassist and former boyfriend Tony Kanal, who had introduced her to music by Prince, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, and Debbie Deb, and they talked about producing songs from Kanal's bedroom.[2]

In early 2003, Stefani began recording solo material, stating that she was interested in creating singles to be used on soundtracks and later playing Jean Harlow in The Aviator but that she was also considering continuing her series of collaborations or making a full solo album.[3] During her first sessions with Linda Perry Stefani's combination of self-consciousness and writer's block resulted in an unfruitful attempt.[1] On the second day, the two wrote a song about Stefani's writer's block, which became "What You Waiting For?", the lead single.[1]

When the two began working on a song that Stefani stated was too personal, she left to visit Kanal, who played her a track on which he had been working and became "Crash", another single from the album.[1] The two tried to write new material, but gave up after two weeks and did not return to work until six months later, when Stefani began collaborating with other artists, commenting, "If I were to write the chorus of 'Yesterday' by the Beatles, and that's all I wrote, that would be good enough to be part of that history."[1] Stefani resumed work with Linda Perry, who invited Dallas Austin, and many other artists, including OutKast's André 3000, The Neptunes, and Dr. Dre.[1] More than a year after starting the album, Stefani announced in early 2004 that she would be releasing what she referred to as "my dance record" later that year.[4]

Lyrical content

Many of the songs discuss fashion and wealth.

Like pop of the 1980s, L.A.M.B. focuses primarily on money, with songs such as "Rich Girl" and "Luxurious" featuring descriptions of riches and wealth.[5] The album also contains several references to Stefani's clothing line, L.A.M.B.,[5] and alludes to contemporary fashion designers such as John Galliano, Comme des Garçons, and Vivienne Westwood.[6] Stefani later released a series of dolls named the Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Fashion Dolls designed after the costumes from her tour.[7] Although Stefani intended for the album to only be a light dance record, she stated that "no matter what you do, things just come out."[8] The opening track, "What You Waiting For?", discusses Stefani's desire to be a mother; in 2006, she and her husband, Bush singer Gavin Rossdale, had a son named Kingston Rossdale.[9] The fourth track "Cool" discusses Stefani's friendship with Tony Kanal after Kanal ended a romantic relationship with her in 1995.[10]

The Harajuku Girls performing on the Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005.

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. also introduced the Harajuku Girls, an entourage of four Japanese women who Stefani treats as a figment of her imagination.[11] The Harajuku Girls are frequently mentioned in the album, with the song "Harajuku Girls" entirely dedicated to them. They have since appeared in most of the music videos produced for the album and those for Stefani's second album The Sweet Escape (2006), and Stefani has drawn accusations of racism for the subject. In October 2005, Korean American actor and comedian Margaret Cho wrote an article largely critical of the group.[12] In the article, Cho referred to the group as a "minstrel show" and compared the act to the blackface tradition, stating, "I am just in acceptance over it, because something is better than nothing."[12] The Village Voice rebuked Stefani for contractual obligations that the four not speak English though they are fluent, and stated that "silencing people is the epitome of taking away their autonomy and subjectivity, even if Gwen Stefani thinks her silent Japanese fashionistas are part of an awesome and empowering counterculture."[13] Salon magazine also criticized the practice, stating that Stefani had "swallowed a subversive youth culture in Japan and barfed up another image of submissive giggling Asian women."[14]

Musical style

Stefani performing "Serious" in the black and white stripes popular in New Wave fashion.

Love. Angel. Music. Baby. takes influence from a variety of 1980s genres, with one reviewer stating that "the only significant '80s radio style skipped is the ska revival that No Doubt rode to success".[15] The album is primarily pop, with the synthesizers characteristic of synthpop, most popular from the late 1970s through the mid 1980s.[16] New Wave, present in much of No Doubt's work, continues into Love. Angel. Music. Baby., drawing comparisons to The Go-Go's and Cyndi Lauper.[17] Stefani stated that her influences were Club Nouveau, Lisa Lisa, Prince, New Order, The Cure, and early Madonna.[18] To a lesser degree, the album draws from pop genres such as bubblegum pop, Europop, and disco.[16][17][19]

L.A.M.B. also includes various styles of urban music. Several songs are influenced by old school hip hop, with electro beats designed for club play.[20] Producers Dallas Austin and Tony Kanal incorporated R&B into their songs, and "Luxurious" contains a sample of the Isley Brothers' "Between the Sheets". Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who had produced for acts including Boyz II Men, Usher, and Mary J. Blige, incorporate new jack swing, a fusion genre of R&B and hip hop that the pair had developed and popularized during the mid 1980s.

Critical reception

L.A.M.B. received mixed reviews from contemporary pop music critics. All Music Guide called it "intermittently exciting and embarrassing",[20] and The New York Times described it as "clever and sometimes enticing" but stated that it "doesn't quite add up".[21] LAUNCHcast called the album "the hottest, coolest, best-dressed pop album of the year" and found it to be "sleek, shimmery, and dripping with all-killer-no-filler musical bling".[22] Stylus said that Stefani was a contender to fill Madonna's role, "but not enough to get seriously excited about her as the next great solo female careerist."[23] The BBC was more emphatic, stating that Stefani rivaled Madonna and Kelis.[24] The NME stated that Stefani "shamelessly plunders" 1980s music but that the album was "one of the most frivolously brilliant slabs of shiny retro-pop anyone's had the chuzpah to release all year."[25] OMH found the album "enjoyable, if patchy", but commented that it was too long.[26] Rolling Stone magazine included the album in its list of the top fifty albums of 2004.[27]

The album was generally criticized for its large number of collaborations and producers. The Guardian argued that although "others lend a hand…it's very much Stefani's show"; however, most others disagreed.[28] PopMatters compared to album to a second No Doubt greatest hits album,[17] and Pitchfork Media said that the large number of collaborators resulted in sacrificing Stefani's identity on the album.[29] Neumu found that the album's fragmentation kept it from being "a bright-and-shiny pop-music tour-de-force".[30] Most reviewers held that the collaborations prevented the album from having a solidified sound. Drawer B stated, "Stefani tries to be all things to all people here", but that the result "comes off as manipulative and contrived."[31] Entertainment Weekly shared this opinion, stating that the album "is like one of those au courant retail magazines that resembles a catalog more than an old-fashioned collection of, say, articles."[5]

Many reviewers focused on the album's light lyrical themes. Entertainment Weekly called the references to Stefani's clothing line "shameless" and stated that "each song becomes akin to a pricey retro fashion blurb",[5] and Pitchfork Media said that "the Joker's free-money parade through Gotham City was a much more entertaining display of wealth, and he had Prince, not just Wendy & Lisa."[29] Slant magazine stated that the album's "fashion fetish…gives the album a sense of thematic cohesiveness" but that the "obsession with Harajuku girls borders on maniacal".[16] The Guardian disagreed with this perspective, arguing that "her affinity with Japanese pop culture…yields a synthetic sheen…that works well with the other point of reference, hip-hop."[28]

Sales and chart performance

The album debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200 at number seven, selling 309,000 copies.[32] It peaked at number five in June 2005[33] and was certified triple platinum that December in the U.S.,[34] going on to sell 3.8 million copies.[35] At the Billboard Music Awards, Stefani won the awards for Digital Song of the Year (for "Hollaback Girl") and New Artist of the Year, and performed "Luxurious" with Slim Thug at the event.[36] At the 2005 Grammy Awards, Stefani received a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "What You Waiting For?"[37] and performed "Rich Girl" with Eve.[38] At the next year's awards, Stefani received five nominations for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album, and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.[39]

The album also fared well outside the U.S.: L.A.M.B. reached number four on the UK Albums Chart in May 2005,[33] on which it remained for over a year.[40] The album was certified triple platinum on September 16, 2005.[41] In Australia, it topped the ARIA Albums Chart and ended 2005 as the fourth best-selling album.[42] It went on to become certified quadruple platinum.[43] In Canada, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. peaked at number three for two weeks[40] on the albums chart and sold over half a million copies, certified quintuple platinum in April 2006.[44] The album reached the top twenty in Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, and Switzerland,[40] and the IFPI certified it platinum at the May 2005 Platinum Europe Awards.[45] L.A.M.B. debuted on the United World Chart at number six and stayed there for four weeks. It remained on the chart for almost a year[40] and sold seven million copies worldwide.[46]

Songs

File:RichGirlCrop.jpg
Stefani in a pirate-themed performance of "Rich Girl".

"What You Waiting For?", one of the first songs written for L.A.M.B., was chosen as the lead single as an "explanation for doing the record".[47] The song discusses Stefani's fears of beginning a solo career, and an accompanying music video was made, in which Stefani regains her confidence after an experience inspired by Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. The song received very positive reviews, often noted as a highlight of the album,[48] and its single was moderately successful, reaching the top ten in most countries.[49] The second single, "Rich Girl" charted equally well.[50] The song, a ragga adaptation of the Fiddler on the Roof song "If I Were a Rich Man", features rapper Eve, with whom Stefani had worked when featured on Eve's single "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (2001).

Template:Sample box start variation 2 Template:Multi-listen start Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen item Template:Multi-listen end Template:Sample box end "Hollaback Girl", the third track, became Stefani's best-selling and most popular single to date. The song was written as a response to a derogatory comment by grunge musician Courtney Love,[51] and its lyrics and music video feature a cheerleading theme. It received several reviews criticizing its repetitive use of the word "shit" several dozen times,[17] but went on to achieve multi-platinum status and became the first U.S. digital download to sell one million copies.[52] The fourth track "Cool" was very well-received by critics,[20][53] but its single charted moderately compared to its predecessors. The song chronicles Stefani's previous relationship with Tony Kanal,[8] and in its music video, the relationship between Stefani and Kanal, played by Daniel González, is illustrated through a series of flashbacks.[8] "Bubble Pop Electric", the fifth track, is an electro song featuring André 3000's alias Johnny Vulture. The song tells of the two having sex at a drive-in movie, and was generally well-received by critics, who drew comparisons to Grease and Grease 2.[54][55]

Stefani performing "The Real Thing".

"Luxurious", whose single features rapper Slim Thug, compares riches like platinum, diamonds, and limousines to love.[56] The song received mixed reviews from critics and was less successful than the other singles. The seventh track, "Harajuku Girls", is a new jack swing song produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. The song was panned by critics who found the track "bizarrely" and "weirdly homoerotic"[17][20] and "teeth-gnashingly cutesy".[5] The sixth single "Crash" was not heavily promoted and sold poorly, unable to reach the top forty in any country.[57] While on tour, Stefani discovered that she was pregnant, so a live video was released instead of producing a music video.[58] "The Real Thing", the ninth track, is a synthpop collaboration between Stefani, Perry, Wendy and Lisa, and members of New Order. It received strong negative reviews, with one reviewer stating that "anyone remotely involved…should find a stray dog and let it bite him".[29]

"Serious", the tenth track, is another synthpop song, similar to Madonna's work during the early 1980s.[24] A music video was produced for the song,[59] but no single or video were officially released. "Danger Zone", an electro song, was well-received as one of the more well-crafted tracks similar to her work with No Doubt.[17] In 2004, Stefani found out that her husband Gavin Rossdale had an illegitimate daughter named Daisy Lowe, and the song was widely interpreted to be about the incident;[5] however, the song was written before this discovery.[34] The closing track, "Long Way to Go", is an outtake from André 3000's The Love Below (2003).[60] The song discusses interracial dating and was criticized for its use of a sample of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.[29]

Track listing

# Title Songwriters Producer(s) Length
1 "What You Waiting For?" Linda Perry, Gwen Stefani Nellee Hooper 3:41
2 "Rich Girl"
featuring Eve
Stefani, Eve, Dr. Dre, Kara DioGuardi, Chantal Kreviazuk, Mark Batson, Jerry Bock, Mike Elizondo, Sheldon Harnick Dr. Dre 3:56
3 "Hollaback Girl" Chad Hugo, Stefani, Pharrell Williams Hugo, Williams 3:20
4 "Cool" Dallas Austin, Stefani Austin 3:09
5 "Bubble Pop Electric"
featuring Johnny Vulture
André Benjamin, Seven, Stefani Benjamin 3:42
6 "Luxurious" O'Kelly Isley, Rudolph Isley, Vernon Isley, Marvin Isley, Chris Jasper, Tony Kanal, Stefani Hooper, Kanal 4:24
7 "Harajuku Girls" Bobby Avila, I.J. Avila, James Harris, Terry Lewis, Stefani, James Wright Harris, Lewis 4:51
8 "Crash" Kanal, Stefani Kanal 4:06
9 "The Real Thing" Perry, Stefani Hooper 4:11
10 "Serious" Kanal, Stefani Kanal 4:48
11 "Danger Zone" Austin, Perry, Stefani Austin, Hooper 3:36
12 "Long Way to Go"
featuring André 3000
Benjamin, Stefani Benjamin 4:34

International bonus track

  • "The Real Thing" (Wendy and Lisa Slow Jam mix) – 3:35

UK/Japan bonus track

  • "What You Waiting For?" (Elevator mix) – 4:06

Bonus CD

  1. "What You Waiting For?" (Jacques Lu Cont TWD mix) – 8:04
  2. "What You Waiting For?" (Jacques Lu Cont TWD dub) – 8:21
  3. "What You Waiting For?" (live) – 3:43
  4. "Harajuku Girls" (live) – 4:37
  5. "Hollaback Girl" (Hollatronix remix By Diplo) – 2:45
  6. "Cool" (Photek remix) – 5:49
  7. "Hollaback Girl" (Dance Hollaback remix By Tony Kanal) – 6:52

Production

Charts

References

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