#441: Tragic Kingdom- No Doubt

Listened to: Vinyl

In my humble (as humble as I’ve ever been on this thing) opinion, Tragic Kingdom is No Doubt’s finest album. Determined to succeed, despite their pop-ska sound totally clashing with the bleak, hip, grunge sound of the time, No Doubt’s third studio album features most of the songs your average radio-listener (back when radio had listeners) will recognize. Kicking off on “Spiderwebs”, one of the songs that defines the ska genre for me, alternating between laid back, brass heavy beats, and rock and roll guitar-centric heaviness. This track is one of the first to bring ska-pop to the radio, opening the door for The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Specials, and probably even more “indie” bands like MGMT. Just a theory. The album is pure saccharine joy. You can’t avoid wanting to gleefully pogo to that pounding drum, and the upbeat feel carries over into the next track, “Excuse Me Mr.” before you even get a chance to wipe the sweat off your brow. On tracks like “Excuse Me Mr.” and “Just A Girl”, Gwen Stefani proves herself one of the greatest women in rock (and lord knows I have high standards for that title). She’s got that unique voice, that colorful physicality that comes out over the record (come on, don’t act like you don’t picture her singing these tracks, when it gets to that dolphin-like bray during “excuuuse me”) and a damn hot attitude, a punk anger that apparently got lost during her solo career (we miss it, Gwen).

After three of the most well-known No Doubt tracks, “Happy Now?” is a refreshing surprise to first time listeners. From the sliding bass intro, this track is intense. Those back-up vocals of “Are you happy?” hit me hard. This is the pop of the 90’s, for me. My musical mommies. This, Alanis, and Lisa Loeb (yes, Lisa Loeb). Listen to how intense Gwen is as she wails on these tracks. No poppy “Sweet Escape” here. Just intense rock and roll, mixed with juke-box pop, blended to perfection. The upbeat organ on “Different People”, the overall bouncy vibe can’t help but make you bounce in your seat. Oh, Ska. Reggae for white people. Just for clarification, and brevity, let’s talk quick about the next three tracks: “Hey You” is not a cover of Pink Floyd (tragically, as it would be awesome to here their take on it), “The Climb” is not a cover of Miley Cyrus (tragically, some people might actually think it is. Kids are dumb), and “Sixteen” is not an Iggy Pop cover (despite how AWESOME it would be). They’re all great tracks, and you’ll discover that when you listen to this album (Oh, I haven’t convinced you yet? The next two tracks ought to).

“Sunday Morning” (not Maroon Five’s for the record) is Gwen Stefani’s furious break-up song, the angry ska Blood On The Tracks, if you will. It’s intense, it’s peppy, it’s angry, it’s fun. It’s one of the most underrated songs in their entire catalogue, though it admittedly is easily forgotten when followed by what is likely No Doubt’s best track, the so-radio-beloved-you-couldn’t-escape-it-from-1996-to-2005-and-even now-and-then-it-crops-up “Don’t Speak”, a track that deserved al the Grammy’s it lost out on (Though Time Out Of Mind might have deserved Album Of The Year {this might be better, though, that‘s up for debate}, the completely forgotten “Sunny Came Home” {can anyone remember that track?} doesn’t beat out “Don’t Speak” in my book). Stefani’s impassioned vocals, that ahead-of-it’s-time-yet-so-90’s-vibe, everything on that track is brilliantly done, from the first strum of the guitar to that heavy, head-swinging chorus. And god damn, just listen to that acoustic solo.

The four tracks that close this album probably should have gone ahead of “Don’t Speak”, which would have been an amazing album closer, the kind that gives chills. But song placement is probably the only fault this album has. Even the last four tracks are unique, infectiously catchy, and pretty damn fun (see “You Can Do It” specifically if you don’t believe me). Tragic Kingdom is a terrific record (if I take the time to buy it on vinyl, it tends to be. Those things are expensive, and I ain’t got much money, dig?), and if you’ve ever heard a No Doubt track and loved it, odds are It’s on this album, and odds are you’ll love the rest. Yeah, it’s well worth the listen.

-Mike

Next up, a total change of pace, #483: Life After Death by Notorious B.I.G.