Some rock stars shouldn't make solo music. Gwen Stefani is one of them.
The first 20 seconds of her solo attempt Love Music Angel Baby sound promising. Stefani's first track, "What You Waiting For" begins with fading applause followed by a piano and vocals intro. It sounds as though Stefani may be taking an example from Rod Stewart's and Queen Latifah's recent albums, but once the crowd roars again, a repetitive techno beat starts blaring without interruption or much variance for the length of the album.
The second track and single, "Rich Girls," featuring rapper Eve, sounds like an electronic cover of some nameless disco song that should have been left alone. Eve tries to save the track in the third verse, but by that time, all hope has been abandoned.
"Cool," Stefani's fourth track, is reminiscent of the synth-pop genre made popular in the '80s, and it reminds listeners why they never again touch their old cassette tapes. Following "Cool" is a track titled "Bubble Pop Electric," which is just as confusing as its name suggests. This upbeat song about sex in backseats is entirely too fast and accompanied by a hook that repeats the phrases "Bubble pop electric" and "Uh-oh, in the backseat" which gets old immediately after its first appearance.
"Luxurious" is the best part of the album, which isn't saying much. The song has a nice, slow hip-hop beat and sounds promising, until the third verse when back up singers repeat the phrase "cha-ching" ad nauseam. The song basically falls apart after this and is overpowered by a French man's whispers until the track ends.
The album's updated, techno style of synth-pop continues until the album's anticlimactic ending with the tracks "Danger Zone" and "Long Way To Go." Popular music has a long way to go if this is as far as it has come since Pat Benatar's 1983 release "Love is a Battlefield."
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Loyal fans of MTV or people who love to dance or don't think twice about what they dance to may appreciate this album. Anyone trying to find worthwhile, original music should steer clear of Love Angel Music Baby.
Love Angel Music Baby
Gwen Stefani
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