Rock Steady

There is a strong influence from the dance/rap community on this album (likely a result of Gwen's recent collaborations with Prince, Moby, and Eve). The first few tracks are in that vein (Hella Good, the lead single Hey Baby) and Making Out sort of transitions the album to a more traditional No Doubt sound. As you might expect, the album is drenched in Gwen's unrequited love lyrics, though it's hard to tell who they're directed at this time around, though it's certainly a lighter tone than before. Musically they are doing some interesting things on this one, experimenting with mixing more electronica into their established sound and going back a little to some more dancehall as well.

No Doubt tapped some of the best producers in the business for this outing (Sly & Robbie, Neptunes, William Orbit, Ric Ocasek, Nellee Hooper, Clive Langer) and sometimes it sounds overproduced as a result. It's interesting that even though the use of different producers creates a wildly different feel to each song, they still manage to work as a whole. Rock Steady also features some incredible guest performances, including Bounty Killer (on the lead single), and Prince on the beautiful Waiting Room.