No Doubt

Tragic Kingdom

Perfect Ska Perfectly Executed

Review Score:

(10/10)
"NO DOUBT" finally brought ska to the mainstream. For reasons unknown, this bouncy and rather laid-back music style has always remained on the fringe. Why? Probably, because, in addition to being fun music, ska at times, can get rather juvenile. Examples are: "Everything Sucks" by Reel Big Fish, anything (and everything) by The Aquabats, or even No Doubt's first two albums. The playfulness works when you are just hanging out, but when your soul is bleeding, or even just dry heaving, you want more than ten ways to hang out at the 7-11. There is a sweet and sensible maturity about this album that still retains the whimsicality that is ska music. But that is how life is-valleys of sad and peaks of sunshine.

"Tragic Kingdom" is a step foreword and up ward, nor only for the band, but for ska groups everywhere. You have this killer, rolling beat under-girding profound lyrics and thoughts penned by fluent Gwen Stefani. Like Bono, she has a poetic spirit that makes her ideas and sentiments very powerful, years above the normal gutter clap-tap that is blared out of most FM stations.

The production quality of this album is also years ahead of run of the mill ska. I realize that Sublime intentionally skunked their sound, and I agree that the roughness worked for the Beatles on "The White Album," but it can get overdone at times. No Doubt recognized this, and it made the album sound professional.

This album is not only ska at its best, but also what ska could and should be. I just hope the other bans pick up on the direction that No Doubt is going, and follow lead. And I hope No Doubt keeps it up.

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