441 - No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom

If you want music to bounce to, Tragic Kingdom is a good nominee for you. While I found my interest in the songs waxing and waning during the course of the album, there's not denying that the songs will cause your toe to tap, head to bob, or your whole body to pogo. The album starts off strong with "Spiderwebs," "Excuse Me, Mister," and "Just a Girl." Unfortunately, after that, I hit a 5 song slump. "Happy?" and "Different People" aren't markedly different from the first few tracks. They were just missing...something. "The Climb," however, finds No Doubt channeling Queen and not quite succeeding. I had a two-song reprieve with "Sunday Morning" and "Don't Speak," the latter benefiting from years of my avoiding it. Following that hit ballad, out of left field, was the disco number - "You Can Do It." By the end of the album, I wished it was released pre-CDs so it would have a shorter run time. I think the lull in the middle and the iffy ending dragged down the stellar singles.

One thing that really annoyed me during my listen is all of the Gwen overdubs. I'm certainly not against overdubs, but, for some reason, the layers of Gwen started to grate on me. The additional vocals were perfect for the sound the band has on Tragic Kingdom, although I wish that maybe the band contributed some of those backing vocals to help break up the reliance on Gwen.

Songs I knew I liked: "Spiderwebs," "Just a Girl," "Sunday Morning," and "Don't Speak"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "End It Like This" was a nice rediscovery.

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "The Climb," "Sixteen," and "You Can Do It"