Return Of Saturn

''Return of Saturn'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band No Doubt, released on April 11, 2000, by Trauma Records and Interscope Records. It marked the band's first album as a quartet, following the departure of original keyboardist Eric Stefani in 1994. After touring for two and a half years to promote their breakthrough third studio album, ''Tragic Kingdom'' (1995), No Doubt wrote several dozen songs for its follow-up and eventually settled on working with producer Glen Ballard. Creating the album became a tumultuous process lasting two years, during which there was dissension among band members and between the band and its label. The album was completed after the band returned to the studio and recorded what became two of its singles.

The album maintains the ska punk and reggae influences of the band's previous work, but with slower, more ballad-like songs. The lyrics to many of the songs describe singer Gwen Stefani's pining for a more domestic life, contrasting that with her commitment to a music career.

Upon its release, ''Return of Saturn'' received favorable reviews from music critics, although several of them were divided over its different sound to its predecessor. It debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 but was unable to measure up to the sales of ''Tragic Kingdom''. The album spawned four singles, only one of which charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, It was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 43rd Grammy Awards.

Background

After the success of No Doubt's breakthrough album ''Tragic Kingdom'' (1995), the band wrote more than 20 songs for a new album, influenced by artists such as the Cure. Having toured extensively for two and a half years since the release of ''Tragic Kingdom'', they initially had trouble producing material and decided to experiment with new sounds. Many of the songs were written in a rented house in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, where bassist Tony Kanal was living. During early production in mid-1998 the band worked on seven tracks in Los Angeles with Matthew Wilder, who had produced ''Tragic Kingdom'', but had creative differences with him. They planned on going to New York City to work with producer Michael Beinhorn, who had produced for alternative rock acts such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, Hole, and Soundgarden.

When scheduling conflicts arose with Beinhorn, the band interviewed several producers and decided on Glen Ballard, who had produced Alanis Morissette's ''Jagged Little Pill'' (1995), because of pressure from manager Jimmy Iovine and Ballard's belief in not using heavy production techniques. Ballard went through the band's 40 demos and ruled out half of them. They frequently missed due dates, arguing that hurrying the album to cash in on the success of ''Tragic Kingdom'' was unwise since three years had passed. In early 1999, No Doubt released "New", co-produced by Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison, for the soundtrack to the 1999 film '' Go''.

By that July, the band stopped work on the album, intending to be done with the record. Interscope, however, recommended that they continue writing so they would have a more marketable single. The band was split when singer Gwen Stefani offered to do so but drummer Adrian Young and guitarist Tom Dumont did not want to, hesitant to trust Interscope after it had sublicensed ''Tragic Kingdom'' to Trauma Records. After a brief break, Dumont sent Stefani some of his demos as a peace offering. The band returned to the studio to create more upbeat songs and penned " Ex-Girlfriend" and " Simple Kind of Life". More recording, audio mixing and audio mastering were done late that year, and David LaChapelle photographed the band for the album cover in January 2000.

The album's working title was originally announced as ''Magic's in the Makeup'' in May 1998 and later as ''Saturn Returns'' in November 1999. Stefani was confused by her feelings of depression and interest in Sylvia Plath while recording the album. Her boyfriend Gavin Rossdale told her that she was going through her Saturn return. Saturn's orbit takes 29.4 Earth years and, in astrology, the time when Saturn returns to its position during a person's birth is believed to be a period of self-evaluation. Stefani was born October 3, 1969, and many of the songs were written during her Saturn return.

Music and lyrics

The music of ''Return of Saturn'' further explores new wave style, while adding an alternative rock feel and maintaining some of the band's ska and reggae sounds. Adrian Young's drum part on "Simple Kind of Life" was mixed through low fidelity filters to give it the sound of a lo-fi power ballad. "Six Feet Under" and "Staring Problem" were described as a more self-aware return to the band's earlier material, a combination of work by new wave band Missing Persons and hard rock band Van Halen.

No Doubt experiments with several new styles on the album. "Ex-Girlfriend", which originally featured a Prince-style funk sound, was rewritten and includes rapped vocals over piano and flamenco guitar parts. After opening with Gabrial McNair's jazz funeral horn part over Young's beatboxing

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