Singles 1992

I've never been to big on pop music; but No Doubt is like crack for me. There is so much to love about No Doubt. All of their albums are great. Each one of them stands very well on their own. "Tragic Kingdom" (their best in my opinion) and "Return To Saturn" are both fantastic Ska/Pop recordings. "Rock Steady" was definitely a huge change in which they needed at that point in their careers. If they released another Ska record with Gwen singing about the her and bassist's failed relationship again, they would have plummeted in the pop music scene.

Enough about their albums. Lets talk about this singles collection. No Doubt was made for a record like "Singles 1992-2003". No Doubt wasn't directly inspired by punk, or ska; they have always stood out from the bunch, steming from the new wave genre unlike many of their grunge rock peers. Their music is happy, giddy and fun to listen to. Their melodies mixed with their incredibly catchy hooks transformed a generation of music to come. This collection is untouchable; I couldn't make a much better compilation myself.

Lets run through the track listing here:

1. Just A Girl: Their first huge single from their "Tragic Kingdom" album. Featured in the movie "Clueless". A classic tune. 5/5

2. It's My Life: The only new track on the CD. A great cover of Talk Talk's "It's my Life". I was so happy to see No Doubt win the MTV music video award for it. All the other nominees were horrible as usual; they definitely picked the right band.

3. Hey Baby: featuring Bounty Killer: The first single off of "Rock Steady". Very catchy and poppy. 4/5

4. Bathwater: This is my favorite single off of their "Return To Saturn" album. I remember them doing this song live; Gwen is just gorgeous. 5/5

5. Sunday Morning: Another sweet single from the "Tragic Kingdom" album. 5/5

6. Hella Good: Hands down, my favorite single and the first track off of "Rock Steady". I love that guitar riff. 5/5

7. New: One of the better tracks from "Return To Saturn" 4/5

8. Underneath It All - featuring Lady Saw: A fantastically dreamy single from the "Rock Steady" album. 5/5

9. Excuse Me Mr.: A classic tune from the "Tragic Kingdom" album. 5/5

10. Running: A quality song from their "Rock Steady" album. 4/5

11. Spiderwebs: This was a classic single back in the day, from their "Tragic Kingdom" album. Sweet video too. 5/5

12. Simple Kind Of Life: Another one of my favs from the "Return To Saturn" album. This is a slower number; a Gwen Stefani original. 5/5

13. Don't Speak: My favorite No Doubt song of all time. I've never gotten sick of this one. A sweet song and video from their "Tragic Kingdom" album. 5/5

14. Ex-Girlfriend: Their first single from their "Return To Saturn" album. She looked very unique in the video with bright pink hair and make-up; looking very hardcore. 4/5

15. Trapped In A Box: Their first single ever, from their self-titled first album - "No Doubt" 5/5

Singles 1992-2003 holds up just as strong as their studio efforts. It is a great collection for long time fans of No Doubt, and a great introduction for first time listeners.

In reference to some previous customer reviews, I just wanted to say that the whole point of this album was to rerelease on one comprehensive CD all of No Doubt's singles that had already been released as *official* singles. If you'll notice, all of the songs on this CD have had videos made for them too. With this in mind, it would not have made sense to have "By The Way" or "Open The Gate" on this CD since they were never released as official singles. I know all this has been said before but I thought it would be wise to reiterate since it doesn't appear in any of the recent customer reviews.

And now on to the CD itself...

This CD is a perfect fit for the No Doubt fan that doesn't already own all 5 previous albums. However, if you are like me and already have them, it would probably be better for you to buy the No Doubt Boom Box [Box Set] which includes this disc along with 3 others (2 DVDs and 1 B-sides/rarities/remixes CD). It is a bit pricier but I think that the B-sides and rarities make it completely worth the extra money. If you still must own this CD, be warned that while the only new song on there is amazing (a Talk Talk cover of "It's My Life"), I don't see it justifying an $11 purchase if it's the only new material on there for you.

No Doubt wisely didn't name this CD "Greatest Hits", because only about 6 of the 15 songs on here were bonafide hits. They also were smart not to call it "Best Of No Doubt", because few of the songs on here are really the best No Doubt has to offer. Most of their finest material can be found on their albums, especially Return of Saturn and Tragic Kingdom. Nevertheless, this album is exactly what it claims to be: a collection of all the singles No Doubt has officially released between 1992 and 2003. The standouts range from the recent: the new single, a quality rock-driven cover of Talk Talk's "It's My Life", and Rock Steady's "Hella Good"; to the obvious: their biggest hits, "Don't Speak", "Just A Girl", and "Spiderwebs" from their most popular album, Tragic Kingdom; to the underrated: "Ex-Girlfriend", "New", and "Simple Kind of Life" from the woefully overlooked Return of Saturn.

Chances are if you are buying this, you are either a No Doubt fanatic who buys everything they release (such as myself), or you are a casual fan, who knows a few of their radio songs and want them on one disc. To the hardcore fans: buy Boombox instead: you get this CD, a b-sides and rarities CD, all their videos on DVD, and Live In The Tragic Kingdom on DVD. All this for less than $50!
If you are a casual fan, don't let your No Doubt collection stop here: buy all 5 of their albums (1992's No Doubt, 1995's Beacon Street Collection, 1995's Tragic Kingom, 2000's Return of Saturn, and 2001's Rock Steady). You will not regret it. Listen to how this great band has evolved over the years--from the ska-driven band they were in in the late 80's and early 90's (as demonstrated on "Trapped In A Box", included here)to the innovative New Wave/Pop-Rock band they are today.

A great way to get into this excellent band.

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