Stefani less daring, still odd on second solo CD

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, December, 2006 by Dan DeLuca

Staying ahead of the strangeness curve in pop music is no easy task, but Gwen Stefani did an excellent job of it on Love.Angel.Music.Baby, the 2004 solo album by the No Doubt diva. She pretended that her posse of four Harajuku Girls from the Tokyo shopping district of the same name were a figment of her imagination, partied down with Eve on a pirate ship while sampling Fiddler on the Roof in the video for "Rich Girl," and rode the delightfully ridiculous cheerleader chant "Hollaback Girl" to the top of the singles and ringtones charts.

That semiotic smorgasbord effectively transformed Stefani from perky platinum-blond ska-punk singer to candy-colored club-music queen. And it sold so well - 3.8 million copies - that it virtually guaranteed that a second solo effort would...