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Music > Albums > Gwen Stefani - The Sweet Escape (2006) Retail CD
added on February 2, 2007, at 13:17 by allcdcovers

Gwen Stefani's second solo album, The Sweet Escape, finds the sassy blonde starlet moving even farther away from her ska-punk No Doubt origins. This time around, as apparent from the album cover alone, the focus is clearly on bling, not swing. Which would explain why her collaborators on The Sweet Escape are practically a who's-who of contemporary urban music producers: Akon (who also guests on the title track), Nellee Hooper and, of course, The Neptunes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's The Neptunes, with their playful pop sensibilities, who are responsible for some of the catchiest tracks here--"Orange County Girl", which is a SoCal version of "Jenny From the Block", the sultry and sparse "Yummy" (which features vocals by Pharrell) and the Sound of Music sampling first single "Wind It Up". The lesser known Swizz Beatz, meanwhile, have somehow produced Stefani's most Neptunes-sounding track with "Now That You Got It". The most surprising track, considering the source, is "Early Winter", a straightforward rock ballad produced not by her longtime No Doubt collaborator Tony Kamal, but by slick R&B specialist Hooper. Fans looking for a return to Stefani's indie roots may find this album a bit of a shock, but The Sweet Escape should find a home in both dancefloors and the pop charts. --Ted Kord

Back 1390 x 1399 px

CD 923 x 925 px

Front 927 x 924 px