The Sweet Escape | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 1, 2006 | |||
Recorded | 2005–2006 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 46:56 | |||
Label | Interscope | |||
Producer | ||||
Gwen Stefani chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Sweet Escape | ||||
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The Sweet Escape is the second solo studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani, released on December 1, 2006, by Interscope Records. Having originally intended to return to No Doubt after her debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004), Stefani decided to record a second album as a way to release some of the material left over from the Love. Angel. Music. Baby. writing sessions. The album musically resembles its predecessor while exploring more modern pop sounds. It was released to generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, receiving criticism for its strong similarities to Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
It was preceded by the lead single "Wind It Up", which charted moderately across the world, and produced the follow-up single "The Sweet Escape", which proved to be more successful worldwide. The Sweet Escape reached the top five in the United States, Canada, and Australia and peaked inside the top 20 in the United Kingdom. The album's supporting tour, The Sweet Escape Tour, kicked off in April 2007, covering North America, Colombia, Australia, Asia, and Europe.
Following the release of her debut album Love. Angel. Music. Baby., Stefani announced that she had intended to return to No Doubt and record a sixth studio album with the band. [1] After the commercial success of L.A.M.B., she decided to release several leftover tracks from the album as an EP or as extra tracks on a DVD. [2] However, Pharrell Williams, with whom she had collaborated to write "Hollaback Girl", convinced Stefani to create "a L.A.M.B. part two", [2] and the two recorded several songs during sessions in Miami in July 2005. [3]
The two produced "Wind It Up", "Orange County Girl", "U Started It", "Yummy", "Breakin' Up", and "Candyland" during these sessions, and the songs were used for a fashion show premiering the 2006 collection of Stefani's fashion line L.A.M.B. [4] She included performances of "Wind It Up" and "Orange County Girl" when she embarked on the Harajuku Lovers Tour in October 2005. [5] Stefani put the project on hold in December 2005 when she discovered that she was pregnant, [6] before returning to the studio in August 2006. [7] The album's working title was Candyland, sharing its name with an unreleased track that has only been looped via her fashion show soundtrack. The title was changed to The Sweet Escape, the title of the second track.
The album cover was taken by photographer Jill Greenberg. The image was part of a series of promotional images taken by Greenberg, inspired by her previous End Times exhibition. To create End Times, Greenberg gave lollipops to toddlers but took them back after several moments, provoking emotional outbursts. Greenberg used the images as a representation of American politics and society. [8] Greenberg was accused of child abuse for the photo shoots; Stefani, however, commented, "I didn't think 'child abuse'—I just thought, 'That's beautiful.' Every kid cries [...] Other people reacted like, 'Oh my God. That's so disturbing,' or 'That's so sad.' I guess that's what art's all about. It's supposed to make you think." [9]
Stefani's appearance on the album cover is inspired by that of Elvira Hancock, a cocaine addict portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in the 1983 film Scarface . Stefani first gained inspiration for the style while shooting the music video for "Cool" in Lake Como, Italy. During the shoot, Stefani saw her No Doubt bandmate Tony Kanal and his girlfriend, who had on a "long, peach, polyester [late-1970s style] dress". It was this dress that got Stefani thinking "about Michelle Pfeiffer and how amazingly styled she was [in Scarface]", which in turn drew inspiration for the cover. [10] The pair of oversized sunglasses on the album cover is intended to represent her "guarded exterior", and the other images symbolize her various emotions. [11]
The Sweet Escape is a primarily dance-pop, electropop, and rap album, [12] [13] featuring themes of romantic situations and details of her career and personal life, while sonically the album features "sparsely rhythmic tracks where she chants as much as she sings" and "pop songs that aim for choruses." [14] The album opens with "Wind It Up", which features fanfares and samples from The Sound of Music 's "The Lonely Goatherd", having "material-minded lyrics touting her fashion line and her shape." [15] The second and title track, "The Sweet Escape", is a dance and doo-wop song, [15] [16] [17] which features Akon providing a "wee-oh!" hook, [15] with lyrics about a "feisty sort of apology." [16] "Orange County Girl" is an autobiographical rap song, [15] where Stefani shows how she is "grateful for her success while recalling the simpler days of her youth." [18] The album's first ballad, "Early Winter", has influences of 1980s soft rock and lyrics about the need for fidelity and transparency in romantic relationship. [18] "Now That You Got It" features military snare drums, loping hip-hop beat and a staccato piano sample. [14] [17] Its lyrics has Stefani "act[ing] as if she's doing a lover a favor and challenges him to come through." [18]
The sixth track "4 in the Morning" is a 1980s-inspired synth-pop ballad [19] that lyrically deals with a relationship on the edge, [20] while "Yummy" is a dance song, with a tribal rhythm, [21] cameo by Pharrell Williams and lyrics that finds Stefani declaring that "making babies leaves her eager to feel sexy again." [18] "Fluorescent" features Angelo Moore on saxophone, [22] and was compared to the works of Madonna and Prince, [15] while "Breakin' Up" has influences of hip hop [21] and electronica [13] and it is "a breakup song built on a dying cell phone metaphor." [15] The tenth track, "Don't Get It Twisted", talks about an unexpected pregnancy, [14] in a song influenced by reggaeton. [17] [21] "U Started It" was noted for having "lilting melody, silken harmonies, and pizzicato strings", [15] while the final track, "Wonderful Life", was named a Depeche Mode-style synth ballad about how much she misses her first love and how the person had a profound impact on her. [23] [18]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 58/100 [24] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [15] |
Entertainment Weekly | B− [25] |
The Guardian | [13] |
NME | 4/10 [26] |
The Observer | [27] |
Pitchfork | 6.5/10 [17] |
PopMatters | 4/10 [16] |
Q | [28] |
Rolling Stone | [23] |
Slant Magazine | [29] |
The Sweet Escape received mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 58, based on 24 reviews. [24] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote, "From the stilted production to the fashion fetish, all the way down to her decision to rap on far too much of the album, all the dance-pop here seems like a pose." [15] Alex Miller of NME was more emphatic, dubbing it "this year's bargain-bin fodder", and stated that "the majority of this record serves only to bury what made Gwen Stefani unique in the first place." [26] At Entertainment Weekly , Sia Michel noted that the album "has a surprisingly moody, lightly autobiographical feel" but that "Stefani isn't convincing as a dissatisfied diva". [25] Pitchfork 's Mark Pytlik described the album's oddities as a career risk for Stefani, where most of the "gonzo pop songs yield some degree of payout" but that Stefani's tight scheduling during production of the album leaves the result "somewhere between the vanguard and the insipid." [17] Paul Flynn of The Observer characterized the album as less interesting than Fergie's The Dutchess and Nelly Furtado's Loose . [27] Robert Christgau cited the song "Yummy" as a "choice cut" ( ). [30]
The album received criticism for its similarities to Love. Angel. Music. Baby. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine opined that "[h]istory will likely view The Sweet Escape as a retread of Stefani's well-received solo debut, but it shares that album's general inconsistency and, thus, its peaks and valleys". [29] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone agreed, viewing it as "her hasty return" to music lacking the energy of L.A.M.B. and in which "she sounds exhausted." [23] The New York Times ' Jon Pareles commented that Stefani "rebooks some of the same producers and repeats some of the old tricks with less flair", adding that "superficiality is more fun when it doesn't get so whiny." [14] Caroline Sullivan disagreed in her review for The Guardian , in which she stated that although some of the songs date back to the 2003 writing sessions for L.A.M.B., "generally The Sweet Escape feels minty-fresh." [13] Quentin B. Huff of PopMatters , however, referred to The Sweet Escape as L.A.M.B.: Reloaded and described The Sweet Escape and L.A.M.B. as "the same album, just add more rap, a glossy Next-Top-Model -ish photo for the cover, and a few more recent-sounding influences." [16]
The Sweet Escape debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 243,000 copies in its first week. [31] It sold another 149,000 copies during its second week, falling to number 14. [32] The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on June 25, 2007, [33] and had sold 1,733,000 copies in the United States by February 2016. [34] The Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) certified The Sweet Escape platinum eight days prior to the album's release, and double platinum on March 5, 2007. [35]
In the United Kingdom, The Sweet Escape debuted at number 26 on the UK Albums Chart with first-week sales of 33,632 copies. [36] Three months later, on March 4, 2007, the album reached a new peak position of number 14. [37] It was certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on July 22, 2013 [38] and, as of March 2016, has sold 365,143 copies in the UK. [39] The album was moderately successful across Europe, peaking in the top 10 in Norway and Switzerland; the top 20 in Austria, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, and Sweden; and the top 40 in Belgium, Denmark, France and the Netherlands. [40] [41] [42] The Sweet Escape reached number two for two consecutive weeks on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia, [43] and was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). [44]
The Sweet Escape Tour was Stefani's follow-up to the Harajuku Lovers Tour. It went worldwide as compared to her previous tour which was constricted only to North America and had more than double the number of shows. It was Stefani's last solo effort as she rejoined her band No Doubt after the tour ended. [45] The main feature were usage of various props such as a prison for Stefani's opening act, a six-piece band and a large multimedia screen in the backdrop showing videos and animations. [46]
The tour had its own set of controversies. A group of students making up for The National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students banned Stefani's concert that was slated to take place on August 21, 2007, at Putra Indoor Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. The union's vice president, Abdul Muntaqim, said, "Her performance and her attire are not suitable for our culture. It promotes a certain degree of obscenity and will encourage youth to emulate the western lifestyle. The concert should be stopped." The organizer of the event, Maxis Communications, later responded, "Stefani has confirmed that her concert will not feature any revealing costumes. She will abide by the Malaysian authorities' guidelines to ensure that her show will not be offensive to local sensitivities." [47] In April 2007, Akon, one of the tour's opening acts, drew criticism for engaging in on-stage dirty dancing with a 14-year-old girl at a club in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, as part of a fake contest. [48] [49] As a result, Verizon Wireless terminated its sponsorship of the tour. [50]
Stefani donated $166,000 from her October 30, 2007, concert in San Diego to the San Diego Foundation, in benefit of the victims of the October 2007 California wildfires. [51] On her June 22 and June 23 concerts in Irvine, California, Stefani was joined onstage by her No Doubt bandmates. They performed the band's songs "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs", "Sunday Morning", "Hella Good", and their cover of Talk Talk's "It's My Life". [52]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Wind It Up" | 3:09 | ||
2. | "The Sweet Escape" (featuring Akon) |
|
| 4:06 |
3. | "Orange County Girl" |
| The Neptunes | 3:23 |
4. | "Early Winter" |
|
| 4:44 |
5. | "Now That You Got It" |
|
| 2:59 |
6. | "4 in the Morning" |
| 4:51 | |
7. | "Yummy" (featuring Pharrell) |
| The Neptunes | 4:57 |
8. | "Fluorescent" |
|
| 4:18 |
9. | "Breakin' Up" |
| The Neptunes | 3:46 |
10. | "Don't Get It Twisted" |
| 3:36 | |
11. | "U Started It" |
|
| 3:08 |
12. | "Wonderful Life" |
|
| 3:58 |
Total length: | 46:56 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
13. | "Wind It Up" ( Harajuku Lovers Live version) |
| Guy Charbonneau | 3:24 |
Total length: | 50:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "Orange County Girl" (Harajuku Lovers Live version) |
| Charbonneau | 5:06 |
Total length: | 55:26 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
15. | "Wind It Up" (Harajuku Lovers Live version) |
| Charbonneau | 3:24 |
Total length: | 58:50 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
13. | "Wind It Up" (Original Neptunes Mix) |
|
| 3:08 |
14. | "Wind It Up" (live) (video) |
| Charbonneau | 3:24 |
Total length: | 53:28 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Sessions@AOL Interview" (The Making of L.A.M.B.) | |
2. | "Behind-the-Scenes Footage" (The L.A.M.B. Tour) | |
3. | "Wind It Up" (live performance) | |
4. | "The Making of 'Wind It Up'" | |
5. | "The Making of The Sweet Escape" |
Notes [59]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Sweet Escape. [59]
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA) [44] | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
Canada (Music Canada) [35] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [103] | Gold | 20,000^ |
Germany (BVMI) [104] | Gold | 100,000^ |
Hungary (MAHASZ) [105] | Gold | 3,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ) [106] | Gold | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ) [107] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Norway (IFPI Norway) [108] | Gold | 20,000* |
Poland (ZPAV) [109] | Gold | 10,000* |
Russia (NFPF) [110] | 2× Platinum | 40,000* |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [111] | Platinum | 30,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [38] | Platinum | 365,143 [39] |
United States (RIAA) [33] | 2× Platinum | 1,733,000 [34] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Region | Date | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Australia | December 1, 2006 | Universal | [55] |
Germany | [112] | ||
Netherlands | [113] | ||
France | December 4, 2006 | [114] | |
United Kingdom | Polydor | [54] | |
United States | December 5, 2006 | Interscope | [115] |
Sweden | December 6, 2006 | Universal | [116] |
Italy | December 7, 2006 | [117] | |
Japan | January 31, 2007 | [118] |
Gwen Renée Stefani Shelton is an American singer-songwriter and fashion designer. She is a co-founder and lead vocalist of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs", and "Don't Speak", from their 1995 breakthrough studio album Tragic Kingdom, as well as "Hey Baby" and "It's My Life" from later albums.
Rock Steady is the fifth studio album by American rock band No Doubt, released on December 11, 2001, by Interscope Records. The band began writing the album with initial recording sessions in Los Angeles and San Francisco, then traveled to London and Jamaica to work with various performers, songwriters, and producers. Sly & Robbie, the Neptunes, and William Orbit were among the many artists the band collaborated with on the album.
Tragic Kingdom is the third studio album by American rock band No Doubt, released on October 10, 1995, by Trauma Records and Interscope Records. It was the final album to feature original keyboardist Eric Stefani, who left the band in 1994. The album was produced by Matthew Wilder and recorded in 11 studios in the Greater Los Angeles area between March 1993 and October 1995. Between 1995 and 1998, seven singles were released from it, including "Just a Girl", which charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart; and "Don't Speak", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and reached the top five of many international charts.
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.
Love. Angel. Music. Baby. is the debut solo studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani, released on November 12, 2004, by Interscope Records. Stefani, who had previously released five studio albums as lead singer of the rock band No Doubt, began recording solo material in early 2003. She began working on Love. Angel. Music. Baby. as a side project that would become a full album after No Doubt went on hiatus. Stefani co-wrote every song on the album, collaborating with various songwriters and producers including André 3000, Dallas Austin, Dr. Dre, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the Neptunes and Linda Perry. The album also features guest appearances by Eve and André 3000.
The Singles 1992–2003 is a greatest hits album by American rock band No Doubt, released on November 14, 2003, by Interscope Records. It features 13 of the band's singles from three studio albums—Tragic Kingdom (1995), Return of Saturn (2000), and Rock Steady (2001)—and the single "Trapped in a Box" from their 1992 self-titled debut album. The album also included a cover of Talk Talk's 1984 song "It's My Life", the only new song on the album and which was released as a single. It was released alongside the DVD Rock Steady Live, a video of a concert as part of the band's Rock Steady tour in 2002, and the box set Boom Box, which contained The Singles 1992–2003, Everything in Time, The Videos 1992–2003, and Live in the Tragic Kingdom.
"What You Waiting For?" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Written by Stefani and Linda Perry, the song is the album's opening track and was released as Stefani's debut solo single. Lyrically, "What You Waiting For?" details Stefani's lack of inspiration and fear of producing the album, as well as her reaction to pressures exerted by her record label. It is primarily an electropop song and introduces Stefani's four backup dancers, the Harajuku Girls, who had a major input into the album's production.
"Rich Girl" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Produced by Dr. Dre, the track features American rapper Eve, and is a remake of Louchie Lou & Michie One's 1993 song of the same name, which in turn interpolates the Fiddler on the Roof song "If I Were a Rich Man". The song discusses Stefani's dreams of fame and riches from the perspective of "when she was just an Orange County girl".
"Hollaback Girl" is a song by American singer-songwriter Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). It is a hip-hop song that draws influence from 1980s hip-hop and dance music. The song was written by Stefani, Pharrell Williams, and Chad Hugo, with the latter two handling production as the Neptunes. The song was released as the album's third single on March 22, 2005, and was one of the year's most popular songs, peaking inside the top 10 of the majority of the charts it entered. It reached number one in Australia and the United States, where it became the first digital download to sell one million copies.
American rock band No Doubt has released six studio albums, five compilation albums, three video albums, 22 singles, five promotional singles, and 21 music videos. The band was formed in Anaheim, California in 1986. After many line-up changes, it released its self-titled debut album in 1992, but its ska-pop sound was overshadowed by the popularity of the grunge movement. Following the self-released The Beacon Street Collection, Tragic Kingdom was released in 1995 and rode the surge of ska punk to become one of the best-selling albums, largely due to the international success of its third single "Don't Speak".
"London Bridge" is a song recorded by American singer and rapper Fergie for her debut studio album The Dutchess (2006). It was written by Fergie, Mike Hartnett, Sean Garrett, and its sole producer Polow da Don. A pop rap song, it contains compositional samples of "Down to the Nightclub", performed by Tower of Power. It was released as the lead single from The Dutchess on July 18, 2006, by A&M Records, Interscope Records and will.i.am Music Group.
"Wind It Up" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani, released as the lead single from her second solo studio album, The Sweet Escape (2006). Originally written for inclusion on Stefani's Harajuku Lovers Tour, the song was later recorded for the album.
American singer Gwen Stefani has released five studio albums, two extended plays, 37 singles, six promotional singles, one video album, and 28 music videos. She has sold more than nine million albums as a solo artist. Stefani is also the lead singer of the rock band No Doubt, with which she has released several albums.
"The Sweet Escape" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her 2006 second solo studio album of the same name. It was written by Stefani, Aliaune "Akon" Thiam and Giorgio Tuinfort, and produced by the latter two. Akon, who is also a featured artist, developed the song's beat before collaborating with Stefani. He designed it based on her previous work with No Doubt, and Stefani later commented that it put her "on the yellow brick road to the No Doubt record I might do". "The Sweet Escape" is an apology for a fight between two lovers and describes a dream of a pleasant life for them. As the album's title track, its title was chosen to help market Stefani's music and fashion lines.
Harajuku Lovers Live is the first live long-form video by American recording artist Gwen Stefani. It was released on DVD on December 4, 2006, by Interscope Records. The DVD was directed by Sophie Muller and produced by Oil Factory Productions. It is a recording of one of Stefani's concerts during her Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005 in late 2005 to promote her first album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., released in November 2004. The performance was recorded in November 2005, in Anaheim, California. The concert features performances of all twelve songs from Love. Angel. Music. Baby. and two new songs from her second studio album, The Sweet Escape, as well as interviews with the musicians and dancers and a documentary of tour preparation.
"4 in the Morning" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her second studio album, The Sweet Escape (2006). It was written by Stefani and co-written and produced by Tony Kanal, with additional production by Mark "Spike" Stent. Interscope Records serviced the song to US contemporary hit radio on May 8, 2007, as the album's third single; elsewhere it was released in June 2007. Described as one of her favorite songs on the album, Stefani began writing the song while pregnant and finished with Kanal, drawing inspiration from Roberta Flack and Billy Idol records.
"Now That You Got It" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her second solo studio album, The Sweet Escape (2006). Stefani co-wrote the song with its producers Sean Garrett and Swizz Beatz. "Now That You Got It" is a reggae song featuring hip hop beats, staccato piano sample and military snare drums. Lyrically, the song places Gwen asking her lover to give all that she wants. A remix featuring Damian Marley was produced for the song's release as the album's fourth single on August 26, 2007, by Interscope Records.
Push and Shove is the sixth studio album by American rock band No Doubt. It was released on September 21, 2012, by Interscope Records. The album serves as a comeback album for the band, as their last album, Rock Steady, was released 11 years prior. A deluxe edition of Push and Shove features acoustic versions and remixes of several tracks, as well as "Stand and Deliver", a song No Doubt had covered in 2009.
Motion is the fourth studio album by Scottish DJ and record producer Calvin Harris, released on 31 October 2014 by Fly Eye and Columbia Records. The album includes collaborations with Ellie Goulding, Gwen Stefani, John Newman, Tinashe, Big Sean, Alesso, R3hab, Ummet Ozcan, Firebeatz, Hurts, Haim and All About She.
This Is What the Truth Feels Like is the third studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani. It was released on March 18, 2016, by Interscope Records. Initially, the album was scheduled to be released in December 2014 with Stefani working with a handful of high-profile producers, and Benny Blanco serving as executive producer. However, after the underperformance of her 2014 singles and the writer's block Stefani suffered, she did not feel comfortable curating an album and scrapped the whole record in favor of starting again. The album's release was scheduled after Stefani hinted at it on her Twitter account.
The Sweet Escape album, a catchy confection of offbeat electro-pop and rap, ...
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