After years with the band No Doubt, Gwen Stefani has recently come out a solo album. Let's quickly get into the LP and give it a GeoGlobe rating.

"What You Waiting For" sounds like a great song to get your run on as Gwen talks about not waiting for anyone or anything before you decide to do your thing.

"Rich Girl" is the remake of the classic song and features Gwen's tag teams partner Eve over a Dr. Dre beat. The song is a nice way to bring an old song up to date.  

"Hollaback Girl" is the hornsy Neptunes track that reminds you of a Kelis jawn as Gwen talks about giving out some punishment to whoever messes with her and being the first girl to get at someone. The track reminds you of a high school cheerleading song.

"Cool" is the 80's sounding track produced by Dallas Austin about having a friendship with an ex-lover and it being good for all.  

"Bubble Pop Electric" features Johnny Vulture a.k.a. Andre 3000 over an electric racy track as Stefani talks about back seat action and the high school dating.

"Luxurious" uses the classic Isley Brothers "Between The Sheets" as a basis for a song about taking time off to feel great and appreciate the good that happened after a long period of work and stress.  

"Harajuku Girls" produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and talks about the stylish women that lead the trends and style.

Tony Kanal produces "Crash" and Gwen talks about having a good time with a friend in a car and going real far.

"The Real Thing" lets Gwen talk about the love of her life as she talks about roller coasters and other analogies to express her love over a fast paced track.  

Violins and other strings are used to start "Serious" and then Gwen talks about loosing her mind over a relationship and the growth of her feelings.

"Danger Zone" is about being in an uncomfortable position and wanting to escape and "Long Way To Go", produced by and featuring Andre 3000 over an eclectic beat.   "Long Way To Go" is about racism and dirty looks, especially when concerning interracial dating.

Overall this album is a trip to the sounds of the 80's with a bit of the 2000's thrown in.   The album has some wickedly different sounds and deals with love, lust and women's empowerment all before the last song, which dealt with interracial love and bias in general.   This is a great riding and talking to a friend album.   If you want to listen to every second though you may get tired early, as some of the subject is repetitive even with a different sound.   Gwen reminds this writer of the Madonna's and Belinda Carlisle of the 80's but the beats are more impressive than her lyrics at times. For Stefani's first solo album it was very entertaining though and a throwback to earlier times.

The album gets 3 globes.

Please direct any comments or questions to Clayton via email at clayton@geoclan.com