| Return of Saturn | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 11, 2000 (2000-04-11) | |||
| Recorded | 1998–1999 | |||
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 60:44 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | ||||
| No Doubt chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Return of Saturn | ||||
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Return of Saturn is the fourth studio album by Americanrock bandNo Doubt, released on April 11, 2000, byTrauma Records andInterscope Records. It marked the band's first album as a quartet, following the departure of original keyboardistEric 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 producerGlen 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.
The album maintains theska punk andreggae influences of the band's previous work, but with slower, more ballad-like songs. The lyrics to many of the songs describe singerGwen Stefani's pining for a more domestic life, contrasting that with her commitment to a music career.
Upon its release,Return of Saturn received favorable reviews from music critics, although several of them were divided over its different sound to its predecessor. It debuted at number two on theBillboard 200 but was unable to measure up to the sales ofTragic Kingdom. The album spawned four singles, only one of which charted on theBillboard Hot 100, It was nominated forBest Rock Album at the43rd Grammy Awards.
After the success of No Doubt's breakthrough albumTragic Kingdom (1995), the band wrote more than 20 songs for a new album, influenced by artists such asthe Cure.[1] Having toured extensively for two and a half years since the release ofTragic Kingdom, they initially had trouble producing material and decided to experiment with new sounds.[2] Many of the songs were written in a rented house inHollywood Hills, Los Angeles, where bassistTony Kanal was living.[3] During early production in mid-1998 the band worked on seven tracks in Los Angeles withMatthew Wilder, who had producedTragic Kingdom, but had creative differences with him. They planned on going to New York City to work with producerMichael Beinhorn, who had produced for alternative rock acts such asRed Hot Chili Peppers,Hole, andSoundgarden.[4]
When scheduling conflicts arose with Beinhorn,[5] the band interviewed several producers and decided onGlen Ballard, who had producedAlanis Morissette'sJagged Little Pill (1995), because of pressure from managerJimmy Iovine[6] and Ballard's belief in not using heavy production techniques.[7] Ballard went through the band's 40demos and ruled out half of them.[8] They frequently missed due dates, arguing that hurrying the album to cash in on the success ofTragic Kingdom was unwise since three years had passed.[9] In early 1999, No Doubt released "New", co-produced byTalking Heads memberJerry Harrison, for the soundtrack to the 1999 filmGo.
By that July, the band stopped work on the album, intending to be done with the record.[10] Interscope, however, recommended that they continue writing so they would have a more marketable single. The band was split when singerGwen Stefani offered to do so but drummerAdrian Young and guitaristTom Dumont did not want to, hesitant to trust Interscope after it had sublicensedTragic Kingdom toTrauma Records. After a brief break, Dumont sent Stefani some of his demos as a peace offering.[9] The band returned to the studio to create more upbeat songs and penned "Ex-Girlfriend" and "Simple Kind of Life".[10] More recording,audio mixing andaudio mastering were done late that year, andDavid LaChapelle photographed the band for the album cover in January 2000.[11]
The album's working title was originally announced asMagic's in the Makeup in May 1998[3] and later asSaturn Returns in November 1999.[12] Stefani was confused by her feelings of depression and interest inSylvia Plath while recording the album. Her boyfriendGavin Rossdale told her that she was going through herSaturn return.Saturn's orbit takes 29.4 Earth years and, inastrology, the time when Saturn returns to its position during a person's birth is believed to be a period of self-evaluation. Stefani was born October 3, 1969, and many of the songs were written during her Saturn return.[8]
The music ofReturn of Saturn further exploresnew wave style,[13] while adding analternative rock feel and maintaining some of the band'sska andreggae sounds.Adrian Young's drum part on "Simple Kind of Life" was mixed through lowfidelity filters to give it the sound of alo-fipower ballad.[14] "Six Feet Under" and "Staring Problem" were described as a more self-aware return to the band's earlier material, a combination of work by new wave bandMissing Persons andhard rock bandVan Halen.[15]
No Doubt experiments with several new styles on the album. "Ex-Girlfriend", which originally featured aPrince-stylefunk sound, was rewritten and includesrapped vocals over piano andflamenco guitar parts. After opening withGabrial McNair'sjazz funeral horn part over Young'sbeatboxing, "Bathwater" proceeds into a song written inswing time.[14] It was described as a combination of the band's2 Tone roots with the operaticslapstick ofGilbert and Sullivan.[15] "Marry Me" features use of thetabla, a pair of tuned hand drums prominent in India. Young and bassistTony Kanal's contributions were compared to the rhythm ofnu metal music, and the fragmented progression of "Comforting Lie" was likened to the work ofKorn.[15]
The album's lyrics depict Stefani's maturation andfemininity, reflected by images of oral contraceptives, a wedding cake and makeup on the album cover, as well as her romantic relationship with Rossdale. Her lyrics drew comparisons to the bitter, confessional styling ofHole frontwomanCourtney Love.[15][16] "New" was written while the band was touring about the excitement of meeting Rossdale and her infatuation with him.[14] Later compositions, however, discuss the problems that the two had maintaining along-distance relationship. "Ex-Girlfriend" discusses a failing relationship, and "Suspension Without Suspense" and "Home Now" detail feelings of resentment, loneliness, and indecision.[15] On "Simple Kind of Life", she confesses to hoping for a mistake with herbirth control and a desire to leaving music for a domestic life.[17] She contrasts this, however, with her need for independence:
Anyone who knows me knows having a family has always been the most important thing to me. I wanted to be a mother—which is an unconditional giving of love—and a supportive wife, and suddenly, I can't even be a good girlfriend, because I can't seem to find the right time to call. I want to do it all, but I can only do one thing good, and right now I've chosen to do this. Being in a band is a bit of a selfish choice.
— Gwen Stefani,Entertainment Weekly[9]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100[18] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [13] |
| Entertainment Weekly | B[19] |
| The Guardian |  [20] |
| Los Angeles Times | [21] |
| Melody Maker | [22] |
| NME | 5/10[16] |
| Q | [23] |
| Rolling Stone | [15] |
| Slant Magazine | [24] |
| The Village Voice | C+[25] |
Return of Saturn received generally positive reviews from music critics. AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received anaverage score of 68, based on 16 reviews.[18]Entertainment Weekly'sDavid Browne characterized the album as filled with "smoother, layered mid-tempo ballads as creamily textured as extra-thicknapoleon pastries", but stated that Stefani's lyrics were too much of a throwback to the alternative rock scene of the early 1990s and contrasted with the boom ofteen pop.[19]Robert Christgau, writing forThe Village Voice, described the emotions Stefani expressed as shallow,[25] and Siobhan Grogan ofNME stated that Stefani's preoccupation with Rossdale was distracting and weakened the intense,Madonna-like character she had established onTragic Kingdom.[16]AllMusic criticStephen Thomas Erlewine, however, called it "a terrific, layered record that exceeds any expectations set byTragic Kingdom".[13] Barry Walters fromRolling Stone referred to it as "a superstar follow-up that not only betters its predecessor but also radically departs from it."[15] The publication included the album in its list of the top 50 albums of the year, describing it as "a record that charges ahead like gangbusters while biting its nails."[26] Sal Cinquemani fromSlant Magazine commented that although the album did not have any successful singles,Return of Saturn was "a solid album and proof of a healthy, genre-breaking future for No Doubt."[24]
Return of Saturn debuted at number two on the USBillboard 200, behind'N Sync'sNo Strings Attached, and sold 202,000 copies in its first week.[27] TheRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album platinum in May 2000,[28] and as of July 2012, it had sold 1,587,000 copies in the United States.[29] The album was successful in themodern rock market and its first two singles, "New" and "Ex-Girlfriend", reached the top 10 of theBillboardModern Rock Tracks chart. It was less successful in the mainstream market, and "Simple Kind of Life" was the only single to chart on theBillboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 38.[30] The album was nominated forBest Rock Album at the2001 Grammy Awards, but lost out toFoo Fighters'There Is Nothing Left to Lose.[31] In Canada, it peaked at number two onRPM's albums chart and number four onBillboard'salbums chart.[32][33]Return of Saturn was awarded a Platinum certification by theCanadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) in June 2000, denoting sales in excess of 100,000 copies.[34]
All tracks produced byGlen Ballard, except "New" produced byJerry Harrison andNo Doubt, "Too Late (Instrumental)" produced by Ballard andMatthew Wilder, and "Big Distraction" produced by Wilder.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ex-Girlfriend" | 3:31 | |
| 2. | "Simple Kind of Life" | G. Stefani | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Bathwater" |
| 4:03 |
| 4. | "Six Feet Under" |
| 2:28 |
| 5. | "Magic's in the Makeup" |
| 4:21 |
| 6. | "Artificial Sweetener" |
| 3:54 |
| 7. | "Marry Me" |
| 4:39 |
| 8. | "New" |
| 4:26 |
| 9. | "Too Late" |
| 4:14 |
| 10. | "Comforting Lie" |
| 2:53 |
| 11. | "Suspension Without Suspense" | G. Stefani | 4:10 |
| 12. | "Staring Problem" |
| 2:44 |
| 13. | "Home Now" |
| 4:35 |
| 14. | "Dark Blue" "Too Late (Instrumental)" (hidden track) |
| 10:30 |
| Total length: | 60:44 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Big Distraction" "Too Late (Instrumental)" (hidden track) |
| 9:30 |
| Total length: | 64:26 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Big Distraction" |
| 3:34 |
| 16. | "Full Circle" "Too Late (Instrumental)" (hidden track) |
| 9:12 |
| Total length: | 65:35 | ||
Credits adapted from the liner notes ofReturn of Saturn.[39]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[34] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[28] | Platinum | 1,587,000[29] |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
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