No Doubt: Rock Steady (2LP) [INTERSCOPE]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set comes with a printed insert of lyrics and photos. Two of the album's singles won the Grammy for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and the record was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Lyrics and photo insert

About the album

Most bands come home from a long tour wanting a quiet week. No Doubt came home from the Return of Saturn tour hooked on the Jamaican dancehall records they'd been playing at their after-show parties every night. In January 2001 they started building beats on Pro Tools in guitarist Tom Dumont's apartment, and Gwen Stefani set herself the goal of writing a song a day, lyrics dashed off on the spot to keep the first spark.

From there the sessions roamed from San Francisco to London to Port Antonio, Jamaica. Sly & Robbie produced "Hey Baby," with Bounty Killer toasting, and "Underneath It All," with Lady Saw, a song the band wrote in about 10 minutes with Eurythmics' David A. Stewart in London. Steely & Clevie handled "Start the Fire," and The Neptunes, William Orbit, Nellee Hooper and Mark Stent all had a hand elsewhere. The result folds electropop, dancehall and new wave into one glossy party record, from the strut of "Hella Good" to the late-night ache of "Running."

Rolling Stone placed Rock Steady at No. 316 on its 2003 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Dumont got one of its drum sounds by putting a microphone inside a metal garbage can, easily the most glamorous thing ever to happen to a bin. Ours mostly holds receipts.

Also at Kops: more No Doubt on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Interscope (cat# 069493158-1), the 2001 album.