Rock Steady

1	Intro 0:27
2	Hella Good 4:03
3	Hey Baby / Bounty Killer 3:27
4	Making Out 4:15
5	Underneath It All / Lady Saw 5:02
6	Detective 2:54
7	Don't Let Me Down 4:08
8	Start the Fire 4:12
9	Running 4:02
10	In My Head 3:25
11	Platinum Blonde Life 3:28
12	Waiting Room 4:27
13	Rock Steady 5:24

Barnes & Noble

With cameos on two smash singles -- Moby's "South Side" remix and Eve's seductive "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" -- since No Doubt's Return of Saturn, Gwen Stefani easily could have gotten comfortable riding shotgun in other people's flashy cars. Fortunately, she's back in the driver's seat of her original new-wave hot rod, refueled by her forays into dance and hip-hop. Rock Steady is as fresh and fun as No Doubt's breakthrough, Tragic Kingdom -- it's a valentine to dancehall and reggae written in the day-glo bubble letters of synth-obsessed new wave-lite pop. The thumping first single, "Hey Baby," features a roof-raising chorus and a bouncy Bounty Killer cameo, and Stefani sweetly woos and coos on the upbeat, reggae-flavored ballad "Underneath It All." Lyrically, the blonde bombshell still has no problem divulging the secrets of her personal life, but this time, she keeps the subject matter lighter than on 2000's disappointing Saturn. In contrast with that disc's overarching concerns with biological clock ticking and personal reevaluation, Stefani seems content to play a starry-eyed romantic and keep the heavy stuff between the covers. On the Kraftwerk-inspired "Hella Good," co-penned by one-half of the ubiquitous star-producers the Neptunes, Stefani sings, "You got me feelin' hella good so let's just keep on dancing," while on the excellent William Orbit-produced, fuzz-bass pumped "Making Out," she anticipates just "hanging out" with her long-distance lover. Even with so many strong production personalities at the mixing board (including Prince, Sly & Robbie, Nellee Hooper, and the Cars' Ric Ocasek), Stefani's charisma shines through and ties all of the tracks together. With Rock Steady, No Doubt haven't grown up -- instead, they've grown into the party-hopping, free-loving wild children their audience has always wanted them to be. Ganda Suthivarakom

Spin Magazine

The don't-call-it-a-comeback Rock Steady is hungry to ride that new relevance--collaborators include a Neptune, for that now sound, Jamaican legends Sly & Robbie and Steely & Clevie, for reggae roots, and Prince, for roots and pop expertise both. Jesse Berrett