I knew it wouldn't be right for me to just own Gwen Stefani's debut solo album, I had to get my paws on a No Doubt album, I finally after much deliberation with myself decided on Tragic Kingdom. If you think Gwen is just a Madonna wannabe, forget it, she was one of the original modern day rock queens. She along with the rest of No Doubt led the 90's movement of Ska-rock. Her voice is perfectly suited to the genre, she has the range and the expressiveness.

I found upon first listening to this album everything seemes clangy and a bit 'hyper'. After listening to this album more I found that it was clangy, but that's just their style. It showed some real potential and the songs started to reveal themselves as gems.

Tragic Kingdom was one of the biggest albums of 1995, though it couldn't come close to the success of Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. Still it provided bored Orange County teenagers with role models and something to listen to.

I love No Doubt's style, they were doing something no other 'mainstream' band were doing and having huge success with it. Their mixture of Ska-rock-pop and tiny elements of ragga propelled them into the musical spotlight. This album is like a soundtrack to California at the time, this is what California sounded like in 1995.

No Doubt are Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont, Adrian Young (and then Eric Stefani was part of the mix), they sound like the best band in the world on this album. With Gwen's unique, angelic voice, Tony's pulsating bass strums, Tom's catchy guitar riffs, and Adrian's super syncopated percussion (also those fab keyboards from Eric) made No Doubt top of the music industry.

Tragic Kingdom contains some great songs most famous of those is undoubtedly Don't Speak. Other highlights of this album include: Spiderwebs, Excuse Me Mr. and Just A Girl.

This album is the perfect length, not too long yet not that short. Also I like the fact there are only 2 quite slow songs the rest is a pulsating 'riff-ridden' affair.

Overall, Tragic Kingdom is one of those albums that you listen to and they bring back memories, that is an integral part of what music is about. Whether it be the fact that this album shows you that Gwen isn't just a plastic pop doll but a geniune rock chick or you get to listen to Don't Speak all over again you must own this album.

Ok, I love No Doubt to death! I think Tragic Kingdom is one of their best albums, shortly followed by Return of Saturn. Many people know the singles of the album: The girl anthem with the famous guitar riff "Just a Girl", the head-banging-rock-out-loud "Spiderwebs", and of course the saddest break up song ever "Don't Speak". Here's a track-by-track review:

1) Spiderwebs (5/5) The second single off of Tragic Kingdom. Inspired by a guy who kept calling Gwen with horrible poetry to recite to her, this song has probably the best example of their ska-punk style that was released as a single. It's an awesome song, and a great chorus to rock-out-loud to.

2) Excuse Me, Mr. (3.5/5) A single that originally wasn't supposed to be released. This is a good song that's also rock-out-loud material, but doesn't hold a candle to 'Spiderwebs'. I would have rated this a solid 4, but the piano solo in the middle made me dock some points.

3) Just a Girl (5/5) The first single and the one that put No Doubt on the map. With a fantastic (and now famous) guitar riff, this song is wild, crazy, and fun. It's a girls anthem but guys will even like it too. This was also featured in the movie 'Clueless'.

4) Happy Now? (5/5) Okay, this song really helps me when I have anger problems. One of the many songs based on Gwen and Tony's break up, Gwen lets her anger out on this one. I wish this could have been a single, but it's just as good as the rest of them. In fact, this is way better then 'Excuse Me, Mr.'

5) Different People (3/5) This song reminds me of Gwen's new song for her solo project 'Love.Angel.Music.Baby.'; the song has a good message to it, but it just isn't that good of a song. The beat isn't so catchy, and it seems rather odd in places. Not my favorite song.

6) Hey You (2.5/5) Ok, this song is so boring that I had to look up what the title of this song is again so I could review it. Like 'Different People', this isn't the best song on the album (not even close actually). It's rather dull in my opinion, and I always skip over it when listening to it.

7) The Climb (4.5/5) Finally, the good music is back with a beautiful ballad. This is quite lovely with "feel-good" lyrics, but the problem with this song is that it sort of drags. It's about 6 minutes long, and is quite repetitive. But other than that, it's a really good song.

8) Sixteen (4/5) A very metal sounding song. This, like 'Happy Now?' helps me with anger issues. It's an anthem to teenagers, but not quite as good as 'Just a Girl'. There's really not much to say about this, actually. I don't know why, because it's a good song, just nothing too special to mention.

9) Sunday Morning (4.5/5) The fifth single (fourth official) from 'Tragic Kingdom'. This song is really underrated for this is one of the best songs on the album. Too bad it didn't do well because this song is not only one of the best on the album, its one of the best No Doubt songs ever.

10) Don't Speak (5/5) The third single, and by far the best song they ever made. This has raw emotion and if you're in a sad mood, it might just break you down. Gwen sounds so sad and passionate on here. This song also was a huge success as it went to #1 for 16 weeks on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.

11) You Can Do It (2/5) OK, after a great song usually comes a dud. This is no different. This is obviously a filler song. I don't know why I dislike it really, but it feels odd since it's like ska-punk meets disco...This is probably the weakest song on the album.

12) World Go Round (4/5) This song is very catchy in my opinion. I actually think this is everything that 'Different People' tried to offer. It has a great message of course, and it has a catchy beat, a smooth flow, and Gwen sounds great on here.

13) End It On This (3.5/5) Like I said before, this is a good song. Nothing exciting, nothing bad. Just good. I guess people are right when they say "Why settle for good when you can have the best?" But a lot of people here like this song so maybe it's just me...

14) Tragic Kingdom (5/5) Great way to end with a bang! This is a really great song, even though I'm glad it didn't turn out to be a single. I know that makes no sense, but it's one of those "Too Good To Continue" songs.

Overall, this album is rather solid. There are many fantastic songs, but there are also some songs that make the album drag. This is really recommended.

There is absoluteley 0% difference between No Doubt and Gwen Stefani's solo career. And, for the record, this isn't punk. It's a poser pop band that pretends to play an instrument besides keyboard. I'll give you some good bands with female singers: The Distillers, The Von Bondies, Evanescence(I don't care what you think, Evanescence is a million times better than this)... I'd say the other's, but you should already know that no one should like this.