For their fifth album (second post-stardom), Gwen Stefani and the No Doubt go back to their roots for a new sonic growing up: an '80s-obsessed, island-inspired, super hi-fi fiesta. For this, the band jetted to Jamaica, London and all points between, recording with a gaggle of sound maestros in a handful of different styles: Rock Steady feels like a hip-hop record, dotting from signature producer to signature producer (Unfortunately, tracks with actual hip-hop beatmakers Dr. Dre and the Neptunes weren't finished in time for inclusion). For the synth-heavy new wave candy tracks "Don't Let Me Down" and "Platinum Blonde Life," Cars frontman (and Weezer/Nada Surf hitmaker) Ric Ocasek sweetens Stefani's coo and guitarist Tom Dumont's crunch. Reggae legends Sly and Robbie handle the slow burners "Hey Baby" and "Underneath it All"; relative newcomers Steely & Clevie merge analog with dancehall on "Start the Fire," and Madonna's go-to guy William Orbit even shares in the fun, imbuing "Making Out" with his trademark drones to go with the band's potent disco groove. The scattershot recording technique seems erratic for a quartet of chums who've spent upwards of fifteen years gelling together, and most of the rock tracks like "Hella Good" and "Platinum Blonde Life" suffer from a mix of overproduction and lack of urgency; missing is the California garage band vibe that was the trademark of their earlier, more energetic material. But what Steady lacks in the consistency of Saturn's nuanced guilty pleasures it makes up for in a number of sparkling moments -- the "Rapture"-era Blondie fetish of "Detective," the sly dub of "Underneath it All," and the way "Running," with its little Devo-esque keyboard chirps, is the album's "Simple Kind of Life" moment. Better still, there's "Waiting Room," a genius piece of chopped chaos provided by Prince and bandaged up by the band; it's a mishmash of languid breakbeats and digital squeals with a gospel hook so flirtatious, Prince and Stefani steal it back and forth from each other. This, you can say, is where the party's at. Brad Cawn CDNOW Contributing Writer -- ▃ ▃ ▃▃▃ ▃▃▃ ▃▃▃ ▃ ▃ ▃▃▃ ▃▃▃ █▃ █ ███ 不 ███ ███ █ █ ███▃ ███ ██ █ █ █ 要 █ █ █ █ █ █ █▃▃█ █ █ ██ █ █ ★ █ █ █ █ █ █ ███ █ █ █ █▃█ 怀 █▃ █ █▃█ █▃█ █▃▃█ █ █ █ ███ 疑 ███ ███ ███ ███ █ --

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