No Doubt – The Singles: 1992 – 2003

No Doubt
Artist: No Doubt
Title: The Singles: 1992 – 2003
Label: Interscope
Rating: 6.5/10

Corporate Line: After five albums and 25 million records sold–No Doubt unveils its first retrospective plus a two-CD/two-DVD Deluxe Box Set and a Rock Steady Live DVD all in November 2003, all on Interscope Records. Leading the November 25th release of The Singles 1992-2003 is a new track, No Doubt’s cover of one of the band’s favorite ’80s songs, “It’s My Life,” a 1984 hit for the UK band Talk Talk.

“It feels like the right time to release this collection because it closes a chapter,” explains band bassist Tony Kanal. “This is the recap of an incredible journey that we’ve had and it sets the tone for what will come in the future. We decided not to call it ‘Greatest Hits’ because that sounded too final…there’s more to come from us as a band.”

The Good:
“Don’t Speak” – No Doubts absolute shining moment.
“Just A Girl” – This is the reason No Doubt has become a household name.
“Spiderwebs” – A smash.
“Ex-Girlfriend” – Another song that does more than throw a hook at you – it throws in some piece of their soul.

The Average:
“Hey Baby” and “Hella Good” – Ushered in a different sound but not their grandest moments.
“Simple Kind Of Life” – The follow up to “Don’t Speak.” It’s hard to deny it’s nice. It’s not great however.
“New” – Good, not great.
“Underneath It All” – Yes this was a single. Was it great? No.

The Ugly:
“It’s My Life” – Their cover of the Talk Talk single should have been left behind.
“Sunday Morning” – Please.
“Excuse Me Mr.” – That yodel is enough to make you feel ill.
“Trapped In A Box” – Awful. In those early days Gwen Stefani sounded like a dolphin trapped in a human.

Frankly: No Doubt is a good band but they don’t have enough material and hits to release a greatest hits album. If they qualify then there are tons of bands out there, like Coldplay, who could too considering they have as many great songs on one record as No Doubt has had in ten years. Five or six great songs does not a greatest hit record make.

+ Rae Gun


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