Rock Steady

Rock Steady is the fifth studio album by American rock band No Doubt. It was released on December 11, 2001, by Interscope Records. The band began writing the album with initial recording sessions in Los Angeles and San Francisco, then traveled to London and Jamaica to work with various performers, songwriters, and producers. Sly & Robbie, The Neptunes, and William Orbit were among the many artists the band collaborated with on the album.

As a result of these collaborations, Rock Steady touches on many musical styles, focusing on electropop, dancehall, and new wave. The band attempted to capture the vibe of Jamaican dancehall music, and experimented with writing songs without its standard instrumentation. Singer Gwen Stefani wrote her lyrics quickly in comparison to previous records, and dealt with topics ranging from partying to ruminations on her relationship with Gavin Rossdale.

Rock Steady received mostly positive reviews from music critics, and it was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2003 Grammy Awards. The album was a commercial comeback for the band, surpassing sales of their previous offering, Return of Saturn, released in 2000. Rock Steady spawned four singles, two of which won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Rolling Stone ranked Rock Steadynumber 316 on its 2003 list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Production
Every night on the tour to support their 2000 album Return of Saturn, No Doubt threw after-show parties where people danced to Jamaican dancehall music. During a discussion over dinner in late 2000, the band members decided they wanted to explore dancehall-style rhythms for their next album.[1] Drawing inspiration from artists such as Bounty Killer, Cutty Ranks, and Mr. Vegas,[2] the band began work on the album in January 2001 by creating beats on Pro Tools at guitarist Tom Dumont's apartment. The group often tried recreating beats from other song files on the computer, which resulted in modified versions of the original rhythms.[1] They worked with producer Philip Steir at Toast Studios in San Francisco during this time, where the beginnings of "Hey Baby" emerged.[3] When writing lyrics for previous albums, Stefani typically read works by Sylvia Plath that would make her depressed "or find different words that inspire me."[1] In contrast, for Rock Steady she wrote the lyrics quicker and on the spot to meet the goal of writing a song a day. Many of the demos recorded during these early sessions were used in the final tracks, rather than completely reworking the songs. The band saw this as a way to preserve the "initial spark" from when the songs were conceived.[2]

The next month, Stefani left Los Angeles for London to visit boyfriend Rossdale, and the band traveled with her to finish recording "Detective".[1] There, they worked with Eurythmics member David A. Stewart and wrote the song "Underneath It All" in only 10 minutes.[4] In March, No Doubt traveled to Jamaica, staying at the Blue Lagoon in Port Antonio.[2] The band "spent most of the time swimming and getting sunburned and drinking and smoking and recording a little music", according to Dumont.[5] The group would often have Red Stripebeers or rum and cokes with jerk food for breakfast;[1][2] on one occasion, Dumont passed out from heavy drinking while recording a track.[1] They began work in the mid-afternoon and worked into the night, with an after-party following the session.[2] The group collaborated with Sly & Robbie, who produced "Underneath It All" and "Hey Baby" and brought in dancehall toasters Lady Saw and Bounty Killer, and Steely & Clevie, who produced "Start the Fire".

The band returned from Jamaica and resumed work in June 2001, collaborating with producers Nellee Hooper and Timbaland.[6] The Timbaland track, titled "It's a Fight", and a Dr. Dre-produced song titled "Wicked Day" were excluded from the album because their hip hop sounds did not work well on the album.[7][8] The band then worked with producer and former Cars frontman Ric Ocasek in late June.[5] Stefani commented that No Doubt worked with so many people for the record because none were available for the time needed to make an LP, but that she would have liked to work with Ocasek longer.[9] The band and its A&R manager Mark Williams chose collaborators based on how well they thought the person would fit the personality of the song that No Doubt had written.[2] In late August, the band returned to London for Mark "Spike" Stent to polish off the songs with audio mixing.

Meaning of Songs
The band members often did not play their standard instruments when working on the songs for Rock Steady.[10] As a result, the album's instrumentation contains less guitar and bass guitar than the band's previous work.[11] Many of the album's sounds come from electronic keyboard effects, which bassist Tony Kanal called "Devo-y bleeps and Star Wars noises".[1] Dumont commented that many of the effects came from being unfamiliar with the equipment and "just twiddling knobs".[12] Dumont created an effect similar to that of an echo chamber by placing a microphone inside a metal garbage can with the can's open end facing a drum kit.[13] Richard B. Simon of MTV News asserted that the sound of Rock Steady was part of the decade nostalgia of the 1980s retro movement.[14]

Stefani's vocals range from innocent to seductive, sometimes transitioning from one to the other within a song.[15] Her lyrics are based on her relationship with Rossdale, whom she married less than a year after the album's release.[16] Stefani is openhearted and unreserved as on Return of Saturn, but her approach becomes more immediate and instinctive.[15] The lyrics are more youthful than those on Return of Saturn and detail partying and feelings of lust.[17] An overarching theme on the album is Stefani's impatience in the couple's long-distance relationship. She discusses wanting to see Rossdale on "Making Out" and "Waiting Room", and she reveals her distrust in Rossdale on "In My Head".[16] On "Hey Baby" she gives an innocuous account of the debauchery between her bandmates and their groupies during parties, as she observes the party.[9] The lyrics of "Underneath It All" question whether or not Rossdale is a good match for her,[18] an issue resolved in the chorus, which was written based on a journal entry where Stefani wrote the line "You're lovely underneath it all" about Rossdale.[19]

More
Rock Steady was ranked number 316 on Rolling Stone 's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in November 2003.[21] Blender included the album on its April 2003 list of "500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die!".[42] In June 2003, it was included on Slant Magazine 's list of "50 Essential Pop Albums"[43]

"Hey Baby" won the award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards, while Rock Steady and "Hella Good" received nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Dance Recording, respectively.[31][44] At the following year's ceremony, "Underneath It All" earned the band their second consecutive Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.[45]

NME reviewer Alex Needham compared the album's revival of No Doubt's popularity to the performance of Madonna's 1998 album Ray of Light.[37] Rock Steady debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200, selling 254,000 copies in its first week.[46] Rock Steady was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on October 11, 2002,[47] and by July 2012, it had sold 2,842,000 copies in the United States.[48]

The album was moderately successful outside the US. In Australia, it peaked at number 15 on the ARIA Albums Chart and spent nine non-consecutive weeks in the top 40.[49] The album was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).[50] The album reached number 43 on the UK Albums Chart,[51] and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on July 22, 2013.[52] It was also certified platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) on September 3, 2002.[53] As of November 2003, Rock Steady had sold three million copies worldwide.