Stefani chasing her own shadow

It has at least one song hot enough to make Fergie pee herself.

By Jedd Rosche

Published Dec. 8, 2006

I'm sure people wondered why Gwen Stefani did a new solo album. Magazines across the country have reported that she didn't want to make another solo album, and there were rumors that Stefani doesn't like the sound of The Sweet Escape.

If she wasn't feeling the beats, then why make them? I'll tell you why: Fergie.

She's the most recent example of the trend of powerful solo female artists that can't decide if they are more hip-hop or plain ol' pop.

First came Nelly Furtado's comeback (Does anyone even remember "I'm like a Bird"?) with Loose, followed by Beyoncé's sophomore solo album B'day and then, The Dutchess by Fergie. All those tracks were an attempt to dethrone Stefani.

And Stefani wasn't having any of that.

Enter The Sweet Escape, stage right. Cue "The Sound of Music."

Granted, it's not as good as its predecessor Love. Angel. Music. Baby., but it's as hot as the next in the genre. It's original, it's sassy, it's infectious and it has a bass beat.

Unfortunately, it's exactly what you would expect from Stefani.

If personal growth were measured in sports equipment, Stefani's growth between her last album and The Sweet Escape is a golf ball. She uses the same formula as the first album, making hits that are attractive but fleeting. She's got some hot dance tracks, some whiny ones and some that are early-1990s-West-Coast hip-hop. Try something different, G-Stef, that's not, well, yodeling.

Although I credit her experimentalism, there are some songs on this album that just aren't ear-friendly. I had to force myself to listen to "U Started It" and "4 in the Morning." For Love. Angel. Music. Baby., I could press play and dance myself silly for an hour straight — alone and in my underpants, mind you. For The Sweet Escape, I picked a couple of tracks and that was it.

Gwen has two things going for her that saves this album, and the first is the title track. If there's one thing to come from this album that is hot enough to make Fergie pee herself in fright, it's "The Sweet Escape."

This song resonates with all things people love about Stefani: songs that are upbeat but bittersweet. The "EE-Yoo" sound Stefani makes during the chorus and intro is a time machine for listeners and takes them back to the days where children thought swear words were bad and sunshine was better than watching TV.

"The Sweet Escape" is a 2006 "My Girl" with all the sugar, dance appeal and naiveté. It makes you want to forget homework, credit card debt and that chick that gave you VD during Thanksgiving and lift off to cloud nine.

The other thing that salvages this album is Stefani's creativity. It's unmatched, as it always has been. And for Gwen fans, that's all we want to hear.

She mixes yodeling, keyboarding, sounds from the 1980s and Motown. I have to give her some credit — you can't hear her anywhere else. Not with Fergie, Beyoncé and Nelly "Promiscuous" Furtado.

Gwen is still the reigning queen of the hill; her only real competitor is the Gwen of the past.