NO DOUBT *Return of Saturn* MINT UNPLAYED
Return of Saturn by ReleasedApril 11, 2000Recorded1998–99Studio Various Length60:44 No Doubt  chronology
(1995)Return of Saturn
(2000)
(2001) from Return of Saturn ""
Released: May 2, 2000 ""
Released: June 13, 2000 ""
Released: November 14, 2000

Return of Saturn is the fourth studio album by American  band , released on April 11, 2000 by  and . It marked the band's first album as a quartet, following the departure of original keyboardist  in 1994. After touring for two and a half years to promote their breakthrough third studio album, , No Doubt wrote several dozen songs for its follow-up and eventually settled on working with producer . Creating the album became a tumultuous process lasting two years, during which there was dissension among band members and between the band and its label. The album was completed after the band returned to the studio and recorded what became two of the album's singles.

The album maintains the  and  influences of the band's previous work, but with slower, more ballad-like songs. The lyrics to many of the songs describe singer 's pining for a more domestic life, contrasting that with her commitment to a music career.

Upon release, Return of Saturn received favorable reviews from music critics, although several of them were divided over its different sound to its predecessor. It debuted at number two on the  but was unable to measure up to the sales of Tragic Kingdom. The album spawned four singles, only one of which charted on the . At the , Return of Saturn was nominated for .

Contents Background[]

After the success of No Doubt's breakthrough album  (1995), the band wrote more than 20 songs for a new album, influenced by artists such as . Having toured extensively for two and a half years since the release of Tragic Kingdom, they initially had trouble producing material and decided to experiment with new sounds. Many of the songs were written in a rented house in , , where   was living. During early production in mid-1998 the band worked on seven tracks in Los Angeles with , who had produced Tragic Kingdom, but had creative differences with him. They planned on going to  to work with producer , who had produced for alternative rock acts such as , , and .

When scheduling conflicts arose with Beinhorn, the band interviewed several producers and decided on , who had produced 's  (1995), because of pressure from manager  and Ballard's belief in not using heavy production techniques. Ballard went through the band's 40  and ruled out half of them. They frequently missed due dates, arguing that hurrying the album to cash in on the success of Tragic Kingdom was unwise since three years had passed. In early 1999, No Doubt released "", co-produced by  member , for the soundtrack to the 1999 film .

By that July, the band stopped work on the album, intending to be done with the record. Interscope, however, recommended that they continue writing so they would have a more marketable single. The band was split when singer  offered to do so but drummer  and guitarist  did not want to, hesitant to trust Interscope after it had sublicensed Tragic Kingdom to . After a brief break, Dumont sent Stefani some of his demos as a peace offering. The band returned to the studio to create more upbeat songs and penned "" and "". More recording,  and  were done late that year, and  photographed the band for the album cover in January 2000.

The album's working title was originally announced as Magic's in the Makeup in May 1998 and later as Saturn Returns in November 1999. Stefani was confused by her feelings of depression and interest in  while recording the album. Her boyfriend  told her that she was going through her . 's orbit takes 29.4 Earth years and, in , the time when Saturn returns to its position during a person's birth is believed to be a period of self-evaluation. Stefani was born October 3, 1969, and many of the songs were written during her Saturn return.

Music and lyrics[] MENU 0:00 The first single, featuring New Wave influences, rapped vocals, flamenco guitar, and use of the piano. MENU 0:00 The album's second single, a lo-fi ballad in which Stefani discusses wanting to settle down. Problems playing these files? See .

The music of Return of Saturn further explores No Doubt's  influences, while adding an  feel and maintaining some of the band's  and  sounds. 's drum part on "Simple Kind of Life" was mixed through  filters to give it the sound of a  . "Six Feet Under" and "Staring Problem" were described as a more self-aware return to the band's earlier material, a combination of work by new wave band and  band .

No Doubt experiments with several new styles on the album. "Ex-Girlfriend", which originally featured a -style  sound, was rewritten and includes  vocals over piano and  guitar parts. After opening with 's  horn part over Young's , "" proceeds into a song written in . It was described as a combination of the band's  roots with the operatic  of . "Marry Me" features use of the , a pair of tuned hand drums prominent in India. Young and bassist 's contributions were compared to the rhythm of  music, and the fragmented progression of "Comforting Lie" was likened to the work of .

The album's lyrics depict Stefani's maturation and , reflected by images of oral contraceptives, a wedding cake and makeup on the album cover, as well as her romantic relationship with Rossdale. Her lyrics drew comparisons to the bitter, confessional styling of  frontwoman . "New" was written while the band was touring about the excitement of meeting Rossdale and her infatuation with him. Later compositions, however, discuss the problems that the two had maintaining a . "Ex-Girlfriend" discusses a failing relationship, and "Suspension Without Suspense" and "Home Now" detail feelings of resentment, loneliness, and indecision. On "Simple Kind of Life", she confesses to hoping for a mistake with her  and a desire to leaving music for a domestic life. She contrasts this, however, with her need for independence:

Anyone who knows me knows having a family has always been the most important thing to me. I wanted to be a mother—which is an unconditional giving of love—and a supportive wife, and suddenly, I can't even be a good girlfriend, because I can't seem to find the right time to call. I want to do it all, but I can only do one thing good, and right now I've chosen to do this. Being in a band is a bit of a selfish choice.

— Gwen Stefani,  Critical reception[] Professional ratingsAggregate scoresSourceRating68/100Review scoresSourceRatingB5/10C+

Return of Saturn received generally positive reviews from music critics. At , which assigns a  rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an  score of 68, based on 16 reviews.'s  characterized the album as filled with "smoother, layered mid-tempo ballads as creamily textured as extra-thick ", but stated that Stefani's lyrics were too much of a throwback to the alternative rock scene of the early 1990s and contrasted with the boom of . , writing for , described the emotions Stefani expressed as shallow, and the  stated that her preoccupation with Rossdale was distracting and weakened the intense, -like character she had established on Tragic Kingdom.  critic , however, called it "a terrific, layered record that exceeds any expectations set by Tragic Kingdom".Barry Walters from  referred to it as "a superstar follow-up that not only betters its predecessor but also radically departs from it." The publication included the album in its list of the top 50 albums of the year, describing it as "a record that charges ahead like gangbusters while biting its nails." Sal Cinquemani from  commented that although the album did not have any successful singles, Return of Saturn was "a solid album and proof of a healthy, genre-breaking future for No Doubt."

Commercial performance[]

Return of Saturn debuted at number two on the US , behind 's , and sold 202,000 copies in its first week. The  (RIAA) certified the album platinum in May 2000,and as of July 2012, it had sold 1,587,000 copies in the United States. The album was successful in the  market and its first two singles, "New" and "Ex-Girlfriend", reached the top 10 of the Billboard  chart. It was less successful in the mainstream market, and "Simple Kind of Life" was the only single to chart on the , where it peaked at number 38. The album was nominated for  at the , but lost out to ' . In Canada it peaked at number 2 on the . Return of Saturn was awarded a Platinum certification by the  (CRIA) in June 2000, denoting sales in excess of 100,000 copies.

Track listing[]

All tracks produced by , except "New" produced by  and , "Too Late (Instrumental)" produced by Ballard and , and "Big Distraction" produced by Wilder.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length1."" 3:312.""G. Stefani4:163."" G. Stefani Kanal Dumont 4:034."Six Feet Under" G. Stefani Kanal 2:285."Magic's in the Makeup" G. Stefani Dumont 4:216."Artificial Sweetener" G. Stefani Dumont Kanal 3:547."Marry Me" G. Stefani Kanal 4:398."" G. Stefani Dumont 4:269."Too Late" G. Stefani Dumont Kanal 4:1410."Comforting Lie" G. Stefani Dumont Kanal 2:5311."Suspension Without Suspense"G. Stefani4:1012."Staring Problem" G. Stefani Kanal 2:4413."Home Now" G. Stefani Dumont Kanal 4:3514."Dark Blue"
"Too Late (Instrumental)" () G. Stefani 10:30Total length:60:44International edition bonus trackJapanese edition bonus tracks Personnel[]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Return of Saturn.

No Doubt

 – production (track 8)  – guitar  – bass  – vocals  – drums, percussion

Additional personnel

 – production (tracks 1–7, 9–14, "Too Late (Instrumental)")  – sonic manipulation (tracks 1, 5, 8); additional engineering (tracks 6, 7, 14) Michael Boddicker – synthesizer programming  – trumpet  – string arrangements ("Too Late (Instrumental)") Scott Campbell – additional recording  – additional recording (all tracks); synthesizer programming (track 5) Rachel Cleverley – production assistance Cindy Cooper – album package coordination Orion Crawford – chart preparation Karl Derfler – recording (tracks 1, 5, 8) Robert Fisher – design  – piano ("Too Late (Instrumental)")

 – production (track 8)  – recording (tracks 2–7, 9–14, "Too Late (Instrumental)")  – photography Jolie Levine-Aller – production coordination  – mastering Joe Mama-Nitzberg – art coordination, photography  – horn arrangements, keyboards, piano, synthesizer, trombone (all tracks); synthesizer programming (track 5) Colin "Dog" Mitchell – equipment coordination, pre-production recording Theo "Hound Dog" Mondle –  (track 7)  – recording ("Too Late (Instrumental)")  – mixing Richard Ash - engineer/mixing Tom Whalley –  direction  – production ("Too Late (Instrumental)")

Charts[] Weekly charts[] Chart (2000)Peak
positionAustralian Albums ()11Austrian Albums ()18Belgian Albums ( Flanders)44Belgian Albums ( Wallonia)45Canada Top Albums/CDs ()2Dutch Albums ()24Finnish Albums ()5French Albums ()21German Albums ()5Irish Albums ()52Japanese Albums ()18New Zealand Albums ()14Norwegian Albums ()35Scottish Albums ()36Swedish Albums ()7Swiss Albums ()8UK Albums ()31US 2

Year-end charts[] Chart (2000)PositionUS Billboard 20073

Certifications[]
RegionCertification/SalesCanada ()Platinum100,000^United States ()Platinum1,587,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone